Get Busy Living, Or Get Busy Dying : Whitsunday's and Airlie Beach

Sorry it has taken us so long to get back to you all. We have had limited wifi in our last few destinations… Finally, here is an update.

Our Whitsunday’s adventure started in a town called, Airlie Beach. This, being both of our first hostel experience, we didn’t really know what to expect. It turns out it was a little bit crazier than we thought. It came fully equipped with cleaning service everyday (which we never got), free cutlery sets (which smelled rank), and access to a pool (with no water in it). Needless to say, this was not your typical four-star resort.

We headed down to check out the local beach scene. Upon our arrival, we realized no one was on it or in the water. We discovered that most people were lying out by the lagoon. The lagoon was 4 feet deep in the middle, and due to the sun, the water was up to 90 degrees. Once we couldn’t stand the heat anymore we stopped in at a sandwich shop for some lunch. This is where I discovered my new favorite wrap, called the Mexican Wrap. I’m not sure if it was because I was so hungry anything would have tasted good, or if it is actually that amazing, but I did manage to eat it 3 times before we left.

Our night started off with the backpacker special that we ate seated at our camp-style picnic tables. That night two German girls joined us. After dinner the four of us walked down the street to check out a different bar. Shortly after we sat down we were harassed by the event coordinator to participate in the nights activity for a cash prize of $500! Somehow, Jessica was convinced to participate because who could give up the opportunity to win a cash prize of $500?? Jessica left me with the German girls to get dressed for her activity. After twenty minutes she came running down the stairs followed by five other girls. All of them wearing matching singlets (aka tank tops), and various clothing on the bottom. Some in scandalous underwear, but Jessica covered up in her shorts (smart girl). Jessica was in the first heat. She knelt in the pool full of jelly where she was joined by a (slightly more) muscular, blonde, Swedish girl. Immediately, I was a bit worried when I saw what she was up against. The two were meant to wrestle to be the first one to remove 2 wristbands from the other person. (They each had a band on both their wrists and both their ankles) The whistle blew to indicate the round has begun. Unfortunately for Jessica, she forgot she had bands on her ankles and only got one band off the other girls before she was stripped of two bands rather quickly. For those of you that don’t know Jessica, she is one of the most competitive people I know and she lost. IN THE FIRST ROUND! Needless to say, she was not very happy about the loss especially because she stayed sober so she could “concentrate and be on-top if her game.” Even though we didn’t win any money, it was worth the entertainment, for sure. At least, in my opinion it was worth it, Jessica might feel differently. She did get a free shirt and the Swedish girl ended up winning the whole thing, so at least Jessica lost to the eventual loser.

She lost, but I still love her!

We started off the next day with a morning run, which we planned on starting at 8 am, but I forgot to set my alarm, so it was actually a little after 10 when we finally got out the door. I’m pretty sure people thought we were crazy, because it was 99 degrees F with 100% humidity. Needless to say, it wasn’t the most enjoyable run. We spent the rest of the day visiting markets and exploring the town. That night we met a group of guys that were “holidaying” from Sydney. We started out at our hostel, where Kerry competed in a competition where she had to drink a can of soda out of a sweaty sock. She didn’t get very far, but I don’t blame her. We all then continued on to Magnums, where we met two more of their guy friends. We met these boys a little too late; because they were leaving the next morning but had a boat and a sweet pool, which really would have been nice. We all then ended the night at an Irish pub, where one of their friends was playing live music. We stayed out far too late and probably drank a little more than we should have. Going to bed at 4 am and having to wake up three hours later for our sailing trek was not the smartest decision we have made all trip.

Friends made a little too late.

Fellow Emory Eagle we met! Hey C!

The next morning was a bit rough. We headed off to meet our group to sail the Whitsundays. We boarded our boat and our first stop was at the reef, where we were given these fabulous blue stinger suits, because it was jelly season. The water was beautiful, but instead of being able to enjoy the beauty of the coral, I was distracted by the intense battle of dodging the hundreds of jellyfish. I am not kidding….HUNDREDS!! Just picture the scene in Finding Nemo, when suddenly they realized they were surrounded by jellyfish and there was no way out, yup, that is pretty much our experience. After snorkeling, we sailed over to Hill Inlet, where we climbed to the top to overlook Whitehaven beach. This was absolutely beautiful. It is one of the first places that I can actually say is as pretty as the post cards make it out to be. I have never seen such vibrant hues of blue swirled with the white sand, making it easily the prettiest beach I have ever seen. If you have not been there before, it needs to go on your bucket list as a must!! From there we sailed to the southern most point of the beach, where we anchored and were given a couple hours to just hang out on the beach. Little did we know the entertainment that we were about to experience. There were two rather unique individuals on our boat. One was a Spanish woman and the other was a man wearing a speedo. They both were obsessed with taking pictures of themselves, and constantly asking others to take photos of them. Finally, they teamed up and just started taking pictures of each other. This is when it got interesting. Their photo shoot soon turned into her rolling around in the water and him do what I can only describe as the crouching tiger, hidden dragon pose. Kerry and I were trying so hard not to die laughing, but we were able to sneak one picture without making it obvious. I mean I can only admire their gumption, because God knows I would never have the guts to do that, but one does have to wonder, what are they going to do with all those pictures? After being entertained by our fellow mates, we were finally called back on the boat and headed back to Airlie Beach. We were pretty wiped out from the day and the lack of sleep the night before, so wanting to escape the younglings and all their shenanigans, Kerry and I decided to go treat ourselves to a nice glass of wine at an upscale restaurant. I am not sure if it was a really good wine or I was just in desperate need of a quiet night, but let me tell you it hit the spot.