My first greyhound bus ride was a success. I made it to Airlie Beach at around 8pm. I didn’t see my hostel’s shuttle waiting, so I decided to get some exercise and walk. Nomads had comfortable beds and it was pretty clean. Bush turkeys were wondering around the camp sites. They are super ugly.

The next morning I sailed on the Camira Catamaran. We went around a lot of islands. Which were pretty, but I’ve seen better! A Welcoming Swallow perched right where I was sitting on the side of the boat. It was there for a good 3 minutes chirping at me. I felt like Snow White.

We stopped at Whitehaven Beach, which has pure white silica sand; the softest I have ever felt.  None of the rocks are made of silica, so it suggested the currents brought the sand there over the past million years. The sand doesn’t retain heat, so you can walk barefoot all day long. 

I was told not to go far because it was a long beach and who knows if I’d make it back in time. Rebellion struck and I took off running right after I went for a quick swim in my sweet stinger suit.

It was incredible all the sea life I got to see from the shore. At first I saw a huge school of snappers. They stopped me in my tracks because at first I thought it was something bigger.

I also saw a big sting ray. I tried to swim out to it, but it was fast and swam away.

While I was in the water trying to swim after the ray, I saw a barracuda cruise on by. It was a little one, but it was quite large to see from the shore.

Sometimes my leg would sink in to mid calve when I would run. It was such a nice day on the beach.

After Whitehaven Beach we had a pretty good BBQ on the boat. Then we sailed to a snorkeling spot. There were tons of fish, I’ve never seen so many fish while snorkeling. I saw tons of parrot fish. I even saw an angel fish. I teamed up with a lovely French girl I had met on the boat. We stayed away from the crowd, so I think we saw the most!

With champagne in my hand once I got back on the boat, we headed back to Airlie Beach.

That night, I went out with some girls that were in my dorm, we pre-partied at another dorm. We had some Goon, a cheap box wine that’s popular among backpackers because it is the cheapest alcohol you can find. One of the girls was from Minniesoda and of course she was a sweet heart and super easy to talk to.

The next day I went to the book store and traded in my illegal copy of The Beach that I purchased in Malaysia. The lady still gave me $2 to exchange for it. I laid out by the lagoon and saw a bat ray jump out of the water. I was lucky to see it because it was for a split second. I went to eat with my friend Kyle that I met in Bali.

Worst part of that day was I sprained my ankle. I kicked a croc in the head too hard. No no, that’d be too cool of a story. I was rushing to catch my bus and I had my big backpack with wet flip flops on because I just took a quick shower.  Not smart I know. Anyways, a friend grabbed my arm as I was stepping down the steps and I turned in mid air to see who it was and I landed wrong and slipped a little.

Good part was I caught my bus to Hervey Bay and there was a shuttle available, so I didn’t have to walk.  In fact, they haven’t had a shuttle for months, but that night they had the first one in a long time.

Off to Hervey Bay to go check out Fraser Island. I can’t wait because everyone was telling me how much better it was compared to the Whitsundays. Hope my ankle heals quickly!!