Sailing the Whitsundays

And could anyone already guess where we were going next after the last post? Well, rather what we were going to do there and not where we were going. 

We went to Airlie Beach so early in the morning! 😍 And whoever has seen pictures from there, has been there themselves or knows the area, knows why I am so excited! It's just beautiful here! 

When we got off the bus around 11 am, it was a pleasant 25°C. Perfect beach weather! Because that was the plan for the day. After a delicious breakfast or rather morning tea, we went to the beach or rather the local Lagoon, since swimming in the sea is not allowed here due to crocodiles and stingrays :(. 

Just enjoying life, relaxing by the Lagoon, getting a tan, and doing a bit of shopping on the adjacent main street. PS: I now have a new pair of shorts 😊. 

After a sunny and relaxing day, it was time to go to bed early, so we can be well-rested for the highlight of the stop. 

SAILING!! 😍 

Most people could already tell that from the last post haha. 

So, on June 18th at 9 am, we set off to explore the Whitsundays. In the group, there were already 8 Germans (out of 21😂), but we've already talked about that. At least we all got along right away, so the social foundation of the group is set. Our boat was called Hammer, had 2 sails, and a great crew consisting of Dan, Zak, and Tash. 

Here is the tour schedule for a rough orientation. 

First, we cruised to our first snorkeling spot, Blue Pearl Bay, where 'Finding Nemo' was filmed. We even saw him right away. But, as you know, he was hiding in his anemone, so it wasn't easy to spot him. But we also saw about 7 other types of fish swimming eagerly around Baby Hammer (the small speedboat that took us to the spots) to get some of the fish food that Dan threw into the water so we could see them better. Yes, I even got a fin in my face, there were so many haha 😂. 

After lunch, we continued to the next snorkeling spot, Stonehaven. It took some courage to jump back into the water since the breeze was quite cold and the sun didn't have the same warming power as in February. 

Once that was done, the sails were hoisted, and we sailed to our overnight location. I even got to take the helm and according to Zak (the skipper), I deserve my sailing certificate because it's quite difficult to keep the boat in the wind and use it when there is almost no wind (5 knots). It was really cool. 

The next morning, we sailed into the sunrise while the passengers enjoyed breakfast. Wonderful! 

And then we arrived at our main destination of the tour. WHITEHAVEN BEACH! 😍 And omg yes, it's beautiful, dreamy, breathtaking... 

We accessed it through Shithaven Beach (the ugliest beach in the Whitsundays), a somehow mysterious passage 🤔😉. And then you arrive at the beach, stand there, and can't stop marveling. You stand on super soft sand, which happens to be the whitest in Australia, and everything you could see from the 3 lookouts stretches out in front of you. 

And now I realize that I don't have any pictures of it, but that just means it was incredible. 'Do more of what makes you forget to check your phone!' 

I highly recommend trying the sand exfoliation, which you can easily do by standing in the water. It's super exfoliating and makes your skin so soft! Just rub the wet sand on your skin, rinse it off, DONE. 

And that's not all, because the wildlife is also present. There are stingrays and lemon sharks in the waters. But not only them, but also pirates! Well, only when scenes from the new 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movie were filmed there, but still 😉😂. Does that mean Australia is better than the Caribbean? There must be a reason, sunshine friends! 

Here you can see a stingray. Unfortunately, lemon sharks are not easily captured in pictures, but for those who are interested, there's always Google. 

When the shore leave was over, we went straight back to Airlie Beach, as we had a Spaniard on board with appendicitis problems who needed to be back on land as soon as possible. But our tour didn't really suffer because of it, as we only lost about an hour. 

In the evening, we all met up, or at least we were supposed to, but not everyone made it, for the afterparty and had one last dinner together before we hit the bars. 🎉 

Now we're back on the bus, and in about 8 hours, we'll arrive at our next destination... Where will we be next? 🤔 

To be continued... Xo