Reef Living

AAA is a booking agency, not a travel agency. My mom and I have continued to repeat this phrase as we go from city to city. In Cairns (pronounced like a can of coke/forget the ir), our hotel was nearly 2km from the city. This was a great work out for us, but really? My poor Sperrys won’t have a sole left when I go back to school!

The first day we arrived we ventured into town and took in the sites. The city has a wonderful free public pool with zero-entry, fountains, and positioned right on the ocean. The boardwalk along the coast had outdoor gym equipment and free exercise classes every morning! When is Bloomington/Fishers going to catch on? We roamed the marina and gawked at the gorgeous yachts dockside. Wow. I’ll take one please! J

On our second and last day we sailed from Cairns to Michaelmas Cay about 25km out. This was home to a portion of the Great Barrier Reef providing a once in a lifetime opportunity to see what lies beneath. Our catamaran had a semi-submersible vessel on the cay that allowed me, the not so key on snorkeling, to have a close-up view of the reef. Ironically I never saw a clownfish the entire day on the reef…Otherwise, it was everything I had expected. It was full or varieties of coral and families of fish were everywhere as the eye can see. A fish was chilling in the anemone making a picture perfect representation from Finding Nemo. While I may have a strong swimming background it doesn’t mean that I love snorkeling. Not having any control is something I really struggle with out there. Therefore, the first thing I see that scares me…I’m gone faster than a barracuda J Sorry mom! Even without the snorkeling I would have had a blast. I love sailing!

Thursday we flew to Hamilton Island then took a ferry to Airlie Beach. The flight was awesome with views of the Great Barrier Reef! I realized how much of a kid my mom really was during that flight. There was a total of 11 people on board leaving empty seats everywhere. She literally went back and forth the whole time taking pictures of the reef below. Reason I love my mom haha.

Once we landed we took a ferry to Airlie Beach and while aboard we reserved our spots on Camira, a catamaran that sails through the Whitsunday islands docking at several key beaches. When he pulled together our tickets, he said he liked Americans and we were nice so we only had to pay for one ticket. We thought we were going to cry! What a break! And that’s why I love Australians.

Abel Point Marina Whitsunday Islands

No worries for AAA not coming through at Airlie Beach. Our hotel was 2km away from the town…they seem to have a pattern of that. The beach itself is revered amongst Australians, but I’m not really sure why. We ate on the beach then without fail got lost going to the local supermarket. One night in Airlie beach time to move! When we checked into Club Crocodile, beautiful pool but nothing else. They told us a lot of American kids were coming to the hotel tonight! To my delight they were People to People kids…joy. I think the intent of the program is great. The kids get to see the world and meet others, but when they are disrespectful, loud and act like they own everything in site, they can go back to America. To make my love for P2P even greater, they have also followed us onto our plane to Sydney, Cairns, and to our hotels in Cairns and now Daydream Island where we are currently staying. Why would you take 60 kids to a remote Whitsunday Island? There are 74 islands out here and they pick the one with a single hotel.

Daydream Island Resort & Spa

Regardless of the kids, (sorry for the rant, it has been one of those weeks) our hotel is gorgeous! The grounds are meticulously taken care of and every amenity is world-class. The coral sea has beautiful true turquoise water with a much greener tint than even the Caribbean. And the surrounding islands with mountainous greenery provides a Disney fairytale like world. To make my love for this place even greater; when we went to dinner tonight there were over 20 kangaroos roaming the gardens in front of our room! Ah!! My life is complete J Plus, there was a momma kangaroo with a baby in her pouch! If you can’t tell, I was excited beyond belief and still am.

Queensland is exactly how I would expect Australia to look. It’s tropical, full of wildlife, and everyone is relaxed. We met the CEO of Daydream resorts and he gave us complimentary drinks. Everyone is so sweet, love Australians! I can’t say that enough.

Counting down the days until I get to hold a koala!