QLD - Day 8-9: Airlie Beach to Noosa

Day 8: Airlie Beach to Rockhampton

Resume the normal position - map, picnic, water, sweeties, air-con, cruising at 120km/h, and the same view as we've had for the past 700kms!

The plains of Queensland that reminded us of the Masai Mara in Kenya, but with no animals! No native ones either!

We arrived in Rockhampton to find that everything was closed, it was Sunday after all and it wasn't Melbourne - we mustn't forget that! The hostel was a little bit of a shock, as it wasn't quite what we expected. The mossies found Joanna very tasteful full too!

Day 9: Rockhampton to Noosa. With an early start, because we didn't want to stay in Rockhampton for any longer than necessary, we continued our journey south!

A stop off en-route in the Town of Seventeen-Seventy.

Another giant 'thing' to add to the photographic collection!

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Accommodation Review: Rockhampton YHA, Rockhampton, Australia
We stayed at Rockhampton YHA in a double room. The room was clean, but fairly small. The air-conditioning was free, although the over-ride switch was down in a power point near the door!? The hostel was a little tired looking, however it was in the middle of having some renovations - rendering of external walls, etc. Still, it didn't quite feel right for us, but at the end of the day we had a quiet & comfortable night's sleep. Watch out for the mossies, the hostel is quite close to the Fitzroy River!

QLD - Day 5-7: Whitsunday Islands

The Whitsunday Islands!

Leaving Airlie Beach for our three day cruise!

Joanna setting the tone for the following couple of days - shades, hat & sun cream!

En-route to Whitehaven Beach!

Standing in the crystal clear waters and the beautiful white sands of Whitehaven Beach!

A pair of feet!

Two pairs of feet!

Whitehaven Beach, with the numerous visiting boats anchored off the beach.

Not entirely happy with this look, but hey!?

Classic Whitehaven scene!

More classic Whitehaven Beach!

You wouldn't believe from the collection of people (from our boat) but there were five kilometers of empty beach!! We ensured that we had our own space!!

As the sun set, the moon followed! Weird I know, but it did happen.

This is the view from Hill's Inlet towards Whitehaven Beach. These photo's were taken first thing in the morning, although the tide was out slightly.

Down on the white sands watching the tide coming in!

So, a little later I headed back to up to the lookout to take some more photos showing the crystal clear waters over the white sand.

One of the numerous sightings of migrating whales heading south with calves in tow! We also saw turtles, dolphins, stingrays and a range of tropical fish!

Just chillin' on the boat! It has been asked why Joanna is sitting at the back of the photo in her nice blue bikini. I think someone must have got confused or she's enjoying Melbourne's cafe culture too much!

The boat is fully decked-out, including a barbeque!

Looking into the galley wondering what culinary delights await us!

Sunrise the following morning, next to South Molle Island.

Views from Mount Jefferys on South Molle Island over the Whitsunday Islands. Ben, Jess & Joanna 'Going Asian'!

A few hours were spent relaxing in the Resort, before our return to Airlie.

This was our transport and accommodation for the three days. But just like our Great Barrier Reef trip there wasn't enough wind to sail, may be next time!

White Wine Wendy's back! The only reason was that it was free and courtesy of the Ragamuffin II! Which can, and did, lead to...

...a bit of confusion when trying to work out which way the 'C' went in YMCA! Don't worry about it girls, have another drink!!

Sculpture at Airlie Beach Lagoon.

A little light reading!!
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Accommodation Review: Bush Village, Airlie Beach, Australia
We stayed at the Bush Village for two nights, one before our sailing trip and the other when we returned. We had a double room, which had a shared bathroom & kitchen with one other room. The bedroom was clean and comfortable, with the bathroom being of a similar standard too. Shame that the kitchen area didn't match the bedroom & bathroom. The fridge in one of the lodges didn't work either, which is quite important in Queensland's heat! However, breakfast was included and we were allowed to park our car on site while we were sailing. We would recommend it for value for money, but the kitchen facilities let it down if you want to self-cater. Bush Village is located about a kilometre out of Airlie Beach, they do however run a shuttle bus.

Trip Review: Ragamuffin II (Southern Cross Sailing), Airlie Beach, Australia
We booked this trip direct with Southern Cross Sailing, located in Airlie Beach. The trip was a three day/two night cruise around the Whitsunday Islands. We chose the Ragamuffin 2 for the small group experience. The boat was well equipped and surprisingly spacious, we had bunks in the bow of the boat. The crew (Ian & Benny) were attentive and knowledgeable. We visited Whitehaven Beach, Dunbell Island (for snorkelling) & South Molle Island. We saw loads of wildlife including whales, dolphins, & turtles. We would definitely recommend this trip if you'd like to just chill out for three days and just be taken places. Our itinerary was as follows:
Day 1: Airlie Beach to Whitehaven Beach (with 3 hours on the beach). Anchored at Hill's Inlet for the night.
Day 2: Hill's Inlet (with 3 hours at the lookout/beach) to Dunbell Island (snorkelling). Anchored at South Molle Island for the night.
Day 3: South Molle Island (Resort - 3 hours) returned to Airlie Beach.
We had a fantastic time, the weather was beautiful, although not enough wind to sail. If we had had wind then I expect that we would have been able to travel and seen a little more of the Islands. Some of the stop-off's are great, as you get to see the Islands from amazing vantage points but they can feel that they're a little too long sometimes (I'm not a 'sit on the beach' person). The snorkelling was the best we saw on our entire Queensland trip, with amazing colours and plenty of fish.

QLD - Day 4: Cairns to Airlie Beach

This day was always going to be a long one, with over 700 kilometers to cover and with a plan of arriving in Airlie Beach by 4pm to check in with our sailing trip. We left Cairns at the start of the Bruce Highway and headed south through the cane fields, banana plantations and the National Parks.

Our first stop en-route was at Mission Beach, we'd heard that it was an amazing palm-fringed beach where the rainforest met the sea (again) and we weren't disappointed! Only wished we had more time to relax there. We were also hoping with all the road signs, that we'd also get a chance to see a Cassowary...

...but yet again the only type of Cassowary we'd see would be a plastic one, although this one was the largest!

Perhaps the person who did the artwork for this sign hadn't seen a Cassowary either, or a real car for that matter!

A lovely spot to have a picnic! The Lagoon at Townsville.

Something else to add to the 'giant' section, this time a Mango!

The journey down was supposed to take around seven hours, but after coming across a number of road works it had taken this out to eight and a half! So we were slightly knackered by the end! Managed to check into our sailing trip, find our accommodation, and just about found something to eat - not easy when you have standards like ours and you're in backpackers-ville! Not sure what it is about Queensland, but it doesn't like to keep its businesses open too late either!