Winter in Whitsundays: Day 3

This was our "Big Day"!!!

We woke up at 6:30 a.m. for breakfast. Every meal was included on this boat trip, which was nice! We all ate and then changed into our bathing suits/beach attire. It was an overcast morning, but still so warm.

Phil and Mel handed out Stinger Suits to everyone. You had to wear them whenever you went in the water as the jellies here can seriously hurt you. We would also be using them that afternoon to go snorkeling. We then hopped on a little dingy and Phil drove us out to Whitehaven Beach.

This beach is famous for is 6.2 km long stretch of pure white silica sand. It's also a National Park. Phil said when we go over, to polish any jewelry we had, as the sand would do a better job than any jewelry store could.

I love this beach. We did a little trek to a gorgeous lookout and took some pictures. It was kind of dumb though, because we didn't have any shoes! Hahaha! Totally roughin' it! We also took a picture of the only coconut tree on the entire island!






Afterwards, the 3 of us went on a walk along the beach and collected sand, shells and had some laughs at the sandworm piles.














We had a couple hours on the beach until we were to be picked up. Then we would be heading to Hook Island (North of Whitsunday Island) to snorkel in Manta Ray Bay.

Back on the boat, we had a light lunch of delicious sandwiches and pasta salads. At that point, the sun came out (finally) so most of us after lunch tanned out on the front of the boat. It's whale watching season here in Australia, so we kept our eyes peeled, but sadly didn't see any.

Once we arrived at Manta Ray Bay, I was pumped. Hook Island has gorgeous mountains that are totally lush. Combine that with sapphire ocean water and clear skies, it's total paradise. This place was apparently the best place to snorkel. We were all shown how to wear the equipment and how to act in emergencies, etc. After we got our gear on, we were told to snorkel in buddies. I paired up with Daryl, a girl from England who I met the night before. We were the first in the water.

The crew does this excursion every week, so they know all the areas. They also named some of the GIGANTIC fish that swim there. OMG! They threw bread crumbs near Daryl and I as we were getting in the water and this fish the size of my torso (no lie) swam right on us. We screamed. Everyone laughed. Ha. ha. Ha.

Snorkelling was unreal. Seeing the coral and all the gorgeous fish. I could do that everyday. The fish are so accustomed to people that they just swim with you. I had black and white striped fish swimming in between my fingers!!! I was so happy!!!

We were the only group there for an hour or so. When the other boats showed up, we left to go to another area. We had the option of snorkelling again or laying on the beach (some people were super cold.. wussies hahaha) So myself, Daryl, Kara and 3 others decided to snorkel again while the others chilled on the beach.

.. ONLY this beach was made completely of dead coral!! It sounded like glass when you walked on it and was so cool looking! I wish I had grabbed some! Oh well.

We got back on the boat in the late afternoon to see that tea and cakes were awaiting us. Yum!!!

We then travelled up and around the the West side of Hook Island and anchored just in time to see a gorgeous sunset. Then it was party time. We didn't have to be up early the next day, so everyone was pumped. After an amazing day, we had a great night. Such good times with good friends, new and old, on Habibi! xo

Winter in Whitsundays: Day 2

We woke up pretty early today so we could get showered and ready and check out of our hostel. I booked an extra night for that Friday as Kara and Francis had their flight on Friday and mine was on Saturday.

We went to the office where we had to check in for our boat. We weren't allowed to bring backpacks on board, so we had to purchase environmental cloth bags to put our stuff in. For $2.50, those things could pack a lot!!! hahaha!

We paid to leave our bags at the office until the trip was over. We didn't have to be at the dock until 1 p.m. so we decided to walk on the beach and swim in the lagoon. The Airlie Beach Lagoon is a man-made swimming pool right beside the ocean. It's so gorgeous, I could spend massive amounts of time there.






Around lunchtime, we walked along the strip to find somewhere to eat. I decided to eat at Fish Divine. A fish and chips place that had been raved about to me. Francis is a vegetarian and Kara doesn't like fish, so they went somewhere else. But, let me tell you, they missed out!!! The food was so good. I would recommend it to anyone.

After lunch, we walked along the boardwalk all the way to the dock. We saw a group of people waiting and decided to sit down and wait with them. Our boat's name was Habibi. Shortly after sitting down, a girl from Habibi (Mel) came and explained what we were in for the next 3 days. She had a huge bin where we would all put our drinks. We all chipped in to buy ice and we were told no one can bring bananas on board as that's a huge superstition among boat captains.

We then met Phil, who was the 1st mate or something. He also gave us the rundown. We were all pumped.

Before we got on the boat, they collected our shoes/sandals. We wouldn't be wearing them for the next few days as the boat has a grip surface. Weird, but whatever!!!

We got on the boat and met the captain, Rick. Then, in groups of 2 or more we were called down to be shown our rooms and the bathrooms. There were no showers. Ugh. Francis, Kara and I got our own room with 3 beds. Score! I couldn't believe this tiny boat could hold 30 people. It was really cool.






Once assigned our rooms, it was sort of do-you-own-thing. Everyone started talking/introducing themselves. There were 26 of us on the boat, and we were divided among 14 countries!!! Seriously!!! People from England, South Africa, Brasil, Germany, Sweden, Israel, Australia, Canada, Scotland, etc etc. It was so cool.

Francis and I decided to dive into the drinking games to get everybody together. We brought out our Tiki Cups from the night before and started the Goon. We played Kings with everyone until dinner was served. I met this girl named Pam who is from Sao Paulo, Brasil. We talked and laughed about Brasil. She made me miss it so much! Then for dinner we had an "Aussie BBQ" with sausages, salads, etc. So delish. We sailed up and around Whitsunday Islands and anchored right in front of Whitehaven Beach, where we would be going to the next morning. I can't tell you how gorgeous that night was. I have never seen so any stars in my life.




After dinner, some continued to drink and play games, but we girls went to bed shortly after because our wake up call was at 6:30 a.m. Good first night on Habibi!!! xo

I miss No Name brand!

Okay, so I will get back to my Whitsundays trip in a minute, I promise.

Yesterday was Vlad's birthday. Jess, Kevin, Kara, Francis and myself went to say Happy Birthday at Metro. We made cupcakes and brought balloons. We're awesome.

From there, we came back to Surfers for another night on the town!!! It's times like these I wish I had gone away to college.. to get all this partying out of my system. Oh well, as long as I'm having fun and getting my work done, it's all good.

Oh, you know how I've talked about Ladies Nights here, how they have free drinks, shows, etc. Well, here's a picture of one of those recent nights! Enjoy :) xo

Winter in Whitsundays: Day 1

So it begins!!!

On Tuesday, July 13th, Kara, Francis and myself packed our backpacks and headed to Brisbane Airport to fly to the Whitsunday coast. We were SO excited! A Vacation from a Vacation! How does this happen! hahaha!

Our flight was at 4 p.m. and we arrived into Proserpine before 6. Nice short flight. I love flying, but I get SO bored up in the air.. Serious! Jetstar is so good though. So cheap. Love it.


Okay, so we landed in Proserpine, and had a shuttle take us to Airlie Beach.


Airlie is where we stayed and where we would be boarding our boat. Here's a map:


In the bottom left corner, you can sort of see Proserpine. It's covered by that dumb line. Airlie is straight up. I'm sure you can all read a map. I'll stop.

We got to our hostel located right on the main strip called Beaches. The nicest hostel I've been in. We checked in, dropped off our stuff and headed out for Subway and some drinks. We bought some cheap wine and headed to the beach. Good laughs on Airlie Beach that night.



We went back to our hostel (which had an amazing bar/patio/dance venue) and discovered that Tuesdays were Tiki Nights!!! For 6 bucks you got this delicious Tiki drink and an even better Tiki cup!








We didn't want to go too crazy as we had to be up early to check out of the hostel and check onto the boat whoo!!! But, we managed to hit up a few of the hots spots to dance our bums off!! Airlie, we're here!!! :) xo

Winter Break, What Babes!

.. worst post title ever, but, it made me laugh!

Saturday Night I went to Natalia and Danielle's for a little pre-party get together. I honestly had so much fun these girls make me cry laughing.





xo