Townsville & Airlie Beach

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After a short minibus transfer to Cairns we got down to Townsville on Greyhound Australia. Air conditioned coach with comfortable seats and wifi, so the journey went quickly. There were 3 highlights to Townsville. The Strand is a lovely long promenade with a man made lagoon at the end near Kissing Point. Swimming in the lagoon was great, given that the sea is not so safe at this time due to the presence of stingers. It was lovely to see turtles coming up for air, just off the point. The beach by the side of The Strand is one of their habitats, where the females come ashore to lay their eggs. The second highlight was being able to watch the town's remembrance service, which was such a poignant event, interestingly attended by lots of young folk, obviously very respectful. The third highlight was The Brewery, a micro brewery/pub, in Flinders Street, at the heart of the original Townsville (dating back to late 1800's). Several yummy beers, all brewed right where you could watch the process. We enjoyed a full day there in Townsville

but it would have been difficult to fill two. Fortunately we didn't have to since by 11.00am we were back on another Greyhound bus and heading to Airlie Beach.

We liked Airlie Beach, it is like Polzeath, in Cornwall in terms of a resort, but much bigger and with significantly better weather. The point of coming here was to join a 3 day sailing trip, on which we would have the opportunity to dive, snorkel and kayak, as well as eat lovely food and sunbathe. The boat, Summertime, was built in 1945 and for many years was a fishing boat. Currently it operates as a tourist boat, catering for 16 guests, with. Crew of 3. Brad, the skipper and owner was assisted by Brie, his wife who did the cooking and hosting and by Pascal, a French diving instructor. All 3 were great and worked well as a team giving us a great trip. The other guests too were lovely. Mostly youngsters on tour, with a couple of young couples thrown in. Day 1 was about sailing out to the Whitsunday Island and playing on Whitehaven Beach. Its claim to fame is that the sand there is so fine that it was used to prepare the mirrors for the Hubble Telescope. The beach certainly was idyllic. Day 2 was all about diving and or snorkelling. I managed to fit in 4 dives over a very full day and Carol did one and lots of snorkelling too. The dive sites are reef sites, part of the Great Barrier Reef. The coral is varied and abundant, as are the fish species. It's always a highlight when you get to see something of one of the bigger beasties. We were not disappointed, with turtle to swim around and humungous parrot fish to watch and listen to, as they munched their way through the coral. The main focus of Day 3 was a kayaking trip around one of the islands, again accompanied by turtles and also rays.

Once back in port, all of the guests and crew met up at a local spot for food and drinks, a fitting way to close the adventure. Interestingly whilst enjoying all that, the entertainment on the big screen was the final match in the 4 Nations Rugby, with Australia playing New Zealand. The atmosphere in the place was electric, the banter was good humoured. Pity the Aussies lost.

After all that it was back to the Airlie Beach Hotel for a good night's sleep before flying down to Brisbane and picking up a camper van for our drive down the coast road to Sydney.

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