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Published: February 24th 2010
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The rains are coming...
Miles and miles of sugar cane fields. Soon to be inches and inches underwater. What do you mean we have to leave tomorrow?!
Didn't we just get here?! Somehow our time in Aussie land is quickly coming to a close, and we've recently realized that we had to hustle ourselves up the the Whitsundays and then to the GBR.
After driving north from 1770, all day through rain, we got to Airlie Beach, where it proceeded to rain on us all night long. Periodically the rain would be replaced by a torrential downpour, and then back to rain. Did we mention it was raining lots?? The next morning our van was pretty much soaked right through again, but even worse than before. The wet carpet odour was magnificent. So, we deserted the van for a few days and took off to a sweet resort in the impressive Whitsunday Islands, leaving the van to fester in the sun. It turned out to be a wise maneuver, as the highway was flooded out just north of where we stopped!
The Whitsundays are one of the most popular and attractive parts of the country, and they did live up to the hype. The Whitsundays are a group of islands with beautiful beaches and incredibly
Airlie Beach Marina
On our way to the Whitsundays white silica sand. Unfortunately though the 'stingers' are usually a threat here, and all of the snorkelling and swimming we did was in sexy full-body lycra stinger suits. Apparently the suits reduce the chances of getting stung by 75%, which is good, because the local tiny jellyfish (irukandjis) are little bastards that can kill you, and we were told the pain is three times that of going through childbirth. Or, in guy terms, worse than being kicked in the crotch by an angry Bigfoot wearing steel-toed boots. Okay, they didn't tell us that part, but one can only assume.
The reef itself was fantastic. We've done more than our share of snorkeling elsewhere this trip, and although the visibility was pretty poor where we were yesterday (remember all that rain?), it was a pleasant change to finally see corals that aren't bleached, mangled or dying. Here's hoping it stays this way...
The day sail we did yesterday was aboard a massive purple catamaran that zoomed us out around a number of the islands, it was great. The rain did stop, and a nice light cover of cloud kept the sunburns to a minimum. Too bad there is no
sunscreen to prevent hangovers though, as it was an all-you-can-drink affair. The alcohol did make the lycra suits sexier though.
One of the few disappointments we have endured this trip is the lack of coverage of the Winter Games. And when we do catch some coverage no one seems to share our enthusiasm for Team Canada. Go figure?!
Our last main stop on our Aussie Tour was the Great Barrier Reef. We had a few cities to choose from, all of which boast the best dives. We went with the smaller town, Townsville (another brilliant city name!). It has fewer tourists and is further away from the reef, but this was a bonus for us. When we got to the reef (quite a long boat ride) we were the only boat there, with only 12 people. Fraser was diving and Nancy was snorkeling --what a spectacular experience. We were on a section of reef that is quite protected and does not see the number of tour boats as further north does. The fish were fantastic! Saw a shark the size of Nancy, and the coral was phenomenal! Fraser also dove a wreck near the reef on a different
day, the S.S. Yongala. Best dive ever, huge fish everywhere.
Tomorrow we fly to the Philippines for our next adventure.
Last chance to place your order for a didgeridoo...
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