After an
exhausting two weeks of University work, I was more than ready for a holiday.
My flight to the Whit Sundays was scheduled for 6am on Weds morning, so, rather
than getting a taxi, my plan was to have my friend Nick drop me off at the
airport the night before. “After all”, I thought to myself, “couldn’t I just
sleep inside the airport and save money”? I quickly found that the answer to
this question was no. The airport closed at ten pm and didn’t open back up
until four in the morning. Unfortunately, I didn’t find this out quickly
enough. By the time I realized my predicament, Nick was well on his way back to
Newcastle University and I was left alone with a dead cell phone. Thus, my two
week vacation to the Whit Sundays and Fraser Island began in a much different
fashion than most vacations…sleeping alone on a bench outside of Newcastle
Airport
To be honest,
sleeping on a bench for one night really wasn’t all that bad. It’s not
something I’d want to do again, but it was a good adventure to kick off my
vacation. It makes for a decent story I guess. Unlike most people who sleep on
benches however, I had the comfort of a warm sleeping bag and the knowledge of
knowing that I was relatively safe sleeping at a rural airport rather than in
the middle of a big city.
I arrived at
Airlie beach and had two days to kill before my three day three night sailing
trip around the Great Barrier Reef. I was initially excited for these two days
because I saw them as an opportunity to soak up some quality “David Time.” Something
you need to know about me is that I’m the type of person who loves human
interaction, but sometimes I just need some time by myself to recharge. No
matter who you are though, I think it’s important to take some time to just
relax and reflect on life. Airlie beach however, was not the place of solitude
that I anticipated.
Airlie beach,
although beautiful in its own right, is the Australian capital of Spring break
partying. It wasn’t until I ate a steak dinner alone at a restaurant the first
night that I began to feel truly lonely and out of place. Fortunately, I found
two important companions to keep me company the second day; God and the book Twilight
by Stephenie Meyer. I’m rather proud to say that I had God as a companion. I
definitely found myself praying quite a bit more than I usually do. It was a
nice comfort to have someone to talk to when I was feeling lonely. Someone I
knew who could truly hear me. However, I’m not so proud to admit that the book Twilight
was my other companion. Don’t get me wrong, Twilight is a good book…No,
It’s a great book!....If you’re a sixteen year old girl. After about one
hundred pages into the book, I realized that Twilight is a rather in
depth love story between a vampire and a human. You want to know the sad thing?
I’m hooked! So much so, that I’m currently waiting for my friend Angela to give
me book two in the series. So, if you’re a sixteen year old girl or a man who
is confident in his masculinity, then check out Twilight!
Although the
first couple of days of my vacation started out slow, the remaining eight days
were a blast! The sailing trip was incredible. The food on the boat was
delicious, the sights were breathtaking, and the snorkeling/scuba diving were like
nothing I have ever done before. I went into the trip not knowing anybody, and
can honestly say that I came out of it with several new friends.
I didn’t think
it was possible, but the Fraser Island trip was even more fun than the sailing
trip. Fraser Island is a short ferry ride from Hervey Bay and is the world’s
largest sand island. Being that the island is so well protected by the
government, there are very few paved roads. As such, most driving occurs on the
beach or through sand pathways in the forest, making four wheel drive a
necessity. I was especially excited for the trip because I went into with Abe,
a friend of mine from Newcastle University. I was also excited for the
opportunity to do some camping on the island.
Besides myself and Abe in the van, there were
three English girls, a French couple, a guy from Canada, and a girl from South
Africa. If the cramped quarters of a
boat force people to build relationships, imagine how much more so a van
crammed with people and camping equipment does. By the end of our island safari,
it felt as if the nine of us had become a family.
I’d have to say
that the most meaningful part of my holiday experience was the relationships
that were built. There is no doubt in my mind that the scenery was incredible
at both Fraser Island and the Whit Sundays (if you don’t believe me, then check
out my pictures!), but this isn’t what made my holiday so exciting. Thinking
back to the first couple of days when I was alone reinforces this point. I
found that it was the people, not the place, that made my holiday fun and
meaningful.
