Blogs from Airlie Beach, Queensland, Australia, Oceania - page 63

So onwards and upwards on the East coast! And with the travels the sunshine comes out, a welcome relief!We spent a few long days driving to get up to Airlie Beach, the gateway to the WhitSunday Islands. Even the postcards don't do the beauty of the islands justice, we have never seen colours in the sea like it! We took a boat trip round the Whitsundays and got to explore deserted islands, with beautiful white sands and amazing views. We even braved the chillier water (23 degrees but we've become such wusses after the heat of Thailand) to snorkle around the reef, just where the Great Barrie Reef begins. WE were treated to an amazing sight, beautiful colourful coral and some big fish. Even one called Elvis a giant wrasse, about half a metre long, I ... read more

Sunday18. Spruiked two t-shirts to a pretty girl and boy. Flabbergasted, I've had them for years. Almost gave them away was so chuffed they wanted them. Placed ten stickers in shop on trial basis. Australia v Brazil tonight 2 am. That will be a scene. I'm wearing my Soccoroo new Aussie flag as a cape. Mon. 19 Brazil 2 Oz 0. Great game late night crowd. The view from Here. and now gently wafting high tiding. Rocks. A cormorant dries. Multiboats. Whitsunday Times article due out Thursday.... read more

Having an aussie pass (Greyhound Bus Pass) means that I can book bus trips when I want and to where I want within a restricted time period. Beyond that, the bus pass is good to get me from Cairns up in Northeast Oz down to Sydney. So from Cairns my first stop was Airlie Beach where I had a sailing trip to the Whitsunday Islands booked. The bus ride from Cairns was about 12 hours, so to save money I booked the overnight bus leaving Cairns at 9pm and arriving in the morning. This is always the best because you save on accomodation for a night. Anyhow, I arrived at Beaches Hostel and was so thrilled to be there becuase the first hostel I stayed at in Cairns was a dump. Beaches felt like a 5 ... read more

Sorry that it's been a while since the last one. Normal excuse: travelling. So, let's see. What have I done? From Brisbane I went to Noosa, which is a well-heeled old people and families beach town with a nice park. It's supposed to be pretty nice but, frankly, it was dull. I thought it probably would be dull but I stopped there anyway because apparently I have no imagination. I went for a walk in said park which was a bit of adventure. I ended up scrambling through undergrowth to get to the town on the other side and eat in a cafe that was supposed to be good. THe cafe turned out to be much further away than I thought and was merely OK. Nice steer, Lonely Planet! On the othere hand, the place I ... read more

When we last wrote we were preparing to travel from Townsville to Airlie Beach by train. And quite an interesting train journey it was. Not long into the journey we decided that an apritif would be in order. Ken went to the buffet bar to buy the same only to be informed that drinks couldn't be drunk in our seats and that we had to use the lounge bar. Not a problem! We had barely taken a sip from our drinks when we got chatting to this wonderful Aussie lady. Altghough well in to her 70s and recovering from serious surgery she was great company and was knocking back wine like a good 'un. The conversation was so entertaining that we were soon joined by an eldely Aussie bloke, who was equally as entertaining. The four ... read more