A white, pristine beach, not a single house, strand bar or hotel on it and crystal clear water. I think I've seen some of the worlds most amazing beaches on my trip. And so, initially I was quite sceptical when people told me that I'd just have to see the Whitsundays. After all, it's just another beach, right? But it's more than that: It truly is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world!

Whitsunday Island (and no, that is not a typo. It is Whitsunday after a christian holiday and not Whitesunday after the colour of the sand) is said to have the worlds finest sand. So fine that it can get inside your watches or electronic devices. It's also the worlds largest beach made of pure silica sand, which is not only very beautiful to look at but also very nice to sit upon. Because for some reason I don't understand the sand never get's hot. So it's always nice and cool to sit on, even if the sun is burning down. Really nice! And unless everywhere else in the world, where the local tourism-industry has often destroyed a paradise by putting huge ressorts on the beach, Whitsunday Island is a natural park and noone is allowed to stay there over night. So it's still really pristine and, well, just beautiful! Though there is of course plenty of accomodation on the nearby islands or on Airlie Beach.

Whitsundays on a speed boat

Most people who come to the Whitsundays go on a sailing-trip for a few days. Since I was in a bit of a hurry and since I don't care too much for sailing, I went on a daytrip with "Ocean Rafting" (83 AUD), that's a small, motorized raft that cruises at 30 knots through the archipelago. And I'm really happy with that decision. We spend a lot of time on Whitsunday Island and snorkeling and didn't waste our time sailing. I know, for some people sailing is the best thing in the world - but I'm simply not one of them. The only critique I have is that the boat left Airlie Beach at 10.00 am - imho that was too late. The day on the boat was great, though. The crew was really nice, the weather was (finally) fine, the other people on the boat were pretty cool - I met a two really nice Koreans and an incerdibly sweet Japanes girl on board. They promised to send some photos soon.

The best snorkeling ever

And the snorkeling was simply fantastic! The water was crystal-clear and there were simply billions of colourful fish around us. The corals were quite nice as well, but for me it was really these quadrillions of fish that did it. And since where we snorkeled is part of a marine sanctuary (i.e. you can't fish here) the fish weren't afraid of us at all. A few times that was really comical: some of the fish seem have their minds elsewhere when swimming around and nearly bump into you. It's really funny if you see them make a sudden stop, stare at you and then continue around you. It was a bit chilly though, so I was definitely happy to have a wetsuit. And you know what: This was the first time I snorkelled of a boat and went into the water at a point where I couldn't stand! I suppose I should get points for bravery for that, but there were much braver people on board, so these points should really go to them: We had three people on board who couldn't swim at all. But the crew decided that they simply couldn't have it happen on one of their tours that people come out here and not get to see what it's like under water. So they got out the livesaving rings, gave them snorkeling masks, put them on the livesaving rings and towed them around the bay. I loved the crew for that! And I greatly admire the people who dared going into the ocean on a lifesaving ring while not being able to swim at all. Respect!

Same old problems with the car

In Cairns I picked up a Canadian girl who will travel with me until Brisbane. I didn't really know what to think of her - she is more the tough-bitch type than the sweet-girl type I have to admit I prefer (yeah, guilty) but things are going pretty well and are are not complicated at all. On the way to Airlie Beach however we discovered that the car was dripping loads of cooling fluid - again! Wasn't that supposed to be fixed in Cloncurry? And now I had the same problem after just one week. This time however I decided to simply call the RAC and have them have a look at it. It turned out that the heater hose is in pretty much shape, but the RAC-guy managed to fix it. I still have to get a new heater hose but he said that this will certainly get me to Brisbane. Thank god for that.

Mimosa in Airlie Beach

In Airlie Beach we stayed at "Magnums Backpackers". The place is alright and at only 13 AUD/night it's the cheapest hostel I've stayed in so far! The kitchen could be a bit nicer and the food they serve is not very good, but it's clean enough and cheap, so no complaints. There was one funny thing though: the day before I left I noticed a small plant that looked strangely familiar. I could hardly believe my eyes, but it turned out to be Mimosa Pigra, the noxious weed I had helped to fight in the Northern Territorry. And here it was - dozens of seedlings growing in the hostels backyard. I told reception about it but they only stared at me slight bewildered. I somehow doubt that they will do anything about it, but that will be there problem then. It was just really weird, seeing Mimosa down here. Who would have thought...

On the web:
Ocean Rafting
Magnums Backpackers