I arrived in Airlie Beach and my amazing Airbnb host picked me up from the bus stop, gave me a quick drive through tour of the area, and after dropping my stuff off, I began a fun day of wandering the beach town. I had a wonderful picnic lunch on the water and walked along the shore for hours.

That evening I took an insanely fun speedboat tour around the area. I got there early and after talking with an employee there, I learned she lived in Nashville (my hometown) and went to Vanderbilt, not to mention she nannied for a family from my school. What a small world! Times like this are the perfect example of how interconnected we all are–it just takes a little bit of friendliness! It was a roller coaster on water–such a fun 30 minute ride! I even got to see some of the turtles the area is famous for.

I got back to my Airbnb around 6, ate dinner, and promptly fell asleep about 10 minutes into reading my book. I woke up the next morning, and after a bit of confusion, made it to the right dock to catch my beach/hiking/snorkeling day trip around the Whitsundays.

We started out the day at Whitehaven beach, one of the best beaches in the world (and I can see why). The perfectly white sand is soft because it’s made of silica (the result of the volcanic eruptions that made the islands), which also means it does not retain heat. After lying on the sand, I decided to take advantage of the paddle boards our boat offered. I’ve always wanted to paddle board, but I haven’t because 1) I’m afraid I would fall 2) I didn’t want to pay 3) living on the Pacific Ocean, the water is FREEZING. So this was finally my chance! I would say it went pretty well for about 5 minutes:

And then…

Now I can say I’ve tried it! I definitely want to try it again.

After the beach stop, we made our way to a short hike with incredible views.

The hike was gorgeous and I relaxed on the beach after. After a quick lunch on the boat, we set off to our snorkeling location. The Captain was awesome and decided to take us to a location slightly further away because their usual spot was spot was too crowded, which meant the wildlife would be overwhelmed and it wouldn’t be the best experience for us or the fish!

Don’t I look cool while snorkeling? LOL

This was actually the most awesome wildlife experience I caught on camera while in Australia. I felt like I was a part of the school of fish–it was such a bizarre experience. The fish had no fear!

The one and a half hours snorkeling and exploring the reef flew by and I was back on the boat riding back before I knew it. I was dropped off about a mile from my Airbnb and took about an hour exploring a local grocery store (one of my favorite activities!). I found tons of interesting things and walked out with $40 worth of chocolate and ingredients to make dinner.

I make it back to the Airbnb, cooked dinner, chatted with my host for a few hours, and put my laundry in. I went to shower and immediately passed out in bed. I woke up the next morning and my host had folded up all of my laundry–how sweet is that? I really lucked out. If you’re traveling to Airlie Beach/the Whitsundays, you’ve got to stay with Chris & Glenn.

After a relaxing morning, I took a shuttle to the Proserpine Airport to catch a flight to Sydney and begin the next amazing leg of my journey.