The sailing trip to the Whitsundays was great fun. We had a group of about 20 people from various countries, and despite everyone being a little reserved at first, we all got on brilliantly. It was only 2 nights and 2 days, but we all had awesome fun.
Having motored to our anchor point into the night, and some fairly heavy drinking too, the first stop was the next day at Whitehaven Beach, world famous for it 99.98% pure silica sand. It was so white, and eventually the sun came out to properly accentuate it. We stayed on the beach for a few hours, kicking a ball and throwing some frisbees, some of the girls sunbathing and walking around. Our crew member, Binkie, was a great laugh all trip through, coming out with hilarious things, and he had told us that the sand was great to use as an exfoliator, as well as cleaning jewellery. I had no jewellery to speak of, but it did work exceptionally well with my skin!
After Whitehaven, we had some lunch and moved on to do some snorkelling. It was good fun, and we had Binkie throw bread into the water to attract fish, something which the girls didn't appreciate when he threw it at their heads and the fish swarmed around them. It was pretty cool to see all the coral and the different fish that were there, especially a big blue fish called a humpheaded maori wrasse who we could touch when he came close.
We had another night of even heavier drinking, resulting in a guitar being pulled out by an Israeli guy and a group sing along. It was good fun, but the next morning everyone was a bit slow for the snorkelling session! There wasn't much different about this session, so I came in a bit earlier, having been one of the first ones out. We eventually headed on home, a few people (me included) trying to find somewhere to sleep out of the cold wind. The sea was pretty rough though, so the boat was rocking like crazy, but we eventually got to the marina and unloaded. After saying goodbye to the crew, we headed off to do various things, like check into hostels, go and sit by the lagoon and sunbathe, and then get ready for the evening. The done thing in Airlie Beach is to go for a night out with the people on your boat when you get back, organised but the boat companies, and we all went out to this bar and had a great night. The drinks were extremely cheap as well, so we made sure to take advantage of it!
The next morning, I had to get my early bus down to Agnes Water/1770, the first place where Captain Cook landed in Queensland. I checked into my hostel and spent the evening with some guys from my room, and then got an early night. The next morning, I booked onto the Scooteroo tour, which is the main attraction in Agnes Water, and in the Top 5 on the East Coast. You basically go to the centre with about 40 other people and get dressed up like bikers, in flame leather jackets, helmets, and fake tattoos. You then drive round for a few hours in a big biker pack on these 50cc mopeds that are styled like American Choppers, and tour Agnes Water and 1770. It's a right laugh, and so much fun, and it made me really look forward to getting a bike of my own.
After that, I came back to the hostel and got some dinner, before watching a film in the TV area. I then headed out to the only pub in town with a couple of the girls from the boat trip and a few guys who were from the hostel. It was fairly interesting, with a local 30th birthday ending in a big, cakey mess, and a pool game that resulted in an 8 ball comeback for my team. After the pub shut, we headed back to the hostel and went to bed, and here I am now the day after updating you. I have one more day here before going to Fraser Island, which promises to be a good trip. If the surf is good enough, I may go surfing for a bit, but it doesn't look promising. So until next time, goodbye!
