Whitsunday Islands

We are now in Airlie Beach, having been here for three days now.  Airlie Beach is along the east coast of Australia, a bit south of Cairns.  It is the jumping off point for the Whitsunday Islands, which are just off the coast from here.  The Whitsundays are 74 islands, made from the forested peaks of a drowned mountain range.  Most of them are national parkland, some have camping, and some have resorts on them.  We signed up for a boat tour that would take us to the most famous spot amongst them, Whitehaven Beach, which has four miles of powder white sand.  We hit a couple of booking agencies in town and both people we spoke with recommended the boat we went on today – in fact, both of them had taken this tour a few times, and they even take friends on the boat tour when they’re in town to visit.  Seemed like a good recommendation for us – it went to all the places we wanted to go and sounded like fun, so we signed up for it. 

Our boat coming to pick us up

The day of the boat tour was cloudy with rain in the forecast, but we weren’t going to let that stop us.  The boat tour advertisement said “the ride of your life!” and boy, was it ever!  I think it was the ride that almost ended my life, but maybe I’m just being overly dramatic.  The boat was one of those small crafts that do slides and donuts and all that rollercoaster-like fun stuff.  We saw something similar in Sydney Harbor that looked like fun.  The only difference is the boat in Sydney had seat straps to keep a person in the boat, whereas this one had none.  We were told by our captain, Benny, at the beginning of the ride, “if you fall down it’s your fault – it means you weren’t holding on hard enough!”  Great.  Whose idea was this?  The brochure showed people sitting on the sides of the boat, smiling and laughing, holding on with one hand – I remember thinking after looking at that, how bad could it be? Well, I was about to find out. 

Our very attractive stinger suits

Daron and I sat in the back, on the left side, in sort of a couch situation, which made it a little tricky for holding on.  There were metal bars alongside the bottom of the seat and behind the seat which is where we hung on.  After we cleared the harbor Benny started off with the turns and spins, which were a bit jarring, but still fun. The hard part for me was hanging on in an awkward sideways position.  Soon we made it to the snorkeling spot, where we donned our stinger suits (meant to protect us from the deadly jellyfish, even though your feet, head, and hands are still exposed), and jumped in.  It was full on raining by now and besides that it was high tide, so the visibility was poor.  We took it all in stride, especially since we weren’t on the trip for the snorkeling anyways.  Next stop, after more boat tricks, was Hill Inlet, where there’s an overlook onto Whitehaven Beach.  The postcards of this view are drop dead gorgeous and it was the main reason we booked this particular boat tour (most boats are too big to be able to stop at the overlook).  The view was beautiful, even in the rain, although since it was high tide the sandbars that we saw in all the postcards were under water.   Our last stop was Whitehaven Beach, which did not disappoint.  The rain stopped and the sun thought about coming out (alas, but didn’t).  We had a nice lunch and lounged around on the beach, enjoying the soft sand.  Daron took his life into his own hands and went into the water without a stinger suit (lots of others did too).  It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

After a couple of hours on the beach we got ready to head back to the harbor at Airlie Beach.  They offered everyone a piece of chocolate cake before heading out to sea (yum!), which put me in a chocolate haze where I thought the boat tricks might not be so scary after all (darn that chocolate!).  We’d been warned that the seas around that part of the island would be rough and to hang on.  The other side of the boat was the wet side going out (I thought they were ALL the wet side!), so coming back our side would get the worst of it.  Benny played in the waves (not small ones either) all the way back – we hopped and jumped and caught air and turned – and our side of the boat was drenched.   One girl in front popped right out of her seat, over her boyfriend, and landed on the other side of the boat.  Benny stopped long enough to ask if she was okay, which she was, but she wanted to change seats with someone in back.  Daron leapt at the opportunity – he was in her seat before I knew what was going on!  More tricks and turns and finally we were through the rough stuff.  Benny said on a REALLY windy day the waves were twice that size, and for him, that’s a REALLY great day!  Yikes! 

Daron on Whitehaven Beach

After the rough stuff Daron and the frazzled girl changed seats again – he told me it was really jarring in front.  He couldn’t talk to anyone while he was up there because his mouth kept snapping shut and he was afraid he’d bite his tongue off!  Anyhoo, we got close to the harbor and I mistakenly thought, “phew, I made it!”  Little did I know!  The other boat from the same company (different route) came into the harbor at the same time we did.  Before I know it, Benny is maneuvering the boat so he can splash their boat, which requires a huge yank on the wheel.  I’m holding on so tight my wrists hurt.  I keep telling myself, “they do this everyday and no one gets hurt.”  The other boat tries to splash us, and then the testosterone-laden hijinks begin.  Benny says, “alright, everybody hold on “(like we hadn’t already been doing this for the past few hours)!  He’s yanking the wheel this way and that, both boats are showing off, and before I know it, with one big yank I lose my grip and fly to the other side of the boat, ending up on the floor.  It happened so fast I was stunned to find myself face down on the boat’s floor.  I remember thinking, “oh #!@$%^!!!, he’s still going and I’m not holding on!”  I was behind Benny in the boat and he didn’t know I was loose, so he was still sliding around and doing his tricks.  Thankfully he was only doing donuts at this point, which allowed me time to scurry back to my seat and hold on with everything I had left.  If he had yanked on the wheel like he had been doing I have NO DOUBT I would have flown out of the boat.  If you are wondering what Daron was doing while I was flying around the boat, he told me later it was every man for himself!  Ok, not really, I was behind him too (we’re sitting sideways on a bench holding on) and he did not see me flying around gracefully behind him. We eventually made it back safely and I was so glad to be on solid ground!  It took the rest of the night for me to recover from the ride.  I had big bruises on my knees for days and my arm and wrist were super sore, from hanging on (Daron’s were sore too).  It was quite the adventure, and one I hope not to repeat anytime soon.  The moral of the story is:  just because it comes recommended, it doesn’t mean it’s right for you!  But on a positive note, I’m glad I got to see the Whitsundays and Whitehaven Beach.