Arrival to the Whitsunday Islands!

After easily the longest bus ride of our lives we could not be any happier to arrive at our next location. We all changed into bathing suits lathered up in sun screen and met with our tour guides to discuss the days activity's. First on the agenda a speed boat ride to Whitehaven beach. Again I do not think that any of us were quite prepared of the intense transportation that was to come.

We split up into two groups and loaded onto our assigned speed boat. There was no more room in the back, so my friends and I hopped onto the front and got comfortable and ready to relax and enjoy the ride. Ha! Relax on a speed boat- yeah right, who knows what we were thinking. At first the boat just cruised along at a decent speed allowing everyone to take in the gorgeous surrounding scenery. The sites around us were indescribable. Every single picture looks just like a post card. Not only was the water absolutely crystal blue but because we were entering the Whitsunday Islands, the surrounding mountains were also just as beautiful. Looking back, it is hard to believe that we were even there. After a few more minutes of casual cruising and observation the boat began to pick up some speed. Still not really not phased I kept a loose group and continued to gaze around. Before I knew it the speed accelerated and we took off over the water. It would be one thing if we were just cruising along quickly, glassing over the water, but the waves were HUGE. In a matter of seconds my friends and I were flying up in the air, bumping our butts back down on the seats and then flying up again. It was hilarious! We spent the next twenty minutes banging into one another and nearly falling over the boats edge. I still have bruises to show for it, but it was worth every single second. Finally, we arrived at Whitehaven beach. This particular beach has been showcased and displayed on many different travel television shows and is regarded as one of the most beautiful in the world. It definitely lived up to its reputation. We climbed off the boat into the water and lathered up in more sun screen. Everyone spent the rest of the day in the water, sun tanning and playing fun beach games. After lunch a group of us went on a walk up the mountain through the rain forest to see the beautiful islands, mountains and water from higher up. Sun burnt, exhausted and soaked we all climbed back onto the speed boats and cruised to South Molle Island where we would be staying at for the next three days.

Once we arrived at the absolutely beautiful island we were given our room assignments and instructions for the nights activity. Our tour guides instructed us to pick up our nights "outfits" at 5:00 and to be at dinner by 7:00. Outfits? Many of us were curious as to what exactly this meant. The nights party was themed and the costumes were supplied to us by the island but that was the only information that we were given at this time. After the instructions everyone raced for the showers. It was 5:00 before we knew it, and everyone headed to the beach bar to pick up what they would be wearing for the night. When we arrived and waited in line it was hard to see exactly what everyone was being handed. It didn't take long however, to realize what the theme of the night would be- plastic fantastic. Evey one was given two neon colored plastic garbage bags and told to design an outfit that was to be worn for the rest of the night. After dinner we all went back to our rooms and tried to be creative as possible! The outcome was pretty entertaining. Considering we had all spent the day together in our bathing suits, many of us just threw our bikinis back on and tried out best to work the plastic around them. The bar on the island where the plastic fantastic party was, overlooked the water and made for a really fun night!