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.