JetSki in Airlie Beach

Friday, July 13

Despite being an unlucky number on an unlucky day, we were surprisingly fortunate to have nice-ish weather today. It was overcast and warm, but no rain, and absolutely no wind, making for very calm, glass-like waters.

Picked up at 8:30 in the morning, we were taken to the Jet Ski company at Abel Point Marina, where we were issued sunguards, life vests, and sunglasses with headbands so you would not lose them. We declined the ugly hats - everyone did.

Our tour group had three groups of 2 (including us) and three single riders, in addition to our guide, Sam. After signing our lives away in paperwork, they took us down to the marina and showed us to the jet skis. Now, Stephen and I had both been jetskiing before, two years ago in Miami, leaving us feeling semi-confident for what lay ahead.

Here are some pictures our guide took during the hour and a half adventure (we're jetski #4):

So though this was a 90 minute adventure, you may notice Stephen is driving the whole time. As it turns out, I have a very satiable need for speed. After multiple instances I was convinced I was going to die, I decided it would be better for me to just hang on for dear life and let Stephen deal with the whole turning and whatnot associated with a jetski tour.

He had a great time - we got up to almost 70 km/hr, which was fine when we were going straight - it was really just all of the s-curves we spent most of the trip doing "for fun" that left me with my heart racing and sweat dripping as the panic set in.

My favorite part was in "Turtle Bay" where we went 10 km/hr and idled, looking for turtles. No such luck, and then we had to do more s-curves on the way back. By the end of the trip, I was even sporting some new bruises on my inner thigh from holding on so tightly.

We then returned to our hotel, changed out of our swim suits, and headed into town for lunch. We ate our sandwiches along the beach and then spent the next hour or two playing and exploring the tide pools created by the low tide. We saw tons of crabs, both sand and hermit crabs, as well as fish with "legs", and birds that were more interested in the picnic tables than the shallow, exposed fish.

For the first time in many days, we took a few hours in the afternoon to sit, relax, blog, and watch some quality 80's television, before going back out to dinner. Tonight we tried a noodle restaurant called "Off Your Noodle" that made stir fries right in front of you - it was delicious!

After dinner, we decided to stop by the local bars - but all were loud and packed, and we decided we'd rather go to bed early than stay out partying. We felt old.

Tomorrow we go to a famous whitesand beach - one of the top ten in the world - hope the weather continues to get nicer - maybe it won't rain tomorrow!