Waltzing on the Whitsundays and finding Nemo on the Reef

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Airlie beach was my next stop up the East Coast and it's a lively little town, with pretty views and a nice lagoon to relax by. I travelled there with Lydia, from Frasers, and we met up with a few of her friends and drove to some nearby waterfalls that you can swim in, which was cool.


But the highlight of Airlie Beach and I guess the reason why everyone goes there is for sailing the Whitsundays. I went on a 2 day trip on a little sailing boat called Waltzing Matilda; with 3 crew and 13 passengers. For a change i was the only person from the UK, joined by Germany, US, Canada, Holland, Switzerland and Australia. But of course, amazingly, everyone spoke English. I had never been on a sailing boat before and it felt like quite a majestic way to travel! We were blessed with brilliant weather, so the views of the blue sky, aqua marine sea, white sand and the green of the Whitsunday islands were incredible.

We went snorkelling in a couple of different spots; the coral was really pretty and streams fish swam around us (Nat from the crew found it amusing to throw bread at my head so they all jumped at it...I of course screamed). I saw my first turtle too, and we spotted some dolphins off the boat! The lovely crew member Morgan made some great food for us and on the night we had a few drinks and chatted under the amazing night sky which was full of stars. The typical conversations of people from different countries; what food you miss, food you think's normal but discover everyone else thinks is wierd (like beans on toast); sport; and what sound a cockerel makes.

On the second day we headed to Whitehaven beach, famous for its incredible sand. It's so white that it remains cool, even in the blazing heat and is so fine it's like dust. Although I guess what comes with that reputation are the crowds of people. It's claimed to be one of the best beaches in the world and I can see why.

From sailing and snorkeling to more sailing and more snorkelling...next stop Cairns, after a memorable 12hr bus journey; which involved a drunk guy falling asleep on me and me then being 'befriended' by two little girl/having to entertain them, oh and my first kangaroo sightings!

I'm not too keen on Cairns as a city, it feels spread out, littered with tacky tourist shops and the architecture is unimpressive. However, the esplanade by the harbour is really cool- with a big lagoon, outdoor gyms, bouldering wall and skate park. There is also a pretty cool night market and the night life in Cairns is good too...although with some questionable entertainment...I watched goldfish races in one club.

I think a lot of people come to Cairns for the day trips, me included as i set sail on a catamaran to go snorkelling on the great barrier reef. Great it was, with giant purple clams, colourful fish and coral, huge turtles and little nemos. We swam out to a little sand island-Michaelmas Cay too which is a seabird habitat...you couldn't hear for birds squarking...they were everywhere!!

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