Travel Story «Whitsundays - All aboard!»

Australia | 1 Comments 07 November 2006 - Last Update 24 December 2006

The Whitsundays - a veritable paradise according to all the brochures and travellers we had met. Well it did not fail to deliver. 

We arrived in Airlie Beach (one of the most commonly used gateways to The Whitsunday Islands) and after checking into our delapidated hostel* we headed straight to the lagoon - it would seem that all beach side towns in Queensland have beachside Lagoons - we think this is due to the snapper hungry Crocs that reside in the surrounding natural waters.   We stayed in the Lagoon. 

First impressions of Airlie beach? Me likey. The weather was good (hot hot hot ) and Airlie itself consisted of one main street running parrallell with the waterfront so there was a slim to zero chance of me getting lost (God ran out of internal GPS systems when it came to my place in the queue) which meant Mammy Aisling and Grainne would allow me to wander about by myself without fear of me getting lost. 

As night fell we returned to our shambolic hut the Hostel were calling a 'room' (which we were shocked to discover had a BOY in it - reception never once mentioned it was a mixed dorm! Our sensibilities were shaken) to perform the oderous task of making ourselves presentable to the public and headed out for dinner and a few alcoholic beverages.

Our first stop was Beaches - a large pub on the main street which was already in full swing.  We were invited to join a rowdy table (space was limited so we acquiesed) who were playing a game - (the ring leaders of which turned out to be crew from Powerplay - the sister ship of Wings which we would be embarking the day after for out Whitsunday adventure) and spent the next few hours chatting to the people who had just come off a boat, listening to their stories and adventures.  Next stop was Shenanigans and shock horror we bumped into people from home that we knew (and wanted to avoid for the rest of the night) and went from there to Africa. No, not the continent but rather the Nightclub. It was shockingly bad but nevertheless we stayed for a boogie and a few more drinks before one by one calling it a night. 

The next day we hung around the Lagoon again but this time with a mission - to avoid all the people we had met last night.  The dawning of the day brought with it the realisation that we may have been to enthusiastic about meeting fellow Paddys and also, that there were infact extremely boring. Airlie beach is VERY small so this covert operation was more difficult than you can imagine and involved a lot of towel-relocation. 

Thankfully, we boarded Wings the next day at lunchtime which gave us just enough time to pack our things at a leisurely pace into the smallest bags in the world - space on board the boat is limited so you can't bring your big backpacks and reducing is harder than you think given that we had already reduced our worldy possessions before embarking on the East Coast Adventure. Praise the Lord somehow we did it and we were off - sailing into the unknown. Ok, we  weren't sailing because we went for the fancy-we-are-on-holiday-and-not-doing-a-tap Catermeran Boat, but the Skipper (KD) seemed to have it all under control anyway. Excellent choice me thinks. We were welcomed on board, told all the do's and don'ts of on board bathroom etiquette (30 second showers only - seriously) and other Maritime safety issues.  One particular rule sticks in my mind ( - oh yeah, it stciks in my mind NOW, but for the life of me I could not remember to do it when we were on board the boat...)          RULE: Anytime anyone got off the boat, everybody was obliged to sign-in.  This was designed to avoid an Open Water type situation. For those of you that haven't seen the horror film Open Water, it's essentially based around a couple that go Scuba Diving and due to a mix up with sign-on and sign-off sheets they are left in the open water of the ocean as their boat sails back to the harbour. They are not missed for nearly 24 hours due to the ineptitude and laxidasical attitude of the crew who do not count the passengers as they disembark the boat for the final time and they are never seen again (by humans...hello Jaws) despite a search of those same waters the next day.  Gulp. It would seem this sign on sheet is a good idea. Well, if you forget to sign in, or are in the last three people to sign in, then you have to swallow a teaspoon of Vegimite. Ugh. I don't want to have to do that.

After a pleasant few hours sailing, we arrived at the first of three dive spots for the whole trip in the early afternoon. (For future reference, I would always try and dive early in the morning and avoid afternoon dives as visibility is comparitively poor. ) Aisling decided she was going to give the old diving another go (The Great Barrier Reef Dive Gra and I did off Carins was non-compatible with The Ace), so we all took the plunge once more and suited up and dove in.... ok we splashed in, very unlady like but hey - we're not Pro's. (Yet)   Well once Aisling got started there was no stopping her, this aqua baby had to be dragged kicking and screaming from the water at each of the dive spots over the course of the trip, and I am nearly sure I heard her ask the price of the oxygen tank (to keep as a momento you know?)....  The Diving instructors Ezza and Mark were on hand at all times and took us round the coral reef, pointing out aspects of interest and leading the way through (quite) scary tunnels. While we frolicked in the water, Trisha (fellow Irish lass and crew member) snapped pictures of us all (posed and also very UNPOSED surprise shots) inbetween preparing the evening dinner.  Out of the water and back on the boat for dinner. I forgot to sign the Sign-In sheet but there was no sign of a teaspoon full of Vegemite (well there wouldn't be when you are hiding in your cabin) - Phew! Got away with that one!

The first day was fairly short in part due to the late start (midday) and the inital long trip out to the Whitsunday Islands.  We finished the day with a slideshow of all photos taken since we had begun our trip - this came with a running commentary by the Skipper KD who insisted on extracting the michael from each and everyone under the pretence of it helping us all to 'bond'.  Unfortunately, Aisling seemed to attract a lot of attention as she appeared in...well, MOST of the photos but in the background and with the oddest of expressions... you'll see what we mean. Needless to say KD had the whole boat in stitches with the commentary he was creating.  We slept well that night, exhausted from the days activities, even if we were sharing a cabin with 5 other people - I mean I know space is limited but I didn't sign up for the 'Ann Frank Experience'.... Having avoided the Vegemite attack early on I suspected they were waiting for a bigger audience to humiliate me, but yet again I managed to sneak away to bed without tasting the Aussies beloved crap.

The next morning, Aisling was up at the crack of dawn with her wallet out and diving gear on (each dive cost $60 hence my finances limited me to one only, while Grainnnes' stretched to two and Aisling it would appear had won the lottery).  At this point the Captain, KD, informed Aisling she was an STD.   Very forward of him I know, but it's not what you think - STD - Second Time Diver.  As such she was made enter the water like a diving Pro - to walk directly off the boat into the water - harder than it looks! Unfortunately, we missed her Diving-Walk-in Debut (breakfast kept us below deck) but luckily it was captured on camera and replayed that night in the slide show - it looked very professional, well done The Ace! Aislings' second dive was better than the first in terms of what she saw so she returned to the boat with the biggest smile (imagine a coat hanger lodged in her mouth) and after signing in again - oh wait, I forgot again. Damn and the captain of the boat and well - EVERYONE else realised too so there was no pretending it wasn't me. Damn Damn Damn.   
"Apparently", (Grainne smugly informed me) "they haven't seen a double whammy in AGES..." (You can just hear the Cork accent can't you?)
Fantastic. I was in for it this time I was sure.  And yet no one came near me with vegemite..... Maybe they were only messing? Still, NEXT time I would remember just to be sure. 

Next stop was Whithaven beach - voted No. 1 beach in the World this year by The National Geographic (and they should know) and also never out of the top three best beaches in the world. Not bad at all. Situated in the middle of an acquatic national park the beach is 98% pure silica which accounts of the soft  white sand.  Paradise, yes I think so.  Cue more photos and silly poses and frolicking and we were back to the boat and onto the next dive spot.  Oh, wait, it feels like I should be doing something... you know when you have that feeling that you should be doing something but you can't remember - "SHE FORGOT AGAIN!! WHERE IS SHE?!" 
Oh crap. 
Strike three. 
Damn Sign-in sheet. 
Stupid idea, the Captain should do a role call instead. Despite shouting and pointing and general laughing at my expense there was still no Vegemite and it was off to our next dive spot.

SPLASH. That was Aisling. She's gone. SPLASH. That was Grainne. 
Well this time I am staying on the boat and reading my book - that way I won't get caught out with the damn sign on sheet!
"I DON'T BELIEVE IT! WHERE IS SHE?!"
Oh did I nod off there...?    The girls were back on board and I could hear giggling....
Well you have to sign in on the Stupid Effing sheet even if you don't get off the boat - well that is the stupidest idea EVER!
Strike four. This can't be good. 

Dinner time - yummy as always and plenty of it. Happy days. Slide show again - hilarious. More drinks and who are the loud LOUD drunkards - oh yes, the 23 year cheerleaders who can't handle their half glass of wine.... shut up shut up. Early to bed (ish) to avoid the drunken cheerleaders. 

Day three - most of this day was spent heading back to the mainland so we sun bathed on deck and milled around eating up all left overs. Just as we were about to disembark I saw the camera coming towards me with something in front of it. There was no shutter cklicking sound so this could mean only one thing - there were FILMING. But why....and what was that smell... Oh no - vegemite! I was trapped. Thoughts of going overboard was only marginally worse than eating this..this gunk .... well, let's be fair. I have never had Vegemite so maybe it was nice - and wait, actually - I bet this is Nutella! Yes that's it - I see what they are doing here - oh this is fun! A teaspoon of Nutella! Open wide - IT IS NOT NUTELLA! Oh God, Vomit in my mouth. Swallow please swallow, gag reflex. 
Somehow it went down and stayed down but dear GOD it was disgusting (just like I knew it would be). The taste stayed in my mouth all day and to say I felt nauseas is the understatement. Grainne and Aisling, although attempting to be midly sympathetic ruined all this by sniggering and backing away from me when it looked like I was going to be sick.  Friends eh?

Despite this sour end to an other wise perfect three days, I can still whoelheartedly recommend the boat we went with (Wings) as the crew were just brilliant and made the whole experience just perfect. The Whitsundays themself were stunning - a completely indescribable paradise on earth perfection that has to be seen to be believed and have to be one of the highlights of the East Coast, if not of my time since I have left Ireland.  While the coral was still more colourful on the Great Barrier Reef off Cairns, the diving and snorkelling was still excellent. (I mean, C'mon, it's pretty hard to beat something that is called the great barrier reef). This trip is a must must MUST do and three days was a perfect amount of time.  A big thumbs up from us girls. Well done Australia. 

Emily

*Please please please do not stay in either the Koala or Palace hostel chain - they are neither nice nor peppered with pleasant staff (yes Hervey Bay Palace Hostel- I am speaking to you) like the other millions of Hostels that we have stayed in. When we booked our Fraser island and Whitsunday Tours we were given 4 nights free accomodation down the coast and it is for this reason only - the fact that they were FREE that we stayed in them. You have been warned.