Airlie Beach

 Father's Day at Rollingstone

 Father's Day at Airlie Beach

 Father's Day at Shute Harbour

 Shute Harbour

Airlie Beach (the bit with sand)

Plumed whistling ducks

Sunday, 2 September 2012

We had thought we would be able to watch the full moon (less one day) rise over the Coral Sea last night but our bit of beach seemed to be facing north and the moon came up over the headland – but it was still pretty spectacular. It was rather strange laying in bed and listening to the waves, but very nice this morning to look out the window at the sun shining on the sea.

Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there. We had a more relaxed start to the day, as we had stayed hitched up and only needed to raise the jacks and wind up the hoses and power cord before hitting the road about 8.30 am. It was a beautiful, clear morning and the temperature quickly rose to 27 degrees as we left the pineapple crops behind at Rollingstone and headed for Townsville. The bypass certainly makes life much easier, not having to drive through the centre of the city.

It was a fairly uneventful morning until a truck driver called us on the two way (he did verify that it was a Tasmanian caravan he was calling) to let us know that our back window was flapping in the wind. We pulled off immediately to check (no problems with our window) and realised the truckie couldn’t tell the difference between Tasmanian and Victorian number plates. We caught up with the flapping window caravan (who obviously didn’t have a two way radio) and when he pulled into a rest area, we followed to let him know he had a problem.

Being Father’s Day, I offered to buy a hot lunch so we pulled into a large roadhouse on the outskirts of Bowen, along with a large number of bikies and truckies. We shared a bag of chips, sitting in the caravan – it was a hot lunch!

Arrived at the Big4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort at Airlie Beach about 1.30 pm and checked in at the most magnificent caravan park reception area I have ever seen. We were “lucky” enough to be given a drive-through site and after a lot of jiggling and juggling, as well as becoming very intimate with a palm tree, eventually had the caravan lined up squarely alongside the concrete slab. This is a gorgeous caravan park, we have a very large site with glass and a slab, there is a beautiful pool area (poolside massages can be booked at the office!) and probably the best amenities we have encountered – definitely comparable to Western Australia. We have already been visited by the resident plumed whistling ducks in the hope of a free feed.

After settling in, we choose to check out the township of Airlie Beach and have a look at Shute Harbour, which is the jumping off point for the Whitsunday Islands. The water was the most stunning blue, but I still have no desire to go sailing. Airlie Beach hasn’t changed in the last four years – it is still full of bars, eating places and shops selling beachwear, not to mention backpackers.

It is about time for the midgies to make their presence felt!