When The Ocean Meets The Sky, Ill Be Sailing

"Reality Is"

I have now reached my final, and most northerly, destination on the east coast of Australia called Cairns. From here I will jump on a plane Wednesday, October 24, and fly across to the west for my final week in Perth, Australia. Since my last entry I have been to a town called 1717/Angnus Waters, Airley Beach, Magnetic Island, and now Cairns where I arrived last night.

My first stop on my final leg of my journey was 1770. This town got its name because 1770 was when Captain Cook, the explorer that founded Australia, first landed here.

1770 is a sleepy little town of around 400 people but, because local entrepreneurs have started to do heavy advertising, has now started to become a more regular stop for people traveling up and down the east coast. The main draw to this town is not only the best hostel I have probably ever stayed in, but also the fact that all the activities that you can do from this town cost almost half as much as anywhere else in the country.

By this time in my trip I was really running low on time with many miles ahead of me to be able to catch my flight to Perth, so I was, for the first time in 10 months, on quite a tight schedule. If I still had heaps on time, like I did in the beginning, I would have definitely made this cozy little town my home for a while.

For the two nights I was in 1770 I stayed in a hostel called, "Cool Bananas". This was not only the cleanest hostel I have ever seen, but it was also one of the best set ups and the most friendly staff I have come across. Everything from the laid back atmosphere and great background music all day, to the heaps of cheap activities, to the cheap meals/drinks and fun livelier atmosphere in the evening was more than a person could expect from a hostel and was a very enjoyable change.

I spent my days surfing, reading, and just meeting people and nights were filled with campfire singalongs and a lot of good laughs. The one afternoon I went on a tour through the outback riding 50cc mini choppers. It was 3 hours of kangaroos, wallabies, and sunsets over the ocean while sitting on the shoreline with delicious deep fried potato wedges. What more could a person ask for for $38 dollars, that, my friends, was the beauty of 1770.

My next stop was Airley beach which, for me, was just a jump of point to a three day sailing adventure around the, "Whitsunday Islands." After an overnight bus from 1770 I arrived to Airley Beach in the morning and was boarded and on our journey into the ocean by midday.

The boat which I was on was a 55ft Catamaran called, "Reality Is" and had a crew of only three plus 16 of us riffraff just along for the ride. We spent the next three days sailing to untouched islands and amazing pristine beaches including the, "White Haven Beach" that is one of the top ten most beautiful beaches in the world. We then stayed the two nights on Long Island in quite a posh resort that us backpackers felt a little out of place among the families, hot tubs, saunas, and tennis courts.

During this trip I also got to do my first official Aussie scuba dive. Seeing as I was the only certified diver on the boat the dive master asked me some questions and decided I was able to go with him for a dive that he rarely takes passengers to. I soon learned why because not only did we have to do a backward entry off the boat but once we hit the water, the current grabbed you and pulled you at more than 8 miles an hour around a shelf in the ocean. The dive was a drift dive and we pretty much hovered around 18 meters. The marine life and visibility wasn't the best Ive seen, by any stretch, but the force and speed the current took us from start to finish made this a very exciting dive.

After returning to solid ground I learned one thing about myself, after spending 3 days rocking back and fourth on the ocean, once you get to land its hard to keep your balance for the first few hours! Once my balance issues were sorted I decided that, with the few days I had to spare before I had to be around Cairns, I would make a quick little side trip to Magnetic Island.

My days on Magnetic Island were very relaxing and enjoyable, but quite uneventful as long as this blog in concerned. I could tell you how many words I read and how many minutes I napped on the beach but I have decided nobody is interested in such details. The one exciting day adventure that I did do was me and three others rented what is called a, "Moke" to explore the roads and beaches of the islands.

A Moke is a sort of open air 1960s dune buggy mainly used for tourists and cruising short distances on the many islands is Australia.

The four of us set out with plenty to drink, eat, whatever else we needed through the day and set out for a day of exploration. After a full day in the sun and walking to different beaches we returned our Moke and hit the sheets quite early.

Now I am in Cairns with about 5 more days left on this side of Australia. Today it is pouring rain but hopefully tomorrow it will be nicer out so I can enjoy my last few days on the east coast.

"My Chopper For A Day"

"Scooteroo Sunset" (Sunsets/Sunrises Getting Boring Yet)

"Just Relaxing And Enjoying The Ride"

"Beautiful White Haven Beach"

"Long Island Tropical Resort"

"Cruising Magnetic Island"