Wonders of the World

I have officially seen and snorkeled at one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World!



This week was unbelievable! We travelled to the Whitsunday Islands in Queensland from Sydney. The flight was about 3 1/2 hours from Sydney to Proserpine/Airlie Beach.



Upon arrival we checked into our hostel and were given the best room at the hostel. The view was spectacular! We overlooked Airlie Beach and could see the beautiful blue/turquoise water with the Whitsunday Islands in the distance.



Molly and I headed for the shops around Airlie Beach and attempted some Christmas shopping, but yet again found more things for ourselves!!! We booked two fabulous excursions for Tuesday and Wednesday.



Tuesday's excusion was a trip to "Reefworld" a full day visit at the Great Barrier Reef. We spent the day snorkeling and laying out in the sun! The snorkeling was a little scary at first... Nemo was right when he said it in Finding Nemo- Don't go past the reef! The drop-off is ridiculous!

Just in case of sharks (one of my favorite things in the world- NOT!) we took a guided snorkeling tour, which turned out to be a great experience because we learned about tons of fish and got to see parts of the reef that the other people in our group didn't! They made us wear stinger suits because of the dangerous jellyfish,"jellies", that are in the water. Molly and I looked like the blue telletubies!

After the guided tour we stayed out on the reef on our own. It was so neat to see the Damsel fish, clown fish, butterfly fish and tons of others. We were lucky to have a turtle sighting as well as a Groper fish sighting. The Groper fish was soooo friendly (side note, I didn't dare to go near it) and it was about 1.5 meters long. Yikes!

The day ended with some sunning and a boat ride back that took about 2 hours. The reef is WAAAAAAY out there (pictures to come soon). That evening we went to dinner and then headed for the hotel for some wine in preparation for Wednesday on the Caimara Catamaran!

Wednesday morning we woke up to fabulous weather (about 30 degrees celsius, aka 86 degrees Farenheit). We boarded the Caimara Catamaran for a day of sailing around the Whitsunday Islands with a snorkeling stop as well as a stop at Whitehaven Beach. The day was full of sunning! We snorkeled, but it wasn't as clear at the reef the day before. I met a couple from England and told them to keep an eye on me as I snorkeled in case I was gobbled up by sharks:)

On the little dingy boat back we met some friends from Dallas and New York. They were fun and we enjoyed several mini bottles of wine as we baked in the sun. Then we got to Whitehaven beach and Molly and I walked around taking pictures of all the jellies that had washed up on the beach. The sand was incredible. It was more like silica sand and was great for cleaning jewelry, so we hear, but we didn't bring jewelry with us to clean! The water was sooo clear and so warm!

We made it back to the Caimara and drank some more on our all inclusive adventure. Then our group of friends expanded adding some Germans, Austrians and Hungary! I got to use some of my German skills even though they spoke very good English!

We got back to Airlie Beach, had some dinner and then hung out with our friends for a bit at a hostel/bar called Beaches. Our friends will eventually find us on facebook and hopefully we can stay with them if we ever go to their hometowns! Then it was off to bed back at our fabulous hostel.

Thursday morning was even hotter : 35 degrees celsius which is 95 degrees farenheit!!! Molly and I decided to go for a walk along the waterfront. We went about 3K to find a shopping center that had a Target County store. It was a very small Target, not the usual GREATLAND! But we had to go in to find out what the Australian Target was all about. We were unimpressed, but it we had to get out of the heat! We went back to Airlie Beach for some last minute shopping and then on our way to the airport for our flight back to Sydney!

Adam and Emma picked us up in Sydney and took us out on the town. First stop was Kangaroo Pizza at a restaurant in Surry Hills and then out to a club in Kings Cross. The Kangaroo was surprisingly good. It was almost like beef jerky!

Emma's friend was in a swimsuit contest at Sapphire Lounge. So we went to the club in Kings Cross to watch the event! We only stayed for the cheap drinks and the evening wear portion of the competition. The prize for the winning contestant was $20,000!! OMG it was a funny night!

Guess what? We slept in this morning! Woohoo! But we are packing to head up the coast to Fosters Beach, David calls it "Boomerang Beach" or "Fishy fish"!!!!! So another update to come after the weekend at the beach. Yes, I am officially another race I am so tan! Enjoy the snow everyone back in the states:) j/k

Okay we are off!

Love to everyone!

Love,

Katie

PS pictures to follow shortly!:)