After a bit of an annoyance in the Brisbane airport with regards to our luggage ( we may just have too many pieces!), we arrived at Airlie Beach where we are staying in a sweet brand new bungalow with beautiful palm trees right at our door. Carter just brought a coconut in and is determined to crack it open. Lol! What on earth do we know about when coconuts are ripe?
At this time of year we are not allowed to swim at the Airlie beaches. Reason being, they are at the end if the high risk jellyfish season and they are considered to be poisoness and deadly. Luckily, with the days being so hot here there is a man made lagoon that is free to swim in. It's quite large and beautiful and right next to the beach. We walked there on our first day here. I had to laugh as we were by far the youngest (the boys) and oldest (Derek and I) there. It was obviously frequented mainly by backpackers but we didn't care.
While trying to choose which Great Barrier Reef excursion to go on, we finally decided to go ocean rafting. This combined two different snorkelling stops along the GBR, a lunch buffet at Whithaven beach, a hike to the Hill Inlet lookout for the most stunning view and a few hours to enjoy the silica sands and crystal clear water. On top of these amazing things, we traveled with Sammy and Tim (our guides) on the "Jammin" zodiac so no seasickness on this trip! And we got to these places in record time so
More time to enjoy the sights. Of course the boys wanted to sit in the front because that is where it is most bumpy. They weren't strong enough to sit on the sides with just holding a rope ( they'd end up with the sharks after five minutes), so they did the next funnest thing. It was bumpy but tonnes of fun (sure feeling it today in my neck and upper back. I wish I wasn't bracing myself so much). We snorkelled with these sexy Lycra sea suit onesies on to protect us from the jellyfish. As we had experienced such amazing snorkelling conditions a few weeks ago in Byron Bay, we were not wowed by the clarity of the waters here. However, the coral is unbelievable. It was alive and colourful. Carter and I floated and watched the different soft coral breathe in and out. He loved the fish, big and small but wanted to be close to me. The coral and sponges were all different colours and textures. Carter had a good laugh at one we spotted as it resembled a bare bum sticking up at us! Derek was able to snorkel deeper in the coral and to the darker depths of the water. He took some amazing pics of life down there. Braden enjoyed the first snorkelling spot but as we were about to jump in at the second spot, Tim tossed fish food overboard and hundreds of fish came jumping out of the water, including one really large grouper (?) that was larger than Carter. That freaked him out (even though he loved swimming with sharks and other big fish in Byron Bay). He was in the water for a bit but eventually decided to watch the fish from the boat.
Once we got to Whithaven island we were amazed with how beautiful the scenery was. It was exactly how the postcards and books portrayed it. Fifty shades of blue and pure white silica sands. Plus a few lemon sharks and rays swimmin about where we were walking in the shallow waters. Once again, we feel
We have found paradise.
We are in the last few days of this wonderful experience Derek had planned for us and what a
positive one it has been. He should be very proud of what he has accomplished and what wonderful family memories we have made. Way to go Derek! You should make travel planning your new hobby or profession. Maybe you could write for the Lonely Planet. Although we are excited to see everything about "home", we will miss what we have had these last three months. I can't wait to look at all our videos and pictures! Homebound, it is!
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