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Getting off at Airlie Beach in the morning. After a 6-hour long overnight bus ride, Kevin and I arrived at Airlie Beach around 6:15 in the morning on March 21st. Airlie Beach is a cute little town right on the coast, and is very popular with tourists as it allows for amazing access to the Whitsunday Islands. Because we arrived so early in the morning, we had to wait a long time to check into our hostel (check-in time wasn’t until 1pm) so we used the morning to do a bit of exploring of the town. We found the local McDonald’s, which is always popular for us because of the free Wi-Fi! Haha And we discovered the man-made lagoon, located right by the water, which is a necessity in the hot weather! Swimming in the ocean is strongly discouraged from Airlie Beach all the way up to Cairns between October and April (and cautioned the rest of the year) due to the presence of Box Jellyfish, very poisonous!! So some of the bigger towns along the coast usually offer lagoons or large public swimming pools as an alternative.
After checking in, Kev and I had a long nap (much needed!) and then met up with our good British
Warning
Definitely makes you scared to go in the water. friend Keith in one of the local pubs. This was his last night in town before heading out on one of the Whitsunday sailing cruises. We tried some Aussie beer and played a few games of pool. Kevin and I against Keith. Really good fun! In fact, Airlie Beach was a good town for running into people we had met along our trip. Our roommates at one point were a Manitoba foursome spending a couple of months in Australia whom we had first met weeks earlier in Yamba, and that morning we ran into Becky and Matt, a couple from the UK we had originally met in Noosa! When everyone’s doing the same trip in the same direction, it’s funny how often you’ll run into each other!
The next day we decided it was time to book our own Whitsunday Islands tour. This is difficult decision because there are just so many options! Tons of tour companies offer many different types of tours all on different types of boats. Some are large, some small, some catamarans, some sailboats. There are one day tours, two day tours, three day tours. Some offer scuba diving, some just snorkeling. After spending over
Fountain
A little water from everyone, even your pets! an hour at a tour company’s office we decided to take a 3-day, 2-night tour on a 13-metre long catamaran, a motorized catamaran (no sails), called Power Play. Included in the price were all meals and snacks, with scuba diving and drinks extra. I especially really wanted to make sure I got to go scuba diving, this was very important for me, and this boat guaranteed good diving opportunities. After booking the trip, which we would be going on in two days time, we spent part of the afternoon, which was so hot, at the lagoon relaxing. 😊
We spent more time at the lagoon the next day, Monday. We also, of course, took full advantage of the Wi-Fi at McDonald’s. That evening we went for a walk around town and on the water, and enjoyed a beautiful Airlie Beach sunset. After dinner Kevin dropped by McDonald’s for a bit more internet, and met some Germans also traveling along the east coast. They were brother and sister, and he spent a good 2-3 hours chatting with them! Anyways, finally the next day we left for our Whitsunday Islands adventure!
Hillary (and Kevin)
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