Sorry it has taken me so long to update my blog with my last two trips, but I had finals this past week and have had so much stuff going on. The first trip I went on was to the Great Barrier Reef and the Whitsundays from June 3rd-7th. From June 3rd-12th, Sydney Uni has the entire week off so people can study for their finals. Finals period is from June 13th-24th. Of course I did not need 3 weeks to study for my 2 finals on June 17th, so I decided to travel instead. Here was my adventure...
Friday, June 3rd:
Rochelle, Brittany, and I left at 11:45 a.m., and then landed at Hamilton Island at 2 p.m.
Pictures from the airplane of the Whitsundays:
The Whitsundays are made made up of 74 tropical islands that are off of the coast of Northern Australia. They lie at the heart of the Great Barrier Reef and are so protected, that most of the islands people cannot step foot on. Some of the islands are so protected too, that you cannot be on them more than 1.5 hours. When we landed on Hamilton Island, we had to take a 1.5 hour ferry ride to Airlie Beach, which is right on the coast of Australia. Most of the Whitsunday islands are resort islands, and are super expensive to stay on. We got to Airlie Beach around 4:30 p.m., and it was so hot and humid outside! Coming from Sydney, which is about a 3 hour plane ride south of the Whitsundays, it was super cold and rainy. It is amazing to see the weather difference from going from New South Wales to Queensland.
When we got onto the shore at Airlie Beach, the 3 of us checked into our hostel for the night and walked around the town where we got dinner. The town is super small, but there is a beach right on the edge of it with a man-made lagoon. They advise you not to go in the water because there are jelly fish, so instead people are allowed to go in the lagoon to swim when it is hot. The scenery was absolutely beautiful though, and the town was very quaint. Most of the shops in the town though were souvenir shops and were designed for tourists, but overall it was nice to walk around.
Since we had to wake up at 6:15 a.m. the next morning, after dinner we went back to the hostel and watched t.v. and played cards. I think we ended up going to bed around 9 p.m. because we were all so tired from the week we just had.
Saturday, June 4th:
We woke up at 6:15 a.m., and headed outside to where we were being picked up by 7 a.m. We had to check in, and then were able to get on the boat to head off. Today, we went to the Great Barrier Reef! The Great Barrier Reef is the largest reef in the world stretching 2,300 kilometers (1,200 miles) along the coast of Queensland. It is made up of 2,900 reefs, 600 rocky continental islands, and 300 sand or coral cays. One of the things that I learned is that corals are living animals, not a plant. They are in the same family as jellyfish, but they make a skeleton of limestone. When they pull themselves into this skeleton, they appear solid, like a rock, which is why it looks like it would be a plant. Also, there are over 1,500 different fish types on the Great Barrier Reef, but not all of them are found in one location.
Ever since I was little, I thought the Great Barrier Reef was literally right off of the coast of Australia. I thought you can walk out onto the beach, and just have the reef be right there with tons of coral beaches. This is definitely not how it is! To get to the Great Barrier Reef, you have to take a boat ride out there, which usually takes about 2 hours. We took the "Seaflight" boat out, which took about 2 hours to get to the reef.
Pictures of the Cruise to the Reef:
When we got to our spot, I got super excited because we were spending the entire day out on this huge pontoon. About 10 years ago, this company built this huge pontoon boat that is anchored down to the bottom of the ocean. The pontoon sits in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef and is full of different things. On the pontoon, there was a huge water slide that you could slide into the reef, a massage room, a sundeck with lounge chairs, an underwater viewing chamber to see the reef, a glass bottom boat that we took a tour of the reef in, a submarine, and so much more. We went to Knuckle Reef, where there are over 200 different types of fish in the immediate vicinity of the pontoon. For lunch, they served us this huge buffet lunch with all different types of sea food such as shrimp, fish, and different salads and sides.
The Pontoon:
As soon as we got on the pontoon, Rochelle, Brittany, and I immediately got on our snorkeling wetsuits. There was an option to scuba dive if we wanted to upgrade, but I decided to stick to the snorkeling since I am going to another reef in the Great Barrier Reef with my family in 2 weeks to scuba dive. Even though it was not jellyfish season, they still recommended wearing the stinger suits to keep us warm, and just in case if we did get stung it would not hurt us. The temperature outside was about 74 degrees Fahrenheit, but the water temperature was about 78 degrees, so it was so warm!
All dressed up and ready to go!
There was a certain area that we were allowed to snorkel that was situated in shallower waters with protection from sea conditions. The water was really calm, so it was really easy to move around in the water. When we first jumped into the ocean off of the pontoon, I was a little scared knowing that I was in the middle of the ocean at that point. For those of you who may not know, I am scared of the littlest things such as fish and bugs, but can dissect a human cadaver in anatomy class and jump off of a platform down into a 440 foot canyon headfirst. I made Rochelle and Brittany stay close to me at first, because I was not sure what to expect. I put my mask on, the snorkel in my mouth, and looked down. WOAH! Honestly, I had one of those moments where all you can think at the time is, “This is so unbelievable.” I have had a couple of those moments before like when I saw Machu Pichu in Peru, when I skydived out of an airplane into a beautiful valley full of glacier lakes, and when I saw the Sydney Opera House and Bridge for the first time. It is one of those moments where you cannot even begin to think how amazing life can be, and what actually is out in the world. Right when I looked down, all I saw was vibrant colors of coral and so many different fish. It was absolutely beautiful because everywhere you looked, there was fish and different plants. The fish would just swim around us, and not be bothered at all.
At one point, we laid on our stomachs in the water very still and heard about 15 different fish eating something at the bottom of a plant. It was so silent that I could actually hear them munching. One of my favorite parts was seeing Nemo (a clown fish) go in and out of an anemone, just like in Finding Nemo. There were huge fish that were honestly probably 2 feet long that were just swimming around. I also saw a fish that had about 20 different colors on its body, which was really awesome. It probably was the most diverse experience I have had in Sydney as far as animals go. I learned that fishes is actually a word! If you are referring to different species of fish, you would call them fishes, but if you are referring to a lot of clown fish, you would just call them fish. I honestly could have stayed out in the water snorkeling for the entire day, but after a while we started to get hungry and pruney.
I realized when I got out of the water why the Great Barrier Reef is so famous and something that needs to be seen by everyone before they die. It was probably one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my life, and one of those images I will always remember. I was okay leaving the reef because I am going back in 2 weeks to scuba dive another reef with my family! I am so excited to have them experience what I saw, because it is one of those things you cannot explain. You have to experience it for yourself.
Before lunch, we went to the underwater viewing deck, located on the pontoon. This was pretty awesome seeing different types of fish and so many of them all in one place.
After lunch, the 3 of us did the glass bottom boat ride. It was pretty cool being able to look down at the reef, but it was more exciting being in the water snorkeling looking at it.
Pictures from the Glass Bottom Boat Ride (Notice the different types of coral):
On the boat, you can also notice exactly where the reef is from the color of the water. Where the reef is it is a turquoise blue that is super pretty.
After the glass bottom boat ride, we went on the submarine ride. I noticed that when we were in the submarine, all of the colors of the fish and coral disappeared. You’re all familiar with the light spectrum (the colors of the rainbow) and how color works. Well, water acts as a filter- the deeper you go, the more light that is absorbed, and thus, the less color you see. One by one, each color is filtered out (red is already gone by the time you reach about 10 feet), and that’s why everything looks blue and purple at the lowest depths. So as a result, as you will soon see, many of the pictures I took aren’t as colorful as you would expect. It was good that I got to snorkel though, because since you are on top of the water, the colors are very apparent.
Pictures from the Submarine Ride:
A Ton of Fish:
After the submarine ride, we went on the water slide, which was pretty cool. By the time we were done snorkeling, the weather started to change and got cold and rainy. Luckily, we were done snorkeling at that point and everything else we did was not affected by the weather that day. After the water slide, we got back onto the boat, where they took us back to Airlie Beach. On the way back, they played Finding Nemo. It was actually quite interesting and amazing seeing the way they made the movie, and how it actually is very realistic to what the Great Barrier Reef looks like. Even though I did not see Crush (the sea turtle in the movie), I am hoping I get to see one when I got back with the family.
Picture of me snorkeling:
Despite the rain at the end of the day, the reef still looked amazing. Overall, the day was awesome. When we got back, the 3 of us ate dinner then went right to bed because we had such a long day and were exhausted. That night, we also checked into another hostel that was part of our package, and it was probably the nicest hostel I have stayed in in Australia. There was a pool, and volleyball courts, and picnic benches.
Sunday, June 5th:
Since we went to bed so early the night before, we woke up at 7:45 a.m. The weather was still not very sunny, and it was super cloudy. The package we did had us going to the Great Barrier Reef one day, having a day off at Airlie Beach the next day, and then doing the Whitsundays sailing trip the third day. We decided to go and lay by the lagoon and beach all day to relax. Since the week before we left was the last week of classes for the semester, we all had a lot of work to finish up. This trip was our time to relax and hang out.
Airlie Beach Lagoon and the Beach:
We laid out for about 2 hours at the lagoon, and then it started to rain unfortunately. Since there was not much to do around the town, we headed back to our hostel and sat on these couches that were outside but had a covering over our heads. For about 6 hours, we sat on the couches and looked out onto the beach, which was full of rain. With not much to do, we slept most of the day and just relaxed. Even though I wish it was sunny and we could have laid out on the beach all day, by having it rain on our free day was way better than having it rain on the other days. Not very often do I have days where I can just relax and catch up on sleep, so it was actually a nice change. We ended up making dinner at the hostel that night, and then going to bed early since we had to wake up early again the next day for our Whitsundays sailing trip.
Monday, June 6th:
We woke up at 6:30 a.m. to it still raining outside. The 3 of us were super upset that it had to be raining on our sailing trip day. Literally, the rain stopped the second we stepped out of our hostel. Someone must have been looking down at us to have the rain stop and not rain the entire rest of the day. Even though it was a little cloudy the entire day, I was still able to wear a bathing suit and not be cold when we went to the beaches.
The sailboat we went on was called the “Camira” which is an aboriginal term meaning “of the wind.” The vessel was built using carbon foam composite and was launched in 2004, so it was a fairly new boat.
The Camira in the front, and the boat we took two days before to the Great Barrier Reef:
We left at about 8 a.m., and did not return until about 5:45 p.m. that night. The Camira had trampolines on the front, so you could lay down on them and we laying right over the water. The boat usually takes about 50 people out on it a day at one time, but luckily we only had 16 people that day. As I wrote before, most of the Whitsunday Islands are uninhabited, pristine national parks. The tropical waters surrounding the Whitsunday Islands are a particular shade of blue. The color is caused by very fine particles of sediment in the water, which scatter the sunlight as it penetrates the surface. The route we took was going from Airlie Beach, past Daydream Island, past South Molle Island, through other smaller islands to Hamilton Island, to Whitehaven Beach (where we got off the boat), all the way around passing Hook Island, and then back to Airlie Beach.
All of the islands I mentioned above are around Whitsunday Island, which is the biggest island of the Whitsundays. The island is 18 kilometers in length and 14 kilometers at its widest point. The island’s best feature is the 9-kilometer stretch of pure white silica sand known as Whitehaven Beach. After sailing around the islands for a couple of hours, the captain anchored down the sailboat and we took a speedboat for about a minute to the shore of Whitehaven Beach. This was probably the most beautiful beach I have ever seen because the sand on it was so soft and white, that I did not even want to use my towel to lay on. The ocean water right off of the beach was so crystal clear, that you could see everything to the bottom on the sand. We were told that if we had any jewelry, we could rub it in the sand and the jewelry would be cleaned immediately. Also, they said we could rub it on our teeth, and if we did it enough, it can actually whiten your teeth. The sand is minute powder-size grains of quartz and has been assayed at 98% pure, well above the minimum requirements for glass making and suitable for the finest glass for optical lenses and binoculars. They let us be on the beach for about 1.5 hours, where we walked up and down the coast and swam in the water. The water temperature was super warm, and it was definitely warmer being in the water than on the land. I have never been on softer sand in my life, and such a beautiful beach.
Once we got back on Camira, they had a BBQ lunch for us, which consisted of sausages, steak, chicken, and different salads. In Australia, what we think of a BBQ and what they think are completely different. In America, we think of a BBQ as hotdogs, hamburgers, and BBQ chicken. When they say a BBQ meal, it is always sausages and sometimes steak.
The rest of the day we sailed around the islands, and saw wildlife and different fish in the ocean. We also stopped right near Hook Island and went snorkeling. The snorkeling was still pretty cool, but the colors were not as vibrant as the Great Barrier Reef. I think because of the storm the day before, the ocean water was not settle, and therefore, it was not very clear through our goggles.
The rest of the sailing was very relaxing. Most of the Whitsunday Islands are just full of plants and bushes, with an edge around each of them full of sand.
This spot is famous for seeing sea turtles lay their eggs. Unfortunately, there were none on the beach.
I was really glad I got to see the Whitsundays, because I kept hearing it was a place I had to go while I was in Australia. As we headed back to Airlie Beach, the sun was setting and the water looked beautiful. When we got back, the 3 of us got dinner and then hung out and went to bed. Unfortunately, our trip was coming to a close.
Tuesday, June 7th:
We got to sleep in and got breakfast in the morning before heading back to Sydney. I was on a different plane than Rochelle and Brittany, so I ended up staying a little longer at Airlie Beach before I headed to the airport. I had to take a bus to Proserpine Airport, which was about an hour away, and then catch 2 planes back to Sydney. The only negative about going to the Whitsundays is that not many planes fly up there, and plane tickets are super expensive. With delays and layovers, I did not end up getting back to Sydney until about 10:30 p.m. that night.
The Whitsunday and Great Barrier Reef trip was definitely memorable, and something I will always remember. I will be heading up to Cairns and Port Douglas when my family comes to see another reef, which is an hour plane ride north of Airlie Beach. My favorite part of the entire trip was snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef with tons of fish and coral surrounding me, and going to Whitehaven Beach. Before anyone dies, they HAVE to take a trip to Australia and do these two things.
I am going to write about my Outback trip in the next couple of days, so check back for that experience later!
As quoted from Finding Nemo, "Fin, noggin, dude."
Heaps of Love,
Heidi
No comments:
Post a Comment