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Last week in Amazing Australia..
It is not just a different time zone here in Australia. It is a whole different time galaxy, in which 5 weeks actually only feel like a couple of days. Because time has flown by in ozzie land way too fast!!
After an great Fraser Island tour with loads of fun people, it was time to say see you soon to Camilla, my Danish friend with whom I traveled with for about a week. Very sad, and it left me feeling rather lonely. We got along so well that we for sure could have traveled together for much longer, but our itineraries were too different to make this happen. I am sure we will get to see each other again, whichever continent or country it will be :)
Next stop was Airlie Beach for my Whitsundays sailing tour! When I arrived I met up with Alec, Miranda and Jeremy from my Fraser Island tour, and the rest of my time wandering in Airlie Beach and later Cairns would have me run into so many familiar faces. Fun times!!
My first evening in Airlie Beach is spent partying with Louise, whom I met in the Noosa bushcamp, and a bunch of new people.
Next morning I walk Cat to her boat departure, my roommate from the USA, and after waving her off I meet up with Pia and her friends, whom I met in Hervey Bay 2 days earlier and who were going to be on the same sailing boat the next day. Yes, friends are everywhere in the Great land of Oz!
But then, bikini drama..On Sunday morning I walked into the bathroom to put on my brand new (!!) bikini, bought specially for Whitsundays, only to discover it was taken by a roommate who checked out earlier that day. Nooooo! Luckily I hadn't thrown out my old bikini, but I was still very annoyed.
Luckily the Whitsunday islands make you forget everything, including your own name, so as soon as we took off on our sailing boat nothing else mattered anymore. Oh my, what a beauty... It was quite a big boat, with the inspiring name 'Spank Me'. Our group consisted of about 26 people, and 3 crew members including the Skipper. First we set off to a snorkeling spot, and the fish literally bump against your dive mask, that is how close they get! Next was one of the most amazing sunsets I have ever seen. And after we all ate our first dinner on the boat, naturally it was time for a few drinking games! Did I already mention how much I learnt here in ozzie land? ;)
Nothing extreme, but still enough fun, and it made falling asleep much easier haha. I shared a double bed with Pia, and around us downstairs there were another 9 double and 6 single beds. It was quite spacious downstairs, but as it was over 34 degrees during the whole day it was definitely not cold. Drinking means snoring for some people, and with 26 people it never really gets quiet.
But I actually had a very nice sleep. Until the engines were turned on at 6.30 am.. Time to get up!
First stop on this day was the magnificent Whitehaven Beach, which will stay in my memory as the most beautiful beach for a long time I reckon. Looking out over the lagoon and the ocean, the colors went from clear white to many different shades of clear blue. Absolutely beautiful. Ofcourse all girls went for a photoshoot, while the boys played in the water.
After the Best Beach Ever, we went to another 3 snorkeling spots, of which the last one was the best. This spot was home to Elvis, a huge blue fish, and his girlfriends, smaller but still huge fish in different colors. I am not kidding, Elvis was seriously HUGE.
While heading to our spot for the night, we were asked all to whistle. Feeling rather foolish, it turned out to attract the sea eagles, who were fed raw pieces of meat. Very impressive to see how they spot such a tiny bit of food from so far above, and then see them taking their flight down to grab it right in their claws. Nice!
While it started to get dark and we enjoyed our food, we heard splashing sounds behind us in the water. Turns out it was a dolphin,and luckily we got to see a glimpse of it. Our leftover food was thrown overboard, and it attracted these huge fish again. But to our surprise, it also attracted a White Tip Reef Shark, woehoe! All in all an evening full with animals.
And ofcourse to everyone's surprise, the second evening brought another round of drinking games hehe ;)
Second morning was another early wake-up call, and this time we were in the water at about 7.00 am in order to hopefully spot some turtles while snorkeling. Unfortunately only 2 of our group managed to spot a turtle.
Our way back was spent laying half asleep on the deck, taking in the ever shining sun and enjoying the last bit of this amazing sailing trip. I don't think there is a sailing trip more beautiful and breathtaking than this one!
Next was my last stop on the East Coast, namely Cairns. Best part about Cairns was that I met up with Miranda, Jeremy and Alec from our Fraser tour, again! And to sum up these 3 yet again amazing days: a lot of drinking, a lot of partying, and sooooo much fun. A free pubquiz apparently gets you 100$ bar tab, a 25$ pubcrawl brings you another $50 dollar bar tab pp and to sum it up, Miranda managed to dance our bar tab to another $50. Hooray ;)
On Thursday I spent the whole day diving at the Great Barrier Reef, and it goes without saying that it was beautiful and amazing. Watertemperature was 29 degrees, nice!
And on Saturday I was leaving the East Coast to spend my last 2 nights in ozzieland, namely in Perth where I was staying at a friend. To continue the rythm I ofcourse drank and partyed both evenings, which resulted in me still being drunk while getting on the plane to Asia. Seems only appropriate considering my 5 weeks in Australia!!
To close off my Australian chapter, there is no way I can describe how awesome my time in Australia was. People are incredibly kind, and I have made many new inspiring friendships along the way. Life is good and life is easy in Australia, so what is there not to love??
Australia.. I am coming back!
- comments
Snoek Hihi, ik heb menigmaal moeten gniffelen om je verhaal ^^ Enneeee... als je terug bent moet je maar even voor doen hoe groot Elvis was, want ik ben natuurlijk extreem nieuwsgierig! LLL