Ships and Dips

I said goodbye to all my new friends in Noosa and hopped back on the Oz Bus to go up to Rainbow Beach, which is only 2 hours north of Noosa. The gang came down to the bus stop to wave me off which was lovely, and provided a great conversation starter with the other people on the bus! We only had a smallish minibus this time so there were only a few people travelling with me. We stayed in one of only 2 hostels in Rainbow Beach (it's a teeny tiny village really), and met quite a few people who were there to go on camping trips to Fraser Island. I left the next day on the same bus (that was one of the compulsory stops so the bus and driver stopped over too) but this time there was only me, 2 other girls that had been in the hostel and the driver! We arrived in Agnes Waters at lunch time and the girls and the driver checked into a very nice hostel. The owners let me use the girls' room to store my luggage as I would be getting on the overnight Greyhound bus later that evening. In the afternoon the girls and I went for a sunbathe and a walk around the beach then we hung out at the hostel til it was time for me to catch my bus. I only knew the girls that one day, but that one day was one of the best of the whole trip! Because it was only us on the bus we all sat up front and chatted and listened to music and joked around with Sonic the driver, and it was like we were on a road trip together as old mates. It kinda helped that Sonic was young and cute and we all had a collective crush on him! I was really disappointed that I had to leave that night and wouldn't be carrying on with my new gang! They would be travelling up to a cattle ranch in the outback for one night and then on to Airlie Beach the next day, but I had already booked a sailing cruise and would miss it if I stayed with them an extra day! For only knowing the girls for 24 hours, it was a very emotional goodbye at the bus stop!
I arrived in Airlie Beach at about 7am and luckily the YHA let me into my room straight away so I had a quick wash and headed out for breakfast. Airlie Beach is quite nice, not very big, and full of people waiting to go on sailing trips.

The SV Whitehaven, my home at the Whitsundays

My trip began the next day, on a boat called SV Whitehaven. It usually sleeps 24 people, but only 9 people had booked onto this trip so we had pleanty of space! My trip lasted 2 nights, sailing around the famous Whitsunday Islands and doing some snorkelling and some bushwalking. The weather was pretty horrible - on the first evening there was so much wind and the sea was very rough and there was no sun at all, the next day was a little better, and finally this morning the sun came out for our journey back to the marina! The snorkelling was great, but a little cold. I saw some amazing coral and fishes, and some stingrays! It was lovely to be swimming in the ocean and having something cool to look at! We stopped at Whitehaven Beach which is one of the best beaches in the world - beautiful white sand and really bluey turquoisey water.

In the evenings we would play cards and chat, it was a little subdued because there were so few of us, and quite a lot of them didn't seem to want to socialise, but the 3 crew members were really friendly, so I ended up hanging out with them most of the time! The boat had 4 cabins for sleeping, usually when the boat is full double beds and bunks have to be shared and it must get very cosy, but we all had our own beds this time. Although I never used mine, as both nights I slept out on deck with the crew! They use swags which are like big thick oilskin sleeping bags with a thin matress sewn in. It wasn't cold at all but pretty noisy with the water and the boat creaking and things banging around in the wind. Last night it started raining but we were under cover so we didn't get wet at all. It was a fun experience, but a shame that none of the other guests wanted to joing the swag party! The weather could have been a bit kinder but I had a great time on the boat, I was able to help with the sails and steering, and saw a really gorgeous part of the world!
PS For some reason blogabond thinks Airlie Beach is in Austria for this post - it's got it right on the map though!

Ships and Dips!

Airlie Beach, Austria