It started on Saturday morning; Zoe, George and I left early (well, for us), to drive up to Airlie Beach, well known as the party place of the East coast of Australia. It didn't start well to be honest, as I tactlessly (ME?!) insulted Zoe's driving, which led to a frosty silence on the drive up - until we arrived and I looked around and discovered that Zoe had actually been asleep for the whole two hours drive up. The hotel we were staying at was serviceable. OK, it was a bit of a dive, but it was clean enough, and a place to sleep. There were big groups of football (Australian Rules, so what passes for football here) teams who were out for their annual piss up staying at the place, which was quite amusing, until they were whipping each other with wet towels on the balcony outside of our bedroom at six in the morning. Somehow they kind of lost their exuberant charm at that point.
The first thing that we decided to do in Airlie was to get to the town centre and book a trip to the Whitsundays for us and a friend, Andy. He is another of the PHO's in Mackay, and as he had the weekend off he had arranged to meet us the next day. Unfortunately, my usually impeccable sense of direction let me down significantly, as I confidently marched us in completely the wrong direction, and like a typical man I refused to admit we were going the wrong way, or stop and ask for directions. On the plus side, as part of out 3 mile enforced hike we got some lovely views of the harbour, so it's not as though Zoe and George can complain that much!
We finally arrived in Airlie hungry and tired, but after a delicious, hearty lunch, we managed to set about the task of booking a trip, then went off to look through the shops (something Mackay is sadly lacking). After a brief stint at the hotel to freshen up we then went out for dinner at a steak house (which was an odd choice, as Zoe is a strict vegetarian), whereupon we supped on a dinner of fresh kangaroo. Yum! It tasted very much like beef, and George and I pitied Zoe for her paltry nachos and soup. The evening then took a turn for the uber-friendly (and in Britain, socially forward) when a fresh faced young man who went by the name of "Puppy" decided to forego meeting his friends in the pub to chat up George. He very confidently introduced himself to us, as though we had been waiting all night just for him to turn up, before launching into a story of his life, and how he was here playing football. I suspect he tired of us making jokes about how young and Australian he was, as after half an hour of talking to complete strangers he decided to up and leave, never to see us again. How sad. After a few (or more) drinks, the three of us decided to cal it a night ourselves.
The next day brought the promise of the long awaited trip to the Whitsundays. As usual it started with me trying to get Zoe and George to wake up (which I achieved by serenading them with songs from Wicked) in time for us to leave on our trip. And as usual, we were late for the bus picking us up! However, we met Andy at the pier where our boat left, and we set off on "Wild Thing," our ride for the day. Wild Thing is a power boat which the Australian government have deemed to be unsinkable, which our skipper tried his best to disprove, by throwing us around in the surf, and bumping us around in the wakes of other boats. It was absolutely awesome!!! We were bouncing up and down on the sides of the boat, hanging on to ropes for dear life. And I loved every minute!
Our first stop on this journey was to see some Aboriginal paintings in a cave on Hook Island. They were very pretty, but admittedly, not what most of us had come for. The next stop, however, was. Snorkelling; the name can conjour up a lot of things to different people. To me, there is a mixture of terror and excitement. Terror, because I can't swim; excitement because, well, it's snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef! Luckily, I was provided with a life jacket, and after a few seconds panicking because I was underwater, but able to breathe, I started to thoroughly enjoy the experience. The amount of life that is supported by the reef is unimaginable, and there were so many fish that could be seen, that it was almost overwhelming. Obviously, Nemo was on the top of my list of things to see, and see him I duly did! But the number of other fish was spectacular - there were blue one, yellow ones, pink ones, green ones, black and white striped ones, I lost count. It truly took my breath away.
After all the excitement we went to chill out on Whitehaven Beach, which must hold some kind of title as the most beautiful beach in the world. It is about a mile long, and pure white sand surrounded by aquamarine waters and Australian rainforest, and as the island it is on is uninhabited, almost completely unspoilt. Another hearty lunch awaited us on the beach, provided by the company we'd come with, followed by several hours of sunbathing (well, for the sun seekers, the paler among the crew headed for the shade provided by the trees). I decided to take a walk up the beach by myself, and after just a few minutes found myself completely alone, the only sound the sea crashing into the fine sand beneath my feet. It's not often that experiences like that come along, and trust me, I relished it.
After a further powerboat ride back to Airlie the four of us arrived; windswept, covered in saltwater spray, slightly sunburnt, and having loved every single second of the day.
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