A little piece of Paradise

After our first bush camp, we continued along the isolated stretch of the Shoalwater coastline to Mackay. During this stage and many more remote areas to come, connectivity by mobile phone or Internet has become nonexistent and our only means of catching up with the real world has been through radio, mostly ABC North Queensland. The talk back is quite enjoyable, and interesting on a long drive, and a good way to find out what’s happening locally, such as weather and events. The familiar introductory fanfare of the hourly ABC National News is also a welcome sound and brings a forced silence to the cabin of the car so that we can find out what’s been happening around Australia and the world.

We pushed through to Airlie Beach on the Whitsunday coast, not before stopping to look at the massive coal terminal at Dalrymple Bay and then lunch in the vibrant Mackay. Since we arrived in Queensland we have seen much of the mining boom. Pipelines, railroads, open cut mines, road trains hauling ore and lots of white utes with the orange flags flying high from the front bull bar.  The Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal is the foremost site for the stockpiling and loading of coal before being shipped off overseas, mostly China. It was impressive to see the massive stockpiles of coal and the 3.5 km long loading piers heading off into the Pacific Ocean.  

Airlie Beach had much promise for us as a really fun destination. Mostly because of the very beautiful neighboring Whitsunday Islands, the Great Barrier Reef, and surrounding tropical rainforest setting. Because of these things Airlie Beach is a real adventure hub offering everything from skydiving, jet skiing, scuba diving, white water rafting, as well as sailing and fishing.  For this reason also Airlie Beach is a major backpacker magnet, and while the setting is gorgeous the main street is a bit gaudy and noisy and takes away from the real beauty of the place (says the 40 something family man).  So for 3 days we settled into the 4.5 Star, Big 4 Caravan Park at Cannonvale, a couple of km’s out of town.

Airlie Beach, Queensland

A funny story for the Canberran readers. In our constant search for good espresso coffee we stumbled onto a top little spot along a ritzy part of the harbor. It was the simply best brew that we had had on the road and it was strangely familiar. When we complemented the barista on how good the coffee she said “Oh yes we have our beans specially roasted and sent up from Canberra”. I was very quick to ask if it was Lonsdale Street Roasters, for which she replied, “Yes”. Great to see the Berra being known for something other than its public servants and politicians.

Our big treat in the Whitsundays was to go “Ocean Rafting” amongst the islands. This involved jumping in an oversized and over powered rubber dinghy with about a 20 other adventurous souls and speeding across the open ocean to the islands to snorkel on the reefs, undertake a beach landing on Whitehaven Beach and go for a short bush walk as well as view any whales that happen to be in the area. The weather was perfect and a little chop on the water made for a fun trip as we skipped and bounced our way across the tops of waves for the day on the way to the various islands. While initially tentative, the kids took well to the wind in your hair high speed boating and in particular as the captain shook things up with wave jumping and 360’s.

Gorgeous Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Island

The snorkeling was good with plenty of fish and reasonable visibility, but the cold deep water and the tears from an initial attempt to get the kids in the water, kept them firmly within the boat. No snorkeling for them today, so Tamara and I made the most of it. The highlight was riding on the dingy as it made its was off the ocean and up a shallow creek to land on Whitehaven Beach, where we had lunch. The brilliant white sand of the beach is said to be nearly pure silica. The azure blue water flowing from a winding creek as it bisects the beach makes for one of those truly paradise moments. After a short bushwalk we headed back to Airlie Beach, not before seeing a female humpback whale and its calf.  We had a great day out, on a fun and really well organized tour and it was agreed that this was the best experience of the trip so far. Two thumbs up for Airlie Beach.

Lunch on Whitehaven Beach

Whitsunday Islands National Park, Queensland

Next stop Lucinda, Mission Beach and Tully

Recommend:

       Big 4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort

-     Whitsunday Ocean Rafting

-    Denman Cellars Beer Cafe