The Whitsundays

Location: Brisbane
Weather: Hot and Humid

Next stop Airlie Beach. The home of the Whitsunday islands. Stayed at Reefos, a place out of town where you stay in log cabins that have very funny grafetti on the walls. These cabins are surrounded by trees and possums. Apparently cabin 206 even has a possum living in the bathroom! Ran into this bloke in the kitchen there who I met way back in Tasmania! Most people choose to do a 3 day sailing trip from Airlie Beach to the Whitsunday islands, I chose to go on a daytrip on the fastest boat possible - the Ocean Rafting one to Whitehaven Beach. Whiteheaven is apparently in the top ten of beaches around the world and has the whitest sand in the world. And this I can well believe - it is a stunning place - true desert island looks - surrounded by crystal clear waters.
Also went snorkling on Hook Island at Manta Ray Bay and Butterfly Bay - Manta Ray Bay had more fish, but the coral at Butterfly was nearer the surface and this meant the colours were more vibrant than I've ever seen before, even more than at the Outer Barrier Reef. Some fish really were like swimming rainbows and quite unbelievable.
Airlie Beach is supposed to be a bit of a party place, so after a quiet couple of nights at Reefos I checked out and stayed at The Beaches in the town centre. This was a good place as well and I had a fun night with some friends in the Magnums bar next door!

By JamesReed on 27.10.04 @ 10:31 AM GMT