Again, it’s quite an early start but what a cloudy one. There is a thick blanket of dense cloud over the whole sky and again, everything is dripping in condensation.
It’s only about 25 miles to Airlie Beach and we have heard and read a lot about it. It is actually on the Australian mainland but so close to the Whitsundays that it is usually referred to as part of them.
After a couple of hours, the sun starts to break through the clouds, and as they part, small islands are revealed, looking eerie and mysterious as their tops and sometimes their middle slopes appear through the clouds. We even get a bit of wind and are able to put the two genoas out, goose-winged, which offers a nice bit of shade once the sun actually gets hot, which it is by late morning.
Photo: Johanne and Isabella basking in the sun
Photo: Steve and Johanne
Photo: Me and Johanne
Photo: The islands gradually reveal themselves as the clouds burn away
Photo: Isabella in the shade of the genoas
There’s a bit of excitement when Mike shouts “shark"!”. A flat head and large fin break through a wave and he estimates it’s about ten feet long. I miss it completely.
He calls ahead to Abell Point Marina to book a berth for the night but they tell us that unless we have $10,000,000 Aussie worth of public liability insurance, we can’t come in. We haven’t. So we don’t bother. The anchorage outside is comfortable and has good holding and it’s not that far to use the dinghy to go ashore.
Photo: ‘Mackeral’ sky over the anchorage at Abell Point, Airlie Beach
We eat lunch (exceedingly good Aussie beef sausages and salad) then go into town to sample the delights of Airlie Beach.
I have to say I am a bit disappointed. After all the hype about the place, I expected it to be a bit more sophisticated and up market. There are a few too many Irish bars, sports bars, burger joints and the like, and most of the shops are the usual grotty assortment of tourist tat. Even the man-made lagoon, which I did have high hopes of, is to me, little more than a series of large paddling pools. The photograph in the book definitely led me to expect more!
However, there is a nice boardwalk which links the marina and the town and we have a pleasant stroll past some lovely homes.
Photo: Bird of Paradise – I’ve never seen one of these outside of a florist’s!
We stop for a drink and wait for ages to be served. Waitresses come and go but none attempt to serve us even though there are only about 6 occupied tables. Eventually Steve calls one over and asks whether it is waitress service or should we order at the bar. She replies that we can order at our table – then walks off without taking the order. So we leave, without giving one. Not quite what I would call service.
Having wasted time waiting for a drink, we haven’t got much time left to wander as we didn’t switch the boat lights on and have to get back before dark.
Camper vans are a big thing here. One company – Wicked Campers I think it is called - has decorated them all with fantastic paint jobs. They are really good although tiny and cramped on the inside.
Photos: What fantastic campers!
Walking back we see a wedding party. Everyone is dressed in black and white and it would look quite amazing if the guests didn’t look quite as pissed! The bride and groom pose for pictures in the emerging sunset over the marina. I take pictures of the sunset, but leave them to their photographer.
Photos: Sunset over the marina and anchorage at Airlie Beach
For the first time ever, when I take a sunset picture I actually manage to capture a star, well, a planet actually – Venus – the brightest thing in the sky and always the first to appear. Whenever I take the trouble to register it I think of the people I miss, especially my daughter, Victoria, knowing that they can look up and see the very same star even though we are so far apart.
I can’t believe that we are already half way through the time that Johanne, Steve and Isabella will be spending with us. If it hadn’t been for the bloody generator we would have had another two days, still not enough after all this time, but better than nothing. I try not to let myself think about how I’ll feel when they’ve gone, but I’m never very good at this, and today is no exception.
As we had such a late lunch, no one is very hungry and we make do with nibbles in the evening. Tomorrow we are off to Whitsunday Island and Whitehaven Beach and will try for another early start.
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