Airlie Beach

Airlie Beach! Last stop before the Great Barrier Reef and Cairns!

I should note that before arriving in Airlie Beach, there were a few days which we pretty much spent just driving and doing a few odds and ends along the way...one activity of note was our surfing lesson in Agnes Water! It was both incredibly fun and incredibly exhausting. Both of us stood up several times, which was exhilarating to say the least.

Back to Airlie Beach...we decided to splurge a bit and do a day trip on a jetboat that would take us out to the southern portion of the reef to snorkel, on a tour of the Whitsunday Islands, and also to Whitehaven beach for lunch and a few hours swimming and enjoying the pristine white sands. At this time of year, the box jellyfish are out and so we had to wear Lycra stinger suits to protect ourselves from being stung.

I had never snorkeled before and it took me a bit to figure out the whole breathing aspect, but after I got it down, I loved it...the reef was absolutely breathtaking! Don purchased an underwater disposable camera for us to use throughout the snorkeling portion of the day. When we drove out to Whitehaven Beach, my jaw dropped; I never imagined how beautiful it would be. I mean, I had been told that it was named one of the top ten beaches in the world, but still, it was breathtaking.

I've never seen blue water like this before. It's so BLUE!

Us in our full body stinger suits. Yay for Lycra!

Our tour guide was very energetic and fun; he did little photo shoots with every group that came.

The Harry Potter pose - ha.

Please don't be distracted by my weird bangs - look at the beautiful blue water! 

I wish I could say that we flew in on our seaplane. 

Last but not least, a photo of the artificial lagoon at Airlie Beach. Too many crocodiles and jellyfish to swim in the real ocean but for a fake ocean, it was pretty freaking great.