We were going to go to Yeppoon for a few days but Mum found
some cheap deal for a fancy unit in Airlie Beach on Wotif while we were in the
car. So we decided to drive to Yeppoon just for the night, before heading to
Airlie Beach the next day. While having lunch at a great park in at Rockhampton
(not as good as Spears Point Park) the plans changed again and we were back in
the car to try to make the next days drive a bit shorter. We sat in the car
forever. There were even signs on the side of the road asking if we were there
yet.
There weren’t many towns just lots of bush, cows and sugarcane. Eventually
Dad had had enough and we stopped at Marlborough and camped behind the pub!
There was only one other car and we had a grassy campground al to ourselves. We
had dinner in the pub and we noticed that there was lots of writing on the
walls. It turns out that all the visitors get to write something if they
wanted to so we wrote on the walls in permanent marker too!
From Marlborough to Airlie Beach – 12 June
After packing up camp we drove for 2.5hrs until we got to
Mackay. It started raining as we arrived. After a trip to the shopping centre
mum went for a run and we got to play in a 3 tier lagoon with a 17m water slide
and a water play equipment. But the top lagoon was closed and so was the slide.
We had the whole place to ourselves because nobody else thought swimming
in the rain was a god idea. You get wet anyway so you might as well swim.
The lagoon was amazing, even though some of it was closed.
After another 2 hours driving we arrived at the Boathouse at
Airlie Beach.
At Airlie Beach 12-14 June
We stayed in a fancy apartment that has 2 bathrooms, 2
bedrooms, 3 balconies, a kitchen, a lounge room, a dining room and a laundry!
This was very different to the tent we have been sleeping in for the last 2
weeks. We stayed for 3 nights.
The view from our apartment
Checking emails in comfort!!
On the first full day we wandered into town. They have dug
up the main street and there are holes in the road and excavators an trucks
every where. Luckily if you walk along the coast you avoid all this and find
another lagoon. We had a swim there and then walked around the boardwalk up to
the marina and back. Airlie Beach is beautiful.
On the second day we went on a 3 island cruise around some of the Whitsunday Islands. The first
island was Hook island where we went snorkelling (Bella, Hamish and Mum got
stung by something and Will got cold) and on a glass bottom boat. The coral and
fish are OK but not as good as Lord Howe Island.
A beautiful morning in the Whitsundays
Then we went to Whitehaven
Beach. This is a beautiful spot with a 7km long bright white sand that is
squeaky. We went on a bush walk the top a hill and got a great view of the
Whitsunday Islands and saw a Lace Monitor lizard. We then played and swam
at the white white beach.
At Whitehaven Beach. That is our boat behind.
What a glorious place and a perfect day!
Last stop was Daydream Island where we saw a heap of
sting rays (shovel nose, brown and the normal black one). The rays were fed
garfish and were all fighting over them. There mouths are on the bottom and
their noses on the top. One of them sucked a fish up its nose. Dad can do that with asparagus! There were also
reef sharks and a large lemon shark called Bruce. We also swam in the pool and collected
cowrie shells.
The best part of the day was being on the boat, watching the
beautiful Islands as we went past and having access the cookie jar that kept
being refilled. It was like magic.
On the last day at Airlie Beach we enjoyed the apartment as
long as we could. We had a game of tennis and checked out right on 10am. We
then went over to the Markets to have a look around. There was heaps of great
things but Mum and Dad think the car is already full.
Bowen – 15-16 June
We left Airlie Beach about 12pm for the 1 hour trip to Bowen (where the movie Australia was filmed). We had a quick look around Bowen but there was not much to see and so we headed slightly north to Horseshoe Bay which is beautiful. We had lunch at the nudist Beach (we discovered later – it was the first beach we saw from the road and no one had their clothes off). While mum and Dad set up the tent we went climbing on the rocks in the nearby bush and Will cut the bottom of his foot. He is now having to hop everywhere. Hopefully it will be better in time for our 4 day walk on Hinchinbrook Island!
A sunny spot to read on a rock behind our campsite at Bowen.
At dinner time we met a nice family with 4 girls who have been travelling around Australia since December and played
bulrush with them.
On Sunday we went exploring with the girls and then spent
the morning at the beach with them before they had to leave to continue their
trip. We spent the rest of the day at the beach and doing a walk around
the coast on the rocky tracks.
Mum cooked us a sample of what she was planning to eat on
Hinchinbrook Island – yuck. That packet pasta was not good. Mums going to think
of something else.
Big day of driving tomorrow.
Hi Wayward Raywards, from Kath and Damian. We are jealous of all that swimming! It's been really cold in Newcastle the last few days.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the lace monitor you saw on Whitsunday island was our friend from our honeymoon picnic?