Back to Surfer's...

Monday after class my friend Jody from my program invited me to come along to Surfer's Paradise the next day. I decided to go, because I don't have class on Tuesdays and all I had planned to do was read...and why not do that at the beach?! So, Tuesday morning I met Jody and her friend/roommate Regan at Central Station and took a train down to Surfer's for the day. It was great! The weather was fine, and we had a really nice time - I even got a straw hat that I've been wanting!

Jody on the left, Regan, and me!

While we were on the train to Surfer's, Jody invited me to come along on a trip that she and her friends are taking at the end of the month. We have a week off from school starting March 24th. They all bought a package deal from one of the travel companies here, Tribal Tours, that gets you three trips for a really decent price. I decided to go for it, so today I booked my first trips that I'll take during my stay here!!

The first trip I'll go on will start the 23rd of this month, when I'll fly with Jody and her friends to Airlie Beach, which is located on the northeastern side of the Australian coast. The Whitsunday Islands are offshore to the east of Airlie Beach, and consist of 74 islands that are bordered by the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea:

the view of Airlie Beach from above

We'll be flying into Airlie beach on Sunday, and then boarding the 81 foot maxi sailing yacht Apollo on Monday morning. Apollo is a famous maxi sailing yacht here, having won every major race held on the East Coast of Australia, and many international races as well. The boat accommodates 23 people, and everything is provided (including a big breakfast that I'm sure will not come close to Aunt Lizzie's!).

We'll depart for our first location, the northern part of the Whitsunday Islands, where we'll be able to visit (and snorkel) in places like Luncheon Bay or Blue Pearl Bay. The first day is also when we get to do an introductory scuba dive (only goes to 5 meters, so I won't need to get certified first).

Blue Pearl Bay

On day 2 we'll travel to Whitehaven Beach, which has 4 miles of white silica sand, and is regularly named one of the top 10 beaches in the world! Yippie!
Day 3 takes us to another coral cove and then out into the open water for some serious sailing. After that, we return to Airlie Beach where the trip would be over, but we've decided to tack on a couple extra nights because we have the rest of the week off anyway. It should be a good time. :o)

The other two trips included in the package are a 3 day 2 night stay on Frasier Island, and a 3 day 2 night canoe safari in Noosa. I'll post more about those when they happen!

In other news, Randy should be arriving here in Brissie on Saturday. Hopefully his flights work out and he arrives without too much trouble - and doesn't get too jet lagged! I'm planning a big week for him, so I know I'll have fun pictures to post soon.