Going Out The Door

Airlie Beach, a small coastal town surrounded on the inland side by sugarcane plantations and cattle ranches, is a destination for two big reasons – the Great Barrier Reef and the Whitsunday Islands. So, not surprisingly, we spent nearly all our daylight hours in Airlie Beach on the water, under the water, or at the beach, and that was all a good thing.

We had booked a really great Airbnb with a fantastic view of the harbor from the deck that ended up being a short (albeit steep) walk from pretty much everything. While the days were all about the water, evenings were spent in the little beach town at the pubs, watching Rugby World Cup matches when they were playing.

After arriving, we got settled and then headed out on a sunset harbor cruise with Captain Steve and Tilly, the first mate, where we met several nice folks and enjoyed some adult beverages. A really beautiful sunset made the trip worth it.

But the highlight was Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays, which may be the prettiest beach we have ever seen (and we’ve seen a few over the years). We took the “Bullet,” a fine little catamaran that accommodated perhaps 40 passengers, heading out fairly early on a warm, sunny Saturday morning for the one hour cruise to Whitehaven Beach. Inside the shelter of the Whitsunday Islands the seas were fairly calm, especially compared to the dive trip we took to Bates Reef, which lay well beyond those islands, the day before.

We visited two locations at Whitehaven Beach, the first offered a spectacular view from a hilltop after a short hike as well as some beach time, while the second featured a long stretch of white sand out of the wind where we had a nice swim and attempted to paddle board. On the return voyage we also stopped in a cove for a bit of snorkeling, but really the beach time was the highlight of the outing.

The dive trip to Bates Reef on the Great Barrier Reef the day before was good, not necessarily great – the seas were a little rough, which churned things up a bit, so underwater visibility was not the best. Thank goodness for Dramamine! Despite relatively poor visibility, there were plenty of coral formations and fish to check out, as well as one small shark and a ray. But, honestly, if I were doing it over again I would have spent another day at Whitehaven Beach. Rob went snorkeling–not one her favorite activities in the first place–but a nasty cold she picked up on the way to Fiji really made it difficult. She learned that coughing and snorkeling are not a good mix.

Even though it is early in the trip, it seems like the bar has been set pretty high and topping our time in Airlie Beach is going to be tough.