The Whitsundays

Our first small stop on the way to the Whitsundays was Townsville. We went to the man made beach they have and the esplanade next to it. Townsville is a pretty ugly town and there is not anything special to see there. The only cool thing worth mentioning is the hill in the middle of the city called Castle Hill. It sticks up high over the houses and has a good lookout over the coast and city. Townsville is also the gateway to Magnetic Island, a nice island just off the coast. All the backpackers go to Magnetic Island but we decided to skip it and continue south. We stopped one day each in Ayr and Bowen, two towns on the way between Townsville and Airlie Beach. Here we watched the World Cup quarterfinals, used the free WIFI at McDonald's and slept.

There is not much to write about Ayr, but Bowen is more interesting. It was in Bowen that Baz Luhrmann filmed the Darwin scenes in the movie Australia and there was still remnants of the set that we looked at. Bowen also has many good beaches especially Horseshoe Bay. Apparently there is a reef that you can see if you snorkel just off the beach. We didn't check as the weather was cold and so was the water, but next to Horseshoe bay is Horseshoe Bay lookout with a nice view of the bay and surrounding beaches. We climbed up there instead and took some nice photos of the landscape. Just south of Bowen is the big Mango which we of course stopped at and took some photos.

Airlie Beach was just an hour drive south of Bowen. We got there around midday and after checking into our Whitsunday cruise we decided to look around. Airlie Beach has a nice lagoon just next to the beach with several pools in different sizes and depths. There are also several beaches the most famous being Airlie Beach! But we were in Airlie Beach to sail the Whitsundays and that's what we did the very next day.

The Whitsundays

The Whitsunday Islands are one of the most known spots along the east coast. 74 in total all located in tropical waters next to the Great Barrier Reef. The climate and location makes it ideal as a holiday getaway amongst palms and white sandy beaches. Although most of the islands looked nothing like the palm fringed tropical flat islands I had imagined they were still really nice to sail around. There are resorts on most of the bigger islands ranging from high class hotels to more affordable hostels, however the cruise we "choose" was a 2 day 2 night sailing cruise were we slept on the boat.

The boat that we "choose" was called Tongarra and was a "sailing" catamaran. I write "sailing" because for most of the trip the boat was running on propellers and "choose" because the boat was part of the bigger package that we bought. We were 21 people plus a crew of three on a boat not very big. I had expected a way bigger boat and was a bit shocked when I first saw her. It was also a party boat and everyone had brought a lot of alcohol except us. The first evening we just sailed out to Nara inlet and anchored and the party began. Luckily most of the people were really nice. There were only 8 beds for 21 people, but the crew put a big tent on deck so people could sleep there. We got lucky and found a bed inside and it was nice to fall asleep to the movement of the waves.

We got up really early the next morning and sailed towards Whitsunday Island (the biggest island in the Whitsundays) and Whitehaven beach. (The most famous beach in the Whitsundays and among the top tree most beautiful beaches in Australia). First be walked up to Hill inlet lookout where you could see out over the Hill inlet and Whitehaven beach. The view was amazing with the turquoise ocean, the white beach and the green forest. We then walked down to Whitehaven beach and relaxed. When we first arrived the weather was gray and overcast, but suddenly the clouds were away and the sun was shining. Just next to the beach was a tiny sand island and next to that again we saw stingrays swimming around. At lunch time Tongarra picked us up from the beach and we headed north towards our first snorkeling spot, Mantaray Bay!

On the way to Mantaray Bay we saw a whale swimming past the boat and the crew feed eagles that caught the food in the air as we through it to them. A seagull was flying next to the boat and it came closer and closer when we held food out for it. In the end we were feeding it in the air as it flew next to the boat at the same speed as we were sailing. It seemed to never get full and always came back for another snack when someone else wanted to feed it.

The snorkeling spot was amazing. Just next to Hook Island in the bay that we had sailed to was tons of corals and fish just under the surface. We put on our stinger suits (to protect against dangerous jellyfish and keep you warm and afloat) and our snorkeling equipment and jumped into the water. The reef here was in my opinion even better than the reefs up by Cairns and I was really sad that I didn't have an underwater camera. I saw tons of fish in all different colors and a Napoleonfish which looks like the fish in the picture. They are really big! We went to two different snorkeling spots that afternoon before anchoring. My only complaint was all the jellyfish in the water. Even with a suit they stung me on my hands, feet and in the face. That night we saw the most amazing sunset and just to make the picture perfect a sailboat crossed the horizon as the sun sank in the ocean.

By the last morning we had made new friends and emptied a four liter casket of goon. We started the day with a quick snorkel at a third spot called Caves Cove also referred to as "the third snorkel spot" by the skipper. We then headed back towards Airlie Beach. The weather was fantastic that whole day and it was nice to just relax on deck and enjoy. That evening the crew went out with us to the pub and everyone got drunk, especially the skipper. We had booked a hostel for the night because Germany was playing their World Cup semifinal and the game was 04:00 in the morning. They lost :( The next morning we left beautiful Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays and headed south yet again, this time towards Fraser Island!

The Whitsundays: 05. July 2010 - 07. July 2010

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