Whitsundays and Fraser Island

Long overdue. What else can you expect from someone having the time of her life?

Last time I was just leaving Townsville, headed for Airlie Beach, where I ended up spending a good four days hanging about, reading a book in the hammock of my hostel, watching outdoor movies at sunset on a tarp whose backdrop was the entire Airlie Beach Bay, playing trivia for free bottles of champagne, and walking beautiful national forest treks overlooking the Whitsunday Islands.

What are the Whitsundays? Only the most beautiful 74 islands on this planet. After my days in Airlie, I boarded a sailing vessel, "Summertime", for a three-day, two-night cruise around these islands. When we visited what is officially named the second best beach in the world, Whitehaven, I knew that this trip would truly be something special. The sand is as white as you could ever possibly imagine, containing 97% silica, it is the perfect exfoliant, leaving your skin feeling silky smooth. My shipmates and I wandered the less frequented section of the beach alone, our own special spot in paradise. We put on wetsuits (to protect us from the deadly box stinger jellyfish) and spent hours splashing around in simply the most beautifully blue water I have ever seen.

The rest of the trip aboard Summertime was just as magical. We snorkelled in some of the most untouched coral in the Great Barrier Reef, swimming alongside sea turtles, spotting white-tip sharks, and finding Nemo. Our ship is the only vessel in the area that has inflatable kayaks, which we took out one morning as the sun rose to spot stingrays and more turtles floating alongside our boat. Back aboard the vessel, we would hop into our jacuzzi at the front of the ship, warming up before being served our giant Aussie BBQ and heading off to our small cabins underneath the ship. It was nothing short of perfection.

After my trip to the Whitsundays, it was hard to imagine anything as unique or exciting. But only a day later, I was headed to Rainbow Beach, where I met the three strangers who would accompany me to Fraser Island on a self-drive, three-day safari. The next morning, camping gear packed into the back of the giant Land Rover they give us to take to the island, the four of us headed off to the ferry for our adventure. Darren, the 6'7" dingo-chasing, full-of-life Brit, Chris, the 19 year old, always-smiling German, and Sarah, my dear friend from Scotland. An interesting crew to say the least, we arrived on the island, hopping into the 4WD and driving on the sand to our first destination. The island is the world's largest sand island and the beaches have been converted into highways. Nothing quite like driving along the beach in an SUV with speed limit signs stuck into the sand dunes, other cars driving along the shore, waves crashing.

We spent three days on Fraser, exploring the beaches and inland lakes with our SUV. We would drive on back roads, figuring out how to navigate in the dry powder, getting stuck, driving over giant boulders, into streams...quite the adventure. Then we would get out of the car, go on a nice walk and find ourselves smack dab in front of the most beautiful, pristine, secluded lake. The waterways are so clean that we drank the water straight from them. It was something out of a fairytale, as the three of us found ourselves alone on Basin Lake, nothing but nature surrounding us.

Our nights consisted of setting up camp...and since I was the only one with any real camping experience, I became somewhat of the camp mother, showing them how to set up the tents, cooking the meals, teaching everyone how to make S'mores. (Can you even imagine living in a country that doesn't know what a S'more is? The omission of this tradition should be an international crime!) We sat around the fire, drinking goon (cheap boxed wine), telling stories, meeting aborigines who live on the island, and chasing the world's only purebred dingoes (wild dogs).

After the sailing and Fraser, I was BEAT. So I decided to come to a little resort town on the Sunshine Coast. In Noosa the past few days, I have been relaxing, taking long walks in the national forests, visiting the world-famous Eumundi markets, and staying in a quaint guesthouse with only eight other lovely people from around the world.

Life continues to surprise me. I think I may have had my long-awaited epiphany, but perhaps I'll keep you all in suspense for now. All I know is that around each corner is another wonder and I am so so so lucky to have the chance to see what I have seen.

Love you all :)

Good 'Ol Maggie

Prior to leaving Atherton, I spent an amazing day with some friends from the Lodge, driving over to the jungle-top town of Kuranda, where we jumped off twenty-foot ledges into deep gorges atop a giant, cascading waterfall. As the tourists looked on from their “viewing platform”, we stood atop the waterfall, swimming and enjoying our own private viewing of the magical wonder. After this glorious day, it was even harder to say goodbye to Atherton, but it was time to move on, so I packed up and grabbed a bus to Townsville.

In Townsville, I wandered along The 5-kilometer Strand, ambling along the coastline path, lined with tropical palms, giant fountains, and several rock pools and lagoons. I found it interesting to see that they had several boxes along the way full of vinegar for the box-stinger jellyfish, a real threat here to swimmers in the summer months. That evening I grabbed some fish and chips at the local pub, Molly Malones, and met what would soon become my family for the next couple of days. Carl and Allie, from England, were traveling with the Aussie Drew, and we instantly hit it off, as I eavesdropped on their conversation about movies and “that guy who dances around naked in the bedroom”, jumping in and screaming, “It's Tom Cruise and the movie is 'Cocktail'”. Duh. What followed was a few more drinks, a lot of laughs, and an agreement to pick me up the next morning to go to the famous Magnetic Island just off the coast of Townsville.

Indeed, at 9:30 the next morning, we were off to the ferry station, where Drew and Carl purchased Canadian Club and Coca-Colas to drink at 10 in the morning. I thought to myself, “oh boy, this is going to be a long weekend.” Upon arriving on “Maggie”, we went our own separate ways to our previously-booked hostels, only to reunite later when the three amigos showed up with motor bikes for us to ride around the island. I hopped on the back of one, where we drove to Horseshoe Bay for a quick lunch and then on to Alma Bay for a swim in the warmest ocean water I have ever felt. We spent the entire day driving around the magical island, swimming, stopping at lookouts that were beyond breathtaking and visiting rock points with hundreds of rock wallabies (small, kangaroo-like animals). That night we found ourselves at the local community center cheering on a teengage band and the best beat-boxer in Australia. As the locals wondered, “who are these tourists crashing our party?”, we danced and cheered to this peculiar party we had found.

Back on the dirt bikes in the morning, the boys dropped Allie and I off at a hiking trail, where we ascended the hill to the forts that Australia built on the island during World War II. The forts were not only impressive; the views from atop were literally amazing. On our way down, we kept our eyes pealed for a koala, as we had been told they often frequent this area. Sure enough, there was one, in the tree, only five feet from where we were standing. We watched for nearly a half hour, standing mere feet from the little guy as he sat passively watching us, trying to keep his eyes open. I had to pinch myself; I was watching a koala in the wild!

The great day came to an end with the Townsville Air Show, which we could view from the island's pier at Picnic Bay. Ironically enough, we had planned a picnic for the night, so we set up a wide array of cheeses, meats, wines, pates, and fruits, and watched the US fighter planes soar above us, twisting and turning, followed by a 45-minute fireworks display over the ocean. Wow.

It was so hard to say goodbye to Maggie and to my little family the next day, but it was time to move on...a quick visit to the local markets before hopping on a bus to Airlie Beach, where I am now. Tomorrow I have a 3-day, 2-night sailing cruise in the famous Whitsunday Islands, including Whitehaven Beach, named the second best beach in the entire world. I am thrilled and loving this adventure, but of course miss you all.