FAR OUT Walkabout: Whitsundays

By Kevin Bazooband // 11 March 2011 // Comments: 0 // Related Categories: adventure, airlie beach, blogging, Far Out Adventure, Far Out Walkabout, Hostels, Nightlife, whitsundays

With the awe of The Great Barrier Reef still fresh in our minds, we head south to Airlie Beach not sure what to expect. When we arrived at our hostel, Beaches Backpacker's, the energetic staff were very excited to see us and ready to set us up in our room. They told us that "every day here is a lazy Sunday, and every night is a crazy Friday night!" what more could a couple 21 year olds ask for?!? The nightlife was interesting because the main drag of town is only six blocks long. Everyone in Airlie moves from bar to bar as a huge group. Beaches is the spot where all the Whitsunday's boats and Oz Experience parties are, but once the clock hits midnight the bar closes and every one moves on to the next spot. It seems that the whole town is part of the party lifestyle, from the captain and crew of the boats to the friendly Beaches staff, everyone is out late at Airlie Beach.

When morning breaks in Airlie Beach, many are up early walking to Abel Point Marina boarding sailboats to explore the beautiful Whitsunday islands. Our first day on the boat was far from our peaceful, sunny expectations, but boy was it fun. The captain led the sailboat at an extreme 70-degree angle battling through the strong current and downpouring rain.  Wind speeds were reaching 35 knots in the opposite direction of the rising tide, creating massive 20-foot swells that the crew said they haven't seen in months. The energy on the boat was amazing, it was the crew versus nature. Everyone running around, pulling ropes, cranking levers, then the captain yelled "F***!" We looked up and flapping in the winds was our torn sail. Up until this point the experience felt like an intense roller coaster ride. Our adrenaline was pumping and even the huge wave splashes couldn't wipe the smiles off our faces. Now the captain needed our help, this wasn't like other boat tours when they need your "help" to raise the sail, this was real, this was raw. With only six passengers on the 25 person boat, Jordan and I had to step up and help the crew. We had four girls crying and two vomiting, without time to contemplate everything that had happened we were sucked back into the fast action of the sea. The Captain was barking orders at the crew as well as at Jordan and I, trying to get us out of the rough waters. We threw our cameras to the girls and joined in the adventure. After battling the sea we finally made it to land, the beautiful Whitehaven beach.

The sand on the beach was so fine, it felt like a powder in between your hands. When wet, your feet sunk down an inch, it felt like stepping on a sponge. When dry, the sand was so soft it felt like you were walking on an expensive carpet. The silica sand was so fine that not only could you exfoliate your skin with it, but NASA used two tons of it for the lens on the Hubble telescope. Basically I was really impressed with the sand! We could see exposed sand bars in the distance that changed shape or even disappeared daily depending on tides.

The second day we woke up to clear blue skies and shining sun. We ventured the boat over to a beach in the middle of the ocean. It was a sandbar maybe only 30 feet in width. We put on our snorkel masks and then saw the some of the most amazing sights of the trip. We were floating no more than one meter above a green sea turtle! Calmly flapping its arms the turtle swam just beneath us for ten minutes, it was incredible. Above water, the scenery was just as impressive. The greens of the trees, and blues of the water and sky seemed brighter, clearer. Its hard to explain and pictures would not help either, but the colors were more vivid than normal. People say that HDTVs look better than real life, this was not the case. Every leaf, every wave seemed to be sharper. It was best put by Jordan, "I feel the same way as when I first got glasses".   This was Whitsundays.

Though our first day visiting Whitsundays was very different than a typical trip to the islands, I wouldn't have had it any other way. We were able to experience the rush, and adventure of "real" sailing; as well as the relaxation of cruising the seas. With our crew from ProSail, I felt safe the entire time. They paid extra attention to the worried passengers, because this was such an unusual trip, and I really appreciated the way they handled the situation. Whitsundays and Airlie Beach is a cannot miss destination in Australia, it may have just been the most fun I have had here yet!