Whitsundays - Avatar Experience!

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Airlie beach

- Rain, Roadworks and Rubbish kitchens
Airlie beach is the gateway to Whitsundays Islands, and a popular stop for backpackers. The rain, roadworks and rubbish kitchen in the hostel were made up by our favourite café, where we found Nemo amd Dory happily swimming along together. The lagoon would have been another highlight if the heavens hadn't decided to open everytime we sat down.

- I'm so over hostels
After being rudely awoken at 6.30am by a girl banging the door down after a night out, she proceeded to have sexual relations with an uninvited male, much to the discomfort of the dorm full of people she had just woken up!

Whitsundays - The Avatar



After rumours circulating that the engine was broken, we were pleased to find the 40ft trimaran sitting at thw dock waiting for us. The good news continued when we got "upgraded" to private accomodation on the wing of the boat in a "luxury" pod.

The best characteristics and main selling points of our nightly prison cell/ sleeping pod were:
- smelled of gasoline
- accompanied by bed bugs
- unbearably hot
- constant sloshing sounds
- leaked when it rained (which was A LOT)
- cramped and only just big enough to fit the two of us in



We weren't the only ones to get the VIP treatment, Sarah and Nicole whose expectations were the champagne chilling and bowl of grapes waiting for them in their private room. They were equally as unimpressed.

Luckily we had acccumulated a group of friends from further down the coast so we took over half the boat which was fortunate as sea-sickness, tiredness and staggering around the boat made socialising was not as easy.

Everyone was given superhero costumes to go snorkelling ...because jellyfish don't sting superheroes!



Rach and Nicole nearly dying snorkelling...Rach maybe wasn't quite as dramatic

I don't like boats, I don't like the sea, I don't like snorkelling, I don't know what I'm doing here! !"

N.Rabet 2013

Rach had a bit of trouble getting back into the boat... it was like jack when rose let go!





We were the only two snorkellers who managed to feed elvis the giant fish who gobbled bread straight from our hands.



Tom also made friends with a fish..although he turned out to be a bit clingy and wasnt well rehearsed in personal space at one point trying to swim into his ear.



The weather wasn't quite on our side...rainy season, who knew! Rach and Tom certainly didn't. It was a choice of sit outside and get wet or sit inside and feel sick.

It went from this...



To this... in a matter of seconds!!



The rope swing and jumping off the boat. While Tom proved quite the acrobat performing backflips amd somersaults, our friend Rachel entered the water in spectacular fashion bellyflopping not once, but on two occasions.





Snow sand like Whitehaven Beach.

The sand was pure white due to the 90%!p(MISSING)ure silica and was compared by some to be like walking on snow or flour. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. ..who are we to argue.







Unfortunately overexcitement to see a shark, a German man fell down our prison hole and gashed his leg. "I saw bone..." Rach exclaimed before promptly fainting. The crew were really helpful though, as Ollie, the first on the scene brought a single plaster. Good job his wife was a nurse. ..

As a result of the incident, the schedule had to be changed and we had to return closer to port so we were left navigating blind in the dark, an awesome feat by skipper Dale. Whilst respecting how difficult this actually was, sitting out in the dark and the rain on the netting, we didnt quite share Roxy's enthusiasm for how "amazing" an experience it was.

The night was not a complete disaaster as we had a little taste of home with Ollie's roast beef, mashed potatoes, veg and gravy for dinner. Everyone's plates were practically licked clean.

Getting off the boat was harder than Rach anticipated as she still felt like she was on it for the next two days...someone found their sea legs!

Some highlights of the trip...

* The Company

* The biscuits

* Bedtime Stories

* Sunset

* Josh mastering the 'flash of my camera'

* Sammy's snorkelling Adventures

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