Whitsunday Islands

Last weekend I went to the Whitsunday Islands and they were absolutely gorgeous! Australia is such a beautiful country as it is, but this really was one of the most gorgeous places I've seen all trip. We flew up Friday night but our flight had been delayed and we had been traveling all day so we decided to take it easy, relax, and go to bed early.

Saturday morning we got up early to check in. We got on the boat around noon. There were 14 passengers and 4 crew, which is actually 4 less passengers than the boat can hold. This was great since I couldn't imagine if there were more people on out boat. For the reasons of amount of space, and also because of the people that were on it. Between the 14, there was our group of 7, 2 young couples, two friends, and some guy who was a photographer, taking pictures for a website or brochure or something I don't know about. Basically, it was a fun group and we all got along really well, plus our crew was beyond awesome.

We set out and enjoyed the boat for the afternoon. We had the option to go scuba diving. I had never been before, although I had the option in Cairns. I decided that I wanted to give it a try! I really enjoyed it! At first, it was really weird getting used to the breathing and being underwater but it was cool. I ended up going scuba diving twice more during the trip! I figured I probably wouldn't get any other opportunities to go scuba diving in Australia so I should take advantage. I'm glad I did! I got to hold a mushroom coral and sea cucumber which were cool. The visibility in the water wasn't as good as it could have been because of the effects of the cyclone.

On the 2nd dive I got to do a backwards roll entry and on the 3rd I did a giant stride entry. We went scuba diving at Hook Island, Luncheon Bay, and Monterey Bay. We also did lots of snorkeling too!

We stopped and got to snorkel out to a bunch of the small islands. We also watched the sunset and the stars from the boat which was so fun.

On Sunday we went to Whitehaven Beach, which has the whitest, finest sand. There was nobody else on the beach so it was great to be able to enjoy it as just us. It was SO gorgeous! We spent a few hours soaking up the sun and taking lots of pictures before heading back on the boat for snacks and the sunset. Did I mention there was a hot tub on the boat?

Monday allowed us time for one more snorkel before we had to leave the boat. We had the rest of the day to spend in the area to explore and relax before we had to catch our evening flight. After eating, I laid out in the sun for a little while, and then Rachel and decided to go jetskiing! I had never been before and it was a really cool experience. The area was so pretty, with the boats, beaches, and houses. I let Rachel drive and after a while I decided to try it. I would definitely go again!

It was a great weekend, with gorgeous sights, scuba diving, snorkeling, jetskiing, beaches, sunsets, stars, and much more!