Whitsundays and Roundhill

I arrived in AIrlie Beach early thursday morning, a week ago. Airlie is actually a really relaxed and beautiful place, I had low expectations thinking it would be a backpacker ghetto, but above you can see one of the things I liked, a man build lagoon in the centre of Airlie. Lovely.

I stayed one night in Airlie before boarding the "Romance", the tall ship that was gonna take us out to the Whitsundays.

There were only 18 people onboard, which made it easy to find top seats to relax...

Not too stressful...

Our first stop was in a quiet bay, where we had dinner and spend the night. I had to pinch my arm as I was standing in the dark, talking to some people and at least five dolphins started swimming round the boat, hunting little fish just below the surface. It was amazing to see them pass by just a meter below where I was standing. Just before that a turtle swam by, and as we were watching a seasnake swimming in the torchlight, a dolphin comes from nowhere in amazing speed and snap! The seasnake was gone... It was a magical night and I was standing there, enjoying every second of it.

THis was our first stop the second day, where we stepped ashore and saw the Whitehaven beach, a true paradise, so beautiful it almost hurts your eyes. The Japanese in me went a little loco to say the least.

I tried my waterproof camera for the first time. Seems it's not as waterproof as the Olympus team claims, since my display is somewhat foggy after that. And I only took it down to 1,5 metres, far from the 10 it's supposed to handle.

We had almost two hours to kill on Whitehaven beach before we were picked up by the small boat that dropped us off.

I just had to have a cold one on that beach. I'm on vacation!

Took a walk on the white, soft sand. The twig is for keeping the evil flies away, they bite hard..
(something like the Swedish "bromsar")

Sunset on the boat.

This is where me and Lisa would wish Leo Di Caprio was behind us, haha.

Just chilling with the Irish blokes on Whitehaven beach. They were mad but fun.

Me and Ida, a Norwegian girl who worked as a dishy on the boat. I was supposed to do that this weekend, but I went south instead.

The traditional foot-picture.

Irish, before they got shitfaced and started bruising each other on the boat later that evening, while I was trying to get a salsa lesson from an argentinian.

"Waterproof" camera shot

Coral, ca 1 meter deep.

Hidden underneath the surface...

a very ugly fish

Caught in a wave!

From the view point above Whitehaven beach.

same same, but different

One of the few hard things with travelling alone is you always have to ask people to take your picture, which may come across as slightly ego. But I don't care, now at least you know I was there.

Drinking games that just escalated and went out of control on the last night. The dutch guy is the Gymp, and has to do whatever anyone tells him to, in this case pole dancing until someone tells him to stop.

After the weekend I returned to 1770 for some much needed relaxation after a farmstay and the sailing. I went on an ambitious hike to explore the place. But ended up in places I had already seen, like the Roundhill Head viewpoint.

View point

In 1770 there is a bar called the Tree bar. It's very charming and this is where the locals chill out with a beverage of choice after a hard day of doing..whatever locals do here. But this bar actually has it's origin across the road, where the first settlers used to sit and drink under the Mangrove Tree all night or until they fell of a chair I guess.

Below is the original Tree bar, which was "closed" as the town started developing and some officials realised you can't sit and drink under a tree for some reason.

Original Tree bar.

Oh, and I have tasted my first piece of kangaroo meat. It was really tasty actually!

Currently I am in Hervey Bay, contemplating whether to just hang out here for a couple of days, or spend even more money and go to Fraser Island on a daytrip. It's just off the coast from Hervey bay.

More reports to come. Back to the hostel for some good, cheap food, probably noodles :)