Read about our first few days in Australia here, here, and here.
Day 12, 01/02/15 – Airlie Beach
After experiencing Melbourne, we flew north to Airlie Beach. Here we stayed at the Magnums hostel and I was impressed yet again. This hostel had a little bit more of a party vibe than the one in Apollo Beach but still surprisingly great. It was on the main strip of a down town and had a bar + pool tables on the property. It felt a bit like you were camping out in the jungle because of all the tress surrounding the rooms.
For dinner, Wendy found this amazing place called Fish D’Vine that was both a restaurant and a rum bar. Suffice to say, we found our spot for the evening. After chowing down on fresh fish we headed to another part of the restaurant to sample different rums. It is a joke between my dad and Mike that I (the girl) never gets to drink the “man’s drink” (whatever they are drinking). I told Barb about this cruel game and she was sure to include me in the boys sampling of every rum which was (pricey for Mike haha) appreciated!
After we were well and buzzed (except Wendy, mom-to-be!), we went back to the hostel where Mike and Andy played pool for a bit.
Day 13, 01/03/15
We woke up early this day to go on an overnight sailing adventure. Remember how I mentioned I have a fear of the ocean? Yeah, I was feeling pretty anxious about being on a sailboat for 1.5 days.
The weather was pretty raining the first day we were out there but despite all the clouds, Mike and I got epically sun burnt. Like the worst sunburn of my life. There were also these wretched little things called March flies that only hatch like 2 weeks of the year, and of course they were there when we were sailing; biting all of us. But there also breathtaking scenery and some good laughs too!
The captain and skipper of our sailboat were entertaining and well versed in weathering the waters from years of sailing. On the first day out at sea, they dropped us off at Whitehaven beach to explore and relax for 2 hours. This beach was INSANE! Like, the most gorgeous, picturesque beach I have ever been to. Like, if I was rich, I would fly (and then sail, I presume) everyone I loved here for my wedding.
I couldn’t believe how pretty it was except that, while we were there, it was raining – which obliviously put a damper on the experience. So, if you can imagine all of us sitting on this immaculate beach, in our sting suits (which are wet suits but made of lighter material to protect you from deadly jellyfish #nbd), trying to take cover from the rain in a few bushes way up shore, eating Tim Tams and drinking beer. Pretty comical! Eventually we decided to go for a walk up and down the beach instead of just sitting and stewing in our own gorgeous misery.
In a weird way, I was glad I was so sun burnt and tired that first night because I fell asleep fast and hard.
Day 14, 01/04/15
We woke up the next day to much better weather and had breakfast on the deck with a disappointing side of annoying March flies. Not the best way to start the day… Luckily, we did some amazing snorkeling shortly after in bathtub warm-water. MmmMmm..
Our first snorkeling stop was the best. It was in this (safe-feeling) little cove with gorgeous coral and so.many.fish. I had never been snorkeling before but I really enjoyed the experience. And I only saw myself getting attacked by a shark (or an alligator as the skipper so nicely informed me that alligators are actually more dangerous than sharks) a handful of times.
The second place we went wasn’t as good but still had some pretty nice coral to look at. After snorkeling we had a tea break back on the boat and then did some REAL sailing. (The first day we mostly traveled by motor because the winds weren’t strong enough to sail.)
Actual sailing was a lot of fun …just sitting on the side of the boat – letting the men do all of the work – and enjoying the sensation of your toes dipping ever so slightly into the water when the boat leaned on it’s side enough.
When we got back to land (I wanted to kiss it!), we headed to the hostel to shower and get ready for dinner. We went to a place where there was $15 meal + drink deal (a steal in Australia, ok!?) but weren’t all too impressed with the food. I specifically remember I ordered nachos and they were terrible.
After eating, the boys left us to play a few arcade game while we stayed at the table and chatted until a bachelor party came and basically fell in love with Barb. Wendy and I were chopped liver.
#haveyoumetBarb
To be continued…
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