From paradise to paradise

We haven't written for a while, and that can only mean one thing: we've had a lot of adventures!!

First off, because apparently it's the most exciting question, our car is running smoothly again and hopefully will take us all the way to Melbourne without any further repairs.

So our journey continued from Cairns to the Atherton Tablelands. The region is mainly known for its expansive, hilly, green meadows where countless cows graze. That's why there are farms, milk museums, milk bars, cheese factories, and fresh milk everywhere you look. The second major attraction are the many waterfalls that you can hike or drive to. For example, there's the Milla Milla Falls, famous for the Fa commercial, or the Waterfall Circuit with the Zillie Falls and Mungali Falls. Often, you can swim in the waters and even swim under the waterfall! Depending on the height of the waterfall, it can be painful... but also a pretty cool feeling! We particularly liked the Milla Milla Falls, even though the weather didn't cooperate this time.

Generally, the rainy season has started in the north, so we drove as far south as possible without detours in heavy rain. In Townsville, we boarded the ferry to Magnetic Island under sunny skies. Magnetic Island has its own unique life away from the hustle and bustle on the mainland. After choosing to hike instead of renting bikes, we walked about 6-7 hours across the island before we finally reached Horseshoe Bay completely exhausted. Boy, were we glad to finally eat something after our cinnamon donut breakfast in the morning...! But it had the advantage that we could see snakes, koalas, cockatoos, rainbow lorikeets, and (unfortunately) palm-sized cockroaches in the wild :) After a night in the hostel and a morning snorkeling tour, we headed back to Townsville.

We had to drive for several more hours so that we could be in Airlie Beach the next morning. But it was worth it because our sailing adventure around the Whitsunday Islands started on that day! We sailed out to the islands on a trimaran, which are mainly known for their stunning beaches and coral reefs. Admittedly, if you suffer from claustrophobia, sleeping on the ship is not an option. The double berth was accessible through a small hatch from above and estimated to be 140x180cm in size. But we survived the two days with a little sleep wine and were rewarded with incredible views!! We snorkeled in the middle of schools of fish, swam next to a turtle, and walked on THE Whitehaven Beach. I recently wrote that the beach in Cape Tribulation is a paradise, but Whitehaven Beach surpasses it (check out the photo!). So for us, it's from one paradise to the next!

After our sailing tour, we stayed one more night in Airlie Beach because our Skydive was next on the agenda. And since we're writing to you now, we survived it all :P But what an experience! In the plane on the way up, we tried to cover up our nervousness with the view of the Whitsunday Islands, but once the hatch opens, any laughter is gone... as you can also see on the series of photos we received! And then it happens very quickly. One after another jumps out of the plane and feels weightlessness as it rapidly descends 15,000 feet. After a few seconds, we were able to enjoy the feeling a little and experience the incredible freedom in the air. Like I said, an incredible experience!

Next, we're heading south to Rockhampton, 1770, and Fraser Island. See you soon!