Airlie Beach and The Whitsunday Islands

Landed in Airlie Beach and booked straight into our campsite the wonderful flame tree an environmentally rainforest retreat what they forgot to mention in the brochure is that the campsite is next to an airfield and bless them they put us directly next to the fence where the aeroplanes take off so you can imagine what a peaceful nights sleep we had. And to top it off some kind of bird liked to squeel at the top of their lungs at 2am i got such a fright! Only stayed here for two nights couldn't put up with the rainforest and all its nature so it was off to the hostel Magnums! for our free nights before we set sail!
We seemed to have gone from bad to worse with the accomodation it seemed we moved into an 18-30s resort but it was free so couldn't moan too much! and no birds or runways close by thank goodness!
Bumped into Yordie, Emma and Sarah (guys we met in Brisbane)in a supermarket of all places had a good chat with them and probably will met up with them again somewhere on the east coast!
Finally the day arrived and we were off on our adventure sailing around the whitsundays unfortunately the boat we had booked on was having repairs done on it so we changed boats to Hammer! An excellent maxi yacht with a fantastic crew!We were introduced to the crew, Skipper Andy, Deck hands andy and alex, and host sambo!!! who most importantly explained the rules of the boat ie flushing the toilet for a minimum of 20 seconds and no brushing of hair except of the upper deck and limiting showers to one minute only! Met our other sailing buddies (Andy, Alex, Alsion, Sylvia, Simone, Rowan, James, Olivier, Cathal, Patricia, Florence, Dani, Yasmine, Sinali, Karen, Lisa, Alex, Chrissie, Jamilla and Kieran AKA Lauren) and away we went, me and lee helped to crank the sails up and before we knew it we were at our first spot for snorkelling Caves Cove!. All geared up in our gorgeous stinger suits we jumped into the cools waters of the whitsundays! The coral and sea life was amazing and me and lee finally mastered the art of snorkelling without swallowing too much salt water! Then it was off to Nara Inlet to put the anchor down as this is where we were sleeping tonight and to indulge in the gorgeous feast cooked by our host Sambo!. Me and Lee got the smallest double bed in the world but with all the alcohol and drinking games that were played that night we just passed out cold! Poor Olivier took the drinking games to the extreme especially with Up the river, down the river! and also Whats the name of the game! he managed to pass out but then threw up everywhere bless him the brilliant crew helped clean him and the boat up whilst laughing and then made Oliviers bed the swag on top deck so the captain could keep a close eye on him! Even though he did make it back down to the lower deck in the middle of the night poking Sylvia trying to find his bag then waking the boat up to tell us he had lost his contact lens but he was sure they were in his eyes, hilarious night but i guess you had to be there!
Woke up early the next morning most of the sailors nursing small hangovers but we all mucked in and we were off sailing again! First stop Whitehaven beach an absolute paradise spent a couple of hours here just chilling on the beach and taking in the gorgeous views, then off to Luncheon bay for more snorkelling, at this point a couple of us on the boat including myself were feeling slightly sea sick or was it the hangover not sure but i am blaming the sea sickness as there was some rough waves out there, so me and a few girls opted to chill out on another beach whilst the rest snorkelled. Lee did attempt to snorkell but didn't make it and was taken back to the boat where he completely and utterly threw his guts up then it was back to bed for Lee and his migraine!! (HANGOVER)
Finally made it to our resting place for the night Stone haven where another delicious dinner was delivered and more drinks to be had but no more drinking games especially for Olivier.
Up early again for our final voyage back to the mainland! Cannot beleive what an amazing time we had and espeically with a great group of friends, thanks espeically to Rowan for making me laugh so much and pretending to be a Charlies Angel! and a big get well soon to Simone who bravely carried on with the worst case of tonsilitis! and also your tale about you being an illegal mary poppins! and also to Alex (the pinoneer in triangle playing) you are an inspriation to all up and coming percussionisits! and Ciaran (real name Lauren / barbara.) You had us all fooled with your name (Lauren had bought a ticket from a guy in harvey bay called cairan therefore had to be ciaran for the trip!) thanks for the laughs and all your tales. Olivier the best french guy i have ever met carry on being the gorgeous funny french guy and what's the name of the game "i don't know" whats the aim of the game " i don't know"!! still brings me to tears when i think of that night! Dani and Yasmin - a fab couple and thanks for sharing your bed!! A huge thanks to the rest of the gang for making such a memorable trip! andy and alsion, sylvia, James (good luck in Dr school ), cathal, patricia, florence, sinali, karen, lisa and alex (someone had to be boring!) chrissie and Jamilla.
Arrived at the mainland to be greeted by a professional photographer to take our group photo for the bargain of $15 so as soon as she had taken the photo in our worst state possible as we had not had showers or brushed our hair in three days i decided to save the group even more money by taking the photo with our own cameras for free the photographer was not amused! oh well!
All met up that night for beers and a laugh with all the gang and the crew a great night and will sorely miss our new found friends!
After our mad adventure sailing spent the next four nights chilling in Airlie beach around the lagoon with Rowan, Simone, Olivier and Lauren! Its a hard life.

Sonya x