Beavers Abroad

Whitsunday Boat Trip

On new year's day we woke up early and went to Brisbane airport to hop a quick two hour flight to the Whitesunday Islands. Located in northeastern Australia just off the coast of Queensland, the Whitsundays are a collection of Continental Islands right off the Great Barrier Reef. Visiting the Reef was one of my life dreams so needless to say, I was super excited about the trip. Even the water in the harbor was turquoise and pristine and I knew we were in for an amazing weekend.

We booked two days on the Whitsunday adventurer, a catamaran that slept 14 people. It was a beautiful boat and it was exhilarating to sail around the islands in such gorgeous surroundings.

Our boat, the Whtisunday Adventurer

Deep in thought

Gorgeous sunsets

Sleeping quarters

My favorite spot - at the front of the boat

I couldn't get over the gorgeous color of the water!!

In the evenings we would anchor in a quiet cove and when the sun would come up at 5am, the islands next to us would be alive with activity. I have never heard so many bugs, birds, and who knows what else. It actually sounded loud! We definitely don't have all of those natural noises in the city! The islands were rich with wildlife and the waters around the island were dense with an entire community of reef life. Every spot we snorkeled was pristine and beautiful - gorgeous corals and a wide variety of pretty fish. More on the snorkeling part in my next post :)

One of my favorite stops was at Whitehaven beach, an untouched and pristine7km stretch along Whitsunday Island. The sand is a brilliant white and is actually 98% pure silica, which gives it a bright white hue. We walked along the sandbar and spent several hours playing on the beach. We still had to wear our wetsuits in the water because of jellyfish and stingrays. We were advised to shuffle our feet through the water so as not to startle them, since they were settled beneath the sand at the bottom. We saw 8 - 10 of them and it was freaky whenever we would nudge them and they'd float away. Lloyd claimed that one swimming near him was 'as big as a dog', haha. It was an amazing day at an amazing beach!!

The other side of Whitsunday Beach

At one snorkel site I decided to try out the stand up paddle board and it was great fun! Hard work since I was paddling against the current and it was windy. Our captain brought out the john boat and tried to make waves to throw me off (and let me tell you, he was relentless) but I prevailed and didn't fall off once!

Last dinner on the boat

A sunset to remember!

Gold Coast New Years 2012

The Gold Coast was one of my favorite places to visit so far. The white sandy beaches were clean and soft, the ocean was as warm as a bathtub, and the scenery was just breathtaking. It was my first time to meet Tess in person (aside from video chats) and I was really excited to spend time with Lloyd's mum. She lived about 10mins away from the beach in a cute area and she did a great job of entertaining us, as we got to see and do lots of fun things while we were there.

One afternoon we went to the Q Tower, which is a beautiful glass skyscraper in Surfer's Paradise, an eclectic beach area in the Gold Coast. We went to the top for a drink and a look around and the views were simply amazing. The day was clear and the ocean was blue and gorgeous so the view was a real treat.

Miles of pretty blue sea

People were climbing the outside of the roof !

Clouds coming in over the beach

Can't get over how clear the ocean is!!

Tess & Lloyd

The Q Tower is the one with the tall pointy spire

Gorgeous surf

On New Years Eve we went with Tess to an event at her club, the Gold Coast Surf Club. We ate tapas, danced, drank champagne and shared a table with a retired English couple. It was a great evening, complete with a firework show!

Tess pulls faces like Lloyd...and I wonder where he gets it! :)

Our English Friends

Lloyd's friend Nath flew in from Melbourne and hung out with us for a few days, and we went to the casino and out for drinks in Surfer's Paradise. On our last night it was a pretty warm evening and we found an outdoor seafood restaurant for a delicious meal.

Dinner al fresco on our last night in Aus

Happy to be reunited

Lloyd & Tess in the casino

Kuala Lumpur

Another late post...but we've been busy!

In December we stopped over in Kuala Lumpur on our way to Australia. After a 12 hour flight we arrived in KL in the evening and made our way to our hotel, which was in the middle of the city right around the corner from the Petronus Towers. I was in charge of picking of the hotel and I made sure to pick the one with the best rooftop pool!

The pool looked over the city and afforded fantastic views from all sides. The sun was very intense in KL and we got a few weird sunburns from missing pieces, as the sun was very unforgiving! We stayed in KL for two nights and tried to adjust to the time difference and see a few things while we were there. We walked around the Petronus towers which are the tallest twin buildings in the world. The grounds were very pretty, with flowers and fountains but it was super hot and humid, and after 6 months of cold weather we struggled in the heat. One night we made reservations at a restaurant downtown and had the hotel help us hail a cab. We got in and after a 15min drive we pulled up at some random place and the cabbie stopped the car and said, 'ok'. We were thinking, 'ok...where are we?', but the language barrier prevented further conversation, so we got out and decided to choose something nearby. We ended up finding a trendy place outside with chic couches and tapas and when a sudden downpour arrived, a retractable patio cover kept us dry. We enjoyed the tropical climate but wished we were closer to the coast because of the hot and sticky weather.

The next day we headed to the airport...Brisbane here we come!