Airlie beach is the place to launch to the Whitsundays from - a place of young backpackers all doing the same things - which is pretty much the same as they were up in Cairns and Daintree and probably everywhere else in Oz - and that is, getting drunk and up to mischief - knowing they haven't got the mummy's and daddies around to tell them off... it all gets a bit tedious - I've not been very impressed with the ozzie Backpackers to be honest... but... hey... they're young carefree and enjoying themselves so who am I to judge. I'm just an old git these days who like his early nights and sleep, which sometimes is a rather incongruous to staying in backpacker places (i.e. the Townsville place being a prime example)
Asides from this, Airlie Beach is a really 'cool' place to be... and it's obvious there's a lot of posing going on and shops dedicated to selling bikinis and board shorts and the like.
We stayed in a backpackers place the first night, and took advantage of a last minute Yachting tour around the islands that they were offering with free accommodation there upon return... so hell, why not, it seemed like a good deal...
The yacht tour was on "Freight Train" an old Racing Yacht - we were on it for 3 nights, staying on board the yacht, anchored in serene bays overnight - sounds all very swish doesn't it? And it would have been were it not the fact we were, sharing with 15 other Backpackers and the 3 crew... not to say it wasn't worth it - it was a great experience and gave us a good insight into the potential of the area.
When we got back to shore we stayed overnight in our FREE accomodation and then decided to splash out on something nice... I think travel fatigue had set in and wanted some creature comforts, especially after the cramped conditions on the boat, so we located a place called "The Organic B&B" and booked ourselves in for 2 nights there. It was very, very nice... modern, swish and with a Gourmet breakfast to boot... Sarah took advantage of the on site massage - lucky girl.
During our stay here, we hired a Speed Boat for the day, taking advantage of simon's motor boat license...
We spent the day buzzing around the islands under our own steam (or should I say diesel?)... this was a lot better... great to make our own decisions rather than having to stick to a predetermined itinerary that you just know a million and one other people have done already... the best bits were finding our own deserted beaches to eat watermelon and just relaxing on our very own desert islands...
Then there was the dolphins and turtles we saw whilst getting a little lost (not really - our handheld GPS we've got really came into it's own this day). Overall though... Really really enchanting... those dolphins are something else... :)
One of the hilights for sure.
Next Stop: Fraser Island.
During our stay here, we hired a Speed Boat for the day, taking advantage of simon's motor boat license...
We spent the day buzzing around the islands under our own steam (or should I say diesel?)... this was a lot better... great to make our own decisions rather than having to stick to a predetermined itinerary that you just know a million and one other people have done already... the best bits were finding our own deserted beaches to eat watermelon and just relaxing on our very own desert islands...
Then there was the dolphins and turtles we saw whilst getting a little lost (not really - our handheld GPS we've got really came into it's own this day). Overall though... Really really enchanting... those dolphins are something else... :)
One of the hilights for sure.
Next Stop: Fraser Island.
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