Island Paradise(s)

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Sydney-East Coast Oz
Michael Sneddon ISLAND PARADISE(S)

They say that Australia is paradise and this week I discovered why. I left Sydney having jumped on a cheap flight up to a place called Airlie Beach, which is gateway to a group of 74 islands called the Whitsundays up on the north(ish) east coast. No trip to Australia would be complete without visiting the Great Barrier Reef and this was my plan.

The Great Barrier Reef is of course a natural wonder of the world and the largest living thing on the planet. However, it is predicted that it may not still be there in 2050 - so best to see it sooner rather than later right!?

Airlie Beach is not so much a town as a resort. There are more tourists and backpackers here than locals and the atmosphere can be summed up in one word: party. At night Airlie would not look out of place on an island such as Ibiza or one of the other party resorts in Europe. Walking down the street you are greeted with thumping beats from the numerous large, open-aired bars.

As usual I arrived with no plans. This almost backfired as it turned out that the hostels were quite full (on a Tuesday night in late June - I was shocked!). Nonetheless I wasnt the only person to have not arranged accommodation, as an American traveller called Joyce and a Canadian called Galbyen hadnt either. We began chatting and decided to book a twin room in the hostel, with 1 person sleeping on the floor - worked out cheaper than the dorm beds so all good in the end! Plus my lack of planning had allowed me to bump into two new random friends - always fun!

The hostel was very basic, with a really small kitchen but set in a cool 'jungley' (I like to invent words) area. The northern parts of Australia are tropical areas, but we had been informed we'd arrived in the middle of a freakish cold steak (as we had in Sydney too)... But as in Sydney the sun seems to shine on the fortunate (me) and it has been sunny every day since I left Sydney (but still a little cold in the evenings).

Since it was late at night, we settled into the Airlie lifestyle with a few beers and a few laughs before retiring reasonably early. The next day I had one thing on my mind: beach volleyball. The north east of Australia is famous for beaches and surfing... I see beaches as only really useful for one thing and volleyball is it!

There isnt really much to Airlie, after a walk around town I went to check out the lagoon and (small) beach - the lagoon in particular is very nice. Galbyen agreed to join in a volleyball game (hostel had a court) so I began the process of recruiting some more players - which I managed to do and we enjoyed a nice little knockabout as the sun went down.

I had also during the day went on a mission to decide what I wanted to do. There is a huge array of sailing tours and boat cruises available out to the Whitsundays, I was looking for the cheapest! I managed to find, at the back of a leaflet, a pretty good deal involving 1 nights stay on an island so booked that for the next day... wasnt so chuffed with my bargain hunting when I learned the pick up was 7:15am!

After that revelation you would have thought I would have settled for a quiet night in... Not me! Some boxed wine (which is colourfully referred to as 'goon') was purchased and drinks had before heading out to several bars in town, watching the Jelly Wrestling competition in Mass (like I said, this is a party resort like you might find on Ibiza) and partaking (thanks to Galbyen) in several shots of tequila...

I've no idea how I woke up in time the next day as I awoke lying on top of my bed, having set no alarm I assumed the worst but consulting my watch it was 6:10am!! I managed to get my stuff together and make it on to the ferry (just) and after some cups of tea felt a little better - the sights of the beautiful islands we were whizzing past helped.

After stopping at a couple of islands (on one I bumped into a girl called Anna who used to be one of my customers at Edinburgh Castle - further evidence that it is a small world!) we dropped the anchor at Whitehaven beach - supposed to be Australia's nicest beach. The name of the beach gives you a clue as to it's nature, it is very very white (due to the silica in the sand). I did not want to pass up the chance to play beach volleyball on Australia's finest beach but, due to a combination of the lack of enthusiasm from the other passengers and some shoddy equipment, I settled down and relaxed on the beach instead - enjoying a nice hungover nap!

After stopping at some other island resorts, all of which were really really nice, I was dropped off at Long Island Beach where I would spend the night. Given the price I had paid for the tour, I expected a cheap backpacker dorm with not much there... Boy was I shocked! I was basically staying in a plush holiday resort which had some backpacker dorms attached - there was a pool, spa, sauna, games room, tennis courts, gym, mini golf course and... beach volleyball court!

The island reminded me off the islands off Fiji. In fact one American girl I spoke to thought it was nicer than most of the places she had been in the Caribbean. So I decided to relax and take it easy on the island - something that I actually find quite hard to do... But first I wanted a game of beach volleyball... I managed to gather a few people to play and we had a little knock around. After that I played badminton on the beach with a cool Canadian couple I met called Terrance and Sarah.

There was a bit of an issue with money - I had been unable to get to my Aussie bank account in time (because it shut at 4pm) so had no cash with me (I dont have a card for the account)... since the cafe didnt take credit card I was a bit screwed! Terrance offered me some food but I didnt want to freeload - however behind my back he arranged for me to have a half pizza! Very nice of him, I will catch up with him again in Sydney and buy him a beer as thanks!

Other than that I just relaxed around the resort. We watched the sunset over the beach which was amazing. At night I sat in the spa listening to the live music they had arranged... this is the life!

The next day I spent most of the day on the island, just chilling and lazing around - trying (unsuccessfully) to fit in another game of beach volleyball. I left as the sun went down, sailing into the sunset at night - very nice. It was time to get a bit more lively in Airlie Beach!

On one of the boat cruises I had met a couple of Australian girls from Melbourne, Gemma and Jess, who were in Airlie on holiday, so I joined them there for a couple of drinks. They were a very lively and friendly couple who seemed impressed that I had come all this way on my own! I also met Galbyen again, briefly, and once again took the chance to sample Airlie's lively nightlife, I had great fun! I sampled a lot of Australian beers but nothing outstanding, other than a beer called Hahn's Super Dry that was quite good...

I had been given a tip that there was another beautiful island further up the east coast called Magnetic Island. It is surrounded by the Great Barrier Reef with plenty of spots to snorkel off the island. Sounded good to me so I jumped on a bus up there.

Once again I was blown away by the beauty of the island - it was stunning. On yet another great day (the sun is following me around apparently!) I toured the island in style... on a scooter! I'd never ridden a scooter before, they were quite cheap, a great way to see the whole island and most importantly a lot of fun! So I scooted up and down the island, enjoying the beautiful beaches and sights.

I did stop to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef. The coral was beautiful - not mind blowing and not as great as I thought it would be but still awesome. Apparently to see the best of the reef you need to head further out - but this costs much more money. Nonetheless, in certain spots I found the reef was stunning. Homer came with me and I also took a cheap waterproof disposable camera to get some footage of the Reef. Hopefully the photos will turn out.

At night I just chilled in the hostel once again, catching up with the Wimbledon action. The Australian coverage is top notch - almost as good (if not better) than coverage back home. They do love their sports over here after all!

The next day I had a pre-breakfast game of volleyball, possibly one of the worst volleyball courts I've played on in Oz - gravelly sand, cheap net and rubbish ball but good fun anyway... I relaxed around the hostel, had a walk down the beach before heading off. I would've liked to have spent more time there, but I had a flight booked for the following day from Airlie to Brisbane - the problems when you make plans is that you have to stick to them!

Back down to Airlie and back to the opposite extreme once more: island paradise to party town! Some drinks were had with an English lad named Fred from my room and we hit every bar in town . I bumped into a whole bunch of Irish girls I had met in New Zealand (I'll say it again: the world is a small place!) and a fun night was had in an Irish bar... Good end to a long stay up the east coast!

So, in the Whitsundays and Magnetic Island I've experienced two of the reasons why Australia is referred to as paradise.

I cant wait to find some more.

Next stop: Brisbane aka Brisvegas!

Mich

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