I was supposed to send my bike to Mackay, but unfortunately the courier high fees practically exceeded the value of the bike. So Ewelina sent me only my racks, tires, pedals, tools, etc., and I went to find a second hand bike with matching parameters to my accessories. In the end I bought it and quickly arrived at my destination.

Airlie Beach has changed since I did my diving course here 20 years ago or skydive 2 years later. Now it's a thriving mass tourism machine, no anymore a small vilage on the map. The biggest attraction of the region are the nearby Whitsunday Islands, known for their beautiful colors, wonderful empty coves with white sand, coral reef good for snorkeling or diving and of course the phenomenal sandbanks rising above the turquoise water at low tide.

I have been looking for help for a long time to add such an attraction to my unmotorised adventure. The only kayak rental company refused to cooperate with me due to the lack of appropriate oceanic experience, and yachts charter were also rather out of reach because no one will sail all the passages with strong currents without turning the motor on.

Still, I tried through Facebook groups. Most people advised against or misunderstood the idea of ​​traveling without a motor, but finally someone said that maybe he will be kayaking at a similar time, someone that he has an inflatable kayak to borrow, etc. However, nothing of the above came out, but it didn't matter at the end because Rupert came out with his generous offer - not only sharing knowledge about the islands but also hiring me a kayak with accessories.

We met the day after I arrived in town, I chose a kayak, packed food and water for over a week, the next day I tested the loaded equipment in the marina. Everything was fine to start tomorrow, I was prepared... only the weather was completely screwed up. Wind speed over 20-25 knots and tides over 4 meters - an absolute NO to leaving the harbour.

I've been rushing here 26 days in a row without resting day only to wait idly. The worst thing was that I didn't know how much more, and I'm not designed to sit at one place. So I started looking for additional information about kayaking around the local islands - it was a mistake, because all I learned was that a rescue operation was already on the way for me, that my sit on top plastic kayak was a toy, not an ocean expedition touring equipment, that I couldn't handle these passages, currents, winds and tides, and on top of that, crocodiles, sharks and deadly jellyfish were waiting for me. Fortunately, Richard (recently kayaked from Australia to NZ) advised me to wait, that I could manage, and the kayak although slow, is very stable.

I used nice hospitality with friends, then at the Warm Shower where I finally helped with housework, gardening and construction in exchange for meals and accommodstion. It took a whole 10 days before the wind calmed down. 10 days of waiting! However, everything has its good outcomes - the kayak stressed me out impossibly so I asked Rupert if there was a chance to implement the previously mentioned alternative of sailing. As soon as we agreed that he can leave marina on engine and then I would reach the boat by kayak, he agreed. I had the amazing sailing experience taking me to the islands in 5 hours, not in 4 days by kayak against the wind. The catamaran glided over this beautiful area like a rocket, much faster, easier and safer.

I was finally there. On full open sails in the middle of green water surrounded by mountainous islands. Wonderful bays, wild, empty, calling beaches. One tack, another by another, until finally the whiteness of Whitehaven Beach struck my eyesight with its brightness. It was really hard for me to believe that I was there, on my own terms by the forces of nature, and on top of that for borrowing a kayak, equipment and sailing me there Rupert didn't charge me a cent. He just selflessly helped my dream came true.

There were hundreds of tourists on Whitehaven Beach, so I went for a walk and when I came back the paradise was just for me. Alone in such a place! I did the same in the morning only in reverse order, so when more boats full of day tourists came to the shore, I launched the kayak and paddled away. The tide was pushing me north, I was only gently paddling in this turquoise water with a completely empty beach just a few meters away. Could it be more beautiful? It could, and soon it was!

I reached Hill Inlet at low tide and saw what I had been dreaming of - sandbanks rising above the turquoise water. Something absolutely beautiful. The colors and shades of the water mixed with the sand, they changed color depending on the depth and the main riverbed meandering deep inside the inlet only added charm to this mosaic. I went up to the lookout to see it from above, how wonderful! For the night I paddled into the river with the high tide and in the morning after chasing a few stingrays, with the outcoming tide I returned to paradise. And I started all over again in Hill Inlet sandbanks because it was just too beautiful to leave it behind. Anyway, the colors before and after the maximum low tide are different, so I had another excuse to spend a day longer here.

I supposed to travel to the north of the island with outcoming tide, because then the sea current would carry me with the wind (predominance of south-easterly winds). However it was worth to stay longer in Hill Inlet and miss the favourable tide, as I was travelling close to shore and neither the wind nor the tide difference was huge, so I paddled not too intense for only four hours. Here at the Cairn campsite I climbed the lookout and then put on snorkel, mask and fins - the snorkeling was amazing, reef in walking distance from the shore. This was my last place where it was relatively safe to enter the water, although I still had to be very careful with jellyfish, both the small stinging Irukandji and the larger deadly Box Jellyfish.

After playing on the reef I paddled to Cid Harbour, which is famous for its large number of Bull Sharks. No one with common sense goes into the water there, so despite the very irregular waves I held the kayak steadily and after a visit from one dolphin I safely landed on shore. There I decided to take the last of the five marked trails on Whitsunday Island, this time to its highest peak. Needless to say, the view from the top was worth the effort.

It remained to return to the mainland. I woke up much before sunrise to start exercise when the wind was calm and could take advantage of the upcoming tide, because it lasted only till 7.56am. So I paddled as hard as I could to overcome this several-kilometre wide Whitsunday Passage, hiding behind islands where finally it was possible. The beginning was difficult, high waves, wind and current drifted me more than I expected, but in time of slack water I began to embrace the return in required direction, I slowly began approaching mainland. Finally after 260 minutes the 17km section was behind me and I breathed a sigh of relief that I had safely returned. The only cost I incurred was a two-day unwell feeling, I probably got the first phase of sunstroke.

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