Today was scheduled to be our longest day of driving yet so we tried to get up and on the road “earlyish”. The only advice that the girl back at the Apollo Van HQ had given us when asked about tips for driving was” Don’t drive at dawn or dusk”. We presume that’s because of the animals, and judging by the number of crosses we have seen dotting the highway ( I would say I have seen at least 50 impromptu memorials) there are definitely some dangers to be heeded. The other thing they seem to have an obsession with is sleepy drivers. You can’t go 5kms without being reminded to “Break the drive and survive” and “Rest or R.I.P.” It is unbelievable! Frankly, I’ve been white-knuckling the steering wheel so badly I can’t possibly imagine falling asleep. Anyway, the signs and the memorials are enough to freak this Young Driver of Canada right out.
Our route was to continue to down the Bruce Highway and if all went according to plan we would be pulling into the Adventure Whitsunday Big 4 Caravan Park in Airlie Beach around 4:30. We broke the drive up into three 2 hour sections with our first stop being a picnic ground and information kiosk outside the village of Ayr. There was a humongous snake sculpture here that the boys climbed all over marking the graves of some aboriginal remains. It was an odd spot for a grave and a huge snake, but then I am sure it made complete sense to those in the know. After the ubiquitous ham sandwich and a pee, we packed up and headed on down the highway for a few more hours of beautiful mountains, rolling pastures, sugar cane fields, and road trains bearing down my backside with complete contempt for my desperate but useless attempts at driving the speed limit. After knocking off 200 more of the best kms the road could offer, we pulled over for gas (the second fill up of the day but a relative bargain at $96.00) and Skittles and then we were off again keen to see the ocean which for a road that seems to hug the coastline is a rare sight. An hour and half later I was needing a jolt of caffeine so we detoured into Bowen (thought of Tim) and looked for anything but a latte. Little did we know there would be a Toy World!!! Well, we loaded up with a boogie board and a beach soccer ball and a couple of small toys, a little ice cream and a long black – adding our own 2 cents to the Bowen economy. Then finally we were toodling back down A1 and into Airlie Beach after more than 6 hours of driving and almost exactly 500 kms.
Upon arriving in the town we did a quick tour to get our bearings and so that Linton could show me where she and the girls had partied hard 20 years ago – Magnums she thinks! Airlie looks like a fun place and definitely seems to have a beachy attitude and we hoped to come back in town to stroll the strip at some point. But for now it was time to get off the road and head back to the Big 4! Though not on the beach, this was a fantastic site for kids. A huge jumping pillow, great pool with water slides, 18 hole mini-putt, pedal go karts, outside movies – this place had it all and the boys had done most of it within an hour of our arrival. The system that we have started to develop is to have one parent take the boys off to swim while the other arranges dinner or whatever. It is a system born of necessity as there is just not enough room for the four of us to all manoeuvre in the camper at the same time. The beauty of this place was that it also allowed for both boys to have a little freedom and autonomy. Colin rented golf clubs from the front desk by himself and both of them ran off to play golf (mini-putt) all by themselves! Better yet they retuned happy and unscathed with no one having wrapped a golf club around the neck of the other. It’s incredible what your kids can do when you trust them to do the right thing! Our plan for Airlie Beach was to go for a full cruise through the Whitsunday Islands so after a full dinner and a movie under the stars – Ratatouille for the umpteenth time – we headed to bed quite happy with the play and the pavement we had put behind us.
On any sunny day, this day might have taken me to some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen anywhere – but unfortunately our Whitsunday cruise day was overcast , rainy, and perhaps worst of all – windy! We took a shuttle bus down to Abel Point where the tour boats depart on a number of different island and reef-hopper tours where people can snorkel, scuba dive, and generally explore the Great Barrier Reef. The trip we had booked was a full day 3 island tour which included snorkelling, an underwater observatory, glass bottom boat, Whitehaven beach (world famous), lunch, and time on the resort at Daydream island. Our boat was a sleek twin hull 65 footer that could do 23 knots opened up and even with both engines roaring it took us about 50 minutes to get to our first island called Hook Island. Despite the weather, we were all very keen to get out on the water and see the reef!
But first a word about sea sickness. Even before we had left the dock the crew had mentioned the fact there would some rough seas ``out there`` and we were advised to take drugs if we had them. Well, we had them and we took them and I am very glad we did because it was rough! There was a point between our first and second stops as we came around a point and into the open ocean where the boat must have dropped 20 feet. I would love to exaggerate and say they were 4 storey waves or something like that – suffice to say they were the biggest darn waves I have ever fallen down the other side of and never before with both throttles stuck on full. The happy end of the story was that none of us were ill, though many were including the petite Japanese woman who was green before we cast off and spent the entire cruise with a bag under her chin.
Hook Island was really cool with an underwater marine observatory, glass bottom boat, fish feeding and snorkelling to be had. We did it all with the exception of Al, though he walked right up to the water’s edge intending to try, taking a pass on the snorkelling. Thanks to Linton’s kind offer to stay with Alex, Colin and I had a glorious 30 minutes of snorkelling over the Great Barrier Reef hand in hand. I must say if it hadn’t fogged up my mask I would have shed a tear – most certainly one of the highlights of the trip for me. Soon we were drying off and hopping back on board our boat heading out to the next stop – Whitehaven beach – renowned for being one of the most beautiful in the world.
This is the part of the journey where we weathered the really stormy seas and we were all quite happy to see the white sand of the beach come into view. Unfortunately, due to the weather the beach was not quite in its glory. The combination of clouds, wind, and a few conservationists asking people to fill out a survey (seriously!) put a small damper on the beautiful surroundings. Still, we all disembarked the boat, somewhat like an Allied invasion and had over an hour of time to explore, swim, play cricket, and just hang out on the nicest sand I have ever felt squish between my toes.
Soon we were wading out to the boat in waist deep water negotiating the perilous re-boarding of the bucking bronco that had recently been our boat. Thanks to a very wet and skilled crewman we were soon all safely back onboard and steaming toward our third and last port of call – Daydream Island. On our way there we passed the uber-luxurious Hamilton Island where Jackie Stewart and George Harrison have kept houses and where at one particular seaside villa they charge you $6000 per night!!! We rounded a point and dropped some guests off at another secluded and very cool looking beachside resort and then pulled into Daydream Island which is a sort of mini-Fantasy Island catering to wealthy couples who want to do something different for their wedding or holiday. We dropped a few dollars in the gift and ice cream shops, had a play on some cool climbers and then did a neat hike, surprisingly at Allie’s suggestion, that got us back just in time for departure. Another 25 minutes speeding back across the now siginificantly calmer Whitsunday channel and we were back in Abel Point.
Unfortunately, the rough travels did not quite end for me there. Needing food and dinner and maybe a few frosty cold beverages I jumped off our shuttle bus at the local mall and went directly to foraging for food like a good parent should. I was making record time and all the right moves until I decided to hail a cab at the taxi stand. Almost 1 hour later!!!! I managed to convince an elderly local woman to share her cab with me and so I arrived back at the Caravan Park – ever more tired with cold pizza, warm beer, and a slow burn on for the Airlie Beach taxi fleet. Of course, when the nice woman accosted the driver for the lack of service his response was more or less the mumbled equivalent of “No worries, mate” or Sheila or whatever the female equivalent to mate is. There is certainly an element of “Island time” to be found in pockets of this great country and continent. Yet all of our adventures and experiences in Airlie Beach – the wind, the waves, the taxis - only made us more eager for what would unfold for us the next day – after we closed our eyes, keeping one foot on the floor to stop the camper from spinning - shortly after 9 o’clock!
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