Whitsundays: lazy days in paradise
Door: Nathalie
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Nathalie
18 November 2012 | Australië, Whitsundays
We make our way to Airlie Beach, another little piece of Paradise on Earth. There seems to be a lot of that going around here in Australia. Our motel room overlooks a little marina, with cute little sailing boats; and a view of the Whitsunday islands. The brochure mentions million dollar views, and for once they're not lying! At night we try to do some stargazing, but without much success. I have to admit, palmtrees obscuring my observation horizon is a new one.
The next day we book a trip to Long Island, for a bit of rainforest walking and lazing about on the beach. There are wallabies on the island, but we only spot one out of the corner of our eye. There was a brief moment of excitement regarding the possible presence of drop bears when something fell on Heleens head, but our excitement was shortlived: it turned out to be just a leaf.
In the afternoon Heleen and I settled on the beach in the shade of a palm tree to while away the hours, while Koen did some more exploring, hoping to spot cool animals. Too soon we had to head back to the ferry, but Long Island had one final treat in store: we spotted a red-backed sea eagle looking for prey close to the shore.
The next day we boarded the Cimara for a day of sun, sea and sailing, a visit to the famous Whitehaven Beach and some snorkelling. Again, the Whitsundays had a few special treats for us: we saw a sea turtle, a stingray and an osprey, a kind of sea eagle.
Whitehaven Beach is really something special. The sand is 99% silica, which makes it incredibly soft and fine. Also, and this is a really weird feeling, even though the sun is blazing overhead, the sand feels cool under your feet! It doesn't heat up the way normal sand does.
Snorkelling was ok, but it came nowhere near the experience we had with Wavelength. The tide was high, so the coral was a lot further down, and we didn't see as many fish as we did in Opal Reef. But we did enjoy a whole day of being out on the water, so relaxing!
Finally had a hotel with free WiFi, so I managed to get some travel reports online. Had to go sit outside reception to get a WiFi signal, and was eaten alive by mozzies. I have to say, the Australian mozzies are a lot better behaved than their European counterparts: they don't bother with the irksome buzzing, and you also don't feel them bite. So by the end of my surfing session, I was the proud owner of 12 mozzie bites. Yeay!
The next day we book a trip to Long Island, for a bit of rainforest walking and lazing about on the beach. There are wallabies on the island, but we only spot one out of the corner of our eye. There was a brief moment of excitement regarding the possible presence of drop bears when something fell on Heleens head, but our excitement was shortlived: it turned out to be just a leaf.
In the afternoon Heleen and I settled on the beach in the shade of a palm tree to while away the hours, while Koen did some more exploring, hoping to spot cool animals. Too soon we had to head back to the ferry, but Long Island had one final treat in store: we spotted a red-backed sea eagle looking for prey close to the shore.
The next day we boarded the Cimara for a day of sun, sea and sailing, a visit to the famous Whitehaven Beach and some snorkelling. Again, the Whitsundays had a few special treats for us: we saw a sea turtle, a stingray and an osprey, a kind of sea eagle.
Whitehaven Beach is really something special. The sand is 99% silica, which makes it incredibly soft and fine. Also, and this is a really weird feeling, even though the sun is blazing overhead, the sand feels cool under your feet! It doesn't heat up the way normal sand does.
Snorkelling was ok, but it came nowhere near the experience we had with Wavelength. The tide was high, so the coral was a lot further down, and we didn't see as many fish as we did in Opal Reef. But we did enjoy a whole day of being out on the water, so relaxing!
Finally had a hotel with free WiFi, so I managed to get some travel reports online. Had to go sit outside reception to get a WiFi signal, and was eaten alive by mozzies. I have to say, the Australian mozzies are a lot better behaved than their European counterparts: they don't bother with the irksome buzzing, and you also don't feel them bite. So by the end of my surfing session, I was the proud owner of 12 mozzie bites. Yeay!
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