Whitsunday Islands — i am nicole

**All of these photos were taken pre Cyclone Debbie. This area experienced horrible wind damage and flooding. Please keep those affected in your thoughts.**

Y'all. I found it. Paradise. It's real and it's here.

I took a night bus up to Airlie Beach and stepped into what looks like a tropical island.

The bus terminal is right next to one of the many marinas in town and I was absolutely taken with how blue the water is. Bright turquoise and full of fish. And not just fish - the ocean this far north is quite dangerous to swim in. There are invisible jellyfish that can kill you within minutes, saltwater crocodiles, and sharks. Instead of risking our lives or dying from heat, the towns all build nice lagoons - basically outdoor swimming pools that resemble the beach.

Airlie lagoon with the ocean in the distance

There was a cute market along the beach the day I left for my tour.

That evening, I met up with none other than Ann-Marie who was leaving that next morning. We went to dinner with a couple girls from my Fraser Island trip and tried some local dishes: kangaroo, crocodile, emu, and (not sure about local) buffalo. The 'roo and 'lo were delish, the emu was weirdly very dark meat for a bird, and croc tastes like a mix of chicken and fish.

Left to right: kangaroo loin, crocodile tail fillet, buffalo rissoles, and emu chipolata sausages according to the menu.

We may have partied and ended up at McDonald's...

Now for what y'all really want: the sailing trip to the Whitsunday Islands. My boat looked like a pirate ship sans cannons (which is fitting bc I learned the next Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed here). We had about 30 people on board and a wonderful surprise: 4 other girls from my Fraser trip! We had a great crew that drove us around, made our meals, and ensured we were always having a good time.

The New Horizon...in front of the giant yacht

The first day we loaded up, picked our bunks, and motored out halfway to the islands. It couldn't have been a more beautiful day for a boat ride. And not just any boat, but a sailboat in the freakin Whitsundays.

Always hang on...unless you have a titanic photoshoot. The ship rocks like cray out in the open ocean.

We anchored at Hook Passage for the evening and played in the water until dinnertime. There were stand up paddleboards and noodles that we didn't even need beacause there's so much salt in the water and, to everyone's delight, stingersuits. Whenever we got in the water, we had to wear wetsuits to protect us from the jellyfish. Real good looks.

That evening, we watched one of the most beautiful sunsets and even had a visit from a mama and baby dolphins. To all of our circle-of-life delights, one of the babies ate an octopus and it spewed a huge cloud of ink.

Cool sunset rays that I'm guessing are caused by the mountains?

The next morning, we got the day started at sunrise and were off to Whitsunday Island, the largest of the Whitsundays. We began with a walk up to the Hill Inlet lookout where we first glimpsed that postcard-worthy blue water and white sand. The sand is 99.89% silica so is some of the most pure, white sand in the world.

The boats all anchored out with the little motorboats ferrying us to land.

We walked down this adorable path filled with giant spiders to Whitehaven Beach and this is where that paradise is that you've been waiting so patiently for. It is beyond perfect. Words cannot even describe its beauty. These photos are unedited and just from my crappy iPhone. They don't compare to the real thing.

The girls! Lovisa, Rebecka, me, and Nele

After a few hours at Whitehaven Beach swimming with little lemon sharks and sting rays and taking more photos than I'd like to admit, we dragged ourselves away and back to the boat. The crew opened up the sails as we made our way to Blue Pearl Bay where I learned to scuba dive!

This isn't even the main area of the Great Barrier Reef and the coral was pretty damn awesome. So many colors and textures and just the coolest experience. You get so distracted by the coral and fish, you forget you're breathing through a tube. I didn't get an underwater camera, but there was a giant parrot fish named George and rainbow fish and schools of black fish and yellow Dory-looking fish and fish and fish and fish! Afterward, we joined the others and snorkeled a while in amazement at this whole other world under the water.

When we returned to the air-breathing world, the crew brought out the paddleboards along with a giant inflatable slide. We swam, had dinner, watched another gorgeous sunset, and had yet another visit from dolphins.

Nele and I catching the last of the day's sun from the top deck.

For our last day, we woke up early and went snorkeling again in a different part of Blue Pearl. Afterward, the universe cried because it was time to leave and we rode back to land through a little rainstorm.

This was the most incredible experience. I hope everyone has a moment where nature takes their breath away. You don't even have to come to one of the most beautiful places in the world, but it sure doesn't hurt.