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Published: July 18th 2009
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Day 83 - The Whitsundays
Today we’re off to The Whitsundays! Just a day trip and only covering two of the 74 islands but we’ll have been and seen!
There’s time for a shower before we leave as the coach doesn’t collect us until 7.40am. Dar says the men’s amenities are clean and tidy, which is more than I can say for the ladies! You have to be careful which toilet you choose or you’ll land up with no loo roll which is never good and the bin is so tiny (it’s the same size as a waste paper basket at work) that it’s overflowing all over the floor. Not a good look! The showers however are fabulous and I do appreciate that because bush / free / permit camping does leave you feeling a bit, well you know, wiffy!
Obviously we are the first to arrive at the collection point and after a short wait a bus drives up plastered with Cruise Whitsundays which is who we’ve booked our trip with. On we hop only to discover that there’s not enough seats for all those who hop on behind us! Dar asks the driver if he’s got
our names on his list and he doesn’t, we need to be on a bus which will be along in a few minutes! Ha Ha! It wasn’t as if we were going to end up in a completely different place mind you, they all go to Abel Point Marina down in Airlie Beach but no drama, we hop off and wait for the right one!
Down at the marina we spy some fabulous vessels and remark on what it must be like to sail around the islands in beautiful yachts as your weekend activity, every weekend! How cool!
The Whitsundays are billed as Australia’s Tahiti and although we’ve never been there we can see the similarity! The trip across to our first island, Long Island is lovely but very breezy up top where we were! We looked out for whales and turtles and dolphins but only saw Black Swans! Black Swans? What the heck are they doing around The Whitsundays, how strange!
Our arrival at Long Island is 40 minutes later, the weather is starting to come around and it looks like we’ll have a beautiful day for our island exploring! We wander through the resort, there’s
a nice pool and a hammock which I quite fancy having a swing in later! We were hoping to hire a glass bottomed pedal boat or bike but the signs suggest they don’t do them anymore, they’ve made way for ‘tube rides’ and jet skis! Back to the walking tracks we go, Humpy Point and Round Hill are where today’s blog title came from because Humpy Point does indeed lead to a Humpy Point and Round Hill Circuit is a circuit around a round hill! The tracks are rough so we concentrate a bit more on where we’re putting our feet and head towards Fish Bay then Pandanas Bay and finally on to Palm Bay where we find Pepper Palms Resort. Lovely beach, lovely pool, all very upmarket and the accommodation looks spot on. There are plenty of notices stating ‘Guests only past this point’ and a sign pointing us peasants in the direction of the walking track. Unfortunately, for them, the track is totally blocked and we end up on their beach! Such a shame, it’s pretty much deserted and has very welcoming, padded sun loungers! Flop we both go and lie there enjoying the view and soaking up
the sun when the wind wasn't blowing! We watch the water taxi delivering more exclusive guests, nod off for a bit and then wake up just before mid-day! We have an invitation to a buffet lunch which Dar is very excited about so we wander back to Pepper Palms Resort to ask them the way. The lady on reception sort of gets the wrong idea, we were just asking directions but she thought we had a reservation in their exclusive, a-la-carte restaurant! No love, not dressed like this we haven’t! We figure out that our buffet will be served at the Long Island Resort where we’ve walked from so we wander back along the walking tracks and make it in plenty of time for a feast! We hit the salad bar like you would hit the salad cart in a Harvesters! Old habits die hard! Main course was curry or tuna pasta bake (I cook it better though but I’ve had a lot of practise!) and for afters there were Lamingtons and fruit. It wasn’t half bad to be fair. We relaxed it off by the pool, where the water was freezing and the kids playing around on their inflatable
animals were shivering if they fell in!
Back on the beach the tide was way out so we found the hammock and had a little swing and then headed to the pontoon ready for the next ferry to take us to Daydream Island. A couple of American girls had been fishing off the pontoon, just with lines not with rods and they’d managed to catch one fish but then returned it to the water. We sat and watched the huge Bat Fish swimming around and a big Bluey and a huge Turtle.
The ferry trip across to Daydream Island was lovely, going to South Molle first we could see where Mum and Dad had stayed when they came and can see why they loved it! The white pristine looking beaches are very inviting and of course it’s got the standard, turquoise blue waters that all the islands boast!
Another few minutes and we land on Daydream Island which is privately owned and based around its resort and spa. We wander the boardwalk towards the south end as the north seems to be in shadow at the moment and we can’t be having that! We toy with the
idea of having a game of Mini Golf but instead settle for a VB and a cocktail - a Red Corvette! There’s a wedding here today and what a location it is, the photos will be stunning. Lynne you would have loved it! We catch a glimpse of the Bride and Groom when their photographer asks us to shift from our prime ‘chilling’ position as the bride has requested pics are taken from it! Fair enough, it is her special day! A bit more wandering uncovers the island’s chapel where the wedding took place, stunning view out over the ocean.
So that was it, our island explorer day and it was lovely. Back on the ferry we joined those that had been on the Reef Lagoon a bit further out to sea. They’d been diving and snorkelling and generally had a great time. We have a momentary wonder if we should do the trip tomorrow but decide that Mission Beach or Cairns is the base to do that one.
Scrambled eggs on toast finishes the day and then it’s back to planning tomorrow’s journey and thinking about the weeks ahead!
We catch sight of the cricket score
on the TV and then the rugby score for the All Blacks v the Wallabies - not a good day for Oz sport so far!
Ta ra
Dar and Sar
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Jan Kettle
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Happy Memories
Yes, the lovely pic of South Molle brought back some very special memories of our stay in one of those beach chalets just over six years ago. It was great snorkelling amongst the bat fish but not so good clinging on for dear life on the catamaran! Changing the subject, it does look like a thick knee (or beach stone curlew)!