We will finally get the trip’s proper time line back on track with this post! We apologise to those of you who were confused by the post from the Outback, we lost a bunch of saved posts for some reason but now we’re back on track and continuing north up Australia’s east coast.
We left Yeppoon and continued up the coast to the small seaside town of Seaforth about 40 km’s north of Mackay. It’s a pretty little town of 600 that like most towns in this part of the country survive on a combination of the sugar cane and tourism industries. We found Seaforth to be very nice and it offered up beachfront camping right in town so we decided to stay the night. $23 will get you a site right on the beach and you’re close to the general store in town if you need extra supplies. There is also a stinger net protected swimming area just up the beach from the campground so you can actually get in the ocean during the summer months.
We are now far enough north that this time of year you can’t really swim in the ocean outside of netted areas due to the warm summer waters bringing Box and Irukandji jellyfish close to shore. A sting from either of these species can result in hospitalization and in some cases even death. In fact the Box jelly is widely considered the most venomous animal on earth! It’s a cruel time of year in northern Queensland, it’s HOT and humid in the summer but you can’t really get in the ocean due to stingers, and as we progress north you have to really be careful in fresh water rivers and billabongs as we’re entering crocodile country! GOOD TIMES, but in all honesty with some common sense and using the designated swimming areas all along the coast there’s plenty of safe opportunities to go for a dip.
We spent the evening chatting to some of the other people around the campsite, this has been a great way to get tips on places to see and what campsites and caravan parks are the best. We have found that the majority of people we are meeting are retired or semi-retired couples with caravans who are all very well-travelled so its been a great resource for us and you meet some great people! The hospitality you receive in small town Australia is incredible, the people are warm and in most cases genuinely want to chat and share some local knowledge. Canadians have the stereotype of being polite to a fault and travelling all over Canada I have found in a lot of ways there is some truth to it. Now as a Canadian travelling in Australia you can see many of the same characteristics in the people here, I have had many conversations with both friends and Australian tourists about the similarities in our cultures and it’s great to experience first hand what I believe makes both nations great, a wild and beautifully diverse landscape and its people. The rest of our evening was spent relaxing with a few cold beers watch lorikeets, ducks and the ever amusing galahs playing some sort of game on the power lines.
It was mid morning when we pulled into Airlie Beach and we were both beyond excited to start exploring the area. The Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef have been bucket list destinations for me my whole life, so to actually be pulling into town with my best friend was an amazing feeling. I have been following @WhitsundaysQLD on twitter for the last year or so and have found it to be a great resource for travel information on the area, I would recommend giving them a follow if you’re planning a trip to the area. With icons like the Great Barrier Reef, Heart Reef and Whitehaven Beach at the top of millions of bucket lists, Airlie Beach is the hub of the Whitsundays region. Airlie is the largest town on the Whitsunday Coast, and is almost entirely focused on tourism. There is a laid back vibe in town and we both really felt at home here, I think that’s because it’s like a tropical version of our home in Banff. Offering accommodation options for every budget and a seemingly endless list of attractions and adventure opportunities this area should be on any adventurers must do list. After exploring town we decided to set up camp at Island Gateway Holiday Park, it’s the closest campground to town and offers everything from unpowered campsites to deluxe spa villas. The grounds are well looked after and the amenities are fantastic, there’s kitchen and laundry facilities (both have power outlets in the kitchen areas to charge phones etc), great showers, free Wifi, BBQ areas, a tour desk and even a pool. We paid $25 per night for an unpowered site.
TRAVEL TIP: If you camp here be sure to avoid setting your tent up directly under the mango trees! There are tons of fruit bats at night which means killer mangos dropping from the sky. Also in the winter summer months bring lots of bug spray there are LOTS of march flies!
After we had set up camp and booked a snorkelling tour for the following day we decided to head out and explore the surrounding area. About half an hour outside of Airlie and 20 minutes past Proserpine lays Cedar Creek Falls also known as simply Cedar Falls. A popular waterfall and swimming hole. When we arrived we were ecstatic, not a single person was there! After the quick walk to the falls we realised why that was. The rainy season hadn’t really started yet so it was more of a dry rock face than a waterfall. Not to be discouraged we went for a swim and had a great time having this beautiful area all to our selves. There is a trail that leads up and around the falls and since it was not running I was able to walk right across the top and explore the rock formations worn over time by the wet seasons waters. Even without the waterfall flowing it is a beautiful area, the swimming hole is very refreshing on a hot day and there is lots of wildlife from the hundreds of tadpoles and the little yabbies (small crayfish) who like to nibble on your feet to turtles, butterflies and lots of birds. After a while we were joined by a couple of locals who were showing their niece around the area, though we no longer had the place to ourselves we are now glad we showed up! Their niece was visiting from Perth and I guess doesn’t get out of the city much, while we were swimming she was up on shore and suddenly let out a blood curdling scream. She barely managed to get the word snake out of her mouth before Carly and I quickly grabbed the camera and raced toward her assuming there was some sort of large of highly venomous snake. It turned out to be a harmless Green Tree Snake, once we were sure it was actually a tree snake that was no threat to us we attempted to catch it but it made a tree before we could, none the less we felt blessed to get some decent shots of him and loved every second we got to spend with this beautiful creature.
Moments later as the family was leaving they called out to us to come quickly. We had explained our love of wildlife and how we were both really into reptiles. They had spotted a lizard near the parking lot! I raced off with the camera and quickly chased after it, I backed off a little when I realised that it was a large Lace Monitor. The monitors sharp claws and poisonous saliva were something I didn’t want to tangle with! I was able to get fairly close once he was up a tree and had calmed down a little which again was an amazing experience. To be so close and to get the opportunity to share some time with animals like this are a huge part of why I have always wanted to visit Australia and a passion Carly and I share both at home and while traveling.
After dinner we fell asleep to the sounds of the frogmouth owls and the bats, however there were a bunch of bush stone-curlews at the campground and the sound they make freaks Carly out so she had a tough time falling asleep. Their call is more of an eerie walling that I find pretty cool! They call at night which has led to a number of phone calls to police from people mistaking their call for a woman screaming in the woods! Curlews come out to feed at night and are becoming quite rare in a lot of Australia so I’m glad we got to see so many and spend some time with these neat “screaming woman birds”.
After the hike we navigated our way through a couple thousand soldier crabs on the beach back to the boat for our buffet lunch and a little more time to explore the beach and go for a swim. We even found “sandmen” instead of snowmen for Christmas!
Thanks for reading our latest post and we look forward to your comments! We will be adding some underwater shots as soon as they’re all uploaded. We hope you will check back soon as the we continue further north into the wet tropics of Queensland. In our next post there’s giant mangos, the magical “bruffin”, shovel nose rays, sharks, all this and more from the Wandering Winters.
Ew
Hi Carly and Ewan,
I enjoyed reading your post on Airlie. Have a good trip home. We so enjoyed the time we had with you in Australia and will catch up with you again soon.
love heaps
Lesley and Geoff xx
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You made some good points there. I did a search on the topic and found most people will agree with your blog. Thanks
rigid inflatable’s Perth
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Thank you!
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good site
http;//whitsundays.tours
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