Airlie Beach & Whitsundays 15.05.-30.05.2017

Yes, you are seeing it right, we spent a very long time in Airlie Beach and fell in love with this city! And there is a reason for that: the city is located in the middle of the Whitsundays region and cuddles up to a steep mountainside. Beautiful landscape and also counts as one of the best sailing areas in the world ⛵️🏝🌏.

The 2 weeks were like a vacation within a vacation 😅. Great campsite, a mega pool, soaked up some color and made great friendships 😊. Our days were very similar, strolling through the beautiful city center, chilling by the pool, cooking something and in the evenings either visiting the party street or playing cards and drinking delicious cider with others in the camp kitchen 😋. We got especially close to a couple. He is Indian but has been living in Sydney since birth, so a true Aussie, and she is from Bremen. We spent a lot of time together and even drove a part of the way to Cairns together (more about that in the next post). They cooked Indian food for us, I have to say, I have never eaten anything spicier in my life! It was burning 🔥! But it was so delicious and of course, it was eaten without cutlery 🍴, so it was much better that way👌!

On the 27th of May, our sailing trip to the Whitsundays was supposed to start. 2 nights 3 days on the boat, snorkeling, tropical rainforest, short hiking trails, and the heavenly 6 km long Whitehaven Beach 😍. It is said to be the whitest beach in the world. One day before, we received the call that the boat 🚣 cannot start for mechanical reasons and we could decide whether we want to leave on the same day, 26.05., only do the tour for one night on the 27th, or if we want to leave for 2 nights on the 28th. Alternative 2 was not an option and neither was 3 because the weather was supposed to worsen! So let's go, pack everything, do the laundry, etc., we were ready to go in 2 hours 😅! Everything works best under time pressure 😭. Hoping not to forget anything, we drove to the meeting point at the harbor. The crew consisted of 3 men, the skipper, his representative, and the host. We were also allowed to help and set sail ⛵️. The boat seemed very narrow for 30 people, but we all had enough space. It was 3 incredibly beautiful days and we had a lot of fun! It says a lot, of course our English really improved in those 3 days 😅. As always on such trips, small groups form and our cool group consisted of 4 Germans (including us), 3 Dutch, 1 Spanish woman, 1 American, 1 Frenchman, very international 😉. We looked awesome in our stinger suits, the protective suits against stingrays, because they are everywhere there 🙈. We snorkeled, visited the beautiful Whitehaven Beach, chilled on the deck, listened to music, enjoyed the sunsets 🌅 and made sure to appreciate the sunrises 🌅. Of course, there was no shower available during that time ❌ 🚿😂, so it was a real highlight to shower again at the campsite 😄. The food was really delicious, sometimes we had wraps and fruit for lunch and stir-fried meat and bolognese for dinner. Cooking for 30 people in such a tiny kitchen, really impressive 🎩. The after-boat party 🎉 at a pub was also amazing! After a fresh shower in the evening, we went to the city to eat, drink, and dance 💃. So many backpackers in one place, and everyone gets along great 👍. It was really funny and beautiful. Lastly, a stopover at McDonald's and off to the campsite! The next day we continued towards Cairns.