Airlie beach ahoy

A short stop in Brisbane over & a short flight up to Prosopine airport courtesy of Virgin Blue & I’d arrived in the hot & humid Whitsunday Islands just after a rain storm. A warm smiley face greeted me as I came through arrivals. One hand snapping a photo the other extended to shake mine “Welcome to Airlie beach mate,” said my uncle David.

After a surprisingly long drive back from Whitsunday’s airport (45mins), I was given an extensive guided tour of the town & surrounding area, including the local boat club & future marina developments. We then returned to his abode in Cayonndale where David ran through a raft of coastal activities for us to pick & choose from. We chose to dined at his place the first evening & then eat out on the Airlie beach strip the second.

David played perfect host for the next 3 days, giving me a comfortable, spacious bed under the awning next to his A-framed camper. Each morning, before grabbing breakfast, we decided to rise early & watch the Tall ships and huge tourist motor boats set sail from the harbour. Some were day trip boats & others 3 day 2 night adventures.

I was keen to do some hiking, so we packed up some snacks, water & sandwiches & set out into the heat of the Conway National park. As we stomped along the narrow bush trail I was shown a plethora of wildlife, planets & fungi.

We spent my final day wandering around Vic Hislop’s rather gruesome Shark museum & then the more tranquil setting of these refreshing some local waterfalls. The museum was a bizarre mix of hunting trophies & tenuous shark attack justifications, that left us a little perplexed as to whether Vic’s shark killing activities were either a good, or a bad thing. The water falls washed our mixed thoughts away however & we soaked in the cool atmosphere, while turtles surfaced & then dived away into the opaque green-blue water.

I waved David farewell at the airport. My 3 O’clock flight, departing at 6.30 meant we hadn’t had to rush (but there hindsight for you). The delay meant I missed the last connecting flight in to Sydney, so instead I was put up in a Brisbane hotel & afforded the chance to catch up with Claire for a late beer instead.