Gateway to paradise (Mar. 30/09 - Airlie Beach, Australia, mileage 230km)

A couple hundred kilometers south of Ayr lie the Whitsunday Islands, an archipelago of 74 pretty, forested islands fringed with blindingly white sand beaches, vibrant coral reefs, and the most brilliant turquoise water you've ever seen. The Great Barrier Reef protects them from the open Pacific, so the waters are calm and perfect for sailing and kayaking. It's one of the places we've always wanted to go, so today all we had to do was drive for a couple hours to get there. Sugarcane fields occupied most of the land south of Ayr and around the town of Bowen, which has been made famous recently as the set for the big blockbuster movie called "Australia" that came out last year. When we hit the coast at Airlie Beach, we were greeted by a vista out over the marina, where the bright blue water was dotted with white boats of all sizes. The town itself is small and wholly geared to tourists. A main street is jammed with the usual amenities, and a freeform lagoon pool is open to anyone needing to cool off overlooking the harbour and the islands beyond.

We weren't sure how we wanted to go about exploring the islands, but we did know that kayaking and sailing were our favourite options. After a stop at the tourism office, we realized that the distances between islands were too great to see very much of it in a kayaking day trip, and without camping gear we couldn't go out for any longer. Also, we definitely wanted to get to Whitehaven Beach, which is the one you see on all the brochures and postcards - 6km long, wide, pristine white sand and flawless azure water. It's simply a must-see and considered one of the world's best beaches. Whitehaven is located on the far side of Whitsunday Island, far from the mainland, which means you have to access it on a tour if you aren't on a multi-day kayaking expedition (which sound amazing!). So we decided to compromise and booked ourselves on an all day sailing trip aboard a big catamaran that island hops around the archipelago with stops for snorkelling and later for exploring Whitehaven Beach. Oh, and did I mention the open bar? It's going to be a very fun day :)

ps - We have to mention that the trees around our campsite and even on the main street in Airlie Beach are full of loud, squawking cockatoos, and while we were eating our dinner, a little possum walked right through our camp like he owned the place!