Stop # 6 - Airlie Beach

Moving on from midge city (Mackay), we head a couple of hours north up to Airlie Beach, a much anticipated destination.  On the way up, we stop off at Cedar Creek falls, as recommended by our friend Deb Clarke.  It was a lovely water fall not far off the main road, where the girls and I cooled ourselves off in the water, whilst Jackie and her boy went for a walk up to the top of the falls.

  

  

After doing a number of turns on our way out of the small parking bay, we head off to Airlie Beach.  Jackie had booked 5 nights accommodation at Peppers via a Cudo deal, which included Endota spa discounts, complimentary lunch and dinner coupons, and best of all a full continental breakfast buffet for 5 days. 

  

Peppers is set a couple of klms south of Airlie city centre, amongst steep hills.  As we drive up the road to Peppers, I had some real concern for how we would be able to tow the caravan up the hills, and also where we would park the caravan for the 5 days. 

  

After discussing the plan with the Peppers employees, I cautiously drive the vehicle up the slope and with the help of two employees, back the caravan into the parking bay underneath the apartment we were staying in.  I am certainly grateful that we have the Land Cruiser, as I reckon a lot of other vehicles would have struggled to tow 2 tonnes up such steep terrain.

  

The apartment we were staying in was palatial, compared to the confines of the caravan we had spent the past few weeks in; the feature being the spa bath in the main bedroom.  With the rain and wind we experience over the next couple of days, we are thankful we are staying in the apartment.

In the evening, cockatoos would visit for an easy feed, very domesticated were these birds.  Even Grace, who is petrified of birds, managed to feed a bird or two.

We meet up with the Father-In-Law Graham "Grandpa", who was up here to attend a friend's wedding.  We'd timed our trip to Airlie to coincide with the wedding date, so the kids could have some time with Graham as well.  This won't be the last time we meet up with Graham during our trip, luckily he's not bad for a FIL.

With Graham leaving Airlie in a few days time, we decide to head out to Hamilton Island and Whitehaven Beach the next day.  Unfortunately the weather for the next 5 days was showers and high winds, tending gale force.  This put pay to any thoughts of chartering/hiring a boat for fishing, however we were keen to tour the islands, and with the huge cruise boats, the waves and winds would not pose too much of a problem (so we thought).

On the morning of the cruise, the kids woke at 6am (amazing that the kids can wake without complaints, when they are excited about what is ahead) got changed and were at the buffet at 6:30am to "smash" (Grace made up this terminology) breakfast, before heading to our 7am cruise.  

Pre-cruise "smashing" of breakfast

We knew it would be tight, so Jackie left breakfast at 6:45am to retrieve the car and Graham had walked to the terminal (10 minute walk).  After scoffing breakfast, we head out to the front of the resort, waiting for Jackie to drive us to the terminal.  I knew the timing was fine, so we ran to the front of the resort to jump into the car.  Unfortunately Jackie was not there yet, so we waited, and waited and waited..  I didn't have my watch on me, but I knew we were very close to 7am.  With Jackie still MIA I knew something was not quite right, and not able to wait any further, we start running up the hill to the car.  As we get half way up, we see Jackie drive down the road.  Jackie had lost track of time, and was also stuck talking to some stranger about our caravan and our trip.  Being the social and polite person she is, she was not able to terminate the conversation abruptly; something her husband would have had no problems doing.

We rush down to the terminal, I drop the family off at the front and rush to park the car.  Of course they have metered parking there, so I grapple with the ticket machine, making sure I pay for enough time for the return trip; 12 hours should be enough.  With the ticket placed on the dashboard, I sprint through the check-ins and run to the two cruise ships ready to depart on the docks.  I had no idea which boat was ours, and I could not see any of the family on the boats.  Asking the attendants at the boats their destination, I receive a phone call from Jackie, letting me know we'd missed the boat.

I walk back to the departure lounge, to see the kids in tears and Jackie sporting a forlorn look.  Luckily the cruise company was supportive and allowed us to re-book for a later cruise at 8am.

We safely board the 8am cruise, and head off to Hamilton Island.  Upon disembarking the boat, we head to the shops, sightseeing and explore the island pools.

Hunger sets in, and we head to the local pub.  I sample a bit of Kangaroo salad, whilst the kids stick to traditional beef.

After a few hours on Hamilton, we set off for Whitehaven Beach.  It's smooth sailing for the first part, until we move out from the protection of some of the islands.  We then hit the winds and the swell that have been whipped up by the gale forced winds.  First Em starts feeling sick, then Grace and then mummy.  Emma being the loud person she is, lets off a yell everytime we rise and drop off the crest of a wave, this made interesting riding for the next 45 minutes; the crew were fantastic, trying to calm Emma down and even giving both girls a soft toy to cuddle for the ride.

We eventually get to Whitehaven, a sheltered corner partially protected from the wind.  We don our stinger suits and head for the water. 

The Ninja-pasoms according to Jai

Our trip back to shore, via Hamilton was no better, condition wise; if not worse.  So we hung on and eventually got back to Arlie at 6pm.

Our next and last day with Grandpa was spent in the city centre of Airlie Beach, where the kids swam at the lagoon, before we had lunch in town.

The school term resumed whilst we were at Airlie, so we whipped out the activities and worksheet pack that Distance Education had sent us, and got down to it.  The expectation from the DE school was that we spend ~4 hours per school day going through the curriculum.  With this in mind, we agreed to do a couple of hours work first thing when the kids wake up, and then another couple of hours before lunch.  This way we have the rest of the day to actually "holiday".  It's taking a while to get a routine happening, but with Mrs Phimsipasom at the helm, all will be in order.  Of course, Emm is not one to miss out, so she has to complete her pre-school activity books as well..

On the fishing front, with the rain and wind, any thoughts of hiring a boat or going on a fishing charter were quashed.  Land based it would have to be, somewhere that provided shelter from the strong South Easterlies that was blowing all week.

I scouted out a few boat ramps with the kids, whilst Jackie was having her hair coloured and cut in town.  At one location we saw a school of baitfish get attacked by what looked like Mangrove Jack or Fingermark.  At the boat ramp by the Volunteer Marine Rescue (VMR) headquarters, we saw a man catch a Queenfish in his cast net, and another man catch a grunter from the wharf.  There was also plenty of baitfish, and it was sheltered from the wind; so I knew this would be the place we would best be fishing.

I came back that afternoon after catching some bait with the kids, and decided to try the end of the breakwall; and not the pontoon.  The water was a little shallow right at your feet, so after a couple of hours of soaking bait and throwing plastics, I'd caught a few fish, but not the big one I was after.  I did manage to catch a juvenile Giant Trevally (~45cm), which I took home for dinner.

The kids were keen to come fishing with me, sometime during our stay at Airlie beach, so I thought I would give the VMR another try, this time on the boat pontoon itself, as it seemed to have deeper water.

The first problem we encountered was that because the tide was near full, a lot of the bait fish had dispersed and were not in places suitable for the cast net.  After searching around and a few blind casts, I managed to catch a handful of live herring for bait.  I deployed the baits on the rods, fixed them to the pontoon cages and flicked some plastics around. 

Fishing for the first hour was slow, with no presence of bait fish or surface activity.  Once the tide changed, the bait fish started moving into the cove and surface activity from pelagic fish became more prevalent. 

As a tender boat came towards the pontoon, we had to clear a rod and the pontoon, so he could walk past.  As he was about to tie up to the pontoon, he yells out "You're on!!" I look out to the open water and see a Queenfish leaping in the air, I turn to my rod and see that it is buckled over, and line peeling from the reel.  As I remove the rod from the makeshift holder, I can feel some solid weight and know that I am hooked up.  The fish swims from left to right and back again, jumping in the air as it changes direction, trying to dislodge the hook out of it's mouth.  At this time I pray the knots hold true, and there are no nicks in the line.  The men at the VMR catch wind of the fight and gather around.  The fish is no more than 10 metres away and jumps again, shaking it's head violently, I can see that it is a good fish, near the metre mark.  The fish does not give up and continues to change direction, it leaps again and with one final shake of the head, I feel the line go slack and the fish has won it's freedom.  The VMR men let out a shout and wish me luck next time, I am sure they've seen plenty of lost fish.  I'm despondent, this would have been the first decent fish of the trip, my first Queenfish, and it's been lost.

Moving on quickly, I re-bait the rod and continue casting a popper to the opposite bank.  I have followers and some takes, but the hook does not set; I suspect they are juvenile Mangrove Jack.

Later on, the same rod buckles over again and we are on.  The fish puts up a different fight, and there are no aerial displays.  It zips from left to right, in rapid pace.  There is not much weight behind the fish, but enough to indicate it will be a keeper.  As I bring the fish I see it is another Giant Trevally, slightly bigger than the one caught the previous day.  We have a pair of fish for dinner tonight, some consolation for the lost Queenfish. 

There's plenty of time left on the trip to land a few good fish, I just need to bide my time.

Stop # 5 - Mackay (Midge City)

According to Google Maps, the drive from 1170 to Mackay should take 6hrs 15mins, but it's been safe to add another 10% on top of Google's estimations, to allow for the towing handicap and toilet rests.  

Indeed it took around 7 hours to drive up to Mackay, with trucker Jackie having a 3 hour stint driving the rig.

On the way up we stopped off at the Information Centre at Rockhampton for a toilet break, and it was immediately apparent that the heat and humidity would be getting worse from now upwards.

We weren't planning on staying at Mackay, so we hadn't booked accommodation yet.  Whilst driving up there, we reviewed some caravan park ratings and decide on another Big 4 caravan park, which is more centrally located than some of the higher rated parks.  

Little did we know that the park was next to a pond, which was a breeding ground for mozzies.  Not only was the place infested with mozzies, but the midges were everywhere.  For those not educated on, nor had the displeasure of experiencing these blood sucking critters, midges are effectively small sand flies (the ones we experienced anyway).  You would feel the intense bite of the midge, but they are so small you cannot see them without squinting.  

Surely enough, if you slap the general area in which the bite is being experienced, you will see a splatter of blood/fly where the midge had been.  Even though they are small, they certainly pack a punch and the bitten area welts up very quickly.  Poor Grace suffered the most, looking like she had the chicken pox, after she'd scratched the welts until they bled and then scabbed.

Our first day was spent at the park, enjoying the water park, water slide and putt putt course.

We headed into town to check out the lagoon.  We were pleasantly surprised that it had manned water slides, and two large pools.  Great facilities in the middle of the city, free of charge.  I'd imagine the place would be packed during the height of summer; there were only a few people around when we were there, apparently because the weather was starting to cool down - it was still 27
degrees at 5pm !!  The kids had a ball, and we had to drag them out of there at close time.

We also managed to ride the pathway that ran parallel to the Pioneer river, winding through klms of foreshore.  The kids were hot and sweaty, so we managed to only ride a few klms up and down the path.

Whilst seeking shelter from the heat at one of the city shopping centres, we came across some Animalls, which kids and adults rode throughout sections of the shopping centre.  These animals certainly captured the attention of shoppers, young and old, and was a hit with all kids, including ours.  We had to book a time to ride the animals, given their popularity.

I managed to coax Jackie into scouting some potential fishing spots, the kids are always keen to do so.  Upon arriving at the Marina breakwall, we discovered some clever design work, whereby specific blocks of rock were placed along the breakwall, so they could be used as tables and chairs for eating or sight seeing, quite an ingenious idea I thought.

Moving onto the breakwall itself, I sighted a local fisho pulling up a good sized fish - looked like a jewfish.  No more than 5 minutes later, the same fisho was hooked onto another sizable fish.  The fisho tussled with the fish for many minutes, on his cheap Jarvis Walker Kmart special mind you, giving it all he could.  I was sure the mono line he was using would give way anytime soon, however the line and his knots held true.  By now a crowd had assembled, and it was clear this fish was massive, given the bend on the rod and time it was taking to bring the fish in.

After what seemed like 15 minutes of fighting, the fisho saw colour and called it for a Wobbegong shark.  It wasn't finished just yet and set off for New Zealand.  The fisho managed to bring the shark in, and cut the line to free the shark.  We managed to catch a glimpse of the shark, and it was huge, I estimate it to be 2 metres in size.

Upon witnessing the two captures, I knew this would be where I would try to catch a fish that night.  The problem was that the high tide for that evening was around 11pm, so I knew it would be a long night.

I decided to try to catch squid inside the breakwall, and use it for bait.  After hours of casting and retrieving the squid jig, I eventually caught a squid for bait.

I was not able to catch any other squid, and with the time being 11pm, it was time to go fishing.  A decision needed to be made on whether to strip the squid or use it whole.  I knew using it whole increased the chances of catching a big fish, however this meant I only had one chance of hooking the big one, otherwise I would have no other bait.

Arriving at the spot where we saw the shark caught earlier in the day, I rigged up the squid and threw it out in hope.  Ten minutes had passed before I felt some tugs on the line.  This meant that either the squid was panicking and being harassed by a predator, or that there was a fish nibbling on the squid.  Knowing that the squid would stay on the hook for a while, I stayed patient.  After many minutes of listening to waves pound the rocks, my line took off and I leapt into action, setting the hook onto the fish.  Immediately I sensed the weight of the fish, and knew this was a good sized fish.  Tightening the drag, I was trying to stop the fish from taking too much line.  I moved to  a higher position, trying avoid the line rubbing on the breakwall rocks.  As I put more pressure on the rod to try to stop the fish, I felt the  line go limp, and knew I had lost the fish.  Bringing up the line, I saw that the braided line was frayed and had been rubbing on the rocks.  Thoughts of trying to catch another squid and having another crack at the big one dissipated when my watch revealed it was well past midnight.  I'll have to wait longer to catch the first big fish for the trip.

We left Mackay on the morning of Anzac day.  Although it would have been good to go to the dawn service, waking the kids at 5:30am proved too difficult a task.  We'd packed up the caravan and headed into town to watch the end of the march and pay our respects.  The distance education work the kids would be completing in the coming weeks focuses heavily on Anzac Day, so it was good to take the kids to the ceremony and educate them on the sacrifices made by our past and present service men and women.  Lest We Forget.