Cairns, here I was again – 2 months after my first stay – yet the city had a completely different feel to it this time. Walking through the streets the average age seemed to have risen by 20 years (pensioners trying to escape the colder south, maybe?) and all in all I could not shake off a feeling of “This party is over”. The rainy weather and my hostel choice did not help, either – the Cairns Girls Hostel – a rather gloomy place strangely popular with women 50+. Its only outstanding features were reliable Wifi (I was actually able to do some Skype job interviews from here that went surprisingly smooth – from a connectivity perspective) and very, very clean kitchens. First time I ever experienced backpackers sticking to the 4-step rule: use it, wash it, dry it, put it away. Why did I not check in at the Traveller’s Oasis again?! Well, after my raving reviews, they were completely booked out… seemingly FOREVER.
Cairns served as my starting point to travel south. I boarded the greyhound bus from the 
Reef Fleet Terminal in the early morning (my first greyhound journey on this trip!), made myself comfortable, absorbed the last impressions of Cairns and finally watched the landscape flooded with sunlight pass by once we had left the city. Australia has so many shades of green! An overwhelming feeling of “THIS is exactly what I love about traveling” came over me. A fuzzy feeling of anticipation mixed with ‘the journey is the reward’ wisdom. I enjoyed it as long as I could, knowing it would subside when my butt and legs eventually became numb from sitting too long.
5 hours later we arrived in Townsville and I directly hopped onto the ferry to Magnetic Island – the greyhound conveniently stops right at the ferry terminal. I had booked a somewhat cheap package with 2 nights in the Base hostel right at the beach in Nelly Bay. Literally ALL the backpackers on the ferry went to Base – so consequently, this turned out to be my first encounter with a real party hostel…..it had to happen eventually! Too bad I had decided to make this Queensland trip all about detox after all the partying in Sydney – so no alcohol for me. I simply enjoyed the views and went on a 7 hours hiking tour the next day – enjoying my own company – starting from Nelly Bay to Arcadia and Horseshoe Bay and from there to Radical and Florence Bay until I arrived at the “The Forts” bus stop.
Impressions from my hike:
On the way back to Townsville I met another female solo traveller and we both took the greyhound bus further south to Airlie Beach, not exactly a route off the beaten track, by the way. More and more, despite my deep affection for Australia, I realized that it had become way too easy to travel here and that I needed more of a challenge – hence new plans for another trip around the world were already taking shape in my head. I just could not enjoy the easy life for too long! Where are the squat toilets without toilet paper, where’s the exciting uncertainty to get sick or not from brushing your teeth with tab water, where’s all the sweet struggle? I know I should be careful what I wish for – given the fact that every single time I complained about something in a blog post, my experience changed completely until the next article, so let’s see what happens. 😉
The easy life continued in Airlie Beach, a neat, artificial town where I checked in to the Beaches hostel, an accommodation on the cheaper end of the scale. In the evening I was given the opportunity to experiment with slacklining for the first time in my life. A cool dude called Andy invited basically everyone over to try it out and I happily accepted. Later on I met up with my greyhound acquaintance Lisa again and we girls took advantage of the Beaches meal deal: 15$ main + drink (I promise I only drank one beer, and well, another beer… I still consider this detox compared to my debaucheries in 
Sydney, haha!) while sharing travel stories.
On the next day, it was time for #thatboatlife to begin: 3 days, 2 nights on a catamaran “Wings 2” sailing around the Whitsunday Islands together with 22 other people and a crew of 3. Knowing about my tendency to get seasick, I stocked up on medicine – wise idea! We were assigned to our beds (I slept next to the kitchen in a converted seating area) and the adventure began. Lying on the deck with this sea breeze in your hair and summer tunes in your ear: suddenly life just made sense and all doubts about whatever disappear…. this is what life is supposed to be like!
The title of this post suggests something different but we did not actually sail, at least not for the first two days. Instead, the captain used the engine. I just thought it sounds nicer as a headline. The snorkelling part is true, though. After having seen the Outer Great Barrier Reef at the height of Cairns, the snorkelling sites around the Whitsundays were not a life-changing experience, but still very nice. The water was significantly colder and I chose to wear a long wetsuit plus a shorty on top. After snorkelling, the boat life continued, including a great sunset and a really, really good dinner with a special dish for vegetarians.
The following day, we got up early to visit Whitehaven, probably the most popular spot on the Whitsundays.
Some brave souls even jumped into the waves, just with their swimmers on. Later on we proceeded to the next snorkelling spot, still hoping to encounter whales, sharks and turtles…. but, not much luck!
The wind had picked up and the wind forecast for the day of the return to Airlie Beach was even nastier. I had looked forward to a few hours lying on the deck but the waves were so high and the wind so strong (30 knots) that we had to stay in the back of the boat, focussing the horizon in a desperate attempt not to get seasick. And: as long as I didn’t go under deck it worked for me. It was even a little bit of fun, standing there and getting splashes of water into my face repeatedly. Wet, exhausted, but happy we arrived back in Airlie Beach, now with the ground moving under our feet.
A relaxed evening run along the bay at sunset rounded of my stay in Airlie Beach.
Tigerair took me back to Sydney the following day. My final 10 days in Australia had begun.
JC loves to travel 