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Published: January 28th 2009
After weeks of anticipation of weather or not Jeff's sister Heather would be in Australia when we were, we found out she was! Jeff and I took an overnight bus from Cairns to Airlie Beach, where Heather and her boyfriend Jair live. Chris decided to go on his own for a few days and stopped in Mission Beach, whereas Jeff and I continued down south further. We arrived a couple days before Heather was going to get there so we check ourselves into a hostel and spent some good quality Jeff and I time. The weather was a bit hit or miss so when it was sunny we took the opportunity to lounge by the huge lagoon they have in town here. Due to the jellyfish situation people cannot swim in the ocean so I think these lagoons are great ideas. The water is refreshing and everyone just hangs out during the day.
Heather arrived in town late the second day we were there and she picked us up, we had some dinner and we headed out to this bungalow we would be staying in. Heather and Jair have been back in California for the past three months and they
are not quite settled back here in Airlie Beach so she was trying to figure out her living situation when Jeff and I bombarded. Heather and Jair were planning on living in this bungalow once they got settled back in here, but I'm not quite sure any of us knew what to expect.
We arrived to a dark, bug infested bungalow where the kitchen and bathroom are inside and the living area is in an open space (well minus the roof overhead!). We chalked it up as another experience on this crazy adventure and the three of us slept on the fold out couch and a single mattress. What we didn't factor in was the mosquitoes and the flies. We were constantly getting bit throughout the night and when a storm came in and the wind blew the small side flaps let in plenty of water. I don't think any of us got a good night's sleep so we decided to take action. Jair wasn't there yet and so I think Heather was determined to make it look like a house before he arrived. We immediately went the next day and purchased a huge mosquito net for the bed
as well as a million citronella candles to keep the bugs away. Heather spent a good part of her day cleaning the place out and hosing down all the bugs that had made their way into every part of the house. As the days progressed we realized the bungalow had lots of pets: croaking green frogs (which are charming at first, but annoying when you are trying to sleep) , a few lizards, and plenty of cockroaches. Still, by the end of our 5 nights there it looked like a home and it was quite charming. I think we were all just a little shocked the first night.
Our first day with Heather she took us sightseeing around the area (after we got all the necessary mosquito supplies). We went for a hike to a deserted beach with turquoise water and to a swimming hole with an amazing waterfall that flows into it. I didn't go for a swim at the beach due to jellies, but the swimming hole was more than refreshing. You were able to swim right up to the water fall and sit there in it. I had some difficulty because I could not open eyes
for fear my contacts would fly out. Overall it was a great day and I had a blast!
We met some of Heather's mates when we were there too. They are fellow boatmen and were such fun characters. We went to the harbor to see them on their boat. They are currently fixing it up because they are being paid to sail all the way to Thailand to deliver the boat to its new home. Not a bad gig huh? They are getting paid to sail a boat to Thailand, being able to stop along the way and see the world. Apparently the guy who bought the boat is quite wealthy and is paying good money for that sort of thing. I want to know where I sign up!?
The main reason you visit Airlie Beach is for the Whitsunday Islands. The Whitsunday Islands are a collective of continental islands off the coast of Queensland. Since Heather and Jair used to work on sailing trips here, we were hoping we could get the hook up on an overnight trip out to the islands. Unfortunately it is pretty hard to set things up when you have been gone for
the past three months traveling California. She called so many people and things are so laid back here no one really called back. So... we decided we couldn't miss the islands and decided to book a day trip on this really fun ocean rafting boat. It would take us out all day to the best places and we wouldn't miss anything. Of course, the morning of the trip one of Heather's friends calls back to let us know he is able to get us on a sailing trip- leaving in a few hours! Since we had already booked into this day trip, we passed, but definitely don't regret going on the trip we did.
The ocean rafting trip took us out to Whitsunday Island. Whitsunday Island is the largest island in the Whitsunday group. The island contains the most popular spot in the islands: the magnificent pure-white sands of Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet,. First we hiked up to Hill Inlet where we saw panoramic views of the beaches down below. The sand was made up of almost pure silica and they were blindingly white. The ocean was teal blue and it was gorgeous. We then trekked down to
the sand for some amazing views. These patches of sand go all the way out into the ocean and you can walk on them far off shore. It was by far the prettiest beach I have ever seen in my entire life! Jeff and I walked along the sand, getting away from the crowds and really taking in the beauty of this place. It was breathtaking and photos really do not do it justice. All of the Whitsundays are made up of coral from the Great Barrier Reef, when coral broke off in storms it turned white as it died, then was deposited on a small mound under the waves. Over millions of years, more dead coral piled up and rose above the sea creating an island, the islands became bigger and bigger and the coral was crushed by the wind and waves and turned into some of the purest white sand. Plant seeds were carried across the ocean and landed on the islands and the trees grew into forests that are still there today. This is where Whitehaven beach got its name and why the Whitsunday islands' beaches are so white. From there it was time for lunch and
a swim (in another sexy stinger suit of course) and then it was off to do some snorkeling on the inner reef of the Great Barrier Reef.
I once again forged against my fear and went snorkeling- holding Jeff's hand the entire time! I did OK again and we saw some pretty cool fish and gorgeous reef. The visibility was not that great and made swimming in the open water from the boat to the reef kind of eerie. I kept waiting for a shark to suddenly appear out of nowhere! But once again I survived...
The day was a blast and Jeff and I had a great time hanging with each other for a day.
The next few days were spent relaxing with Heather. Jair came up the day before we left and we were able to meet him and spend some time with him. He took us out on his boat around the bay in Airlie Beach and Heather, Jeff and Jair went wakeboarding. I wasn't about to try because I am not any good and I was not about to embarrass myself in front of strangers.
We left that night on an overnight bus
to Hervey Bay where Jeff and I spent two days just us. I guess we thought this town would be a bit more entertaining, but in retrospect we probably shouldn't have stopped here. If gave us a good excuse to do some laundry and get some much needed internet research done! Plus I got to Skype with Lindsay and see Sienna walking!!! That was a good highlight of Hervey Bay! We spend the evenings walking on the beach and looking at the thousands of bats that would go flying at dusk and we spent some time relaxing and watching DVD’s in the room. It was a nice relaxing few days to ourselves before meeting back up with Chris in Rainbow Beach.
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mary
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another highlight of hervey bay...
what about hearing alec's teenager voice on skype?! :)