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TRAVEL BLOG ENTRY
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“Bed bugs on Boat! But loved it nevertheless, Whitehaven beach was spectacular” |
We got to Airlie Beach at around 3ish, it was Australia Day and tried to book somewhere beforehand but everywhere was fully booked, but we said we would wait till we got there because there must be somewhere to stay. We ended up in a cabin (the Tourist Information Bureau were very helpful in finding it for us! We were very grateful!) on a campsite. So we didn't have our own bathroom (it would have costed far too much- for the night it costed 65 dollars, which was loads for us- but we had to pay it because we had no other choice) but it was really nice and made a nice change from the normal dorm room. We had a double bed and a wall divided the kitchenette and living room area- we had a fridghe and tv so was actually quite nice. See photo! We also had a pool, which was really nice and very clean. It was about a 15 min walk into the town, but it was not too bad. The two germans we met (one of whom, Hanni, went on the same Cape Tribulation trip as us so that was nice) we got a taxi there together and they took the other cabin. Whilst walking through the town, amongst the madness of Australia Day (!), we bumped into a guy, from Sweden, who shared our dorm room in Townsville. He was doing a sailing trip the following day. We decided to book ours the following day (Saturday) for Sunday.
The next day we found a dorm bed each in Beaches, it was ok but you had to pay for a top sheet which was a bit of a joke. The guy in our dorm asked the cleaner if they could take the telly away and give everyone in the dorm top sheets, I don't think she got his humour! The thing is they are tight with the top sheets but we could have stolen the tv!Stupid bunch of dumbasses! We paid 24 each which was quite a lot but it did have a tv (see above!) and fridge- but big deal it was still crap and not worth the 24 plus no top sheet. Thing is you really do need one because the air con gets so cold in the night- put I put my tshirt and thermal trousers on so was not so bad. The kitchen was the only good thing here because no one was ever in it, so could cook relatively in peace. Think most people ate at the bar at the front. We booked our boat trip for the following day on SV Whitehaven and we booked it with 'Magnums' because we got a free night in a double room when we get back and free luggage storage (you have to pay for it normally) so thought it was a good deal.
The following day it was an early start because we had to check out of Beaches, and then put our big bags in Magnums for storage. Then we had some lunch, breakfast whatever and went down to the boat which set off at 1pm. I bought some ginger tablets for motion sickness so took one of them before I got on. There were 22 people on board all together, but it didn't seem like it as there re was more than enough space for everyone. We went snorkelling, there were lots of fish which was good. Veggie dinner was not so good. Sunset was amazing but camera can never do them justice which is a shame. We slept in a double (not square but triangular!) in the lower deck, was quite cozy!
We set off after breakfast and we did some good snorkelling in the morning, we saw a massive 'wrasse' called George, it was amazing being so close to such a big fish! One of the crew was doing some fish feeding and that was quite fun (a little scary too!) he was throwing the food it right near where we were swimming, the fish swim so close to your face- it was really cool. In the afternoon we got off the sailing boat and went to visit Whitehaven Beach, we walked up to the viewpoint first which is by far the best view I have ever seen, the beach itself is out of this world. The photos do not even do it justice, even on the best, high tech camera around it still looks better seeing it with your own eyes- it seems unreal. The beach is beautiful, just such a shame we looked like a bunch of nerds in our stinger suits! We saw a Stingray near the shore, so steered well clear of him. But apparently these ones are used to human contact so they aren't really that harmful.
On the last day we spent most of the time sailing back, it was nice just sailing and travelling without the engine running, really peaceful and relaxing. All in all the trip was fantastic, we loved every minute. We saw some amazing sunsets, didn't put all of them on, you will have to wait till I get back to see them all. I loved the actual sailing, it was lovely and an amazing experience I would love to do again. As regards to the Ginger tablets, Jamie needed them more than me! Good job I took them with me!! The only downside was that there were bedbugs on the lower deck where we were sleeping and I had the bites down my legs. I was not impressed, especially because it was the second time they got me- they didn't bite Jamie, just me- grrr! But went to complain about them and the company gave me some money to pay for cream, as a 'kind gesture' which I suppose was better than nothing. I would have preferred if they had been 'kind' enough to take the bloody things back so my legs can start looking normal again! We had a double room booked at Magnums, which was really small but it was nice treat. I noticed a cut on my foot from the boat, which turned really painful and the next day I went to see the doctor because I could hardly walk but she sorted it out for me and gave me some tablets to get rid of the swelling.
previous travel blog entry
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