Whitsundays

First of all, I just uploaded the last photos of Melbourne to the 'hello Melbourne' blog. I didn't want to create a new blog just for that.

The time at the Whitsunday Islands was amazing! It was so beautiful there! And finally hot! I was sweating so much. Around 34°C (93°F) every day. I stayed in Airlie Beach. My hostel was cool. So many great people. We played card games, went out for drinks, and chatted until late at night. It was so great mainly because of the people there. Airlie is a small beach town with cafes, restaurants, and a few shops. A typical promenade. There is also a man-made lagoon. It wasn't a special place to cool off with the warm water, but at least there were no jellyfish, etc. It's jellyfish season now. The ones that are dangerous are only as big as the smallest finger's fingernail.. the pinky nail ;) That's why everyone in the water has to wear those suits. The blue ones you see in the photo.

From there, I also booked my tour. I took a package that included a flight over Whitehaven Beach and the Great Barrier Reef, as well as an ocean rafting boat tour to Whitehaven Beach and 2 snorkeling spots. It was so awesome! First the flight. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and it was high tide at the beach, but Whitehaven Beach still looked amazing from above, and then the Great Barrier Reef! OMG, I was truly impressed. To see something like that! It's unbelievable how beautiful it looks. And to fly over it

The rafting tour was so much fun. There were about 15 people on the speedboat with good music and lots of wind in our hair. Dreadlocks alert, I must say :) Snorkeling was okay. I've seen better places. And unfortunately, it was a bit cloudy due to the previous full moon. We only snorkeled at the Whitsunday Islands, not at the Great Barrier Reef. That was too far out.. and I'm sure it's amazing there. But the fish were swimming right in front of our noses. And then we finally arrived at Whitehaven Beach!! First, we went up to a viewpoint from the back of the island. Took the obligatory photos from there. Unfortunately, it was high tide again, so not all the beautiful sandbanks were visible, but the sun was shining and you could still see all the colors! It looked so amazing. Then we went down to the front of the beach! Yaaay! Finally! It was just as beautiful as I imagined. When I first saw pictures of the beach years ago, I knew that I wanted to see it in real life and walk on it. There's hardly a better feeling than having sand between your toes. And this sand even squeaks!! :)) I even captured it on video, that's how loud it is. Even when you just run your hands through it, it squeaks. It's the whitest sand I've ever seen. It consists of 99% silica. That's why it doesn't get hot from the sun. The ground is hot everywhere on the island. The whole trail is too hot to walk barefoot, but it's no problem on the beach. In any case, it was fantastic there, and the moment will definitely be remembered.

I have uploaded the pictures, of course. They haven't been edited yet and some are still a bit dark.

In total, I stayed in Airlie for 3 nights... to see my dream beach :) It was worth it.