The beautiful Whitsundays

What a day! When you visit Airlie Beach you have to see the Whitsunday Islands, a collection of 74 islands off the coast which Captain Cook first discovered and documented in 1770. Of course people had been living on the islands for thousands of years before that. We booked the tour online which meant that we were able to go with a company that are number 1 in Australia for adventure tours. We were picked up and checked in quickly before we got into our wetsuits. Our boat is mostly inflatable which meant we skimmed over the waves like a stone riding high and crashing down low. I don't think we stopped smiling the whole part of the first ride as we were being bumped around. It was such an adrenaline rush. We were able to snorkel at two different sites around the islands where they encouraged fish to come up to us with food. The water was so unbelievably cold! We're definitely not in Asia anymore. Unfortunately the reef and wildlife have been badly damaged by a cyclone that hit two months ago but it was still amazing to swim amongst schools of fish even if the coral below wasn't so pretty. They are very protective of their Great Barrier Reef here so it's such a shame that all the work they do at preserving and saving the reef can be pushed so backward by a natural event. After snorkeling we had another great ride to the biggest island called Whitsunday Island would you believe. Here we climbed up to a view point but Nick and I were more climbing at speed to reach the loo at the top. After a toilet stop we went and saw the most breathtaking view ever. Whitehaven beach was in front of us with its magnificent swirls of blue and turquoise waters over white sand. When the sun shone down it made the colours even more amazing. The beach does stretch from the far island to where we were sanding but the tide was in for us so it meant we were able to enjoy the colours of the waters more. One of our tour guides gave us some history of the islands and area while we enjoyed the view. It was now time for a late lunch and the company with are with are the only tour company with permits to dock on this side of Whitehaven beach. They also have one permit to land on the side away from the view point and it was our lucky day as our boat was chosen to go here. It was us and 20 or so others on a completely deserted beach. The sand is made up of 98.5% volcanic silica making it so incredibly fine, light, white and heat resistant. Your feet just sunk through the layers of untouched sand. We didn't opt to pay extra for the buffet lunch which meant we could stray further away from the crowd and eat quicker and enjoy untouched areas of the beach alone. We walked further down the shore just jumping, running and messing around in the sand feeling so completely free. It was paradise and we were not only seeing it, we were living it. After an hour and a half soaking it all in it was time for our last thrilling ride to the mainland. We decided to be daring and sit on the edge of the boat holding onto a strap and a rope on the other side. It was hard to stay upright and straining on your arms but so exhilarating at the same time. At the port our guide started swerving the boat and spinning in circles before driving full throttle at the harbour wall to the turn and skid to a stop at the last second. One last thrill for the day. We had the most incredible experience and Nick has since said to me that it was one of the best days of his life, if not the best. That's what it's all about really, that's why we're on this journey to fill our lives with the best and happiest of days.Читать далее