The rest of the recap

After my sunburn and turtle debacle, the last thing I wanted to do was spend another second on a boat. But of course, a nice, long sailing trip was next on our to-do list in Airlie Beach.

But unlike my Reef trip, sailing the Whitsundays was a really great time. We bonded on the boat with a bunch of boxed wine-loving Irish and English folks who really liked to sing.

My favourite part of the trip was when the boat stopped off on Whithaven Beach on the second day of our trip. It was absolutely unbelievable. Close your eyes and think of paradise--and this beach is it. Absolutely incredibly white sand, perfectly peaceful and the weather only enhanced the experience. The sun was gleaming white hot and there wasn't a single cloud to disturb the perfectly blue sky. My pictures simply can't do it justice, and my words certainly can't.

From Airlie Beach we flew straight to Brisbane, which is a really cool city. Located inland, Brisbane almost reminded me a bit of Boston--I think it was the river that tipped me off to that. It doesn't have the flair of Sydney or Melbourne, but Brisbane's eclectic culture make it a good time.

I enjoyed my time in Brissy because we had ample time to explore the city. Our hostel was located only right in the heart of city, so we really got a feel for the place. We visited the popular night markets and dined at a lively Turkish restaurant (complete with a belly dancer) on our first night.

The next day we drove out to nearby Beerwah to visit Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo. The place really had a spirit to it--it was almost as if Steve was still alive because his presence is still very much apart of that place. I was very much impressed by the extent that the zookeepers interacted with the public. They talked a lot about conservation and habitat protection--the whole place really put an emphasis on the importance of taking action in animal protection. It was clear that Steve's passion was infectious. I thought it was a very cool place.

The final stop in our trip was in Surfers Paradise. It was finally time to relax, which is really all that Surfers can offer. That and a ridiculous amount of shopping. Surfers was okay, but it was very much like a mixture of Fort Lauderdale and Las Vegas. Very commercial and consumer driven. Sure, the beaches were nice, but a beach is a beach. Except of course, if it's Whitehaven beach in the Whitsundays!

**Note: The above photos are of my Whitsundays sailing trip, with Whitehaven being the top. I'll add more photos from the rest of my holiday in separate posts.