18th July to 27th July 2011

18^th July 2011

Today was a day of blood test results and ultrasound scans which involved a trip to Proserpine so Richard and the kids were left to their own imagination but the beach has proved popular in most cases.  The blood test results for both of us turned out okay and Barry’s scan results all proved okay, so we shouldn’t have any unexpected health dramas.

19^th July 2011

We took Richard and the kids to Finch Hatton Gorge which took in the Cascade waterfall to which Barry accompanied them with Foxy who should not really have been there as it is in a National Park.

He then returned to the car with Foxy whilst the rest of the family walked on to the ‘Wheel of Fire’. Whilst here, Richard helped merry to get across to the other side to get a photo/video of the incoming waterfall and they all enjoyed this up until Jack brushed against a ‘Stinging Tree’ which immediately brought out some huge welts on his arm accompanied by severe pain.  After getting Merry back across the  pool at the 'Wheel of Fire', Richard, who also copped a dose helping Jack to get back past it, rushed Jack back to the car where Barry administered some cream in the hope of easing the pain..  Meanwhile Merry and Rory carried all of the bags back which involved getting them all across the river (the one that dumped Barry a few weeks ago).  Rory was the hero at this point by making several return trips for each bag and then helping Merry across. 

By the time everyone was back at the car the cream was easing the pain so we were able to go on to Broken River and as luck would have it the kids got to see the platypus immediately on arrival whilst Merry and Barry prepared the BBQ meal.  After the meal Richard took the kids for a short walk through the rain forest whilst Merry and Barry successfully checked out the Platypus for the third time. On the way home we called into the Proserpine Hospital and had both Richard and Jack checked out but other than supplying some pills to help them sleep there wasn’t anything they could do.  It is thought that the Aborigines would know what to rub on it to ease the pain but it doesn’t come in a bottle.  The stinging nettles in England usually have Dock leaves available in the same area to rub on the stings, and there is probably the same scenario applicable in this case but it doesn’t help if you don’t know what it is.  On arriving home Richard couldn’t find his camera and unfortunately it appears to have fallen out of the car unnoticed in the dark, whilst getting himself and Jack into the hospital.  We phoned the hospital, and police, in the hope that it had been handed in but we had no luck there.  They did manage to sleep alright and by morning things were looking much better, except for the loss of the camera.

20^th July 2011

Barry and Richard drove back to the hospital in the hope of finding the camera at the roadside parking spot used the previous night but still had no luck

Richard and Jack were both still suffering from the effects of the sting but they were easing with each application of our cream 'Rapid Aid'.

Later in the afternoon the stings were much improved either by the cream of time,so we drove up to Hydeaway Bay and Dingo Beach for a look and let the kids run amuck for a while.  The kids went to bed early tonight in order to have an early start in the morning.

21^st July 2011

We finally did the Three Island Cruise that had been put off several times because of the additional seaplane flight not happening because of maintenance problems.  The flight still didn’t happen because the spare part that comes from USA was lost in transit and had to be re-ordered and still hasn’t arrived.  Apparently the spare part is a mere door catch.  

However, the kids loved it and especially the snorkelling over the coral reef at Hook Island, although Rory didn’t exactly master it but made up for it by keeping the on-board professional photographer fully occupied with her posing.  The boat load had split into 2 groups for this island and after our group did the snorkelling we walked round to the jetty to do the semi-submersible glass bottomed boat trip that the other group had just finished.  This didn't really impress us as the view was very indistinct, and after snorkelling and seeing the real colours it left a lot to be desired.  It was also very crowded, and despite being asked to rotate to allow others the opportunity to share the experience, there is always an amazing number of ignorant individuals who suddenly don't understand the English language.  There is also always an elderly woman who has had a swim in a bottle of cheap perfume  that stinks the place out. 

However, on the bright side we did have a welcome visitor on the boat

We had lunch on-board on the way to Whitehaven beach on Whitsunday Island which is just a beach for interested parties to swim.   It claims pure white sand but the last cyclone supposedly washed tannins through the sand and discoloured it.  They obviously haven't seen the white sand of Esperance.  Barry stayed on board the boat whilst it was anchored off-shore once the beachgoers have disembarked.  This allowed him the opportunity to enjoy a leisurely after lunch glass of wine rather than sit on beach 1.5 hours.  

 There is nothing available on the island except trees and sand and Merry didn’t take any water with her so Richard entertained the crowd on beach, and boat, by successfully swimming out to get a her a bottle of water.

After boarding the boat, which involved the boarders getting wet bums wading through the water to get to the boarding ramp, we headed to Daydream Island where we were entertained feeding stingrays at the resort reef pool, and a walk across part of the island. 

We arrived home to an excited dog, although the neighbours had taken her for a couple of walks during the day and made a fuss over her at about 5.30pm.

22^nd July 2011

Barry took Richard and the kids into Airlie Beach to collect the onboard photographers photos and CD and then took them to a shop to buy a couple of small, cheap fishing rods and then on to Conway Beach for a final climb on the rocks and run on the beach and then returned to the rock wall near the Airlie Beach Yatch Club for a couple of hours fishing as the tide came in.  There was a certain amount of success with some small fish surrendering themselves briefly in the knowledge that they were too small to be eaten.

23^rd July 2011

Richard took the kids across to the local Shingley Beach and did a spot of fishing with them which was quite successful from the fun point-of view, but not much good for a fish breakfast.  After a real breakfast they packed all of their belongings and loaded the car ready to head for the airport and played cards until it was time to go.  The airport doesn’t have much in the way of facilities or parking and after a quick cuppa Richard and the kids went through to the boarding area and effectively ended their holiday, whilst we returned to the caravan park and packed up the tent, airbeds and sleeping bags, etc.  The evening was very quiet without the kids and will take a while to get used to them not being here.

27^th July 2011

After lunch we drove out to Shute harbour which is the working harbour for supplying the few islands that are inhabited either with permanent residents or tourist resorts.  We drove around the harbour and then up onto the cliffs for an overview of the whole area and then drove out to the end of the point and took a walking track across to the beach on the other side. 

 

The walk provided some great views and took us through an area that was alive with butterflies and then out onto the beach, complete with crocodile warnings.  

28th June to 15th July 2011

28^th June 2011

Mark drove to Mackay and collected the car parts which we fitted in the afternoon and finally, successfully completed the task.  Whilst we have been here Merry has made new covers for our caravan seats to replace the white ones she made whilst we were in Hobart, to protect the seats from dirty dog paws and messy eaters.  The white ones were not the ideal colour but the material had been given to us by the owner of the house that we were looking after.  The new ones are a darker colour and look quite professional.

30^th June 2011

We drove through the Mackay town and on to the Marina/marina village which at first appearances looks like, and probably is a rich kids’ playground with its high rise apartments lining the edge of the marina overlooking millions of dollars worth of yachts.  However, there are numerous apartments for sale and we were later informed that there is a high crime rate in the area.  When we got back to Mark and Jeane’s we had a final drink farewell drink with them as we leave tomorrow morning.  Like us, Foxy has had a great time here as there is so much room to move around and places to explore and loves going down the 100 metre driveway with Jeane to check the mail box because she invariably comes back via a different way along one of many tracks she has made through the bush.

 1^st July 2011

We departed from the peace and quiet of Mark and Jeane’s and made our way to Airlie Beach with one stop for lunch and arrived at about 2.00pm but then took us an age to juggle the van to a position in the allocated area that was level enough for the annex to reach the ground to be pegged down on all sides so that Foxy cannot escape if she is left in the annex whilst we go out.  We have yet to understand why caravan parks are not levelled before they set out the bays.  We could move to another area as this spot had been reserved for us so that we could also put up our tent for Richard, our younger son, and his kids Jack and Rory can stay with us for the school holidays.

3^rd July 2011

This started out as a rainy day but cleared in the afternoon so we drove through the actual town Airlie and on to Port Mandalay, but it was a dead end road although there was an area where it was possible to launch a boat. 

 

On the way back Barry suddenly stopped and turned around to return to a garden with a Bottlebrush shrub in the front garden and stopped to take a photo of a Blue-faced Honeyeater. He had spotted the bright blue patch around the bird’s eyes amongst the bright red of the Bottlebrush flowers as we drove past.  It is not often that birds wait around for you to return to take their photograph.  We continued on back into Airlie and parked near the man-made lagoon that is the town swimming pool which includes a couple of simulated beaches and several different depth areas.  It is not considered safe to swim in the ocean, which is only twenty metres away, because of the box jelly fish that like some areas of the tropical Queensland coast particularly in the summer months.  We also drove to the Whitsunday shopping centre to check it out as this is within a 5 minute walk from the caravan park.

4^th July 2011

Despite the original struggle to get the van in to a vaguely acceptable position, we pulled everything apart this afternoon and moved the van forward to the block in front of us as the previous occupants had left in morning.  This now gives us a level block with a concrete pad that the annex fits over perfectly and plenty of room behind us for the tent to fit when the relatives arrive.

5^th July 2011

We took a walk from the park and crossed road to the waterside path that heads into Airlie Beach shopping area and lagoon, but due to having a dog we can’t walk that far before the ‘No Dogs’ bit starts.  We walked with Foxy through this prohibited area a couple of days ago because the town map implies it is a dog-on-lead path, but we noticed the signs on the way back that we hadn’t notice before with a $1500 fine attached. 

We walked a reasonable distance taking in Abel Point Marina before turning round and managed to photograph a few birds to add to our bird file.

8^th July 2011

We spent the afternoon erecting the tent and preparing it inside for Richard, Rory and Jack’s arrival

9^th July 2011

We drove to Proserpine airport to collect Richard, Rory and Jack settled them into their new surroundings along with some shopping to ensure we had their preferences satisfied.  The three of them appear to really happy to be in each others’ company again.  The airport is undergoing renovations which has created parking problems and has very limited seating for people waiting for plane arrivals, which definitely needs attention in many other areas when you consider the numbers using the facility.  The kids had a swim in the park pool for a quick half hour as it seemed cold for them even though they had come up from Canberra.

10^th July 2011

We all went into Airlie Beach for the kids to swim in the lagoon, which lasted a bit longer this time because their dad and Merry went in with them.  That was followed by a walk through town to the other end and back along the beach front.  When we got home the kids unpacked the presents Rick had bought them, which where radio controlled helicopters, and went out to the vacant area of the caravan pack to become experienced pilots.

11^th July 2011

We all drove into Proserpine to see what it had to offer and came away disappointed, including the bought lunch, so on the way we turned off to Conway Beach. 

The tide was out by about 1.5kms but the sand was firm so the troupes where able to walk out to the sea and explore the crabs and jellyfish.  On their return they clambered around on the local outcrop of granite rocks for a while and generally enjoyed themselves, with he added attraction of an Ospey.  By the time we were ready to leave the tide had come back in about half way but the area they had walked out on was still high and dry and didn’t look like cutting that area off from behind.  Useful to know as there will probably be another trip to this beach in the near future.  When we arrived back at camp we were informed that the next days’ Three Island Cruise was unable to include the short seaplane flight over the Islands due to a maintenance problem and we had been put off until the next day (Wednesday).

12^th July 2011

The wind has got up today so the temporary postponement of the cruise and flight may be a blessing. 

Instead we drove out to Cedar Creek Falls but we knew there may not be much water as the last rain was about 6 weeks ago, and our guess proved correct.  However the area was nice and had a track that led up to the top of the falls and beyond which kept us all occupied for quite a while with the kids clambering across the rocks and building a boat with bark from a paperbark tree. 

There was no BBQ facility there so we continued on to Conway Beach again to use the BBQ facility there and enjoyed the company of several Blue-faced Honeyeaters whilst we ate.  After lunch the kids collected several coconuts from the palm trees along the beach front and then went for another clamber on the rocks until Jack head butted a tree and called it quits for the day.  Whilst we were out we received a phone call from the Three Island Cruise people to put us off for another day until Thursday.  We later discovered that the weather was deteriorating for Thursday and the next four days so rang them back and changed the arrangement to Tuesday as the forecast was good for then.

13th July 2011

Barry took Rick and the kids out to the local nursery that also has a mini golf course, which the kids love, but this one was a bit ordinary but kept them happy for a while.  When we got back to the park Rick took them for a walk through the town and bought them a Badminton racquet set, and lunch whilst they were out and about.

14th July 2011

We drove into Bowan which is not the tidiest of towns and went to the Lookout to see the 360 degree view but only the seaward views were of any note.  The Cafe attached to the lookout wouldn't let Foxy in to the al fresco area so we gave them the flick and found a fish and chip shop in town and took it down to the beach to eat.  The beach front area was presentable with BBQ facilities and seating for picnis,etc.  The only point of interest were Bowan is concerned is the fact that the Darwin scenes in the film 'Australia' were shot there.  Obviously Darwin would be considered far to modern with the rebuild after the war and later after cyclone Tracy, whereas Bowan needed little help to make it look like Darwin diring the wartime period.  However, it did provide a lot of financial income to the town and many residence who acted as 'extras' in the film, but it is hard to see where any of it was spent.

 After lunch the kids and Richard walked out the sea as the tide was out yet again, but not as far as Conway beach. 

15th July 2011

We drove to Farleigh and did the Sugar cane mill tour through a working mill rather than the miniature version in Sarina which used an outdated DVD introduction which showed the cane being burnt, which they don't do anymore unless the cane is diseased.  We then  walked through the plant decked out in  hard hats, glasses and  earplugs so the guide used a microphone with an amplifier and speaker attached to her belt.  Unless you stood within a metre of her you still couldn't hear anything she said.  Fortunately the kids managed to stick pretty close to her and gained all the information, and it was also them that asked most of the questions..  After the tour we drove into Mackay to show the kids the Blue Lagoon but it was closed due to technical problems so we headed on down to Sarina to visit Jeane and Mark as they had invited us for a BBQ.  This also gave us the opportunity to grab 76 litres of their rain tank water as the Airlie Beach town water leaves a lot to be desired with an overdosed chlorine taste and smell. 

Click on the location below for more information on the area.