Driving the Coast of Queensland; R&R in Airlie Beach

[Fri 11/25 - Sun 11/27]

The rain finally let up and we were able to get down the steep gravel driveway, to the road, and back to the car ferry. We're splitting up the drive from Daintree to the Whitsundays with an overnight stop in Mission Beach, about a 4.5hr drive south.

Saying goodbye to lovely Carmen

3 minute car ferry across the Daintree River

The 2-lane 'Bruce Highway/A1' runs along the east coast, at the base of the Great Dividing Range mountains which run nearly the entire length of eastern Australia. The highway passes through miles of sugarcane fields, cattle ranches and forests, with occasional views of the coastline. We made good time, stopping for gas and a couple photos.

Rex Lookout

We got to Mission Beach around 4 and headed a little further south to the Kennedy Walking Track, a waterfront boardwalk/beach hike along Luggers Bay. We hiked to Morgans Lookout and back, about 3.5 miles total, keeping a brisk pace to finish before dusk. We worked up a sweat - it's still quite humid - but it felt great to stretch the legs after sitting in the car for 4+ hours.

Kennedy Walking Track

Beach swing!

Morgans Lookout

After the hike, we drove a few minutes to our hotel, Mission Reef Resort in Wongaling Beach - nothing special but spacious, the air conditioning worked, and the room had a washer and dryer! We started an overdue load of laundry (did I mention it's humid?), cleaned up, then headed north to Mission Beach and The Garage Bar & Brewhouse for a couple drinks, pizza and a salad. Great spot. Got back to the hotel around 9:30. Victoria watched a movie, Karri researched our next stop - and I went to sleep!

Saturday morning we finished up the laundry and hit the road, continuing on the Bruce Highway another 6.5hrs to Airlie Beach - gateway to the Whitsunday Islands. The drive was similar to Friday - sugar cane, cows, forests, mountains and ocean views. It rained off-and-on nearly the entire trip, sometimes torrentially. Stopped at a bakery for breakfast and later at Woolworths ("Woolies") supermarket - much different than the U.S. version - for some snacks. We decided on another pre-dusk hike so headed to Shute Harbour and the 4.5 mile Mt. Rooper/Swamp Bay Trail. We hiked briskly out to Swamp Bay, then up about 800ft to Mt Rooper lookout, which gave a great view of some of the 74 Whitsunday Islands.

Swamp Bay

Piles of coral washed ashore

The Whitsundays from Mt Rooper Lookout

We hustled back down to the car, arriving hot, sweaty and dirty, but again glad to have stretched our legs. Drove 10 minutes to our hotel, the gorgeous Coral Sea Marina Resort, checked in to our lovely room with a 270+ degree view of the marina and harbor (kudos to Karri - again!).

View from our deck

We relaxed a bit, cleaned up, then walked a few blocks to Little Vegas Burgers & Bar, a small, kitschy/cool spot for a surprisingly good dinner. Our waitress informed us that our tab earned us 2 free drinks at their sister bar next door. She laughed and said 'yes' when I asked if it was a fun spot, so we decided to check it out. We could hear music and singing as we climbed the stairs into a karaoke bar full of 15-20 tipsy and loudly singing teenaged girls (drinking age here is 18). I was one of 2 guys in the place aside from the bartenders. Turns out our 'free' drinks were buy-one-get-one from their menu of fruity tropical drinks - so Victoria got a 'double' while Karri had a G&T and I had a beer. Decided to call it a night and walk back to the hotel around 10, where we star-gazed from our deck before heading to bed.

'Double' mango daquiris (the one on the right was 'free')

Sunday was a day of R&R with nothing on the agenda other than returning the car by noon. We spent most of the day by the pool or on the pier - relaxing, reading, catching some sun and/or swimming in the pool (I also followed Purdue's victory over Indiana!). Mid-afternoon, Karri and Victoria went shopping while I worked on this post from our deck. 

Relaxing at the end of the hotel pier

Victoria floating in the waterfront pool

Poolside seating area

We have an early start tomorrow - need to be at the dock by 6:45am(!) to catch a boat to Whitehaven Beach and then Hamilton Island. Thinking we'll order takeout tonight and enjoy it from our deck since it will be an early night.