Oz Experience- Part 2-Airlie Beach & The Whitsundays!!!!!!

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Well so been in Oz for 2 weeks now!!!!! Really doesn't feel real at all, i'm on the other side of the world and feels like i cud be down the road from home really apart from the weather is way too good!!!! Had a great time in Cairns and have now travelled down the coast to Mission Beach, Magnetic Island and then Airlie Beach where the beautiful Whitsunday Islands are!!!!

I'm pretty much totally knackered!!!!! I've been away for 3 weeks now, in some ways it has gone so fast and then in some ways it seems like ages, guess thats normal though. Been feeling bit ill really for the last 10 days or so have basically just felt dizzy n headachey everyday but i can't distinguish between hangovers, heat, tiredness, travelling, sea sickness/motion etc to work out what it is, so at the moment i have to carry on just being dizzy everyday!!! oh well could be worse!!!! sure most people have worse problems than me lol!!!! so yer not feeling the best health wise but otherwise cannot complain at all!!!

Australia really is seeming like too much of a holiday, i feel really guilty not working now and wish i had my working visa so i could break the travelling down with working, i didn't get i though as wasn't sure i was going to like it, have no idea why!!! So yer i just have been on the move non-stop for 3 weeks now, carrying a big heavy backpack, moving from place to place either by coach or ferry etc jus seems like ur always on the go, always packing ur bags up and forever thinking forward!!!!! So this is the real travelling i guess, it's not just like a holiday really but kind of as no work, lots of sun and sight seeing etc. Also the novelty of meeting so many new people is wearing off now as i have probably met over 200 people in 3 weeks and the amount of info you take in/tell them about yourself is just non-stop, so its knackering. Was really fun at first but now it is getting tiring but still good, i can't complain it's all part of the exeprience!!! Still meeting so many lovely people from all round the world, i travelled on the coach and met an australian woman from sydney who was really sweet and told me to email her etc when i get to sydney, i met two funky swedish girls on the coach who ended up styaing in my hostel (magnums) at airlie beach, they are lovely both very blonde but cool went out with them etc and spent day at lagoon with them, also met quite a few english/german/australian people in the hostel so we all had a good night out.

So yer arrived in Airlie Beach, it is pretty small can't really even call it a town as it is just one strip of shops/bars/hostels/restaurants etc and then the big public lagoon swimming pool, which is like the one in cairns but nicer, so that's airlie basically, it's cool, laid back, hot weather, australian, still fairly pricey as all of aus is, quite touristy but very nice.

Stayed at Magnums hostel which is right in the centre for 2 nights, first night a group of about 15 of us all lovely people went out to a few bars then a club so that was a load more alcohol consumed (oh yer p.s. swear i must be putting on loads of weight from drink and food he he you know me....oh dear ill have to try and loose it soon!!!!), so yer good night out on Tuesday night, then Wednesday we spent the day round the lagoon which was very chilled, sunbathing, swimming n generally sleeping off our hangovers in the sun, so really helping rehydrate us!!!!!! Then wed night i sorted myself out ready to go sailing the next day and ended up getting forced to drink some goon!!! Oh yer goon-boxed wine in australia which is very cheap $9 a box!!!! so all the backpackers live on goon-cheap wine!!!! mmm nice!!!! my first time drinking it here, should be remembered forever as sure there is way more to come especially if i get back out here!!!! So wed night got to bed early ready to go sailing on the Whitsundays.......

So Thursday morning i have to get up and check out of my room by 10am, getting fed up of constantly checking in and out of places seem to be doing it all the time now its knackering!!!! wish i had my working visa then i cud just stay in a place for a few motnhs at a time which still isn't that long amount of time!!! So checked out, had to leave my main backpack at the sailing shop and pack a small one for on the boat!!!! Then had to walk about 20 minutes in the pounding midday sun to the marina carrying all the drink i wanted for the two days on the boat as it was BYO drink boat, so 3 bags of alcohol and 20 minutes later i arrived at the marina to meet my group for my sailing on the Whitsundays....yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!! finally heaven and relaxing!!!!!!!!

So the group for the boat..........okay two english guys dan & sam, 2 newcastle guys mark & matt who were gay, an irish girl ellen and a scottish girl erica who were friends, 2 german girls together, one german guy by himself and another german girl steffi by herself, then 3 older english woman older being 30ish, and a group of 4 lovely french people audrey, adeline, anaisa & penos and then me....think that was it 18 people and then 3 crew!!!!! So that was the group quite a mix but all very cool, turned out lovely, we all got on obviously and had a good time.

Erica & Ellen had met Matt & Mark further up the coast and had travelled down with them, dan & sam had met in melbourne and been hagning out since they were funny, steffi the german girl became my bestest friend we shared a room (or kind of did) and we got on well, the french crew were lovely two sisters and one of theirs boyf and best friend they were funny and cool and the others all ok as well.

So we boarded our sailing boat................the Condor!!!!!! Some famous sailing boat that has won loads of competitions!!!! how funny!!!!! and we had chosen to spend 2 days on it, right so everyone goes sailing on the whitsundays there are loads of different sailing boats and i just said put me on any old one!!!!! So the Condor it was, none of us really knew what to expect but yer it was a biggish maroon sailing boat!!!! quite classy and nice!!!!! We boarded the boat at 1pm thursday afternoon, we set off sailing, cracked open some drinks straight away, we had two eskis (australian big cool boxes) full of drink!!!! awahooooo!!!! everyone chilled out, chatted and got to know everyone which was cool, meeting more new people, everyone with a different story to tell...love it!!!! So we had a few drinks and sailed out quite a way to a bay where we anchored up and the all dived in for a well deserved alcohol/sun fuelled swim!!!!! so all cooled off a bit then got back on deck where we continued drinking and had some of the best nachos ive ever had (bbq sauce apprently spices them up....there you go guys tip for ya!!!!), so food n drink, then as the sunset we had dinner, chicken, vegetables n bread etc all very tasty......yay free food....backpacker appreciates and over indulges as have been living off a loaf of bread and noodles for a while now!!!!! More and more drink and goon and drinking games!!!!! Oh yer by now i have a cold coming!!!! woke up in the morn with a sore throat and by the end of the day it was a well n truely blocked nose!!! So me and steffi went to bed, we had been put in the only seperarte little cabin, everyone else was in the main cabin, it was bloody tiny!!!!!! please see pics!!!!! so tiny!!!!! it was kinda like a bunk but you could hardly lye down and certainly couldn't sit up in bed, i fell asleep ok although nose very blocked but woke up 2 hours later and completely panicked as couldn't breathe at all, someone had shut the cabin door n we were so stuffed in i could hardly get out to breathe lol!!!! So after that the guys gave me prime position in the main cabin lol yayyyyyyyyyyy!!!!! so then i could sleep.

So 2nd day on the boat.................we got nicely awoken at 6am having just missed the sunrise unfortunately, we all got up half still drunk and sat up on the deck to watch the sun coming up oh yer and take in the beauty that i haven't yet mentioned....the whitsundays are totally gorgeous, amazing, beautiful, ideallic, paradise etc very nice!!!!! so took in the beautiful scenery, had breakfast and then got dropped over to the main island where white haven beach is. We clambered up over the island to the top of the hill, oh yer cold is very bad now, can't breathe and worried as don't have inhaler with me and feel like poo :-(, so we reach the lookout point where you can look out over white haven beach and the islands...........it's the mopst amazing view or sight i have ever seen in my life, if you've ever seen postcards or pics of it (which i hadn't before) it is as nice as it looks if not nice (please refer to my pics!!!!), then from the lookout we made our way down to the paradise beach which is too amazinfg to describe and by now it is only 8.30am. So we all sat on the amazing fine whiteist sand in the world surrounded by swurling blue and white clear clear clear water!!!!! mmmm heaven....mmmmm backpacking????..........mmmm luxury holiday springs to mind agian!!!!! wasn't exepecting it to be this amazing, so we all took in the beauty and took lots fo pics which you need to see to not quite capture the beauty...so book ur tickets to oz to see it for yourself!!!!! So back on the boat at 10.30 am where we set sail to another spot to do some snorkelling.....not the best snorkelling ive done, crap googles and not that clear but nice reeef and i saw a sting ray right under me and a few turtles on the surface!!!! so that was cool, then we had lunch yum yum more free food....i like!!!!!! then we set sail to point no.3 where we would stop again for the night, watch the sunset as we sailed round!!!! mmm amazing!!! then we had a big fat bbq with steak and few more drinks yayyy!!!! all very nice!!!

next day....saturday awoke and had breakfast and set sail back to airlie beach!!!! lovely trip, i'm tired of typing so wont write much more!!!!!

So sat 6th oct ,been gone 3 weeks, in airlie beach totally knackered with a stinking dizzy cold!!!! England play australia in the rugby tonight not that i'd normally care one bit but its big here and we going out with our group for dinner/drinks so yer im gonna head off asap!!!

write more soon, hope everyone good xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

ahhh thought id write a bit more to this entry before i leave airlie beach today, its now sun 7th oct....my bros 18th bday!!!! ahhh ill phone home later :-) so have checked out of magnums now and have a coach booked for 8pm tonight 13 hours over night down to hervey bay....great fun!!!! oh ot be a backpacker!!!! if you haven't guessed already by now i really wish i had my working visa and could live over here for a while as there is too much to take in and do in a month or so you need a couple of years, im hoping to come back fro 2008 with my working visa and do 3 months fruit picking sdo you get another years visa free as well so then i can have 2 years out here working/travelling and then travel back home through asia for a few months!!!! ya y i am really gonna try and do this so fingers crossed ill be travelling for a whiel now!!!!

so as i have no room for the day i am gonna spend the day by the lagoon but first i thought id get up to date on the net!!!!

so last night decided to go out in the end although very ill and tired...sat night in airlie, rugby on & meeting boat group couldn't really miss it!!!! went to beaches bar where it was totally packed out with loads fo aussies yum!!!! very busy england v's aus!!!! good night, free drink from the boat crew etc so all good and even better we beat the aussies ha ha how gutted were they!!!!! so went to bed very alcohol full again and the 3 english guys in my room came in at 3am and woke me up so ended up siotting up talking to them for ages so completely knackered....but its ok i have to sleep on a coach tonight so i should feel better after that lol!!!!!!

so airlie and whitsundays are awesome now down to hervey bay & fraser island......but i have pretty much decided now that im not gonna spend too much money here in oz as im plannign on coming back so im gonna save my money for new zealand & fiji instead yayyy!!!

so not too much longe rin oz me thinks as i can coem back here and work and see it all then!!!! so glad i'm only 23 and have no major commitments means i can bum round the world for a coupld of years now awahoooo!!!!!


P.S. MORE PICS TO COME JUST BATT HAS GONE ON MY CAMERA FOR NOW :-( MORE TO COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Comments

[Eleanore]

hey babe
glad your well, kept checking my emails waiting for ur update. Glad ur having a wicked time. How bout meeting in sri lanka for a few days in august next year then as ur not far from there?Then that can be another place u can tick off!!! Have booked the wedding and a few other people have already booked into come with us next yr to sri lanka which is good. so u think u r gonna go bk to oz for sure then?when u thinking?u still coming bk in december? quite a few people have had stinking colds me being one of them just getting over it myself!so feel for u. wheather has been quite good the last couple of days still nt as hot as out there, bet ur getting a lush tan!!! ok babe keep in contact and email soon xxxx