Fraser Island and Whitsundays are one of the highlights for many backpackers. The Whitsundays are 74 small islands scattered above the Great Barrier Reef. The sandbanks and the blue ocean make this place truly amazing. Airlie Beach is the departure town for all the Whitsundays boats. The options are endless; whether you are looking for a quiet boattrip or just want to dive in this part of the Great Barrier Reef, there is a boat for every kind of traveller. The Atlantic Clipper is known as the ultimate partyboat of the Whitsundays, the boat where I am going on. At first I thought it would be 24 hours of party every day, but fortunately it is more than that.

The first day we sailed away at 15.30 with the sun joining us. The crew welcomed us all with a world record break attempt. A crewmember attempted to drink more than 6 liters of milk in one minute. It ended with a lot of throw ups and not even 2 liter, but the atmosphere was set! The Clipper is the biggest boat of the Whitsundays, 52 people + crew, but the boat it spacious enough so you won’t feel packed at all. To get to know everybody we had to form groups for a talentshow that night and practice our performance. It is a great way to meet people and funny to think of a talent.

At night we all watched eachothers’ shows and played drinking games. After all, it is a partyboat and you will definitely party! There is a Jacuzzi on the ship with seawater, the perfect area to relax and talk to people. The party rocked until 12 and then it was time to sleep. A good thing I think, because we had to get up early in the morning to visit Whitehaven Beach, the famous spot on the Whitsundays.
I shared my cabin with two other girls, and the beds are comfortable. It was my first time to sleep on a boat, but because it is such a big ship, it won’t bounce that much on the water. The next day the crew woke us up with nice morningsongs at 7.00 and the breakfast cleared most people from their hangovers. Unfortunately it rained that day and we didn’t had the nice postcard view of Whitehaven Beach, but it was still really beautiful! We all got stingersuits to be able to swim in the water, because this time of the year there are a lot of jellyfish in the ocean and they are potentially lethal. After we hang out a while at the beach we went back to the boat to snorkel or dive. I had a dive and it was amazing. The coral is very colourful and there are many fish. We swam through caves and said hello to Elvis, the big blue fish that swims here. The Clipper also has a waterslide and when I got back from the dive everybody was sliding or jumping of the 5 meter high plank.

After frolicking in the reef we had some time to shower and relax before dinner. There are three decks on the Clipper so enough space to hang out. After dinner it was of course time for another party. The evening was filled with crazy drinking games and dress up competitions. Everybody did their best to become King or Queen of the Clipper but the games became harder every minute. Finally, our King was crowned: Johno deserved this title in every way! The atmosphere was set and everybody was in a partymood. The deck became the dancefloor and we all had a great time.

The next day we had another snorkel opportunity and I dived again. The reef is awesome here to snorkel because it is really shallow and you will see all the fish that you’ll also see with diving, but for me diving is still a complete different experience. I recommend you do both! After some fun with the slide again and some hotdogs it was time to sail back home. The group on the boat was great and despite the rain for the whole trip, Whitsundays for me too made it to my highlights of Australia!

For more info on the Atlantic Clipper check out www.peterpans.com