Airlie Beach and The Whitsundays

We got into airlie Beach at 7am but couldn't actually check into the hostel until 2pm. The only logical thing to do was obviously get a Maccies breakfast. As I was eating my hash brown a kookaburra swooped down and tried to snatch it out of my hand so that woke us all up. They are the cheekiest birds I've ever come across! After showering the rest of the day was spent trying to sort out the Whitsunday trips and our general lives. We had a BBQ on the beach that night too which also included some delicious barbequed king prawns. The BBQ was right on the beach and this one ended in fewer injuries than the last one which is always good!
The next morning I had to be at the marina for an 8am departure. Our boat was called Broomstick and there were 11 of us on the trip, plus the Skipper and 2 of his helpers. We were very lucky with the weather as it was sunny for the majority. There were some grey clouds on the first evening and second morning and it was quite windy sometimes but other than that it was great - I even got a bit of a tan/sunburn!!! We did some sailing and went snorkelling on the lower reef. The water wasn't perfectly clear as there had been rain the past few days but it was still amazing. Some of the coral and colourful fish were just like you see in brochures. We had to wear very unflattering stinger suits though just to be on the safe side. We also spent some time on a small sand island that is underwater during high astronomical tides.  We then sailed into a sheltered area and put the anchor down for the night. It was a clear night so the stars looked absolutely beautiful as there was literally no light pollution, we literally spent about an hour wrapped up in our blankets staring up at them. We also got to see the southern cross.
The next day was spent on Whitehaven Beach, then second most photographed place in Australia. It was absolutely stunning and the water was crystal clear. Some of us donned the stinger suits and had a swim with some sting rays. Theres a really nice walk through some rainforest to get to the beach too. After lunch we got to do a spot more snorkelling and I saw so much more this time. Some of the natural colours there really are fascinating, I saw a fluorescent purple fish and a few with zebra stripes. The afternoon was spent with the sails up heading back to Airlie Beach.
The Whitsundays are absolutely incredible and if you get the chance to do it, definitely go for it!
Xxx