After our full day in Airlie Beach, our next adventure was the Apollo. Let me just say now that the three days I spent on the Apollo were my favorite days of the whole break. It was MAGICAL. Anyways, we woke up that Monday morning and checked our bags into the luggage room at the hostel. Then we headed to a little cafe for breakfast. We had found out the night before that we weren't allowed to bring bags with zippers on the boat, but at the time we didn't have any bags without zippers (we were SO confused as to why this was a rule but we found out later that it had to do with bed bugs being in backpackers' backpacks that they brought on the boat...), so we had just packed our stuff in zippered bags anyway. Then, at breakfast, we saw that they were selling those reusable shopping bags so we bought two each and put our stuff and them and then brought our zippered bags back to the hostel. Then we headed to the marina where we waited for forever for the crew to show up (they had told us to get there on time or they'd leave us yet they were super late- so frustrating). While we waited we talked to a guy from Italy and a girl from Ireland and a few other people who were also going on our boat. When the crew finally showed up they gave us a little speech and made us sign papers and then we boarded the ship and sailed away! I got the best feeling ever as we were sailing away- I was about to spend three whole days out at sea in the beautiful waters of the Great Barrier Reef! After a little while the crew asked us if anybody wanted to help with the sails and I figured that was my chance! Two girls who would soon become my good friends, Charlotte from England and Sophia from Germany, volunteered too. We got to raise one of the sails, which was awesome! Then we all just hung out on the top of the boat until it started raining. I couldn't believe it- I'd been in Australia for months and hadn't seen rain but maybe once and now it was raining at the worst possible time! I wanted to stay out on the deck though so one of the crew members told me there were jackets downstairs that Amy and I could wear. They were HUGE and we looked hilarious in them but they kept us dry and warm so we didn't care. Luckily, the rain didn't last long. We sailed for a few hours and got a scuba diving lesson from our scuba diving instructor, Lukey. For those of you who don't know, I took scuba diving as my PE class last spring at App. I took all the classes, did all the pool dives and all the work, and passed my final exam with a 96. Unfortunately though, you have to do three or four open water dives to get certified and so the class went to Florida for spring break to do them. I already had plans so I couldn't make it so I never got certified, which is unbelievably frustrating. Hopefully I'll get certified when I go back home though! So, because of this, I had to dive with all of the intro divers even though I knew what I was doing. I didn't mind that much though! Anyways, after awhile we arrived to a tiny beach in Luncheon Bay that didn't have any sand- it just had pieces of coral, which was weird. Lukey could only take four people diving at a time, so while we waited we went snorkeling, which was awesome. There were so many cool fish and the coral was amazing! Then it was my group's turn to dive. Amy, Sophia and a guy from Taiwan were in my group and we all went out in the water and Lukey helped us put our gear on. We practiced breathing and everything and then went out deeper to dive. We only went for about fifteen minutes and we didn't go deep but it was still magical! I think that's the moment I became a scuba diving addict, and I think I'll be one for the rest of my life! After our dive we went and laid out on the beach. I met John, a really nice man from Sydney who was really interesting to talk to. We left the beach as the sun was setting and it was beautiful! We sailed until we got to Whitehaven beach, where we anchored for the night. After dinner we all just sat around and talked. The stars were beautiful!!! Then we went to bed pretty early because we had to wake up at 6:30 the next morning.
I had a huge piece garlic bread for breakfast. Weird, I know, but I had seen it the day before and it looked so good! Hahaha
My zipperless bags!
Amy!
Goodbye Airlie beach!
Me, Sophia, and Charlotte
Raising the sail!
Our hilarious jackets
The tiny beach
No sand! The coral was really cool though!
Getting ready to dive! (That's me in the middle!)
The Apollo!
The next day we woke up at 6:30, had breakfast, and then got ready and headed to Whitehaven Beach. This beach is famous for its unbelievably white sand, which is 98% silica. It was unreal!!! I forgot to bring my towel with me from the boat so I laid out in the sand haha. Then we took a little hike where we found the most incredible view! Then we went swimming and the water was chilly but felt really good. We spent the next few hours laying on the beach and swimming and it was amazing!
PARADISE!!!
I want to go back right now!!!
The view from one side of the place we hiked to...
And the other
Sophia, Amy, me and Charlotte
Handstand!
Me and Charlotte!
No towel!
This is Charlotte and our friend Dan doing the YMCA. We were told to do the YMCA when we were ready to leave and Eugene (our cook) would come pick us up. The whole crew must have been asleep or just not paying any attention because Charlotte and Dan had to do the YMCA for forever before Eugene came to pick them up. It was hilarious!
The whole group (minus the crew)
Everyone gave their cameras to Eugene for the group picture so he looked pretty funny!
Look at that water! Ahhhhh!
Not even sure what made us decide to do this but it was fun!
Most of us stayed on the beach until we had to leave. Then we took a three hour long boat ride back to a spot close to Luncheon Bay so everyone who hadn't done their dive the day before could do theirs. Some of us snorkeled too, which was awesome. Then we went to an AWESOME spot and snorkeled more. There were a ton of coral and cool fish! As we were snorkeling the sun was setting and it was SO pretty! Then we went back on the boat and had dinner. That night was a lot of fun. I hooked my iPod up to the speakers and a big group of us played card games! By that point we all knew each other pretty well so it was a lot more fun than the night before.
Charlotte jumping off the boat
Me and Charlotte about to go snorkeling
So excited to go snorkeling in that blue blue blue water!!!
Card games!
The lights from other boats
The moon looked awesome!
Sophia feeding me mashed potatoes with the huge spoon hahhaha
Me and Lukey, my scuba diving instructor
Hard to tell in this picture, but these were some huge fish that were swimming by our boat
Just driving the boat... haha
The next day we woke up really early again and had breakfast. Then I went back to sleep for a little while because I was so tired. I wanted to do another dive so Lukey had me pick which spot I wanted to go to- either a spot with turtles or a different spot that he said people typically liked more so I chose it (he told me we could go snorkeling in the turtle spot, so I'd still get to see them). Charlotte and our other friend, Janis from Germany (the J is pronounced like a Y), went too. When we dove in the water we saw a HUGEEEEEEE fish. I'm SO mad because I didn't bring my camera since I didn't know how deep we'd be going and it can only go 10meters but I totally should have brought it. But I'll put up a picture from Google of this fish because it was SOOOO cool!!! It's called a Maori Wrasse and it's a very curious fish so he kept coming up to us and we got to pet him. I don't think I had ever really pet a fish before so I was amazed! Then we dove deeper and saw a bunch of fish and swam through a coral tunnel, which was incredible! Lukey handed me a starfish which was really cool! I was tempted to keep it but I didn't want to kill it so I didn't. After awhile Lukey handed me a bottle with bread in it. The cap wasn't screwed on all the way so the fish knew there was bread in it. All of a sudden the Maori Wrasse (apparently his name is Elvis) appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the other end of the water bottle in his mouth. He actually bit my thumb and it really hurt by I didn't care because it was sooooo magical! He backed up and then bit it again and he kept doing this. All of us divers were in a circle, so I handed the water bottle to Charlotte and Janis so they could do it too. Then they handed it back to me and Lukey unscrewed the cap and I squeezed the bread out and a bunch of fish came and ate it. It was honestly one of the coolest experiences I've ever had! Then we got on the boat and took a short ride to a tiny island where there were supposed to be lots of turtles. We got on the beach and put our wetsuits on and got in the water. We eventually found one turtle, which was awesome. Then we laid out on the beach and talked until we had to leave. When we got back on the boat we swam for a little while and then started our journey back to Airlie Beach, which made me so sad! We stopped to swim once and then made it back around 3:30 I think. When we got off the boat the crew's boss was there and I asked him if I could buy a shirt and he said I could and that he'd bring it to me the next day. I don't have a picture of it but I'll try to upload one soon! That night Sophia stayed in our hostel and Charlotte came over and we all exchanged pictures. Then we headed to a bar called Phoenix to meet up with our new friends from the Apollo. We all had pizza together and then went out and enjoyed the night life! Sophia, Charlotte, Amy, Janis, Dan, and I hung out all night and it was a really fun night!
This is a Maori Wrasse!
Amy and I with our friends from Ireland and I think Scotland
Me, Amy and Charlotte with Eugene, our cook from the Apollo
This guy was playing music at one of the bars and so we all danced and it was super fun!
Charlotte, Sophia and me
Me and Janis! :)
Those three days were three of the best days of my life and I wish I could rewind and go back and re-experience it all again!
The next day we had to be out of our hostel by 10 (that's the rule with every hostel), so we woke up and went to Mackers (McDonalds, and yes, they really do call it Mackers, even in commercials and everything!). I called my mom and dad and told them all about the Apollo. Every time something exciting happens to me they're the first ones I want to tell, so I've been calling them a lot, especially over the break. Anyways, then we just walked around and chilled on the beach with Sophia, Charlotte, Janis, Eugene and Dan all day. Sophia and Charlotte had to catch a bus around 6 to head to Byron Bay and saying bye to them was really hard, but we're hoping to see them again before we leave Australia. Janis, Amy and I went to dinner and got ice cream and then played on a playground before our bus to Cairns came (I think it was around 8 but I can't remember). It turned out Dan was going on our bus too, which was awesome! Janis stayed with us until we got on the bus and we made him promise he'd come visit us here. I've kept in touch with him, Charlotte and Sophia through Facebook and some texting and I miss them so much!!! It's amazing how you can become so close to some people in such a short period of time!
The pool at Airlie Beach was huge!
So many sailboats!!!
I REALLY wish my camera had panorama but since it doesn't I just took a video of the view from Airlie Beach.
The main street in Airlie Beach
I think this was cake batter ice cream with Tim Tams (an Australian chocolate candy) in it- so tasty!
Sorry this is so blurry, but this is Janis and Amy playing on the see saw-type thing haha it was SO fun!!!
Just being my crazy four year old self!
The bus ride to Cairns was about nine or ten hours long and it was pretty miserable. It was a full bus so we couldn't have two chairs each like we'd been hoping for so it was hard to sleep. Amy got the window seat so I just (kind of) slept on her shoulder. We arrived in Cairns around 5am the next day, and that's where my next post begins! :)
P.S. A few of the pictures with me in them, and the picture of Eugene with all the cameras, were taken on Charlotte and Sophia's cameras!
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