Sailing in the Whitsundays!

White Haven Beach

Sailing in Paradise--Whitsunday Style!

During the month of October, I was super busy with school projects and studying for finals that I did not have much time to take a weekend trip outside of Brisbane. I knew I needed to see the Whitsundays before I leave Australia, so I planned a sailing trip for after completing my last exam. And right when I handed in my last exam, the stress lifted from my shoulders and I got into relaxation mode! I was so thrilled that the next day began a new, small adventure.

Waiting in the airport was boring as always, but I did meet Kate, who was also traveling solo to the Whitsundays. We talked during the shuttle ride into Airlie Beach from the Proserpine Airport, and we met up for some drinks later that evening. I really enjoyed hanging out with her and talking about the differences between Australia and USA, and sharing our traveling stories.

After spending the first night in Airlie Beach, I woke up bright and early the next morning and walked to the marina to start my sailing trip! This sailing trip was through the Matador, a 2 day-1 night excursion that I found on Bookme.com. I have never been on a sailing trip, nor have I ever spent the night on a boat, so I was very excited to see how it will all play out. As I checked in, I noticed that 20 other people (plus the 3 crew members) will be on this trip, too! I first met Olivia and Felicitas, who are also exchange students that just completed their semester at uni, and Nici, who is traveling through Australia on holiday. When I boarded the boat, I had to say good bye to my shoes (I wear shoes all the time, in the house, outside, just all the time) that were put into the shoe bin. The set up of the boat was really cool: the deck had hammocks and lots of open spaces to sit and lay down, while the bunk beds, kitchen and bathrooms were beneath the deck. After the safety briefing, the cabin crew hoisted the sails and we were off, sailing into the distance!

    

Laying down on the deck, tanning, observing the nearby islands, and listening to the waves crash against the boat, I finally felt fully relaxed! The water was so blue/turquoise and the islands had lush, green trees, I felt like I was sailing in paradise! I was actually glad that my phone had no reception: its a liberating feeling not being on social media and I can finally soak in the scenery around me. I also lost track of time, but when you're on a boat, time is irrelevant. Some time passed, and we reached our first snorkeling spot (out of three)! I think we spent about an hour in each snorkeling location, which was a perfect amount of time to see the fish and the coral. These islands are right next to the southern half of the Great Barrier Reef, so it was cool to see parts of the reef at this location.
Here are some videos I took when I snorkeled (Shout out to Mario for letting me use his GoPro for this trip!!). One video I found a Nemo fish swimming through the sea anemone, and the other video has great views of the coral. There was one instance where I was swimming, and one of the crew members threw a piece of bread (for the fish) near me, and all of a sudden, every fish and their fish brother swam my way, shoving me to try to get to the piece of bread first!

We swam so much, I was starving for dinner. The crew made spaghetti bolognese, or as they called it: Spaghetti Bologn-yays! And with dinner, we watched the sky turn to the beautiful hues of a sunset and we watched the bright stars emerge from a pitch-black sky.

Around 11pm, I was exhausted, and decided to call it a night and went to sleep in my bunk. The waves rocked the boat so gently that it put me to sleep! The crew also told us to wake up early, so we can be one of the first people on Whitehaven beach the next day. So around 5:30am, I woke up to my feet being tickled! I woke up right away, to see one of the crew members, wide awake, telling me that "Brekkie is ready!!" and that I needed to get ready quickly. I jumped out of bed half asleep, ate a PB&J, and got ready. Do you know how hard it is to walk on a boat rocking side to side when you're still sleepy? Let me tell you, it wasn't a walk in the park, haha!

But yes, waking up early was a great idea, because we were one of the first groups on the island, and we had the whole beach to ourselves for about an hour. Whitehaven Beach is, hands down, the most beautiful beach I've ever witnessed. Just take a look for yourself.

  


These pictures were taken at high tide, so not much of the white silica sand is shown, but it is still a breathtaking sight! We spent a few hours on the beach. Me, Nici, Olivia, and Felicia walked up and down the shore line, taking in the scenery. All of us were just so impressed with the view, we didn't want to leave! But lunchtime came, and we went back onto the boat, almost finished with the boat tour. Though we had enough time for one more spot, which was Hook Island Bay where we had a big pool party! Everyone jumped off the boat and swam around the bay. This was a perfect way to end the tour! Everyone was laughing, joking around and having a great time! Even the cabin crew joined in on the fun!

Yes, even when I had no idea about the time at any given moment, time flew by so fast! At the end, I didn't want the tour to be over! The crew was so friendly and shared a lot of information about the marine life and about the surrounding area. If I could, I would go on this tour again! Overall, it was better than I could've imagined it to be!


So yeah, that was my last AUS domestic adventure. I am glad I spent my time in the Whitsundays, and meeting many cool new friends! And Shout out to the Matador crew for making the tour one of the best experiences ever! You guys rock!