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Published: March 30th 2008
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Whitsundays
Whitehaven beach Well, after the somewhat underwhelming Ayers Rock experience, we were off to Cairns. We were excited to hit the coast, and get away from the outback and head for the ocean. We touched down in Cairns to buckets of rain, and that's the way it stayed for 2 days non-stop. Turns out the humidity never drops below about 97%. We were holed up in a really nice place called Dreamtime which had a cafe attached to it, offering backpackers cheap meals. The highlight of our time in Cairns was collecting $120 from Qantas for our wandering luggage.
When the time came, I went and collected our Wicked camper van, a converted Hi-Ace with some clothes storage and a mattress jammed in the back, and a sink to boot. This was to be our accom and wheels for the next three weeks, and we were excited to pick it up. Normally quite offensive, we were hoping for a downright insulting paintjob. What we got was a giant blue Yeti painted on the side. Oh well....We soon learned that as the engine is located under the driver and passenger seats, it gets rather hot. Factor in the lack of air conditioning (because
Mission Beach
Interesting Bug we are cheapskates and wouldn't pay the extra for it), and you have a smouldering driving experience. The exhaust runs under the clothes storage, cooking our threads as we motor along. These clothes gradually release the heat into the van during the evening, ensuring a toasty sleeping enviroment. There is one tiny mesh covered window for ventilation, and if you try to supplement that with winding the windows down you get bitten to within an inch of malariaville. By now you should have a bead of sweat trickling down your back reading this. Your poor correspondant developed a nasty fever and spot of bronchitis, which meant that world sweating records were smashed, and we almost needed a lilo instead of a matress! However I had the best nursing care that money can't buy, and was doted back to full health in no time at all. A course of antibiotics and 12 hours sleep a night, yer only man!
We drove south from Cairns to Mission Beach firstly, staying in a lovely YHA spot called the Treehouse. It had a lovely wooden open air living area, with comfy couches and bean bags. As it was still raining 5 days later,
the time was passed drinking tea and playing scrabble, as God intended...In the search for clearer weather, we continued south staying a night in a QPWS (Queensland Parks & Wildlife Service) camping ground at Big Crystal Creek in Paluma Range National Park. It was rather deserted, but the low low price was an incentive! From there it was on to Townsville, where we both popped into the Doctor to get fixed. Kate was feeling under the weather too at this stage, probably from breathing in my many many germs. With prescriptions in hand, we left, and went to Magnetic Island. Deciding that it would be handy to have our chariot with us, we splashed out on the car ferry and brought the Wicked van. It turned out to be an inspired decision, as public transport in that part of the world is somewhat lacking! We stayed in a great campsite with shady sites and a pool to relax by, complete with swaying hammocks. Manys a page of book was read, and at night we watched the possums hunting for scraps by the camp kitchen. Possums really are just a large, rat-squirrel hybrid, and are plentyful in this part of the
Mission Beach
Our fab hostel in the rainforest world! One would imagine that they will continue to be if idiots feed them scraps and then wonder why they are being pestered by them...However we did witness some experiments investigating their reactions to chilli powder being laced onto scraps of food!
We then decided to spend a night at a rather 'hip and with it' hostel full of the youth, merrily drinking themselves into a frenzy. Every full moon the hostel enlists a DJ to get things going, and the revellers dance and drink to the wee hours. As luck would have it we were there for the full moon bash, and it reminded us how we never want to go backpacking in Thailand! Base backpackers on Magnetic Island has a pretty amazing location right on the beach with a bar and deck overlooking the sea. As you can see from the photos it was a lovely place to soak up the views. Here is where we really learned that the aussies don't like to eat late, as we had the audacity to look for food after 8pm. We drove around the whole island with no joy and ended up breaking into the locked hostel kitchen to get
Mission Beach
Mark not feeling very well a bowl of cereal for dinner. This is a theme that has continued all down the coast, with places advertising being open for dinner, but closing the kitchen at 8pm. The Spaniards must be disgusted when they come here!
Our next stop was Airlie Beach, the departure point for sailing trips around the Whitsundays. Now, as a dedicated reader, you know the style we are accostomed to travelling in. Airlie Beach has no style. No class. It is full of tourists going to tacky bars and naff souvenir shops, and the fact that you get to leave there twice is a highlight. However it comes at the price of arriving there twice, and the second time you know what you are in for. We did our time, and come Easter Sunday morning we were on the boat. There was a brief Easter egg hunt in the Wicked van, where Kate deciphered my cryptic clues to cash in her chocolately reward.
When we climbed onboard S.V.Whitehaven, we were immediately impressed with out surroundings. Kate and I got a decent sized double bed, and there was ample room on deck to loaf around like the layabout I am famous for
being. It happens that we were joined on board by about a dozen Canadian trainee teachers, all studying down the coast at Surfers Paradise. This jolly bunch sure looked like they had been let off the leash, and the European contingent of the boat hypothecised at how hyper the kids must be if the teachers behave like this! That said they were a great bunch, and good craic.
On the first day we cruised away from Airlie Beach and went for a snorkel in our stinger suits. The jellyfish in this part of the world are deadly (not in the Dublin meaning either) and a sting can kill, so we were clad in lycra from head to toe. Kate spectated from the dingy, as her morbid fear of fish reigned over her. There were so many fish to be seen of all colours, shapes and sizes. A highlight was lying on my back in the water, and having fish food thrown on my belly. The little critters get all excited and flap all over you in the feeding frenzy. We sailed towards our anchorage for the night having afternoon tea, and then getting stuck into the beers. After dinner
the fun really began in earnest, and before you know it yours-truely was drinking beer through a snorkel, mask and all. These antipodeans, I tell you! It's easy to believe they're all descendants of convicts! The next day we did a spot more snorkelling, still clad in lycra. After a brief hike (short in duration that is, not wearing uncomfortable underpants...) to take in views of Whitehaven Beach we were there in person on the white sand. Whitehaven is the cherry-on-top of the Whitsundays, and with its icing sugar sand and clear waters, it's easy to see why. We played football and took copious photos, and of course I made some sand holes to sit in. A slightly tamer evening followed, but that didn't stop the Canadians dressing up in bedsheets pretending to be Romans. Oh, they do love a toga party. The crew killed the lights on the boat, and after dinner we did some star-gazing on deck. Very romantic. After months in the clear skies of the southern hemisphere, we are now accomplished astronomers.
The next day we sailed back to Airlie Beach and got the hell out of there as fast as our little Wicked wheels
would carry us!
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MichaelM
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Whitsundays
A very interesting title to put on a set of islands if Im right in thinking. Whit is Spirit inspired as in only God created and it is obvious that for much of the time that it is only God that lives there. I looks magical. Glad you had some mad teachers to keep youu company there. As you bask in the sunshine the photos show how warm it is. Here we have the sun too but its woolies all round because of low temperatures, snow and hailstones so enjoy the real sun and warmth out there cos we're saying here that next month you will be home in cold cavan.