Whitsundays

Once we had dared the darkness of the caves we drove to Whitsundays. We stayed in Airlie beach. This town was much more commercial and very busy. We stayed at a hostel that had a pretty big bar down below. The first night after getting unpacked, we all got ready. It seemed to be a harder task than ever since the humidity was very high and you felt sticky while putting on anything. Not to mention how mine and a few others’ hair did not want to truly straighten. But after a lot of effort the deed was done and we were ready to go downstairs. We chatted up a few new people. Wonder down the street to a couple other bars and had a good time.
The next day I took full advantage of free wifi and skyped with some family and friends in the morning. It was nice to catch up with them! Then I checked out the town and the beach. I am sad to say I wasn’t impressed with the beach. It was quite small and nothing really to it. I kept wandering though and fell upon a wonderful spot. Up the hill and around the beach was a little villa right on the top of the hill so you could see the whole town, beach and ocean. I felt so lucky to have stumble on such a jewel. The view was gorgeous and the view was an open shelter. No one else was around and I took full advantage. After traveling at this point for a week and half with 7 other people sometimes you just need time to yourself. Fortunately I packed all the perfect essentials in my beach bag. I had cheese, crackers, water, a good book and my beach towel. I laid my towel down on the floor of the villa and alternated from looking at the beautiful view of the ocean with the boats harbored to reading my book which was getting really good. I must have spent at few hours there. At one point I just had an Aha moment looking at the waves hit the beach that I was so fortunate to have had the opportunities that I have bestowed upon me. It was the most peaceful afternoon and I loved it.
That night we all gathered together after laying out a bit at the lagoon to cook some nachos. While I was off having my peaceful picnic in the villa some of the others had went to the grocery store and pick up an enormous amount of food to cook. We all worked together chopping up the onions, peppers and mushrooms, simmering the chicken in one pan and the steak in the other. We through it fresh veggies in the pans and added the fajita season that was out of this world with its delicious spices and it all made the best smell. After it was done we had an amazing feast. We had so much food we couldn’t even eat all the meat between the 8 of us which is really hard to do. We had decided to keep the rest of the meat for tomorrow and make nachos out of them.

The following day we got up early and ran around getting ready for our sailing trip. We were all hyped and so ready for this trip. We caught the bus and arrived at the harbor to see our awesome purple sail boat awaiting us. It was called the Cameria. When boarded we got comfy on the top deck and laid out in the sun that was perfectly shining down on us. We sailed into the great wide ocean. While laying there feeling so happy I thought of my family and realized that it was my father’s birthday. I ran to my phone and once again I was very lucky because it actually had service. I called them and sang only a few notes before my dad stopped me, said thank you but I have heard that song a little too much today. I chuckled then he put me on speaker phone so I could hear him and the family while he opened gifts and cards. It was so nice like I was actually there. After getting off the phone I saw that right afterwards I had no service. Talk about perfect timing. It was then time to for our snorkel instructions.
The crew told what we needed to do and then let us get our gear. I was so excited because I had never went snorkeling before and we were in the beginnings of the Great Barrier Reef.

Part 3: Fraser Island

After surfer’s we were off to Hervey Bay to go on a day to trip to Fraser Island. When we got to Hervey Bay we drove around the town to find the best spot to stay for the night and then we did. We went to a YHA hostel that had cabins instead of dorm like rooms. It was great we got two cabins for the 8 of us. The crew went to go get food for dinner but I was sick of being in the van so Caitlin and I stayed behind. We then scoped out the cabins and found the best one for us to stay in. It was by far the best accommodations we have had since we left Melbourne. Our cabin was adorable with a kitchen, wicker table and chairs, a living room and 2 bedrooms. It was great to stay in a place that was bigger than just one room. The group came back then we cooked pasta and had a family meal. It was delicious and the right price. All of us went up to the pool and got a poolside table to play games on. It was a fun night until Amy spotted a man standing at the fence watching us. When we all turned to look instead of leaving he moved farther into the bushes. He just stood there watching even though we were obviously staring, pointing and talking about him. Dean stood up but he didn’t move. I went inside to let a worker know what was going on. She came and they had said he had left when I went in but then I saw him just a little further down on the fence. It was so spooky. The worker went over to him and told him to leave the property. She came back and told us it was just a drunk Australian man and was very apologetic. We decided it was probably time to return to our cabins at this point plus we had to leave early for our island trip the next day.
The next morning we got up, pack the van, ate breakfast and were ready for our big day on Fraser Island. The bus came and picked us up and took us to the ferry. I love ferries so I was very excited about this. We sat on the top of the ferry so we could see the great view of the ocean on the way to the island. After the beautiful ferry ride we met our tour guide for the day, who was very entertaining. To drive on the island you have to be a 4-wheel drive or better. Apparently the rule with the roads because they our so narrow that the biggest vehicle has the right away which was great since we were one of the biggest vehicles on the island. We first drove to the rainforest and then stopped to take a bushwalk (hike) through the stunning rainforest. Learning about all the different kinds of trees and realizing this is a sand only island. The whole island was made of sand and all the vegetation grew out of the sand. It was crazy. We were also told that this was the biggest sand island in the world. We didn’t see any but the island also is known for their dingos running around. After our bushwalk we drove along the beach. While we were driving she would tell us stories and facts about the island. Then we saw a plane fly past our bus and land on the beach. It turns out it was a plane that took tourist around so they could see the spectacular view of the whole island from the clouds. In the mood of living life to the fullest with no regrets I took the plane ride. It was absolutely breathtaking and fabulous. We flew over the ocean and then over the whole island seeing all of it glory. There were over 40 fresh lakes on the island and so many different kinds vegetation including grasslands, wetlands and rainforest all taking up this indescribable island. The flight was so memorable. When we landed we were at the shipwreck site of Mahino. Here was a ship that used to take luxury cruises along the Australian ocean comparable to the size of the Titanic, stuck in the sand of the beach. We were then escorted to the fresh water creek that once inhabitants of the island would drink from. We walked in the creek up the way and climb into some trees for some fun. Then it was lunch time and we got an amazing buffet at the island resort. After lunch we were off to one of the glorious freshwater lake for a swim. At this point the breeze had picked up a bit so some were a little to chicken to jump in but not Lindsey, Caitlin or I. We jumped in the lake like champs. We were told the water was so nice that it made you ten years younger from swimming in and the sand was a natural exfoliate to make your skin nice and smooth. So some of us took the smooth amazing sand and rubbed it on our legs and arms and it magically worked. Out skin was very smooth and even though I didn’t look 16 my hair was really soft from the water. We then had to reluctantly make our way back to the ferry. On the ferry ride back to Hervey bay we were surprised with getting to see a few humped back whales swimming in the distance. They are rather common this time of year because they are migrated south to their homes from being in the north for the winter. We saw them blowing air and water through their blowholes and flipping their big tales. Another amazing day on this great trip up the whole coast of Australia!
The next day we drove to Rockhampton and stayed the night. We got up early the next morning got dressed and went to the caves. The caves were so cool. Since it was raining a little bit we got to see exactly how the caves have eroded through the years. The tour guided said it was actually very rare to see this because it was a dry cave in the middle of what they call a dry rainforest. This is because the area doesn’t normally get rain. It was kinda awesome and she said that if we got a rain drop to hit us in the cave it was actually considered good luck. So we all got lots of good luck that day hee hee. The tour guide took us through all the different parks of the cave and told the history behind it. We went to one part where it is called the cathedral and they actually had benches set up in this part because there had been so many wedding there plus the acoustics were apparently comparable to the Sydney Opera House. They have music concerts in this part as well. The tour guide turned off all the lights and showed us how dark the cave actually was and how the originally foundered would of actually had to find it and search through it only with candlelight. She turned on a recorded of Amazing Grace to show how amazing the sound quality was in this part of the cave. At that time the cave was so peaceful and wonderful.