Airlie Beach

This is primarily a seaside resort with lots of restaurants, bars and souvenir shops. It is also, however, the gateway to the Whitsundays. This is a group of 74 islands between the mainland and the Great Barrier Reef. The whole area is designated a national park and the waters surrounding the islands are home to more than 4,000 varieties of fish and a huge assortment of soft corals. The name (wait for it!) arises from the day that Captain Cook and his crew arrived here in 1770. Our main reason for staying here was to take a trip out to some of the islands, which is what we did yesterday.

We took a “3 Island Adventure Cruise” on a catamaran. Our first stop was Hook Island which provided the opportunity for snorkelling. In order to do this, however, you have to don a “stinger suit” to protect you from the jellyfish which are active in the area during the summer months. This is a bit of a palaver but well worth it. The last time I snorkelled on a coral reef was in the early 70s off Malindi in Kenya and the experience came flooding back to me. You’re literally in the middle of shoals of tropical fish of all colours, markings and sizes. You can also see the beautiful soft corals swaying in the current.

After the snorkelling it was back on the boat for lunch and a trip to Whitehaven Beach on the biggest of the islands. This stretches for 7 kilometres and is composed of pure white silica which means it never gets too hot to walk on. This gave the opportunity for another swim, so it was back on with the stinger suit! Finally we visited Daydream Island which seems to be a popular location for weddings, judging by the air-condition chapel facing the sea! By the way, one of the islands in this group is Hayman Island, where Pat and Paul Wilkinson spent their honeymoon.

Whilst we’ve been in Australia I’ve bought three Powderfinger albums. Ruth has been recommending this Australian band to me for years and I wish I’d listened to them earlier. We’ve been playing them constantly in the car.