Alex in motion

Although there’s a ton of water activities available at Airlie Beach, the crappy rainy weather limited my options. After travelling on the overnight bus, I arrived unrested at 7am. It was semi-cloudy, but after examining the rainy forecast for the next several days, I quickly booked a tour for that day.

There were complications with the first tour group – they didn’t actually get my reservation and left without me – but I was able to quickly jump onto other adventure drafting tour. With some wild waves, the raft jumped around like crazy, which completely soaked us and added to the thrill!

After some snorkeling, we made our way to Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island. This beach is famous for the bright white sand that consists of 98% pure silica. Apparently several world renowned cosmetics companies have tried to purchase sand for their beauty products, and was promptly denied.

Tides constant change the landscape, so the area never looks the same twice. It was lovely to dig my fingers and toes into the almost rubbery sand, and breath the fresh sea air.

The following days had craptastic weather, keeping me from further tours and adventures. Fortunately I met a cool gal from Toronto named Jane. Jane spent many months in New Zealand and was now looking for work in the area for the next 3 months. Tough life! I haven’t met many east coast Canadians in Australia, and we befriended each other pretty quickly.

During one of our walks along a country road, a white van stopped and warned us that a crazy person was accosting travelers. He said the police were on the lookout and that it’s not safe to walk on the road. He then made room in the front seat of the van and offered us a lift. Jane and I looked at each other and both instantly believed we just met that crazy person. After declining politely, we hastily made our way back to town, occasionally looking over our shoulder.

The remaining days were very chilled; we cooked healthy food in the hostel, drank a few bottles of white wine, played cards, had afternoon coffee at the harbour and witnessed some spectacular sunsets. I’ve been neglecting my magic card tricks, so I attempted to perform a few; she was an easy audience on my amateur performance.

It felt comforting to be in good company and to slow down the pace, making the most of the short winter days. A winter in Australia wearing t-shirts and shorts; what a tough life!

Some of the top destinations along the east coast of Australia are really far from each other, so short pit stops in smaller towns are needed. Agnes Water was one of those stops.

With only a singe day available for activity, I undertook as much as possible. The town is most northern surfing point, as the Great Barrier Reef blocks the waves further north. It also has some of the most inexpensive surfing in the country; about 20 AUD (19 CAD) for 3 hours of lessons, including a surfboard and surfing shirt.

With crystal clear skies, I accompanied some friends from Fraser Island. It’s been years since I surfed in Costa Rica and was much harder than I recall, even more so because most of the time I was holding a GoPro stick. However I did manage to get enough footage to put together a little video. Sorry for the shakiness. Enjoy!

After that embarrassment, I grabbed my motorcycle gear and went on the most intense scooter tour! Yes, I said scooter. These puppies resembled Harleys, but had the firepower of a small scooter. I gladly accepted the underpowered machines, as it partially satisfied my motorcycle craving.

Joined by dozens, we were babied along several kilometers, slowing down to view wild kangaroos and wallabies scatter when approached. Then we snacked on tasty potato wedges and watched the sun set. With all the harley gear, I felt like a cool rebel. Almost.

Continuing the journey north, the next stop was Hervey Bay and Fraser Island. I joined a guided tour which included 2 nights at a hostel in Hervey Bay and 2 nights camping on Fraser Island.

On the night of arrival, there was a general briefing and we were introduced to the others; there were 26 kids. I say “kids” because all of them were between the ages of 19 and 29, and then there was me. I felt like a father at some points, especially during one morning when they kept boasting, “Man, did you see how DRUNK I got last night?!” Overall they were pretty cool, though.

Fraser Island is a World Heritage site and the world’s largest sand island, stretching over 120 km and offering beautiful sunrises over the Pacific Ocean. We took turns driving 4×4 vehicles, stopping at various lookouts, beaches, champagne pools and some of the island’s 100 freshwater lakes. Most of these lakes formed by the collection of rainwater over thousands of years and are among the purest in the world. There are no incoming or outgoing streams, the only source is water from the sky. You could swim in crystal clear waters while sampling the fresh taste.

Accommodations on the island included sleeping in tents with a single yoga mat for cushioning. With all my experience as a boy scout, summers at the cottage and a couple of long camping trips, I truly love being in nature; it refreshes my mind and spirit. But I just wasn’t fully mentally prepared for this style of camping and tossed and turned most of the first night. Perhaps I’m just getting old and used to higher levels of comfort. In any case, I updated my perception and the second night was much easier

We had to cook our own food, but at least there was a BBQ and gas cook-top. It was it was fun to see what others prepared; some younger kids had instant macaroni and cheese while others made a feast of burgers, sausages, salads and sweet potato fries. It was my first BBQ in months.

Both evenings were cloudless, and I spent many long moments lying on the beach dunes, admiring the night’s stars and the Milky Way. Without neighbouring city lights for hundreds of kilometers, they were some of the clearest and wondrous evenings I’ve ever seen. A shame my camera could not capture them, but it just means I’ll keep the moments personal.