I had last visited Airlie Beach – gateway to the Whitsunday Islands – 40 years ago. Russell had never been and despite hearing that it was now somewhat more commercialised it was in too much of a strategic spot to leave off of the itinerary.
We were lucky enough to snag 6 nights at the Big 4 Eco Tropical Caravan Park (during school holidays) and we ended up with a lovely site backing on to a small creek. This park is under new owners and they are doing their best to rejuvenate facilities and add new ones and their customer service was fantastic, always a smiley face at reception with lots of helpful suggestions.
Keen to cruise out to iconic Whitehaven Beach (consistently included in the worlds best beaches) the CP staff were instrumental in helping us choose which vessel to get us there. We ended up booking the Lady Enid, a 74 foot ketch who has competed in no less than five Sydney to Hobart races and won the Sydney to Brisbane race in 1964. She is the same age as me and her historical value played a big part in our choice.
The shuttle bus picked us up at 0715 and transported us along with three other couples to the Coral Sea Marina where our vessel is berthed.
Shute Harbour, where almost all cruises used to leave from, was destroyed by Cyclone Debbie in 2017 and is currently undergoing a major re build so the Port of Airlie and the Coral Sea Marina are now the hubs for Island sailing.
It was a beautiful morning and Charlie our bus driver said “it will be lovely out there today” as we disembarked and headed down toward our yacht. The Lady Enid can take 36 passengers but limits her sails to 24 so that everyone gets a personal experience and today there were just eight of us. The sails were up almost immediately and as we set off we chatted to the other couples and the crew about what to expect on the cruise over scones with jam and cream!
Unfortunately as we left the shelter of the coast and headed for more exposed waters the swell increased and things got a little more exciting. We were glad that we had (inadvertently) chosen the starboard side as we were heeling over considerably and more than once I thought the other side were going to get more than their hair wet! The captain estimated that winds were 20-22 knots and when asked when they would cancel he said calmly, 25 knots 😁
It was actually great fun until I started feeling more than a bit green and wished I had remembered to take the Kwells that I had purchased the day before. When we finally arrived at the snorkelling spot only four of our fellow passengers decided to go in and they were out very quickly with teeth chattering. Setting sail again with a bit of motorised help we eventually anchored at Tongue Bay on the opposite side of the Island from Whitehaven Beach which allows only limited access in order to maintain its pristine state.
We were ferried to shore in the tiny inflatable rubber dinghy and then trekked up to the lookouts and then ultimately over to Whitehaven itself. At this point all nausea disappeared as we got our first sight of this incredible beach.
Unfortunately due to our rough journey out we only had just over an hour on shore and so proceeded to scramble around to see and photograph as much as possible in that time.
Words and even pictures can’t really capture the majesty of this spot and it was worth any amount of sea sickness to experience it on such a perfect day with minimal other tourists. All too soon though we had to begin the walk back to meet the rubber ducky and re join the Lady Enid.
We had a bit more excitement as we were just about to board the boat when we saw a dark shape swimming around beside us and after being very excited that he might be our first dugong sighting, eventually identified him as a huge reef groper! He seemed as interested in us as we were in him and hung around for quite awhile but this was the best pic I got. We estimated he was about two metres long.
Sailing back, the weather much kinder and I even got to take the wheel for quite awhile whilst Guido checked our sails.
As we sailed back to the marina after a very long day we enjoyed the sunset with a glass of bubbles and agreed the tour was worth every cent. thanks Lady Enid crew you did a great job!
The next day we decided on some land based activities and went for a drive firstly to Cedar Creek Falls, about 30 mins from Airlie and a popular swimming hole. It was a little cool for that today (only about 21C) but there were a fair few family groups enjoying a picnic lunch and unfortunately feeding the turtles too. The actual falls are a mere trickle at this time of the year but it was a nice stop anyway.
Next it was on to Dingo Beach where the pub had been recommended by Pete. Dingo Beach was delightfully deserted and we had a quick stroll and then ordered what turned out to be massive burgers for lunch!
After lunch we found Hydeaway Bay and had a little play with the drone and the Gopro….
The following day Russell was to play bowls in the afternoon but we were up at 0530 in order to be picked up for our last little extravagance in Airlie Beach – a scenic flight out over the Great Barrier Reef.
Wow! This experience absolutely exceeded our expectations.
The bus transported us to Proserpine Airport and from there we took off in an eight seater plane with everyone seated in window seats for an incredible 60 minutes. Immediately we had great views of the cane fields and the Proserpine River and then headed out over the Whitsunday Islands toward the GBR.
And then came the main attraction…..
Once again it was worth every dollar, a bucket list activity that we are never likely to do again but showcased the grandeur of the reef in a way that is just not possible from the sea.
Safely back on dry land again in time for Russell to hit the bowling green and for me to start researching the next section of our travels 😎
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