1770

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Our first full day in Airlie Beach was a relaxed affair - stroll through the village, latte and thick shakes at an organic cafe, drive around the surrounding areas checking out the "House and Garden" homes overlooking the Whitsunday Islands......

The next few days were pretty similar - we took a beautiful walk along a boardwalk next to the sea and through the marina. As the sun shone, we enjoyed the rays on the foreshore, watching stand up paddle boarders, windsurfers and yachts cruising the bay. We squeezed in some mini golf and more swimming at the caravan park. Not much of anything, but a beautiful place to do nothing in!

Our time in Airlie came to an end, and we drove through to Mackay, where we camped with my cousin Leesa and her family for the night. Her house is on 2.5 acres, surrounded by sugar cane and bordered on one side by a beautiful river and majestic gums and bush land. The boys were interested to taste some sugar cane, as I had told them of my memories of chewing on cane when I was their age. Leesa's husband, Warren cut them a piece each which resulted in some quiet boys for a while. We enjoyed catching up with Leesa and Warren, and reluctantly moved on the next day.

From Mackay, we continued south to my Aunty Margy and Uncle Bruce's farm in Carmila, just south of Sarina. We visited here on our trip 5 years ago, so were keen to spend time again here. The house is just set back from the 9km beach frontage, overlooking islands and bordered by National parks. We had a squirt on the quad bike on the beach, and collected shells and fresh coconuts. Uncle Bruce opened the coconuts the easy way - with an angle grinder - and Ryley is still enjoying his share!

130kms south of Carmila is Uncle Bruce's second farm, close to Marlborough. We spent the next night here, and the boys had a good farm experience - collecting sticks, burning logs and rubbish wood, driving the quad bike, riding in the back of the ute, and trying to communicate with the cows! All good fun, and very different to life at home.

From Woodstock, we went to the last of Mum's sisters, Aunty Julie, in Mount Morgan which is just out of Rockhampton. Unfortunately, Aunty Julie had to work afternoon shift the night we stayed there, but we enjoyed a fresh catch of fish and a good catch up with Uncle Rod. We also had a good look around Rocky, Mount Morgan, and had a quiet lunch in Keppel Sands.

We just stayed the one night in Mount Morgan (actually, the town they live in is called Struck Oil), and the next day we moved on to Seventeen Seventy. This is a quiet beachside town, a little north of Agnes Water. We have a great site, one row back from the beach, and have been taking advantage of the location by fishing from both the shore and our kayaks.

Earlier in the week here, we had a beautiful walk through some bushland to the lookout at the tip of the peninsula. Through the valley along the trail we experienced the most incredible display of butterflies we have ever seen. The Ulysses butterfly is a brilliant blue colour, and there were literally thousands, if not more along the way. Many posed for my camera, and the boys even managed to catch a few!

The rest of our time here in 1770 has been spent truly on holidays - "R&R" at its best. We tested another couple of walking tracks, one through a forest of paperbark trees along round cement pillars in the billabong, and the other down a boardwalk leading to a serene and seemingly undiscovered surf beach. The boys had fun chasing the surf whilst Grant and I contemplated the waves. We have fished and kayaked every day, revelled in some glorious sunsets, enjoyed a great country craft market, and soaked in quite a few warm rays!
The weather is being very kind - around 23-26 most days. What a joy to live in sunshine in June!

Tomorrow, we head off to Maroochydore...hopefully for some more sunny days.

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Photos

On the walk
It's hard to see the number of butterflies in the photo