Whitsunday Islands

Hello dear ones!

After a long search, we finally found Wi-Fi and can tell you about the Whitsunday Islands 🎉.

Our sailing tour started on Saturday afternoon at half past two, so we could walk to the harbor in a relaxed manner. Once there, we met the others from the group, as well as our skipper and Charly (There were a total of 16 people). Each of us also received a stinger suit to protect against jellyfish while snorkeling. Then we went to the boat, which was much smaller than expected. Charly assigned us our bunks and Maren and I got two tiny beds right next to the toilets- fortunately we didn't spend much time there 😁. Contrary to our concerns, everyone found a place and we set sail.

We were lucky with the weather, because it was nice and sunny, and we still had enough wind for sailing, which unfortunately was not possible in the following days. On the first day, we sailed for several hours to our overnight spot. Meanwhile, Charly told us a lot about safety on the boat and while snorkeling. After that, we could make ourselves comfortable on the deck and enjoy the sun. In the evening, we had a dinner consisting of potato salad, lettuce, chicken, toast, and vegetable patties- it wasn't amazing, but it was okay. As it got very cold and uncomfortable after sunset, we went below deck relatively early and settled into our bunks. The boat was rocking quite a bit, but surprisingly, we slept quite well.

We were woken up at 6 o'clock the next morning, and after a simple breakfast with coffee/tea, toast, and cornflakes, we were taken to the beach by the small dinghy, from where we walked to Whitehaven Beach. Originally, we wanted to be the first ones to arrive there- unfortunately, it didn't work out, but we still got there before the big crowds. First, we went to a lookout point from where we had a good overview of the beach. By the way, it really looks as incredible as in all the pictures on the internet. Then we had three hours of free time on the beach, which went by very quickly on this huge beach. We were picked up again at 10 o'clock. Back on the boat, we had snacks and set off for the first snorkeling spot. The journey (since there was no wind, unfortunately) took about two hours. When we arrived at the spot, we had to put on our stinger suits before we were allowed to go into the cool water. The reef was really beautiful, with lots of colorful corals and especially countless fish. Many of them were swimming in shoals around the reef, and if you let yourself drift on the water's surface, you would sometimes suddenly find yourself in the middle of a shoal and the fish would be very close to you. After exploring the reef thoroughly, we returned to the boat, where we got snacks again. Then we continued on and arrived at the second snorkeling spot after a relatively short time, so it was time to put on the stinger suits again and jump into the water. The second reef was quite similar to the first one, but there were already quite a few people in the water when we arrived, so we liked the first reef much better. When everyone was back on the boat, we sailed to a bay where we spent the night. Fortunately, it wasn't as windy, so it wasn't as cold and the boat was very calm on the water. We had dinner there, this time spaghetti with Bolognese/vegetarian sauce and baguette, and after dinner, we quickly fell into bed after this exhausting day.

On the last day, we got up a bit later (around 7 o'clock), had breakfast, and went snorkeling again immediately afterward. There was a lot of sea grass at this spot, so the chances of seeing turtles were very high. Unfortunately, we only caught a very brief glimpse of one, but otherwise the reef was also quite beautiful, although there were quite a few jellyfish, which scared some of our fellow boatmates away. When everyone was back on board, we started the journey back home. We tried to sail again, but we probably wouldn't have arrived until today if our skipper hadn't started the engine again. We reached the harbor at around 11:30 am and eagerly walked to the hostel, looking forward to a real shower.

The tour with the boat was definitely a cool experience, but we wouldn't have wanted to stay there any longer, especially because of the toilets and the lack of showers. In the evening, we met up with some people from the tour in a bar and had dinner and drinks together, which was a great way to end the trip.

Today, I (Maren) did my skydive and fortunately returned alive and unharmed. I left the hostel relatively relaxed at 10:30 am this morning to go to the meeting point where I was picked up. After a 40-minute drive, we arrived at the airfield, as well as the waiting room, where a few other people were eagerly waiting to finally get on the small plane. I had to wait a bit longer until I could meet the professional tandem skydiver to whom I entrusted my life. After he gave me a brief introduction on how to behave during the jump, we boarded the small plane. In this case, 'small' is not an exaggeration, because there was only room for 4 people (including the pilot). As we flew higher and higher, I could once again enjoy the great view. Up to this point, I was quite calm and could laugh at the jokes of the person behind me, who joked about possible complications and their consequences. But when we reached 15,000 feet and the door of the plane opened, I felt the nervousness rising in me. We were above the clouds and in that moment, I realized what was about to happen. Of course, there was no hesitation, and my tandem partner pulled me into the depths with him. After a minute of free fall, he opened our parachute, and I was even allowed to steer it myself. It was an indescribable feeling to fly so high up in the air and to look down on the beautiful landscape. Unfortunately, time passed by too quickly, and we landed on the beach, where more staff members were already waiting for us. So, if you ask me, I would do it again!

We will stay in Airlie Beach until Friday, as we are still waiting for our bank cards to arrive at a post office here. Once they are here, we will continue down the coast.

See you soon, Maren and Sarah!

P.S.: Pictures will be uploaded as soon as possible, but unfortunately the Wi-Fi here is not sufficient.