After arriving late the previous day, we were up early and keen to check out Airlie Beach. Once a sleepy town you passed through on your way to the Whitsunday Islands, it has grown into a destination in its own right.
We enjoyed a relaxing morning around camp, catching up on school work. After lunch we headed into town to check out the Main Street and the Lagoon. The Main Street is full of the usual tourist shops, aimed squarely at the backpacker market. There is also a good selection of pubs claiming to be the number one party place in town. In a way nothing much has changed here since my first visit here back in 1999 - except this time we fit into a very different demographic!
Main St, Backpacker Central
The most significant change, the Lagoon has turned the waterfront area from a quiet grassy park and uninviting beach into a delightful safe swimming area. Unlike the Cairns Lagoon, this one has deep water (2.0 metres at its deepest). Just like Cairns, this one is often surrounded by young people worshiping the sun.
Wandering back to camp, my eyes caught the site of a tall ship aground near Cannonvale. A sad sight indeed, I subsequently found out it is the Whitsunday Magic, which came aground in strong winds in January 2013. It has become something of a tourist attraction in its own right, whilst a legal battle has ensued between the owner and MSQ regarding the salvage of the vessel. Sadly after nearly two years in its present position, it is unlikely to ever put to sea again.
We took advantage of the powered site to download a few photos and pay some bills. The most important task is labeling the photos whilst we can still remember them. It was also a good opportunity to compare some of Jo's photos (on the SLR) with mine on the trusty iPhone. Jo has taken some absolute crackers - and I can't wait to get a copy of them to update the blog with, and also make some photo albums. With some 11 000 photos to sort through, we are sure to have a couple of good ones in there!
You cannot come all the way to Airlie Beach and not see what all the fuss is about. The Whitsunday Islands, some 74 islands just offshore is a tropical paradise of National Parks and resorts. You can explore the area in your own boat, by chartering a yacht or by joining a tour. Today it was our turn to join a tour and do a flying highlights visit to the islands.
We decided to join a boat tour called Big Fury - and with four giant outboards pushing us, it promised us a fast ride out to Border Island for some snorkelling, before heading to the famous Whitehaven Beach for lunch and then returning in time for dinner.
The South Easterly Trade Winds were blowing fairly strongly on our day, and the weather was generally overcast, with occasional sunshine and showers. Not ideal perhaps for snorkelling, but the water was clear and the coral was beautiful. Again I proved that an underwater photographer I am not, with many terrible attempts at capturing some colourful fish or coral that caught my eye. That said, we all enjoyed our snorkel here.
After returning onboard it was time to head south to Whitehaven Beach. This incredibly pure white silica sand is far whiter than any other beach in the region. It is also incredibly popular with tourists. Having anchored off here previously, there is nothing better than coming ashore first thing in the morning and enjoying the beach to yourselves. This time we were part of the ceaseless stream of tourists who visit the beach during the day.
We enjoyed lunch before enjoying some free time kicking about on the beach. Apparently the sand is 98% silica and was used to make the mirror of the Hubble Space Telescope. Not sure how true that rumour was, but I could well believe the sand making good quality glass. It was fine, and almost squeaked, but I believe the whitest sands in Australia have been confirmed to be at Cape Le Grand, near Esperance. At least the water was warmer here!
For the boys, sand is sand, and it doesn't matter what colour it is. They loved making sand castles and splashing about in the water whilst Jo and I relaxed up on the beach.
All too soon our time was up and we were blasting our way back to Airlie Beach. I really enjoyed seeing all the islands, recalling past anchorages and times spent sailing through these magnificent shores. Funnily enough more than once I have declared the islands should have been named the Wet-Sundays - but wet or dry, cloudy or sunny they are spectacular. I can well see why David Colfelt named his sailing guide for the area "100 Magic Miles".
Our final day in Airlie we spent catching up with Ian, a friend who works on one of the islands. We enjoyed lunch at a locals haunt called Fat Frog on the water at Cannonvale. Not only was the food delicious, but they had a fantastic kids area with toys and books for all ages. In no time at all several hours had passed catching up on news. It was a wonderful way to end our time in Airlie Beach. Unfortunately we couldn't organise to catch up with everyone here, but don't worry, the appeal of the Whitsundays mean we will be back!
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