Whitsunday Islands

We got up with the sun, of course, and packed up to leave the sweet condo we'd been staying in. We were both sad to leave (as it was awesome) and excited to leave (because the owner was always hovering like she was our mother).

Luna our host pup

Jackson got in trouble for not properly cleaning the grill. Whoops!

The final brekky bbq of our stay

The owner being a little annoying was a small price to pay for that view, though.

We'll miss this view

We had to be out of there by 11 so the owner kindly drove us to our place for Friday night to store our luggage and then dropped us in town so we could get lunch then head to our boat.

At the lagoon 

It was so hot that we just didn't feel like eating. We hung out in the shade at the lagoon for a bit before grabbing some Macca's (McDonald's) and heading for the boat.

Our "bedroom" 

We were greeted by a French guy speaking English in an Australian accent who would be our first mate. There were six couples total on the boat plus Captain Mel (a crotchety old Aussie) and Thomas (aka "Frenchie"). We had a "private room" with windows that were visible from deck so it really was not private at all, but did have a door. We set out the first night to get to Sunset Beach for sunset. Makes sense, no?

Captain Jack

Empty sunset beach

Lovely.

My typical view on the boat

I'm SO glad that we bought anti-nausea medicine because Captain Mel loved to sail like a wild man.

Jumping squid

The first night we were all up on deck and we kept hearing something jumping out of the water. Then I heard a SMACK on the boat. We went to investigate and Jackson found what it was by stepping on it! We grabbed our phone and soon discovered that it was a squid. GROSS! The next day we saw that the boat had squid ink all over it. Frenchie says that means they were being chased by something quite scary. He didn't elaborate and I didn't want him to! 

That night was the worst night of sleep ever. The cabin was SO hot (it had been almost 90 degrees that day) that Jackson took himself up to deck and slept on the bench up there. I got up at 3 a.m. and sat with him until more squid came flying up and that was my cue to leave- ha! The next day the entire boat bonded over our lack of sleep and it felt much more comfortable to be in such small quarters with everyone. I know, that seems odd to me, too, but a shared discomfort really bonds.

Whitehaven Beach

We spent the morning at Whitehaven Beach which is known globally for its beauty. It did not disappoint. We did a quick hike to the lookout before heading down to the beach itself to enjoy it.

"Stinger Suit"

It is the law down here that you wear a "stinger suit" during the summer months because of deadly jellyfish in the warm water. I actually did not mind the suit because the sun is so hot here that you just could not put on enough sunscreen to avoid getting burned. It became my shield! I was a bit nervous to get in the water with jellyfish, but, as you saw from my video, nature called and I answered. ;) I was more afraid of the stingrays since they bury themselves in the sand and get accidentally stepped on often. They also are what killed Australia's sweetheart, Steve Irwin. so one could never be too careful.

Asian folks taking photos with Jackson's suit LOL

Too bad the sand and water aren't prettier here ;)

Petefish

Life in a screensaver

All of the boats waiting to serve lunch!

We spent the entire morning playing in the water, observing stingrays until it got too scary, trying to avoid jellies and just hanging out. It was so fun. We went back to the boat for lunch and then went to another part of the reef for snorkeling. By that time I was tired of being freaked out in the water so I volunteered to keep Frenchie company as he drove the lifeboat around keeping an eye on the divers. We still saw a ton of fish and coral from up there and I felt much more comfortable. Jackson naturally was one of the last to get back on the boat after snorkeling. :)

Headed out for a snorkel

CORAL!

So many colorful fish

These opened and closed- so cool

A beauty!

A jellyfish swimming close to the boat just to scare us

We watched the sunset from the boat that evening and anchored in a place without so much squid activity. We stayed up late talking to the other couples (1 American couple who just moved to Brisbane, Australia for work; 2 German couples; 1 British couple; 1 Dutch couple). It was such a diverse crowd and we had a great time just learning about each other. Jackson took a particular shine to British Matt which was highly entertaining for all of us. They bantered back and forth with each other for HOURS.

The cabin was cooler that night so I slept fairly well. Jackson bounced back and forth between our room and sleeping on the deck. I got up early the final morning and hung out with Captain Mel, drinking tea and talking about politics, until everyone else got up. He convinced me to go snorkeling since Frenchie would be right there with the lifeboat if I got tired, scared or needed anything. I'm glad he did because the snorkeling was awesome. I did not even freak out because I knew Frenchie had the boat very close to me. (Note: all of my videos from my time below the sea are on previous posts. I even tried to narrate them while underwater. It didn't work so well.)

He's so darn excited to be in the water together

Snorkeling Jenn (with help from a noodle because
swimming hurts my knee)

For our final adventure we went to Hayman Island to see their wallaby population (basically a tiny kangaroo). We saw a couple, but it turns out they are pretty camera shy. They are sure adorable, though!

Look closely for a 'roo

Another deserted island

I kept pretending to be Tom Hanks in Cast Away even though I've never seen it.

Hiking with Jackson in "thongs"

The Captain called flip-flops "thongs" which gave us all a great laugh. I mentioned that he was an older man but he was tough as nails. He kept telling us that the hiking here was simply and could easily be done in sandals or barefoot. He was full of it!!

Looks like Oregon

Why Captain Mel thought climbing this
in our "thongs" was a good idea is beyond me.

Moody.

Love this.

Trying to take a selfie with a wallaby who
jumped away before I could snap the photo

I ended up actually being all by myself for a bit because my knee hurt too badly to keep hiking with the group. I saw some wallabies and tried to get photos of them without luck. BOO!

We eventually made it back to the boat for a quick lunch before packing up to go back to Airlie Beach.

The kitchen area
(complete with Jackson brushing his teeth- ha!)

The door to our room and the stairs to the deck

The other beds were just out in the open

The kitchen

Women's bathroom

The shower*
*I'm not kidding.

The shower facilities on the boat were lacking. We got 5 minutes each day to use the extending faucet which felt more like doing dishes than showering. This was as close to camping as this girl will ever get. EVER. EVER.

More open bunks

British Matt and Jackson

Deckhanding

"Frenchie"

Frenchie, Captain Mel (seated), British Sarah and
Dutch Heil (pretending to the captain)

Jackson sittin' pretty

Captain Mel was feeling good and got us going at 12 knots. NEVER HAS 13.81 MPH BEEN SO TERRIFYING. I mean we were basically vertical. It was wild. One of the German couples took video so I'll post that when available. 

We said our goodbyes to our new friends and headed for an actual shower.

I've never been happier to see land!

We stayed at another Airbnb this time a little less high-brow, but still nice. We showered and felt human again so we wandering into town to grab dinner. We were amazed in Airlie Beach at the sheer number of backpackers!

Backpackers' paradise

It is really common for European and Aussie students to take "gap years" from college and just backpack around the country. I always thought that would be fun until I saw their accommodations. It turns out I prefer traveling as an adult. HA! :)

The view from the new place

Clean again! Praise the LORD!

Loving the Aussie "super dry" beer by Hahn

Sharing a pizza and a fish sandwich both of
which were awesome

After we'd had a large amount of food and a good walk around town we turned in for the night. It was so nice to be sleeping in a stationary place with air conditioning. I know, I know, I'm not exactly rugged.