Whitsunday Islands

After two straight days of essay writing (with a small break in there to listen on the internet to the Blackhawks sadly lose the final game to the Canucks) my roommate and I finally left for the Whitsunday Islands!

The Whitsundays are only an hour and half flight from Brisbane and are known throughout Australia as the perfect vacation spot. The Whitsunday Islands are made up of 74 islands but only 7 of these are developed tourist spots while the rest are mostly uninhabited. They are also located close to the Great Barrier Reef, so technically in the ‘outer reef’, but the snorkeling was still wonderful.

We spent most of our nights on the mainland at Airlie Beach and took a sailboat from there to the islands (that is what most people do, since staying on the islands is more limiting and expensive for the most part). We stayed at a great hostel in Airlie, probably the best I have stayed at since being in Australia. It was very open and there was an outdoor restaurant and bar area with a bunch of pool tables and live music every night. We stayed in a room with 10 beds, but it had a giant window that looked outside into the trees, we felt like we were in the rainforest.

The people we met at the hostel were also great. We met people from all over the world and everyone was extremely sociable. We began the nights having a few beers together outside of our room where we talked and laughed about our different cultures and what we have been doing in Australia and then we would all go out to the bars together. It was actually the first time I was truly sad to say goodbye to people I have met on these small trips. Everyone has always been very friendly, but we have never spent a large amount of time with other backpackers until this trip. There were also a few other UQ study abroad students who were there at the same time, so we spent some time with them as well.

The nightlife in Airlie was also great. I have found that when a place is extremely touristy the bars are sometimes filled with really crazy people who are trying way too hard to have fun. These bars were much more low-key, all with live music and friendly people, and for once the prices for drinks were not insane.

The There is also a lagoon right across the street from our hostel where many people hang out from sunup to sundown. We had really beautiful weather the entire trip so during the two days that we were not sailing we spent the day lying out by the water. This area was gorgeous, I spent one day sitting in the shade on a bench just listening to my music and staring at the ocean. I could barely even read my book because I didn’t want to take my eyes off of the beautiful landscape.

By far my favorite part of the weekend was the sailing trip we took. We were on a boat for 2 days and 1 night with 12 other people and it was amazing. On the boat be stopped at Dombell Island, Esk Island, Tongue Bay, and Whitehaven Beach. In the afternoon of the first day on the boat we did some snorkeling, which was unbelievable. The water was really shallow so you could just float on top of the water and stare down at the fish and corals. The fish were unlike anything I have ever seen.

They were so colorful and there were so many of them swimming all around me. When I went scuba diving in Cairns we saw the reef but we did not really see many fish so I am so happy I was able to see some this time. I just cannot get over the colors- turquoise, green, hot pink, zebra striped.

Whitehaven Beach was also great. This is the beach on Whitsunday Island (the largest island of the group), which is made of pure-white silicon sand (you can whiten your teeth and polish your jewelry with it!) It is known as one of the best beaches in Australia. I really enjoyed every second of this trip.

All of these places were stunning and I also loved just being on the boat. There is something so peaceful and relaxing about sailing that I have never really experienced before. Every single direction I looked was unbelievably beautiful.I am so glad I was able to travel to the Whitsundays because it is a place that many people who visit Australia don’t seem to make it to. It was such a welcoming and relaxing place that I would love to go back to someday.Also, I am happy that I got the relaxing ‘spring break’ trip after our field trip. It was especially nice since Airlie Beach did not feel too much like a tourist hotspot, and there were teenagers, kids, and adults all enjoying the area together. The beauty I saw here is definitely something I will never forget.