Month: March 2018

Thursday, 1^st March 2018

 

Today is the 1^st of March – this means we have another 15 days before we deliver the camper in Cairns. There is still so much to see and do – starting off with today – our trip to the Whitsunday Islands.

We were ready and waiting for our pickup by 7.45 a.m. and this was way on time. We were the first ones and after several pickups around town we arrived at the harbour to check in. In total we were 18 of us – 4 Asians, 2 Germans, 4 Chileans, 2 Canadians, 2 American, 2 British and us 2 Dutch. Our hosts were Johno and Beth together with the skipper (didn’t get his name).

 

The morning was still cloudy, however we didn’t have any rain and temperatures were good for sailing with the catamaran – we all received a hamper bag with our lunch , cookies, muffins, yoghurt, apple and water – that was all the food to keep us going for the day. By the time we had set off, Gerry had already eaten his blueberry muffin and chocolate chip cookies which were meant for the morning and afternoon break. As we had not eaten a proper breakfast, I had brought a couple of sandwiches with me and Gerry had one of these too. Oh my, the sea air really did open up his appetite!!

 

We were speeding along a number of islands for about 45 minutes when we came to Whitehaven Beach. The skipper had changed the program as the tide was out so we landed on the most northern part of Whitsunday Island where we could go swimming, paddling and walking on the beach with its silica white sands. However, we had to wear wet suits as a protection against stingers – those awful jellyfish that could send you right to hospital if stung!! That’s the lesser attractive thing here along the reef – as the waters are warm, jellyfish come to the coastline and are a really big hazard. Hence, I too had to put on a wet suit – and I am so claustrophobic……… Well my wetsuit was quite large so it did not encapsulate me completely – that happened when I went into the sea and gradually got used to it! The sea was beautiful to swim in and the sands on the beach were really fine! All these islands are National Parks and both marine life and fauna are heavily protected.

 

 

And then it was time for Gerry to try his skills at paddling…………. And of course I was there to photograph these special fun moments. Actually he didn’t too bad – well he’s done windsurfing in his young days but now he felt good just paddling away straddled on the surf board!

After an hour’s stop at Whitehaven Beach, we boarded the catamaran to drive to Tongue Bay where we could swim, watch out for baby sharks and stingrays in the shallow waters inside the reef and then a walk up to the Hill Inlet Lookout.When we left Whitehaven beach, we ran into heavy rain with stormy wind! Straightaway we were given rain jackets as well as rainproof bags to put in our camera equipment – but this rainfall did not last long so by the time we reached Tongue Bay, we could enjoy the beautiful beach.

 

 

I decided to spend time on the beach – without the wet suit – to have some lunch while Gerry went back for a swim. After about an hour, Beth and Johno rounded us up to go for our walk up to the Lookout Point. It was an uphill boardwalk and when we came to the lookout point ……….. the view was just magnificent! The Aborigines inhabited these islands for thousands of years before the Europeans came to settle here – and they had full respect for their natural surroundings. Just look at the pictures of pristine beaches, silica white sand and the rainforest that heads down to the beach. Am so glad that all these islands are under the World Heritage program and national parks.

 

Once back at the Bullet – our catamaran – we then headed to the northern part of Hayman Island for some snorkeling. As it had rained a lot and the sea was not so clear, this snorkeling session was only to see the fish.

 

Now here’s my story: I’m claustrophobic about anything clasping me so even putting on snorkels – anyway got myself into the wet suit and went out in the little dinghy – Gerry was very helpful and positive – so got into the water and literally had my snorkel mask on for less than a minute and could see the wonderfully yellow coloured fish, striped fish and a really huge one – Trevally – but than I just couldn’t take it any longer. After some time just swimming and looking through the water, I got back into the dinghy – It was enough what I had done – but one day I will need to overcome this claustrophobic phobia (don’t know whether that sounds right!!) 

As there was still time, we went to another cove to snorkel where coral would be visible. However those who did go down said that the water was still very unclear that they couldn’t really see any coral – but there were still many colourful fish swimming around!

 

Finally we were on our way back to the harbour and the sun broke through – and it was really scorching – glad we did not have that all day!! Beth handled the ropes well when we got into the harbour where the waters were mirrors still – that was a beautiful day out on the sea!

Our transport was waiting for us to take us back to our camping grounds and all of us were dead tired after a day on the water. Once back it was shower time and as we had not eaten all our lunch, we had taken our doggy bags back home and this was our supper – tasty pasta salad and fresh green salad and a bread role. Good that we had this, as I wasn’t in the mood for cooking anything and neither were we in the mood to walk back to town!!!

 

It was an early night – especially as tomorrow will be a travelling day – heading to Townsville some 250 km further up north!

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, 28^th February 2018

 

Today is the last day of the month meaning that we have the camper van for another 16 days – I guess from now on time will be going ever so fast…….

 

This morning when we woke up, we had dark clouds and as we were getting breakfast ready, our camping neighbours warned us that a storm was coming up. We moved our stuff under the canopy next to the swimming pool so that I could also continue blogging while having my breakfast. And yes! All of a sudden the skies really turned dark and the storm rolled in from the ocean. The wind made the trees swing in all directions followed by sheets of heavy rain. We thought we were safe and dry under the canopy which was well the case as there was no thunder and lightening but we couldn’t get back to our camper as I had my laptop and camera with me and they would be completely ruined with the rain. There was nothing else to do than to take pictures of the rain till it subsided and we made it back to our camper.

 

Luckily we had no chairs outside and as today was our day of departure, we quickly made the camper drive safe and Gerry took off the electricity cables and we were off in no time. Our drive was not too far – Airle Beach – known as the Heart of the Reef. Our luck was with us as the storm subsided and we could drive safely back on the Bruce Highway – A1. Although we had nor rain any more, the sun did not make any appearance this morning.

 

The drive was great going through sugar cane land – vast areas covered with sugar cane fields; luscious green just swaying in the wind. We stopped only one time and guess where it was? Yes – McDonalds – just to check emails and get on their WIFI and have their delicious cappuccino and a slice of toasted banana bread. Once again I set up my office at McDonalds and once we were ready with our social media, we were off to cover the last few kilometers to Airlie Beach. 

Airlie Beach is a stepping-stone to the Whitsunday Islands – 74 of them in total! Initially this was a backpackers’ haven with café’s bars and backpackers’ hostels along the main street. However since 2014, the Port of Airlie was developed with upscale marina, hotel and restaurants. One thing for sure is that there are no high rises planned for this laid back town and its apartments and villas tucked against the seafront hills look very attractive. Even cruise liners drop anchor just outside Airlie Beach!

We had programmed Serena, our GPS guide, to take us straight to a campsite which I had found in the Lonely Planet book, however this was way out of town that we decided first to see what the town looked like before we made any decision to stay – after all we could still drive further – to Bowen – as it was still early afternoon.

 

 

 

Airlie Beach took us by surprise – a main street with shops, café’s and restaurants and a parallel street running along the beach fringed with shady pine trees. We stopped at the Sailing Club to admire the view – out in the bay, there was a cruise ship anchored and those tourists had come ashore and a group of them were now also at the sailing club admiring the view too!

Gerry acquired some useful information from one of the hosting ladies with regard to camping sites and we drove further around the cove till we came to a Big4 Camping ground – Airlie Cove. Before we made any arrangements to stay overnight, we also inquired about boat trips to the Whitsunday Island. The receptionist was very helpful and booked us a day trip for the following day – we were to be picked up by courtesy transfer and brought to the Abel Point Marina for a 9 am departure by the Catamaran Bullet. So we booked a pitch for 2 nights and once we were settled in the nearly empty campsite, we had some lunch and later on when the heat of the day was somewhat less, we decided to walk to town – straight away outside our camping grounds, there was a board walk which took us through shady grounds and 4 km further we were in town.

 

By that time we were really thirsty, so we ended up in the main street and while Gerry enjoyed his beer, I had my now traditional ginger beer. No alcohol and yet very refreshing! It was great just sitting on the verandah, watching people – mostly backpackers – go past. Just across in one of the hotel buildings, there was a restaurant, which was mentioned on Trip Advisor –The Deck –, and we thought we would have dinner there and not spend time trying to find something better. I looked over their menu and it looked really good – very Mediterranean!

Well our choice was a good one – first we had oysters to share ( and for me a glass of Italian Prosecco) and then Gerry had his grilled sirloin steak and I had grilled tuna.

Well after dinner, we felt fit enough to walk back to the camping grounds – mind you I was somewhat hesitant as part of the walk was through a wooded area without any lights. We heard all sorts of bird noises as we walked and some were quite scary……… However the fragrances from the trees and flowers compensated for the scary rainforest noises. 

By the time we had arrived back at our campervan, we had walked some 8.5km. I was hot and sticky so I took a cool shower before going to bed. Tomorrow is going to be an early start, as we will be picked up at 8 a.m. for our Whitsunday Islands catamaran tour. Keeping my fingers crossed and whispering a silent prayer so that we would have good weather tomorrow for our trip!