Whitehaven Beach, Australia - Polarsteps

Today was so amazing. It is simply impossible to explain or show the beauty of the Whitsunday Islands in words or pictures. Our tour started early in the morn at Abell Point Marina. We were handed a stinger suit at check in... I felt like superwoman. Grabbed an "iced coffee" before getting on the boat. It was luke warm... For a country that is 95+ F you would think they would enjoy a nice cold brew... Anyways. We boarded the boat "Thrilla" (cue MJ dance moves). We took the front seats cuz obvs we wanted a wild ride. Anyone who knows me relatively well, understands that open waters freak me out a little bit. So it took me a while to get comfortable. We were getting air off every ocean wave and Brody was driving very speedy.. But once I was... I was singing, dancing and just loving life more than ever. Here are some facts for ya: the whitsunday islands consist of 74 islands spread off the coast of Airlie beach. It's an underwater mountain range with just the tips sticking out of the water! Most people do a couple nights sailing trip when they visit. We didn't have time for that (also would have been another $400), so we opted for the one day ocean rafting tour. It's the fastest way to see the islands!! It took about 35 minutes to get of the coast and into the islands. Stop 1: pulled into a small cove, Sam dropped some fish food over the edge of the boat and hundreds of colorful fish flocked to the surface! It was so cool. BUT THEN this HUGE blue flat fish comes up... I could not fathom the size of this fish. It was a freakin tanker. Stop 2: snorkeling! Our boat was full of Asains whom spoke about 0 words of English so it was funny listening to the workers try to explain snorkels... Slipped on our superwoman suits, grabbed a noodle to help me float 😏 and hopped in the water. Saw some really cool fish and beautiful coral. Stopped at another cove as well. Em and I saw the head of an eel. I tried to provoke him with my go pro stick.. He didn't budge, which was probably for the best 😳. Next stop: WHITEHAVEN BEACH. In the top 5 most photographed beaches in the world. In 2015 it was named the worlds most beautiful beach. And you bet I believe it. Side story: while on the view deck above the beach, I set my go pro on the handrail to take a pic on my phone... The go pro FELL OFF INTO THE ROCKY, STEEP WILDERNESS BELOW. All I could think was shit, shit, shit!!!! Exactly why I should not have nice things.. Though the story does have a happy ending. I turn around and lock eyes with a park ranger in a snazzy safari outfit. I kindly ask him for his assistance. He jumps the rail, over the edge, sticks his hand into the hole and WA-LA. My go pro was safely returned with just a few dents in the case, luckily not over the lens. It may sound like he is the hero of the story but honestly I would have just done it myself if he didn't happen to be standing right there. So don't give him all the credit.. Especially since he sorta had an attitude, pretty sure I'm not the first American girl to lose something over the edge and him have to go out of his way to save their beloved electronics... End side story. Summary of the rest of the trip: - extremely diva photos shoot laying in the water.. Stinger suits are recommended at all times but we took the risk muhaha - ate 3 sandy bananas - Boris calls Zacadia a "bitch". Told him that's a no no considering we don't even know him. Aussies like their profanity - silica sand reflects the sunlight like crazy, so it can lead to burns in places that usually never burn.. It got the back of my knees and the tops of my hands and of course my face 🙄 - sat on the pontoon for the 50 minute bumpy ride back. My scream really confused the others on the boat.. Can't help it that I screech I practically had to be dragged off that beach. I miss those blue waters already. So incredibly grateful to have experienced such beauty