We are now Airlie Beach in the Whtsunday Islands. It is a lovely part of Australia with tropical islands just a few kilometres off the coast from the mainland. We can see most of them from the foreshore and the marina here is full of overseas and Australian yachts and rich boys toys. Airlie Beach is the departure point for Hayman, Hamilton, Daydream, Whitehaven and other islands so the waterfront is the focus of the area. There are loads of specials on offer of overnight stays on yachts, tropical islands or just a cruise around. We went on a 3 island cruise when we were here in 1997 so haven't bothered this time but the temptation is there.
My last blog was written from Cardwell and we really loved it there. It is only a very small town but like lots of other small towns in Australia it is trying very hard to make its mark. Being so close to Hinchinbrook Island most of the activity in the town centres on trips to the island. I have to eat my words also after writing in the last blog that people aren't so friendly. The day after I wrote that we got talking to our neighbours, Jan & Pete from Victoria, who are heading north and we shared a few drinks with them and then the next night they bought over some other vanners they had met on their travels and our new neighbours, Veronica and Leo from Perth, joined us as well. We had a great night and the upshot of all this is that we have kept in touch with Veronica and Leo who are heading in the same direction as us and caught up with them in Townsville, Bowen and now Airlie Beach. We will definitely see them again as we head south. While we were in Cardwell we took a day trip down to Ingham which is a sugar cane town and with the season in full swing, all the cane factories are flat out. The cane cutters in this area originally came from Italy and there is a strong Italian influence in the town. We visited the cemetery and the Italian Catholics have chosen to be buried in mausoleums. These are like little houses with sliding glass doors and are mostly made of tiles. The inside is full of statues of the saints and photos of the deceased as well as the wreaths, some still with the same of the giver on them. The outside is covered with brightly coloured ceramic wreaths. You get the impression that the deceased families are all trying to outdo each other but it was a very interesting way to spend an afternoon. I have put up a photo of them. While in Ingham we drove out to Lucinda where the sugar storage factory is sited on the wharf which stretches 5.70 kilometres out into the Coral Sea. The sugar boats berth at this wharf and the the sugar is carried out to it in containers on castors. It is a great piece of engineering.
Our next stop was Townsville which has a population of about 100,000 and is the gateway to Magnetic Island. This city showed what could be done with a waterfront that could involve the whole family. They have built a walkway right along the waterfront with the ocean on one side and on the other they have built lovely parks; playgrounds for the littlies, a pool, waterslide, exercise machines, skate board park along with lots of restaurants and cafes. The best thing is they have built a lagoon that is filled with salt water and has a sand bottom but the water is filtered to stop fish, crocodiles, sharks and jelly fish getting in. This means that everyone can swim without worrying about all the nasties that get into the oceans in these parts. The day we went there it was just so busy with families all out enjoying the sunshine and themselves. You can skate and rollerblade along the walk way and play volley ball on the beach.It was a great atmosphere but of course Townsville does have the great weather to allow families to enjoy themselves, even in the middle of winter! While in Townsville we went over to Magnetic Island for the day. Stephen, Sarah and the boys had stayed there a few years ago and they just loved it so we thought we should check it out. It's a lovely spot, only about 20 minutes by ferry from Townsville. There are some lovely beaches on the island and the one at Horseshoe Bay was just magic with boats in the bay and whales playing out at sea. We really enjoyed our day over there. Townsville is also a good example of what happens to the town centre when shopping malls open out in the suburbs. There are lots of malls around the area but the main shopping is just dead. We were told there have been all sorts of plans put forward to change this but so far nothing has been done. There are just dozens of empty shops, bars, cafes all boarded up and waiting for demolition. We were really shocked by the emptiness of the CBD.
Bowen was our next stop and how glad we were that we stopped there. Bowen is a very small town but it has the most beautiful beaches where we swam every day. There are lots of little bays, all different, but the water was so clear and so warm. Bowen was the town that was used in the film "Australia" as Darwin. There are some lovely old hotels and Queensland houses and the town is very proud of it's association with the movie and there are posters and photos all over the town of locals taken with Hugh Jackman (lucky things) and Nicole Kidman. Thanks Peg for suggesting we go to Bowen!
We arrived here in Airlie Beach on Sunday and we are staying here for a week as we got a good deal with the caravan park. The town is full of young, foreign back packers and some of the grey nomads said they wouldn't go there as it was a case of "spotting anyone over 40" but we are loving it. There is a buzz all around town and the place is always very busy.We have met up with Colleen and Barry who we shared some of our travels with last year so we will have a few days with them and then they will move north and we will head further south. It's a great life meeting all these lovely people.
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