WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS
Finally we arrived in Airlie Beach and wandered around the town and checked out different shops, internet cafe's etc. Still tired from our long bus journey, we did not do much but relaxing and getting our stuff organised for the next day. We booked a 3 day sailing trip to the Whitsundays from 15-17 January so we had to get things organised, pack a small bag with our personal belongings as well as our own drinks as the boat was a BYO (bring your own), not licensed to serve alcohol.
On Monday the 15th January, we had to meet up with all other guests and a crew member of the Alexander Stewart sailing boat at the jetty in Airlie Beach. Soon after we took off and relaxed on deck of this lovely boat.
After a few hours of sailing we stopped at the world famous Whitehaven Beach where we went off the boat and spend a few hours on the island, enjoying the hot weather and a lovely swim in the sea.
After a few hours of sailing we stopped at the world famous Whitehaven Beach where we went off the boat and spend a few hours on the island, enjoying the hot weather and a lovely swim in the sea.
Unfortunately we had to wear a stinger suit as the sea was full of a common jelly fish, simply called ‘stingers’ who could make you very ill if you got stung.
In the late afternoon, we sailed to a place called the Nora inlet where we anchored for the night. Dinner was very nice and the wine tasted fantastic. We then chatted away with other guests, listened to music and had a good time.
The following two days were very relaxing and we enjoyed the sailing much, although the sails were not up most of the time, instead, the boat was running by engine (not enough wind). We stopped at different places such as Maureens Cove, Montaray Bay and Luncheon Bay.Common in this area is the friendly and very curious Parrot Fish. You can almost touch them – they come very close and look you straight in the eyes. That was really funny because all off a sudden they appeared in front of my face while I was snorkelling.
We moored up at Stonehaven Bay where we used torches to watch sharks feed off of floating squid right next to our boat. We even saw a huge sea snake which the captain said was the deadliest in the world.On our last day we stopped on different spots for snorkelling and headed back to Airlie Beach in the late afternoon.
I loved the Alexander Stewart sailing boat. It was a beautiful wooden boat with lots of charm and atmosphere.
The cabins were cosy and the boat had a touch of adventure. Simply loved it!
AIRLIE BEACH
As it was John's birthday on the 17th, I arranged a surprise dinner at a nice Seafood restaurant called 'The Shipwrecked'. John did not know anything about my plans only that we were going out for dinner. He also did not know that I have arranged with some other people, who we met along the way from Sydney to Airlie Beach, to join us for dinner. Two Danish guys we met in Agnes Water and a German couple we met on the sailing boat were joining us. After dinner we went to a well known bar where we met up with the other guys from the boat and the crew members. It was a nice evening with loads of beer and wine. The next morning John and I bumped into our German friends on our way to a cafe for breakfast. We decided to meet up in Townsville later on that day to see if we can do another tour together. As the weather was not that great we decided to skip our plans for Magnetic Island and meet in Cairns instead to look for snorkelling trips at the Great Barrier Reef.
8 comments:
Gordana, this really looks like a dream :)
I wish I was there right now instead of doing my Uni work..
That's exactly what I am thinking too :-) Especially now that they days are getting shorter and darker...
Hi Gordana. I have read your blog with great interest. I particularly enjoyed the nice pictures you posted and the amount of information about the nature and the people you have met. Please keep up your good work. I check your blog again! Regards from London, Marco Finardi
Dear Marco,
thank you for your kind words and the compliment about my blog. I am pleased that I can offer this kind of support to my readers so please continue reading my posts and feel free to comment at any time. Your and the support of all my readers is highly appreciated. Thanks again!
Dear Gordana
What a great and informative blog with great descriptions of great locations!
Wish I was there!!!
Looking forward to more on your blog.
Daniela
Dear Daniela
Thanks a lot for your kind words. I am happy to see that my readers are enjoying my blog. Please feel free to comment on posts that you are particularly interested in. And if you have further questions about anything relating to a post, just drop me a line and I will respond to you within a couple of days.
Glad you are enjoying Australia! I live in Townsville, unfortunately our weather has been quite unseasonable lately!
'Stingers' are not a specific type of jellyfish, they are just a slang word given to all jellyfish. You'll find the ones most common around the Whitsundays are probably Box Jellyfish (which are have a high potential to be deadly), Irukandji (also have the potential to be deadly but deaths from Irukandji are far rarer) and Blue Bottles or Portuguese Man-of-War. We refer to all of them as 'stingers' :)
Hi Leah,
Thanks for your comment re. the stingers. I heard about the box jelly fish before and that their tentacles can be deadly in extreme situations. Pity they like the warm waters as much as we do :)
I spent a half a day in Townsville in 1997 when I travelled Australia the first time. Nice town although I did not have a chance to see much of it as it was only a stop over to catch the ferry across to Magnetic Island. I absolutely loved it!
Post a Comment