Spank Me!

I just finished what I think was one of the best weeks I have had on my trip. As you may have read in my previous entry I was feeling pretty jaded about traveling in Australia. I got to my hostel in Airlie Beach and it was more of the same, just crap, really- dirty, smelly, and loud. And after my trip out to the reef in Cairns I was no longer looking forward to my sailing trip- if I was going to feel that nauseous and have no choice but to be on the boat for 3 nights it wasn't going to be good. Things were looking bleak. I was lonely, depressed and basically in a total Hillary funk which is not a good place to be. But I was determined to have a good sailing trip, after all I completely blew my budget on the thing and at least I was going to try to get my money's worth! So I went to the pharmacy and bought all the tablets I could find, got wrist bands for motion sickness, a dorky straw hat to keep the sun off of me, and heaps of suncream. I was not going to be seasick or dehydrated.

We met the Spank me crew on the dock and had to be ferried over to the boat- the harbor is too shallow at low tide for Spank Me. Me, and about 20 other, you guessed it, backpackers!!!I thought that since I was paying so much for the trip that at least there would be an older crowd but no such luck. All, except one family, 25 and under, every one carrying cases of beer and "goon"- a favorite drink amongst the young kids- cheap wine in a box. Dread. 3 nights on a boat with that.

As we were on the boat waiting to go the crew kept saying something about waiting for Fraser, he sounded like someone important, I thought perhaps another crew member. Indeed, he and his friends, Scotty and Jacinta, were important..to me- they were over 30! 31, actually, all three exactly my age. Fraser is a New Zealander who works for Oz sail (our whole crew was Kiwi), the company that owns Spank Me, and Scotty and Jacinta were visiting him from New Zealand. He decided to go out just for fun, do some diving, show them what his work is all about.  Great for me because I had people to talk to- having meaningful conversations with drunk 20 year olds doesn't  happen. On the other hand, conversations with drunk 31 year old Kiwis are quite entertaining. We decided that we are just more "seasoned" than the kids. It's not good to call yourself "old" too much, although most of the time I do just feel like an old lady around here.

Anyway, the trip. You probably want to hear about the sailing trip. It was pretty great. For one thing, I was never ill!! I took ginger tablets, about 1000 mg 3x/day and I never felt nauseous. A true miracle, I believe. On the second day of our trip we had a great sail- the wind was blowing hard, the sea was rough- wind swell only but still pretty big (the great barrier reef blocks the ocean swell). We sailed for about 2 1/2 hours, I reckon at about 12 knots an hour, waves crashing over the boat soaking us with salt, only to be cleaned off by the pouring down tropical rain and then once again the salt water. The air was warm, the only way to be was in a bathing suit, otherwise you would be wet and cold. Just when it got chilly the sun would come out to dry everything off. At one point we were sailing with a rainbow- the end of it appeared to be right next to our boat, following us along. If sailing felt like that all of the time I think I would have to think about a new career on the water. It was FUN. Serious fun. Not for everyone, though- one women on the boat got really ill and didn't quite make it to the side before she puked all on the deck. Luckily she made it to the low side and it just got all washed off by a wave. But that wasn't me and I was loving the ride.

That same day we moored out at the GBR and did some snorkeling while others dived- its a really strange feeling for me to be out there- it feels like you are in the middle of the ocean, which, indeed, you really are- it's about 20 miles off shore, and just past the reef the continental shelf drops off into nothingness. Of course the reef is really shallow but it is a trip to be out in extra rough water, sloshing around with no land in sight. Great for fish viewing, though, just a little unnerving for this girl who has a large amount of respect for the power of the ocean.

So that's the Spank Me trip - sailing and snorkeling in the day (diving for those who chose but not for me- I tried the intro dive and had the regulator in my mouth for about 1 minute before I confirmed that indeed, diving is not my cup of tea- I have never even had the desire to learn but this was a free go at it and I thought I'd at least try- didn't happen), and chilling out with friends in the evening. I did make friends with some of the kids and they were all pretty funny, really- it just kind of reminded me of being at work teaching except that very fortunately alcohol isn't allowed at school! Food was good but sleep was rough- about 25 of us filled the berths downstairs and it got pretty hot and stuffy very quickly, especially on night 3 when the rubbish had finally started to really stink. That night I took my pillow and sheet up to the deck and slept up there- much better!

The scenery was totally amazing- pine trees amongst volcanic rock meeting white sandy beaches and turquoise water. Sun, rain, rainbows and something I have never seen before and will never forget- a "moonbow" as we called it, or lunar rainbow as is the proper term. Full moon behind me, rain shower overhead, looking out to the horizon a full rainbow arched across the dark sky. The colors were very muted- pastel- almost white, causing a sort of a glow.  It was truly one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.

Yes, the Whitsunday Islands are spectacular.

And sailing is heaps of fun.

No photos of the Spank Me- they are all on a disposable camera but here's more about the boat:

http://www.ozsail.com.au/12243.htm

I had a good time. Worth every cent. Or cint and I should saw now after a week with the Kiwis. Fraser, Jacinta and Scotty had plans to take a little road trip after the Spank Me trip and they invited me along, rescuing me from backpacker hell. I hardly knew those guys and at first I was a little nervous- they have all been friends for a long time- Fraser and Scotty's mothers met in the hospital when they were born, so they are a tight group. But they have to be some of the nicest people I have met- they claim it is a Kiwi thing- they are just very hospitable people. And did I say hilarious? I haven't laughed so much in a very long time.

We had a lot to laugh about, too- we didn't really know where we were going or what we were doing but Fraser knew about a National Park nearby so we headed down there. About 30 minutes into the ride we realized that we had forgotten the map and the brochure for the "chalet" we were going to stay at. On top of that Scotty left all of his clothes behind at Fraser's house, just forgot his whole bag.

We stopped off for a map at a store on the way down and immediately felt that we had entered the twilight zone- you think we have some back country in the states well, it's just as bad if not worse here. This place we went into had the strangest assortment of goods- my favorite was the box of $3 used shoes that looked as if they had been used beyond further use, all cracked and brittle, filled with dust and cobwebs.  But the shopkeeper was nice, a bent over old woman who gave us a map and pointed us in the right direction.

The next mission was booze (I reckon the Kiwis like their drink)- you have to buy alcohol in a bottle store here or pub only. The next day was Good Friday and get this- all stores by law have to close and you are absolutely not allowed to purchase alcohol, unless it is in a restaurant. We drove by a couple of places and took one look at the crew hanging out our front and just kept on driving. Scary stuff. Really nice people I'm sure but it's just that feeling you get that you, in jandles (flip flops), and designer shades, aren't exactly welcome there.

Anyway, the Chalet was pretty classic, terrible service and another place reminiscent of the twilight zone but a bed nonetheless (and the boys finally found their "piss" as they call beer). A much nicer place the next day in the daylight,too- there was actually a spectacular view from there.

We had a very Good Friday- went for a little rainforest walk and actually saw a platypus in the river- not an easy thing to do but we got lucky. Then we headed to a swimming hole where we jumped off of a really big rock into the river. Saw some pretty cool goannas, really big lizards- Lots of birds too.

Having done everything there was to do in the park, our next plan was to head out to the beach and stay there. No such luck, though- we were quickly reminded that it was Easter weekend, that things had been booked for months in advance, so we ended up spending the night in Mackay, the sugar cane factory capital of Australia or something great like that, in a "villa" in a trailer park. Yes, that too was heaps of fun, sometimes I don't think it matters where you are but who you are with. And then it was back to Airlie Beach, where it all began. Jacinta cooked us a great meal and I shared some of my culture and taught everyone how to color Easter eggs. They don't do that, you see, all they get are lousy chocolate eggs, they miss out on all of the creative fun. I have to admit, I don't usually get into the holidays but I made one good egg- the Aussie flag one. I'm pretty proud.

Good times, good times. If all Kiwis are as funny and sweet as Fraser, Jacinta and Scotty then New Zealand is going to be great.

For now, it's back to Sydney. Auckland on the 15th.