next up on my journey is Airlie Beach, gateway to the beautiful Whitsunday Islands
Airlie Beach is extremely popular with backpackers and you can understand why
you can attempt every aquatic activity imaginable and many backpackers have
and that's just in the lagoon!
The salt water lagoon
was built to allow year round swimming
up here, you can't swim on the open beaches from November to May
this is due to some nasty little jelly fish
which can kill humans on contact
Of course where ever backpackers dwell so too does a lively nightlife
and many of the staff who work at Airlie come from overseas
so instead of interviewing an Aussie
I thought I might ask a backpacker what they thought of the Whitsundays
So say hello to Jenni Higgins
an Irish Backpacker
working in one of Airlie's many nightspots
Back at home I was duty manaager
for an Irish Airline
and traveling is something I always wanted to do
So I decided to come to Australia for a year Im now in Airlie Beach
and working for an Irish Bar called Paddy Shenanigans which is great fun, a great bar to work in and it's certainly very busy
Everyone who works in Paddy's are Irish we might take on the odd Scottish
considering they are very like ourselves
I think it's always good when you find somewhere that you like to stay that you do work there
because it definitely gives you more
of a feeling for the place
because you get to know more locals and the way they live
I mean when I travel up further along the coast
I will definitely continue getting more jobs
even if I don't need to
I would always like to get a job to get more of a feeling for the place and the way the locals live
I never planned to stay here in Airlie Beach
I was traveling towards Cairns When I got here, I enjoyed here so much, I mean the town itself, it's very laid back extremely friendly people
and I'm here now two months and I only planned to stay two or three days
So far in Australia I have found the people to be extremely friendly, very helpful
and it's laid out for the
tourism industry, without a doubt I mean there is just do much to do and so much to see
I mean you don't even know where to start looking at the map
the adventures, you have the weather to go out and do all the adventure sports
throughout the day, and you've got the serious social scene at night time
so I think Australia itself, definitely laid itself out for the tourist industry
and it is a brilliant, brilliant place to travel
particularly for the young backpacker You dont' have to spend a lot of money
You have great hostels to stay in
and everything between the adventures and social scene is fabulous
You know, before I left home, people saying, 'Oh traveling Australia on your own,
particularly being a girl, it is not going to be safe
I mean, a girl on her own, who is going to help if anything goes wrong?'
But traveling Australia on your own, it couldn't be any safer. Because I've met so many girls who are traveling on their own
that when you meet people, everybody teams together
and you move on, you meet new people all the time
so you are actually never on your own and, it cant be any safer, it's perfect
you know although I'm not a local here
I've been in Airlie Beach two months and it may as well be 10 years
because that's the way I feel know, it's like being a local, with everybody else and one big family
Now I was on a tight schedule
so I only had time to do a day trip out to the islands But even doing a day trip is well worthwhile
I got to check out the squeaky clean Whitehaven Beach
and I must say the reef snorkeling was just fantastic 0:03:53.489,0:04:00.489 hard life heh
Australia has it's fair share of creepy crawlies
and some can even kill you!
but for many Australian men, these animals represent employment opportunities. I mean where else
can you call yourself a crocodile hunter or even a snake handler
The barefoot bushman is such a man
His wildlife park, just out of Airlie Beach is well worth a visit
'How many times have you been bitten' I've never been bitten
I've had teeth in me 26 times
but if that thing bites you
you're dead, aren't you
yeah
you can watch and get all cuddly with a crocodile
and even annoy some little critters yourself