Whitsundays & Australia Zoo

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Arriving in Airlie Beach we parked up and went to the local public pool for a swim and a shower, as it was a sticky day and the refreshing cool water was a welcome relief from the muggy heat. However soon after we arrived in clouded over and began to rain. So we hit the tour offices to see about booking our sailing trip to the Whitsunday Islands and the famous Whitehaven Beach. We grabbed the last couple of places on this trip that was heading out the following day and it came with a free introductory scuba dive.

The day we headed out on the sailing trip was slightly overcast but still warm, there was not much to do on the trip out there which took about 4 hours so we sat down had the customary safety briefing and then mingled and got to know the other 50 passengers on board. After tea the goon (cheap cask wine) was brought out and the hot tub was filled with water so the merriment began.

The second day the sun was shining and it was an early start to get to Whitehaven beach to spend the morning there. It was a fantastic beach with the finest white sand in the world, it’s like walking on flour. There was an inlet where there was sting rays and the sea had some waves and current which is a first in 4 months. When we got back to the boat we were allowed to jump the 5 ½ meters from the top into the sea below as long as we had our very stylish stinger protection suits on. The second night was full of party games all fueled by yet more goon and beer, a fancy dress box was brought out and the vast majority of people got involved and had a good time.

The third day was scuba day and we had this Russian instructor who was a bit crazy but a very funny guy. I fell in backwards off the boat just like you are meant to do and then just sank to bottom and following orders from the safety briefing I just sat there and waited to be rescued. When the Russian did eventually get to me he showed me the controls to sort the depth out and we were away. One of the best things I’ve done since being away even if the conditions weren’t ideal.

Before we went sailing we placed an advert asking if anyone wants a lift down south towards Brisbane to help contribute with petrol costs. These 2 Kiwi girls answered the call and a journey which should of taken 2 days took 10 days as we stopped almost everywhere along the way and did things that I would not of usually done. To sum up it was a very fun and quite surreal 10 days.

When we eventually dropped the girls off at the ferry port so they could get across to an festival on this island we eventually got to Brisbane and stopped 2 days in a very young, modern city. Everything was new and well developed, they even had a beach in the middle of the city. The only problem was parking the car. The main attraction we were in Brisbane for was Australia Zoo, about 1 hours drive but we had heard great things about the zoo made famous by Steve Irwin. The zoo was superb and the live croc feeding shows are well worth the visit itself.

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