Off to Sea

After a shorter bus ride with another crazy bus driver (we are noticing a trend) we arrived in Airlie beach, the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands. We stayed in Airlie for 3 nights before our sailing trip. The first night unfortunately we met the equivalent of Debbie the Downer who informed us our sailing trip would be the worst experience of our life. Luckily she was wrong and just happened to be a miserable girl from Canada (probably worked at a call center).
We spent 2 nights, 3 days aboard the Kiana, a 60 foot sailboat. The boat held 14 passengers and 3 crew. Day 1 we sailed from port to Whitehaven beach where we spent the day hiking the island and hanging out on a beach that pictures don’t do justice. We spent the night on the boat anchored near Hook Island. The next morning we took our first dive in the shallow reef off the island, Jason already thinks he’s a Navy SEAL. It seems there are jellyfish that can kill you which explains the head to toe coverings. Jason had to be constantly reminded that the jellyfish are DEADLY and the full suit was necessary. After the dive we sailed to the outer Great Barrier Reef which is about 40 miles off of land. We snorkeled all over the area and spent the night in the middle of the ocean. The boat was the United Nations of travelers, USA, Switzerland, France, England, Ireland and the Aussie crew. Amazing how quickly you become friends with complete strangers, no privacy on this boat! To Jason’s Friends - this is a PG blog see personal email for more details. We returned to Airlie on the 17th and jumped on the night bus to Hervey Bay. If you want to check out the boat go to www.mskiana.com.

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