Cairns to Sydney – 16 Day Tour (Days 1 to 6)

After a relaxing few days in Cairns, I jumped on the Adventure Tours Australia (ATA) bus. The drive from Cairns to Sydney took 16 days, arriving in Sydney on the 23rd December – just in time for Christmas!

Day 1: Cairns to Mission Beach

The company ATA had recently merged with another company called Oz Experience, previously know as the big green ‘party’ bus. Today, the bus catered for around 20 people of ages ranging from 19 to 40. All of the tour group seemed like fun, and with Pistol Pete as our driver, I knew we were in for a bit of a party for the next 16 days.

The first stop on our trip was to A.J. Hackett’s bungy site. A.J.Hackett is a chap from New Zealand, who made his first bungy jump from the Eiffel Tower in Paris in 1987 and since then decided to make it his mission to jump from every place possible, including a helicopter. Now several sites exist around the world where ‘jumpers’ can get their thrills. This of course was not an option for me as there is no way in the world that I would ever do a bungy jump, especially after being shown a piece of bungy cord; the cord is literally made of a collection of knicker elastic!

Instead, I got my thrills through out the rest of the day by enjoying the beautiful Atherton Tablelands, dipping my feet in an ancient volcanic crater lake, and enjoying the Milaa Milaa falls – made famous in Peter Andres video, ‘Mysterious Girl’.

We arrived at Mission Beach in the late evening; a long beach made of strange orange sand. Very pretty, even in the cloud and misty rain. In the evening, I swam, dined on Kangaroo and drank wine with fellow tour passengers; Elin and Tommy from Sweden, Magnus from Norway, Kathryn from Switzerland and others. A great start to the tour.

Day 2: Mission Beach to Magnetic Island

Our mission for today was to arrive in Townsville to take the ferry across to Magnetic Island. On the way, we stopped to take a walk in beautiful rainforest and attempt to see wild Cassowary birds. Fortunately we did not see one; I say this as they can be very dangerous in the wild.

More tamely, we later stopped at Frosty Mangos for some of the best ice cream I have ever tasted. I also tried a Wax Jambu for the first time ever – a small fruit that looks like a pepper, but pink in colour and flesh like a hard lychee. It did in fact taste like celery – very strange.

For the third time in the past month, we arrived in Townsville. Here we boarded the motor kat, which bravely took us across the big swell to Magnetic Island. The island on arrival appeared in all truthfulness to be quite touristy. The sandy rock outcrops interrupted by grey monstrosities of buildings and houses. Our hostel for the night however, was located away from the more built up areas and sitting in the bar/restaurant, I looked straight to sea.

Included in our package was an afternoon of sea kayaking. Jess and I climbed aboard and made good progress through the waves. Rain soon set in and we decided that the best place to be was in the pool. After realising I was sufficiently pruned, I ordered food and enjoyed Satadaquiri (daiquiris on a Saturday night). After a few of those and the wine we had smuggled into the hostel, I was quite pie-eyed and spent the rest of the evening dancing. It turned out a few of the boys were too and insisted on stripping for us (only their tops of course) and dancing around the pole. All very amusing.

Day 3: Magnetic Island to Airlie Beach

The morning was spent taking a bush walk on Magnetic Island. Very enjoyable as I saw wild Koalas and green arsed ants (you can actually lick their bums and you taste citrus). Aborigines use the ants to make tea. On top of the hill we were climbing was an old WWII fort, also used to protect Australia during Japanese invasion.

We lunched on the island and spent the remainder of the day taking the return ferry back to the mainland and driving to Airlie Beach, from where we would sail to the Whitsunday’s. It was here in Airlie Beach, it became clear what travelling the east coast of Australia is all about – bars and clubs, young boys and girls partying themselves very hard and sunbathing by the pool in the day. I felt very sad here and missed the west coast significantly. I wished that the remainder of my trip would be different.

Days 4 to 6: Sailing the Whitsundays

With thoughts forgotten, I was excited for the next three days; for we would be sailing the Whitsunday Islands. We were shown to our boat, Ron of Argyll, which proved to be a dream to sail on. Built in 1928, the classic two mastered Ketch, was once graced by the presence of Marilyn Monroe and JFK. She was beautiful. For the next three days, we travellers graced her decks; sunbathing, diving into the beautiful blue/green waters and dining like kings and queens – we literally did not have to lift a finger, well only to help bring up the fine cuisine from the galley.

Our first anchor was Haymen Island, from where we were dropped by tender at Blue Pearl Bay to snorkel. The stinger suits we hired protected us from the dangerous box jelly fish that occur here at this time of year. I saw a huge array of fish, including a giant clam. A random crew member from another boat thought it would be humorous to drop fish food in front of Kathryn and I – very soon fish were jumping around our face masks. Fantastic. That night, we moored at Nara Inlet, drank wine on the deck and dined on chicken and rice.

The second day aboard Ron was just as amazing as the first. During breakfast a wild cockatoo came to visit the boat – I fed him rich tea biscuits, which he adored. We spent the morning sailing to Tongue Bay, via Hook Passage. Turtles are rife in Tongue Bay, and they in turn attract Tiger Sharks and Hammerheads, so we could not swim there. Instead, we were taken ashore to Whitsunday Island. A short walk to the look out and we were greeted by the 6th most beautiful beach in the world – Whitehaven Beach. The beach was truly stunning and I think only by looking at the pictures that I will put onto the website will you see quite how beautiful it is.

After gawping at the beach for over an hour, we descended to the white sands and turquoise water. I donned my stinger suit and dived into water. Very salty, I floated like a lily and thought just how lucky I am. I was even able to polish my ring in the fine white sand.

Once aboard Ron, we motored to Dumbbell Island. There I dived into the beautiful water to snorkel amongst batfish, colourful corals and more brightly coloured fish. It was soon time to make way to Maureen’s Bay, where we would moor for the night. The sailing conditions were fantastic – wind 15 to 20 knots, a huge swell, boat fully healed over (which I love) and a hairy granny jibe (no sense to me, but apparently easier than a normal gybe due to the set up of the sails). Safe and sound in the bay, we dined and chatted. Mainly about pirating the posh boat moored only a few meters away from us! Very amusing, especially when the deck hand told us a real live story about some Irish Boys only just recently doing so and managing to retrieve some knickers in the process.

Day 3 of our sailing trip came round quickly. We started the day with a snorkel just around the corner from Maureen’s Bay – I would say that this was one of the best snorkels I have ever had. The sail back to Airlie Beach was great and I even got a turn to help tack the boat. We were back by 3pm, so I decided to take a run along the coast. I was rewarded for my efforts; in the bay suddenly a Manta Ray launched from the water. Over in a moment, but one I will never forget – it was stunning.

Lots of Love, Em x