East Coast Expedition: Last Day Out To Sea Paradise

Jan 22, 2011

We rose early again today, this time to a different hip hop song compliments of Dave and his loud speakers. This was our last day out at sea. Well, morning actually. We had to be back at the harbor no later than noon because the next trip on the Tongarra was leaving at 2:00 p.m. later that afternoon. I told you these boys never got a break! After they dumped us off, they had just 2 hours to clean the boat and pack it up before doing the 3 day and 2 night trip all over again with different bunch of clueless travelers. But first, we got one last opportunity to snorkel again. I was the first one suited up and in the water. This was perhaps the last time I would go snorkeling in Australia, I wanted to savor every minute of it.  I quickly found my celebrity fish crush, Elvis.  He and I were forming a bond, I could feel it. Given more time I'm sure we would have formed a bond, similar to that of Ariel and Flounder. I certainly felt like a mermaid submerged in the Great Barrier Reef's spectacular underwater world. If only I could grow a mermaid tail on command.

Two hours later Mick gave the "Let's go" signal. Back on the boat, the anchor was lifted for the last time as we set off, back to the mainland. I exhaled a huge sigh of satisfaction, sadness and complete joy. Excluding my awful nights of sleep, I had had the most incredible time fulfilling my Whitsunday Islands fantasy. I was so grateful that things had worked out and I was able to embark on this unforgettable adventure. I was sad that it would soon be over (although I was looking forward to sleeping on solid ground again). Or would it? On the sail back Mick asked me what the rest of my traveling plans were. My plan, plain and simple, was to hop on a bus and continue down the coast. To my surprise, Mick then asked if I would be interested in coming out on the trip again with him that afternoon. The voice in my head's initial reaction was: "Ah, heck yes!" But the practical voice in my head replied, "I would love to, but I can't afford another trip."  To which Mick told me that I didn't have to buy another trip because I could come on the boat as a volunteer, meaning that all it would cost me would be some time helping the deckhand here and there with cooking and cleaning. Again, the voice in my head shouted, "YES! YES! YES!" But the practical voice said, "I'll have to think about it."

And think about it I did. The more I thought about it the more torn I became. The problem was that I had scheduled another 3-day, 2-night trip two days from now on Fraser Island. So going out on this trip again meant that I would have to cancel and reschedule that trip, which was a hassle but do-able if I really wanted to sail and snorkel the Whitsunday Islands again. I wasn't sure whether I could even reschedule the Fraser Island trip, and I was worried that I would be crunched for time getting back down to Sydney if I prolonged my time here in Airlie Beach. But when would I ever get an opportunity to sail the Whitsunday Islands again, the tropical paradise of all tropical paradises, and for free?! The answer was never. And so back and forth the voices in my head went, speaking valid reasons for why I should both stay and go:

Voice 1: "You're so sad that this trip is over. It's meant to be! It doesn't have to end yet." 

Voice 2: "If you stay then you'll have just two hours to go to town, re-check your luggage in storage, cancel your booked buses, and reschedule your Fraser Island Trip- if you even can." 

Voice 1: "Yes, but you'll get to see Elvis again! And this time you can successfully find Nemo!"

Voice 2: "You haven't slept a wink in two nights, Sarah. Do you really think you can handle two more restless nights at sea? Some sleep would do you good."

Voice 1: "Sleep? You can sleep when you're dead! You can sleep when you get back from the sailing trip in three days. There will be plenty more opportunities for you to sleep, this I assure you. But you many never get another opportunity like this again in your life." 

Voice 2: "You dreamed of sailing the Whitsunday Islands, and that dream came true. You had a fabulous time, yes, but you have more trips planned. Who knows what other fabulous experiences await you? You only have two weeks left, and a whole lot of Australia left to see. Continue onwards as planned, and cherish this one trip."

I was torn. Really, really torn. Eventually Voice 2 won the debate. I decided that I should stick to my original travel plans and continue down the coast towards Fraser Island. I told Mick how flattered I was that he offered me this opportunity, that I would love to go out again but that I unfortunately had to continue onwards. I had a bus to catch and more adventures to experience. He understood. Then turned to front of the boat and offered the same opportunity to the rest of the passengers. Like me, they all had future travel plans and declined his exceedingly kind offer. It really did seem too good to be true. Maybe that's why I said no, because it was just too good.

A few minutes later, we were approaching land. Now would have been the appropriate time for someone to climb to the top of the sail and shout, "Land! Land!," while pointing excitedly at a faint blurry mound in the distance.  The small blur quickly grew into a big mound of land, complete with trees, houses and roads. The next thing I knew, the Tongarra was being tied to a dock and we were climbing off the boat. I hugged Dave and Mick and thanked them for taking us on such a wonderful, magical trip. It turned out that this was Dave's one night off this week, so he made plans with our group to meet up that evening at a local bar. Until then, I passed the time with my favorite Italian girls at the Lagoon, the public pool in Airlie Beach (remember, no one can swim in the ocean so everyone goes to this pool). It was lovely to lay down on land that didn't rock back and forth, and the salt-free pool water was refreshing. In dire need of a shower, we each took turns bathing in the Lagoon's public locker room. It felt so good to wash my hair and put on clean clothes. Then we headed off to Maggie's Bar and the Phoenix Bar located down the road, where we met up with Dave, Andy and the rest of the Tongarra's travelers. We munched on pizza while chatting the night away. It was great fun. The more I got to know Dave, Andy and the Italians the more I grew to adore them. That evening I knew I made the right decision; traveling was about forming bonds with other travelers and I wouldn't have been able to do that with these four (nor gotten their facebook addresses) had I gone back out on the Tongarra.

That night I caught an 11:45 p.m. bus heading south. So I didn't sleep in a bed, but I assure you that I had a splendid night's sleep on that bus seat.