Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays

           After about four hours on the Greyhound from Townsville, we arrived in Airlie Beach in the dark in the middle of aforementioned continuous downpour.  Lucky for us, that was the last rain I saw all week.  An American who was working at the hostel I was staying at, met a bunch of us at the bus and led the way to the hostel, Magnum's Backpackers.  While walking over, I recognized a British girl next to me from the hostel in Townsville.  I soon found out that it was an insanely small world!  She was headed out on the same boat tour as I was the next day, and was in the same hostel room with me that night.  When we got to the room, a few of our roommates were sitting on their beds and chatting, so we jumped into the conversation and got to know each other.  There was another British girl and a guy from Toronto, and I was in awe that you could travel to another hemisphere and meet someone who lived an hour and a half away from you (albeit in a different country, but that's the story of being a bordertown kid).  The three of us plus my friend Kimberly (who I had traveled on the Greyhound with that day) went to grab dinner, exploring our options until finally deciding on purchasing some boxed wine for our boat trip and eating Fish & Chips at the hostel.

 

            The next day, our boat tour was leaving around 1 p.m. so we checked out in the morning, stored our baggage, made some breakfast, and chilled at the hostel for a while before heading to Abell Point Marina (could not have picked a better name for the Marina, although in some places around town it was misspelled ‘Abel’ – story of my life, guys, don’t worry).  We checked in for the boat, were issued stinger suits, and before we knew it we were on board!  

            Within minutes of getting on the boat, we started to get to know our neighbors.  I met a girl from the States who had been traveling around Australia for a year, as well as a combination of other guests who were studying abroad, living in Australia, traveling long-term, or on a quick two month hiatus (like yours truly). 

           We were shown to our beds so we could stow our gear, and then returned to the deck to chat with our neighbors and take in the sights.  74 islands comprise the Whitsunday Islands, and although some of them, including parts of the Great Barrier Reef that lay beside some of the islands, were destroyed in Cyclone Debbie a few months ago (I don’t know if you recall the news article about the ‘Sharknado’ a few months back, in which a dead bull shark was found laying in the streets of the town of Ayre after the cyclone, but that was only about an hour or so North of Airlie Beach), the islands and the reef around it was pretty gorgeous.  Some of the islands have resorts on them, but most are uninhabited, and as such, the easiest way to explore most of them is a boat tour, such as the one we were on.

On the first day we stopped to do some snorkeling, watched the sunset, and after dinner, we threw all the leftovers overboard and watched sharks swarm around it, which was really cool!  The stars that night were phenomenal, uninterrupted by any artificial light whatsoever.  I chatted with some new friends from Canada, England, the States, Australia, and Holland, but we all called it a night around 10 in preparation for the next morning. 

            We woke up early to catch the sunrise and were in the small motor boats around 7 a.m. to head to Whitehaven Beach.  As we got off the motor boat at our drop off point, we spotted a lemon shark swimming nearby, and then took the quick walk to the lookout point and finally set foot on Whitehaven Beach.  I have to say that initially I had no idea what to expect of Whitehaven Beach.  I honestly I had just wanted to go onto one of the Whitsunday islands because I’m a big fan of islands and I heard they were pretty.  But, Whitehaven Beach definitely blew my expectations out of the water (pun entirely intended). 

As we were the first tour group to arrive on the island that morning (admittedly, with a second, right on our heels), we avoided having tons of tourists in our photographs.  I had seen plenty of white sand beaches before but the swirls were spectacular.  We also spotted a squid (although some argued it was dead, I'm pretty sure it's alive) and a bunch of sting rays while hanging out in the water. I personally think sting rays are the most amazing thing ever, and even though I know they exist in the States, I’ve only ever seen them in Australia, and thus equate them with Australia, so I was pretty happy about that.  After exploring the beach, taking several pictures, and chatting and sunbathing for a bit, it was time to head back to the boat for some sea eagle viewing and another round of snorkeling.  We snorkeled twice that day, spotting giant clams, sea cucumbers, and all sorts of fish and coral in the process.  After snorkeling, we enjoyed a well earn cup of tea and some snacks (which was potentially followed by a glass of wine before dinner). By the end of the day, I was tuckered out and we all called it a night early.  

Since, we needed to be up around 6 the next morning to attempt a snorkel with sea turtles, it was worth it. 

Unfortunately, we didn't spot any sea turtles while snorkeling that morning, but we did see some in the water as we were pulling back into port.  After disembarking and walking back to Magnum’s Backpackers to drop off our stuff, a friend from the trip and I spent some time on the beach and then went off for lunch.  The café we ate at had a Dr. Seuss theme (with dish names like the Grinch and the Lorax).  That day, we settled for acai bowls (being healthy and all) but the next morning I gave the Grinch a shot (disclaimer: the acai bowl was way better).

         That evening, there was an after party for everyone who had returned from a boat trip that day.  A bunch of the people from the trip, as well as some of the crew, joined us, but I was so tuckered out from the trip, I couldn’t even stay awake for the drink specials that started at 10.  So I called it a night early, in preparation for my flight to Perth the next day. 

Townsville and Magnetic Island

September 19, 2017 

           We sit in the ferry terminal waiting for our bus, lamenting that the hard rainfall destroyed our plans to take one more walk through Townsville prior to our departure.  I absentmindedly check the calendar as we wait.  I left Toronto nearly two weeks ago.  I arrived in Townsville from Melbourne only two days ago, and now in the inevitable pattern of traveling through somewhere and everywhere, it's time to leave again.  

 
 
       I count my blessings that I got in a run this morning, and that the last two days in Townsville / Magnetic Island were pretty cool, despite our trip here ending with a torrential downpour.  On Sunday, when I arrived from Melbourne decked out in jeans and a fleece, my uber driver teased me, "You came from somewhere cold", just moments after I overheard another passenger on the flight remark, "Oh, we haven't seen sun in forever" and tell someone they had just come from Melbourne. My uber driver ended up being an outrageously interesting guy (Although aren't they all?), who had lived and gained citizenship in Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the United States, in that order.  I left that uber ride feeling incredibly low on passports.

Castle Hill (which not only shows a good view of the area, but also prompted some Ed Sheehan music)

These trees!  If anyone can tell me what the
story is here, I'd appreciate it greatly!

                                     
          But, it was eighty something degrees in Townsville, which was an extraordinarily beautiful thing, so I checked into my hostel, found the local fish 'n chips place with a $5 lunch deal, and then walked all over town (along the beach with views of Magnetic Island, up Castle Hill which was a little bit exhausting, to the lagoon in town which exists as an alternative to the beach during stinger season, and finished off with the grocery store).  Back at the hostel, I watched Spiderman 3 with a few people, and chatted for a while.  That's where I met my friend who I'm waiting for the Greyhound with now.

Australian White Ibis: For some reason, I
think this guy is the coolest thing ever.

         Now, I look at the travelers around me again, still killing time before the bus arrives. I don’t dare count the days to see how much time I have left before my plane touches down in North America once again.  I have a limited timetable, whereas the hundreds to thousands of travelers who cross my path meander and wind their ways through the country and the world, uncaring as money oozes out of their pockets, stopping for months at a time to do farm work or waitress to extend their visas and pad their falling bank accounts. 

            In some ways, perhaps, I long to be one of them.  To approach life unplanned and unburdened by a time limit, knowing that there will always be time even when there is no money.  Yet, in other ways, I am glad to travel unburdened by reality, even if each day falling away hour by hour means I’m coming that much closer to returning to the 40-hour work weeks and three weeks of Paid Time Off that monopolize American culture. 

            I reach for another chili rice cracker that my new Dutch friend offers me, and stare out at the rain for a moment before making another attempt at connecting to the WiFi.  The travelers around me tell me that a taste of travel makes them hungry to see everything in the world.  There’s too much, they say.  We can never go everywhere. 

            I feel that way too.  I respect that feeling of being overwhelmed by all the choices, of wanting the exploring to culminate in an ultimate goal of having seeing all the places on one’s bucket list.  And if you never felt the need to venture out once more?  How much simpler would it be if the world could be grasped in one’s hand, and the continents were located close together, plane tickets cost next to nothing, and the world was or became very small?  Yet, how disappointing would that be?  If everyone you knew had seen everything you had seen?  If you had no more aspirations or dreams to explore anywhere else?  Isn’t it more exciting to feel like you’re running out of time to see the world instead of feeling like you’re running out of world to see in the time you have? 

            I wonder, how long does it take to tire of travel?  Do you reach a point where the novelty wears off?  Where each beach becomes just another beach and each animal is just another animal?  I recall when we were here three years ago and went to the Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road, and my professor’s eight-year-old son said “What is the big deal?  It’s just rocks and water.”  If you ever have seen a picture of the Twelve Apostles, you’ll probably agree that it’s far more than rocks and water.  But maybe when you’re eight, pretty views are far less exciting.  Because when you’re eight years old, maybe it is just rocks and water.  And when you’re twenty three, rocks and water means so much more than that. It means natural beauty and adventure and freedom.  It means millions of years of geology and ecology and history converged at this very moment for you to see this part of the world the way it looks today.

           Yet, I think of yesterday, hiking the Forts Walk on Magnetic Island.  On top of the hill, we sat on some boulders for a while and just looked down.  At the mainland, at the ocean, at the bays and beaches that lay below. 

                     

My travelling companions were in awe of the beauty, and I won’t deny that it was pretty.  But I recall asking myself, was it more beautiful than Catalina Island or Martha’s Vineyard or Basilan in the Philippines?  For a split second, I understood why people in the hostel said Magnetic Island was “just okay”, and “maybe not worth it”.  How many pretty views do you have to see before the excitement wears off?  If you travelled on and on forever when would you reach a point where one view doesn’t measure up to another, and it’s all the same? 

But, in reality, that's not a fair statement, because there's way more to the world - and in turn, to the island, than just one view or one outlook.  On our way back down, we stopped at a tree where we had spotted koalas earlier.  Even after watching them earlier, I instantly fell in love with them (and the island) all over again. I wanted to scoop one out of the tree and into my arms and cuddle it like a teddy bear (but they have sharp claws and I have common sense).  Earlier in the day, we were surprised and thrilled to see one koala bear (admittedly a marsupial, not a bear) moving around and eating (since they’re nocturnal and can sleep as long as eighteen hours straight), and even more excited to discover it’s baby crawling around on its belly.  

Later on, we contentedly watched as they slept and moved back and forth with the wind and the tree branches.  From there, we walked down to see the Rock Wallabies near Alma Bay, and finished off with a walk onto the beach at Alma Bay, watching the waves crash to shore.  And as quickly as I had almost become un-entranced with the island, I was captivated by the place.  Add to that, the two friends I had made along the way and spent the day with, and it was a great day.

It made me realize how multi-faceted the whole concept of "Travel" or "Seeing the world" really is.  The places we go; they are not dictated by one piece of the puzzle, but by many.  By more than the views or the landmarks or the unexpected wildlife that worm their way into our hearts, or the hikes, or the food we eat, or the people we meet along the way, but by a combination of all those factors.  Or you know, maybe just by a possum who thinks he’s part of the specials menu. 

 

There is a reason that even the most drab of big cities tends to draw in a crowd or why tourists flock to the middle of nowhere for a single landmark; whether it's music or culture, art or nature, warm weather or tasty food, there's always a reason to appreciate a place.  As I’m sure you could find a pearl on the most seaweed covered beach.  There’s often more than meets the eye – sometimes, you have to look into a eucalyptus tree, or in between the rocks, or open your mouth and speak to the person sitting beside you.  And when you realize that, you can have an adventure anywhere.