"Two" being the number of people on the trip (Mags and me) and the number of times I've been :)
Airlie was filled with adventure, so let's dive on in!
The trip started with a bang! I long, slow, boring bang, that is... Mags and I saved money (& the environment) and wasted time by going the public transit route to Brisbane Airport. Driving takes an hour and public transport takes four... so we found out. Nonetheless, we were in Airlie Beach by 6:30p - success!
Thanks to Maggie working at Kikki.K, her boss being Rhian, who once worked in Airlie Beach, and lived with a Finnish girl name Aino... we had free accommodation through amazingly twisted connections. HOLLA! Finn's and I really get along, hey?
Packed and ready to go
Waiting for train # 8000
Yes! An airplane = the best form
of public transport
Up, up...
And awayyyy
Prosperpine Airport
Hilarious - it is a literal hut. You can see
straight through to the other side
Success! FINALLY arrived at our destination
Sailing Day 1: Got up i the morning feeling like P. Did... Whoops, sorry Kesh! Feeling ready to rock and roll! We got a tip for the best, and least expensive, breaky place around - Harry's Corner Cafe. So yum! Had my FIRST BAGEL in nine months!! Believe it or not, bagels do not exist on the Sunshine Coast... that is for real people. Anyway, after bagel heaven graced us with it's presence, we checked in to the sailing agent. We then had a few hours before departure and spent it wisely - preparing our bodies for three days of relentless Aussie sun. Oh, preparation was laying out, or 'baking' as they say here - eww!We finally boarded the boat and headed off! It was amazing... the people = amazing, the food = amazing, the crew = amazing, no sea-sickness = amazing, the sailing = AMAZING!
Good Morning Airlie :D
Spending our time wisely
before hopping on the boat
Cyclone Ului Destruction
On the boat and sailing the Whitsunday's
Nara's Inlet for the night
Oh yeah...
Sailing Day 2: Everyone was up by 6:00a and welcomed into the day with a glorious breakfast spread... I do love the simple things in life :) While we were filling our tummies, the boat was headed to Whitsunday Island for the morning. We got there and it was just as amazing as the last time. Climbed up to the lookout, took some amazing pictures and headed straight to the beach. We were so fortunate to have such awesome people on our boat - it makes the trip so much more memorable. We all played together in the water in our 'Stinger Suits' (better to be safe than sorry, it's stinger season people!) and took funny pictures. Once we were finally dragged back to the boat and had a good lunch, it was time to go snorkeling! Did some more sailing and, much to my excitement, the night ended with steaks on the barbie :D
Kate, me and Mags
Landed: Whitsunday Island National Park
Hello wonderful!
Loving Airlie x TWO
PEACE
Taken through my sunnies
Sweet pic, hey??
Looking hot in our
'stinger suits'
Off land and back to sea
Blurry and beautiful
Decky 1, Will, grilling steaks
Decky 2, Brian, making snacks
Sailing Day 3: Off to an early start again - breaky, snorkeling, then headed back :( Got some amazing sailing in though - best I've ever had! I LOVE when the boat goes on a 45* angle - we all have to sit on the High Side, not the Suic(S)ide!!! Freaking sweet!
My boating loves!
Hoist that mast, boys!
And she's up
Pirate ship ahead - Ahoy!
Stay on the 'High Side'
Not the 'Suic(S)ide'!!!
The crew and me before docking
Such an amazing three days! Mags and I were so concerned with the weather before we left but it worked out perfectly! The wind was strong and amazing for Maxi-Sailing. (Maxi simply refers to the largest sailing boat manufacturable - ours holds 32 people.) Rain only came at night and did not affect us at all. The only complaint would be the churned water. It was pretty murky for snorkeling but not too bad :)
After returning to land, everyone headed off to shower and get ready for the night. We met up with our co-sailers and had an awesome night.
My two fav English couples :)
Mags, me, and Aino
-thanks so much for the home Aino!
Mags and Brian breaking
it down in Mama Africa's
Airlie Beach Day 4: Aino told Mags and me about this waterfall/lagoon nearby that you can swim in and that it would be awesome to do after sailing. We were super pumped but needed a car to get there... fortunately connections are amazing! Aino introduced us to her good friend Norman who just so happened to have the morning off work, and just so happened to have a car, and just so happened to really want to take us to the falls! WOOHOO! Gotta love when the cards deal in your favor :) It was so awesome, gorgeous, exhilarating, freezing, thrilling, hilarious and more! We somehow survived climbing up the side of the falls - terrifying but so worth it! (No worries M&D. Not where the water is shooting out - over to the trees on the right. That is, until we got half way... but no need for details.)
The water was FREEZING but
look at that waterfall we beasted :D
WARNING: NUDITY AHEAD
There are some very odd people out there - we climbed half way up this water fall and this man was showering down, minding his own business... totally fine. Until he proceeded to the next small fall and did it again and again, and then finally went swimming naked upstream. Very very odd. Oh, he did have clothes in a towel... just didn't use them. Some people have very peculiar fetishes.
The girls
Oh just a cascading waterfall shower ;)
We got back to town in time for Norman to get to work and Mags and I chilled by the lagoon. We were so exhausted...
Palmetto Tree!
Airlie Beach Day 5: That night and the next day we just relaxed... so needed. No stress, no hurry, no worry. How amazing does that sound?!? We then headed to the airport for a much less eventful ride to home sweet home.
Thanks a million Royce!
Have a great life ;)
The terminal..
outdoors.. hehe
Fly fly away
Mags loves prepackaged Almond Butter too :)
A-freaking-mazing!
Sooo blessed! There is nothing more to say - loved every second of this relaxing/jam-packed holiday. Got to do so much in such a short amount of time and ended it all with that incredible, God-given sunset above. Shesh people! Isn't it unbelievable??
Random: Hoping to do an intro dive lesson soon! It's so inexpensive here and I reallyyyyy want to see if I can handle it! Unfortunately inexpensive is still expensive for me right now so we'll see
Still missing everyone in the Northern Hemisphere - including Kreekree in Belgium who sent me a gorgeous postcard from Parii! Thank you so much boo!!
Love you all so much - it only strengthens with time and distance
"A friend who is far away is sometimes much nearer than one who is at hand. Is not the mountain far more awe-inspiring and more clearly visible to one passing through the valley than to those who inhabit the mountain?"
Kahlil Gibran
