The dream of sailing and diving in the Great Barrier Reef...

just blew up like a bubble - I am here in Airlie Beach on the Whitsunday Coast already for the past three days and had no luck at all! Something is wrong!

It all started with a 3 hours delayed plane which brought me into Airlie so late that all Informations and Tour Desks were closed - so I got up the next morning at 6 to be there to book my tour! Sailing and diving and seeing the beautiful Whitsunday Islands. The info centres are filled with brochures and I am sure the Lonely Planet is right when it says that you could safe a couple of square meters of rainforest without producing so much stuff. Anyway...finally, after a long chat with one of the ladies (unbelievable friendly in the morning at 6!) I made my decision: the boat was called WINGS and was a decent sized catamaran - a dive boat for 25 pax - I got sooo excited! Well then...a couple of hours later the disappointment was huge because sth went wrong with my booking and I couldn't go - the trip was full. Right - pls help me out with an alternative - there was nothing similar to it - not even close, fully booked or left already. So no over night tour in the Great Barrier! So I decided on doing a day tour to go diving and see the Whitsundays - fine, booked. In the later night, coming back from the Airlie Beach Version of our German Oktoberfest, I found a note on my door: Sorry your trip has been cancelled! WHAT? Yep, too windy, too dangerous, 4 meter swells and no way of going out there. Great! So that was my second day hanging out in Airlie beach - which is quite cute and nice but ....well, I didn't come to get drunk and have the party of my life ( not really...) therefore - one more wasted day. Argh! But tomorrow! Right - great, Friday then! Nope, they cancelled all the trips for tomorrow as well, again because of the weather.

Fazit: I seriously made all the way from Brisbane, to Airlie for nuts. Nothing.

Complete useless and senseless action. Yes, I know the Great Barrier is close and so is the Whitehaven beach - but that doesn't get me there, does it? Anyway....I am facing my destinty and have another sunny day hanging out in Airlie - which is no doubt a big party place and ran over by tourists and backpackers. That's ok...I met nice people and will enjoy myself til tomorrow at 5 pm when I will embark the bus to go back to Brisbane...14 hours of funny great busride - for what? Oh no I don't start on that again....

One more reason to be back "down under" soon.

Karin xxx

This is how it WOULD look like...

PS: I thought of just going on a seaplane then or a heli flight...but obvisouly they would not go out either...