Days 14-16 (June 4-6)

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Day 14 (June 4) I spent the night of the 3rd at an airport hostel for US$18. I got what I paid for. It was gross. I had a burger for dinner, which was almost inedible. For some reason, despite the large numbers of cows all over NZ, they don't know how to make a burger. Plus their version of ketchup ("tomato sauce") is nasty. Anyway, my room had 4 other people in it. I woke up to what I thought was this guy's last breath. I seriously thought he was dying. He would stop breathing for 15 secs or so, and then make a sound like he had been underwater for 3mins and just come up for air. He'd do that about 3 times and then stop for another 15secs. Everyone woke up but him. I eventually started laughing and even made a video of it on my camera to record the sounds. You can listen here: Video

I had a 7am flight, which meant I had to be checked in by 5am. I was tired.

I arrived at Whitsundays airport around 1pm and caught a shuttle into town. The Whitsundays are 74 islands on the northern part of the East coast. The main draw is sailing, but I got in too late Sunday to get on a boat and I only had 2 nights after that, and most cruises are 3 nights. Anyway, after the sailing we did in BVI over New Years I wasn't too concerned. Was looking forward to relaxing on the beach.

I stayed at a hostel again, but this time I got my own room. Only snoring issues I would tolerate were my own. It was not too nice either, and there were some weird "turkeys" hanging out near the rooms which I swear are vultures... The whole place reminded me a lot of Negril.

Day 15 (June 5) I hit the beach for about 4 hours and read. As you can see from the pics, it's a nice looking beach. Only problem is you can't get in the water. They have deadly jellyfish that frequent the area, so they built a lagoon (a large pool). It was nice to sit around and do nothing.

Day 16 (June 6) The other draw of Whitsundays is it's near the Great Barrier Reef. I booked a one-day dive trip out to the reef. It was ok, not what I was expecting. For one, it was overcast so the colors were not as vibrant. Two, we had a 3 hour ferry ride out to the reef that was fairly rough. Our dive group then got on another boat and went another 15 minutes to the dive site. I got 2 dives totaling 1.5hrs but had to ride boats for 6.5hrs. On the way back people were getting sick everywhere. I luckily had Dramamine and didn't get sick.

I am trying to give Australia a chance. I know it has a lot to offer, but I feel rushed here and don't have the freedom to explore. I'm sure Sydney will be nice...

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Photos

Whitsundays sunset
This one's for Tony - he loves sunrises and sunsets...