Just had the best week of my life. Eventhough it was study week...who honestly studies in Australia! haha. My friend Jason and I decided to head up north to Airlie Beach Australia. We took part in a 3 day sailing trip visiting the 74 islands that comprise the Whitsunday Islands. The boat was incredible. It was a racing sailboat used years ago called the Samurai. There were 20 of us all together on the boat including the crewmen. It is honestly so hard to put into words how beautiful this place truly was. Living aboard a sailboat for the past week has made me want to own a boat, live on a boat for the rest of my life and never leave the sunny lifestyle of Aussieland. Here's the details of my week:
Meet Team Samurai
Our crewmen consisted of a skipper named Maddy, a cook named Daniel and a scuba instructor named Greg. They were ridiculous but so much fun. All in their late 20's we had a rather awesome experience with them. They definitely knew how to have fun and show us a good time as well as beautiful islands. I also was blessed enough to meet some extraordinary people on my boat. Tom and Joe were two British boys we met. Honestly the four of us became best pals on the trip. It was like our only little gang of goofballs. I loved them. We became so close that they are already planning a trip down to see us in Brisbane this upcoming weekend. Woot Woot. Another girl I met was Jaime from Ireland. She's 24 and is working on becoming a lawyer (smarty). She was so fun and we plan on staying in touch in the future as well. Some other people included a couple from France, a couple from Ireland, 4 girls from Germany and a guy from Canada. We all got along so well. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people.
Whitehaven Beach
We were able to travel to one of the top and prettiest beaches in the entire world. It was called Whitehaven beach and it was truly magical. The sand was so fine they told us all to take off any jewelry we had and rub it into the sand for a few minutes and it would be like it was brand new. It was incredible how shiney the jewelry was after doing this. The sand was so fine that when you walked on it, it made this squeaky noise underneath your feet. It was so fun. In the sand there were also TONS of soldier crabs. At first we only saw a couple and after you adjusted your eyes to the sand you saw that they traveled in armies! They were EVERYWHERE. They were so pretty too because they had blue colored shells. We had a great time running after them and picking them up. When we were walking in the water along the bay we saw HUGE stingray as well. Honestly these stingray were MASSIVE but so pretty to watch glide in the water. After we goofed around on the water for awhile we headed up to the lookout point. The lookout was magnificent. It allowed you to lookout over the whole beach and it was like looking at a postcard. Some of the prettiest pictures I've ever taken (are to follow). I wish everyone could experience this gorgeous place. So cool!
Scuba Diving/Snorkeling
We also had the opportunity to scuba dive/snorkel. The Whitsundays is located in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef. The coral we saw was SOOOO COLORFUL. It was as if I was looking at a rainbow. The fish were so cool too. They came right up to my mask...not scared of you at all. This one fish we saw was named Elvis and he was the size of Brandy! No Joke! Biggest fish ever! It was so cool to see him up close and personal. I also got to see stingrays and squid! Had such a great time doing this!
Sunset & Sunrise
The sunset and sunrise on the Samurai were breathtaking to say the least. I never knew the sky could look so magical. The colors were incredible and I got to view it all from a SAILBOAT, how cool is that! I have tons of pictures so don't worry. The stars at night were also SO BRIGHT. The crewmen were pointing out the constellations and it was so cool to see so many stars in one setting.
Eagles
Our last night the crewmen anchored the boat down and for 30 minutes started throwing pieces of meat up at 3 different eagles circling our boat. The eagles would come soo close to us and literally swoop down to grab the meat. IT WAS SOO COOL.
All in all, one of the best trips I've been to in Australia. If I could bring my family anywhere in Australia, the Whitsunday Islands would be the place. It was INCREDIBLE and a great way to end my trips in Australia. Woot Woot!
Love you all.
