Weeks Twenty-six and Twenty-seven: The Great Australian Adventure (part 2)

The first half of the trip took in amazing cities, endless beaches and crystal clear lakes. The second half was to take in coral reefs, ancient rainforest, and the most beautiful beach in the world... From Rainbow Beach, we took the Greyhound north to Airlie Beach - another long overnight journey. We arrived at 9am in bright sunshine, and headed to the Explore Whitsundays office to register for the boat. We had an amazing breakfast at the Sidewalk Cafe and a dip in Airlie Beach lagoon, whiling away the hours until our boat departed.

At lunchtime we headed to the marina to board the Boomerang, the racing yacht which was to be our home for the next two nights as we sailed around the Whitsunday Islands. We met the crew and set sail, each having a go at hoisting the sails up. I was even allowed to drive it! (And yes, I realise that you don't 'drive' boats, but shush. I drove the boat). We arrived at the Caves Cove, suited up in Stinger Suits to avoid the Irukandji jellies and jumped in! We snorkelled around, finding Nemo and Dory; and huge number of Parrotfish chomping on the coral and pooing out white coral sand!

Aye Aye, Cap'n!

Sexy stinger suits!

:)

From there we sailed to Hook Passage to set up for the night. On the way, we watched a beautiful sunset over the ocean and devoured some incredible nachos! Once we were anchored for the night, we had an amazing dinner and a few drinks up on deck with our fellow 'Boomers'. In the morning, we woke up to breakfast up on deck, before setting sail to Tongue Bay, to spot Green Turtles and bushwalk up to the Whitehaven Beach lookout. The views from the lookout were unbelievable - bright turquoise waters and the swirling sands of Hill Inlet. It was so beautiful, like something from a holiday brochure.

Unbelievable.

From the lookout, we headed down to the beach itself. The sand is the purest in the world, composed of 99% silica. This means it's incredibly white - and can polish up silver jewellery (and I can vouch for this!). The water was so, so turquoise and clear. We were at the Hill Inlet beach end, which meant that we could 'walk on water' across the sand spits spanning the inlet.

<3

So blue!

We spent a few hours on the beach, before heading back to the Boomerang and sailing over to Hook Island and Luncheon Bay, where Hugo and I would be scuba diving. The dive was amazing, there were huge coral bommies with such colourful coral. We saw a butterflyfish the size of a dinnerplate; nemo and dory and many others besides. After the dive, we were towed back through the water to the Boomerang, holding onto a rope pulled by the launch, which was a lot of fun! We sailed off to Langford Island, which was essentially a sand spit in the middle of the ocean. From the beach, we watched the sun set, had a few drinks and nibbles. It was so pretty. Once the sun had set and the chill set in, we headed back to the Boomerang to set sail for Blue Pearl Bay, on Hayman Island, where we would set up for the night. After another amazing dinner, we sat on deck listening to music, having a few drinks and chatting.

Sunset :)

At 7am it was time for breakfast, then straight into the water for a snorkel :) We spotted many more of Nemo's extended family, plus much of the rest of the cast. We also saw 'Elvis', the Napoleon Maori Wrasse living in Blue Pearl Bay... he was huge. Too soon, it was time to head back towards dry land to regain our land legs. We all headed our separate ways after 3 incredible days.

The Boomerang!

Our Greyhound up to Cairns wasn't until the evening, so we whiled away the afternoon by Airlie Beach Lagoon; having a lovely dinner with Ann, one of the girls off the Boomerang; and a few drinks with everyone off the boat. Soon it was time to bid everyone adieu and board our last overnight bus.

We arrived in the muggy heat of Cairns at 6am, and made the trek to our hostel, which was amazing. It was in an old, tropical wooden building; all bright colours and hammocks everywhere. We went for an incredible breakfast at the Gingerbread House, which had beautiful coffee and pastries. We spent the day exploring the city and swimming in the lagoon, before Hugo's first Aussie BBQ by the lagoon for dinner. The next day followed a similar pattern, with a relaxing day by the lagoon.

BBQ master!

On the 9th January we went on a dive trip to the Great Barrier Reef. We had a short dive in the morning, where we were lucky enough to see a turtle! It came so close, I was able to reach out and stroke its shell! It was amazing. We also saw lots of fish and gorgeous coral. We had the option to go for a second dive, and hey, you only live once! After an amazing lunch (seriously, the Aussies know how to cook!), we were back in the water for the best dive of my life. We saw turtles again, as well as towering bommies of bright coral, sea cucumbers and huge humpheaded parrotfish. It was incredible. We saw such a variety of marine life, including (unfortunately) some jellies... Oh well, the sting was worth it!

Hey Mr Turtle!

On Tuesday, we headed into the Daintree Rainforest and the Atherton Tablelands on an Uncle Brians 'Fun, Falls and Forest' tour. The Daintree is the oldest continually-growing rainforest in the world, and it was amazing. We went first to Babinda Boulders and the Devils Pool - a series of waterfalls and rocks through the rainforest, which was stunning. On the way we saw a wild Cassowary, which was incredible - they are so, so rare!

A wild Cassowary!

Babinda Boulders

The heat was suffocating - well above 35 degrees - so our next stop was at Josephine falls, for a swim. The rocks here have been worn down by the water to make a smooth rock slide.  The water was very cold, and it was so fun sliding down the rocks and plunging into the water beneath. We dried off on the boulders for a while, before heading back into the van and onto the Atherton Tablelands for our lunch stop. The views from the tablelands were incredible, and the lunch spread was impressive. We all closely adhered to Cousin Brad's rule - the more you eat, the better you float (this is upside-down land, after all!).

The next stop was Millaa Millaa falls, the home of the Herbal Essences hair flip, and Peter Andre's mysterious girl. The 24m-high waterfalls were breathtaking, and certainly invigorating to swim underneath... free massage, anyone?

Millaa Millaa Falls

The Herbal Essences girl ain't got nothin' on us!

Our final swim stop of the day was at Lake Eacham, an enormous flooded volcanic caldera. There was a pontoon from which you could dive into the water - or a tree to jump out of, for the more adventurous! It didn't look high from the path, but it felt it as you jumped! At sunset we had to quickly pile back into 'Gus the Wonder Bus' to get to a Platypus breeding ground in time for dusk - when they're at their most active. They are notoriously illusive, but with patience, hot chocolate and muffins, we spotted some!

Casually swimming in a volcano. Hardcore.

The day ended with a cider back at the lodge, and a singalong on the long and winding road back to Cairns. It was SUCH a fun day ad I could not recommend the Uncle Brians tour highly enough! 

Wednesday marked the beginning of the end of our trip, with our flight from Cairns back down to Sydney. We arrived in Sydney in the late afternoon, and went straight to the hotel to get dressed up in our best for one last posh meal. Dressed up to the nines, we wandered through Hyde Park to Circular Quay and the Opera House. We decided to eat at Cafe Sydney, an incredible (and fairly pricey...) restaurant hidden away on the top floor of the Customs House. The restaurant itself was stunning - with views over the whole harbour - and the food was unbelievable. Hugo had a Fig and Iberico ham starter. For the main course, I had Thyme Gnocchi with Asparagus, Poached egg and Chilli; Hugo had Tandoori Tasmanian Trout with coconut. AMAZING. Dessert was a Rhubarb tart with Raspberry ice cream pour moi, and Mango cheesecake for Hugo. The food was out of this world! I felt like a celebrity! :)

<3

What a view!

Hugo's main...

And mine...

His pudding...

and mine! :)

Thursday was unfortunately the last day. We spent the morning browsing Paddy's Markets for souvenirs and chilling in the sun at Darling Harbour. In the afternoon, we headed for the airport. The goodbye wasn't fun, but the trip had been the most incredible month of my life. Love, love, love Australia! (And Hugo's not too bad either.)

:)