Whitsunday Wonderland

Airlie Beach

Airlie Beach is a very pretty place – firstly in the sense of the stunning waterfront, and secondly, due to the beautiful European backpackers lounging along the foreshore in their scanty swimwear.  Sadly, the water is just for looking at.  If the crocs don’t get you, the boxfish jellyfish will, for sure.  With swimming off the agenda, we have taken to a lot of hiking during our stay.  Fooled by its sweet-sounding name, The Honeyeater Track was a B* of a vertical climb.  Cedar Creek Falls, on the other hand was a hop, skip and a jump from a car park, which is why I am smiling.

Cedar Creek Falls

We popped by Airlie Sailing Club to soak up the scenery.  Steve, oozing optimism and proudly decked out in his Sydney to Hobart T-shirt, was quickly recruited for a twilight sail by an owner who clearly knows talent when he sees it.  "Bobby's Girl" came in first in a lineup of 40 with Steve as bowman.  Needless to say, Stevo was invited back the following week and promoted to the job of "trimming the main" whatever that means.

Steve on Bobby's Girl

Our Little Fly-In

Our stay in the Whitsundays was made even more enjoyable by a special guest appearance from Charlotte. It's crazy that it has taken us 7 weeks to get this far, but you can get here in just over 2 hours by Jetstar. Needless to say, we packed a lot of fun into her brief four-day stay with us.

On Charlotte’s first day, we took a short drive to the pretty town of Bowen and hiked around Horseshoe Bay before heading to Hideaway Bay and Dingo Beach (not a dingo in sight, but there was a great pub right on the beach).

Hike from Horsehoe Bay to Rose Bay

Just like the other Queensland towns we’ve visited, there are some spectacular murals around Bowen and Airlie.  Here are two of my faves.

Outside the Police Station in Bowen

Council worker's shed, Airlie Beach

Big Thing – The Big Mango

Bowen boasts the Big Mango, and tasting the pure mango sorbet from the tourist information centre was a treat in the heat. A few years back, this giant fruit vanished, stirring up a media frenzy. It turned out to be a juicy plot twist when Nandos, in a cheeky collaboration with Whitsunday Tourism, revealed it was all a ruse—a marketing ploy to promote their latest product line.  For being such a good sport, Nando's gifted the good folk of Bowen with another big mango - so now they have two. 

The bigger of the two big mangos in Bowen

 Cruisin’ Around on Camira

We won the weather lottery and picked a sunny day to explore the Whitsunday Islands on Camira, a big catamaran.  Donning the compulsory sexy stinger suits, we had fun with some underwater exploring on the reef off of Dumbell Island.  The colours of the coral and the fish were spectacular.  

We spent a few hours at Whitehaven Beach with the option of lazing around on the beautiful beach – or going for a bushwalk.  In an effort to balance out the ton of food and drink the crew were ploughing in to us, we opted for the latter, and were rewarded with stunning views from the lookout point.

Whitehaven Beach Lookout

Critter of the Week – The Bush Stone-Curlew

We share our Whitsunday camp with a family of Curlews.  They strut around like they own the place, give you a sassy hiss it you accidently get close (even though they follow you around) and randomly scream like a banshee at about 3 am every morning just to be spiteful.

The Bush Stone-Curlew

Finding Boofhead

During one of our many strolls around Airlie, we chatted with a fisherman who was quite the storyteller. I was curious about the crocs and he affirmed their ubiquitous presence in the area.  He told us about a legendary local 80-year-old 4.4m croc known as "Boofhead", aptly named for his massive noggin.  After being the big croc on the block for decades, he recently got into a fight with a much younger croc who challenged him for control of the territory.  Our fisherman friend, who might embellish as fishermen often do, described an epic showdown that spanned the whole weekend. It seems the younger croc claimed victory as Boofhead has since been spotted on a Proserpine River sandbank, nursing a battle-worn leg.  We went in search of Boofhead on our last day but had to abandon mission, and sadly dash to get Miss Charlotte on her flight back to Sydney.

"Boofhead" courtesy of ABC News, not my iPhone!