Forest Flying

Our flight out of Prosperpine was in the late afternoon, so we decided to get a new perspective on the rainforest that we had been admiring from the ground. The B&B operator had told us that there was a British couple that strung up an enormous zip line on their property through the rainforest canopy.



"An added bonus," he continued on, "is that their property is home to some of the largest and most diverse bat populations around."



"You could have left off that last bit," I said with a smile.



We set off down the dirt roads and through the creek crossings and drove off into the forest into a place that no rental hatchback should go (thank goodness for zero liability insurance). At one point, it didn't look like there could possibly be people living out here, but we continued to follow this grown-over road and finally came to a farm gate. I knew we were in the right place when I got out of the car and stepped ankle deep in guano. We had arrived.



It was quite fascinating that people lived out here. The couple explained to us that they were completely self-sufficent off the grid due to their location. Quite often, the road gets washed out with big rain and they are "gorge-bound" for days at a time. All of their electricity runs off of a home made water wheel that is powered by the stream on their property and they operate their communications via satellite. Coming from suburbia, it blew my mind that people choose to live this way.



After harnessing up and hiking up the hill, we set off on the first zip line. It was amazing and the bats were surprisingly beautiful. We landed on a platform strung up in the trees to have a better look at the different types of bats and our guide gave us a little bat-ucation. I know more about fruit bats now than I care to!



The second zip line was a bit more precarious where you flew through the palm fronds. Then, it was over all too quickly. Like little kids, we wanted to go again and again, but it was time to go catch a flight back to reality.

It was a great end to our trip.

Into The Snake Pit

I have a non-rational fear of snakes that is only compounded by the fact that I am living on the continent with the most deadly, highly concentrated snake populations in the world. After the incident of the hissing snake in the rock pools at Carnarvorn Gorge, my feelings on swimming holes have changed drastically.



However, Jon just thinks I am insane and therefore feels it is his job to break me of said ludicrous fear.

We decided to hike out to the Aratulla Falls in Eugnella National Park, since according to our B&B host, it was one of the few trails still accessible that had not been washed out in recent flooding.



So, we set off in our rental car that had no business being off a paved road to cross flooded creeks on a dirt road, so I could face my fear. As we race along, Jon is beginning to believe that Dakar is in his future and I am envisioning an emergency room in mine.



Slim pickings or not, it was a beautiful hike through semi-tropical rainforest and it was a bonus that the trail was a fairly easy grade with a few spicy spots. Whenever we walk, Jon takes the lead with the promise that he will be our diligent snake spotter; he failed to do his job this time, tripping over the tail of a huge goana, scaring the crap out of the lizard, me and with the screech I let out, two hikers behind us.



After all the excitement, we arrived at the beautiful Aratulla Falls. Theoretically, it is a really nice place for a quick dip if you can over look its snake potential. Jon jumped right in and played for hours sliding between rocks as if they were waterslides. I finally eased my way in and had a quick paddle around until I heard the word leech, which sent me running for my sunny rock.



Baby steps, baby steps.

Platypus Perfection

When the boat returned to its slip, we still had 3 days before our flight back to the Sunshine Coast and we knew that we would be bored in Airlie. So, we quickly consulted our Lonely Planet and decided to rent a car to head inland to Eugnella National Park. Reason being, the park is heralded for almost guaranteed platypus sightings.



So, we drove an hour inland to see if we could spy ourselves some venomous, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed, semi-aquatic mammals.

We found a rustic little B&B, dropped our stuff and set off to see if we could catch a glimpse of those shy little buggers before dinner. They didn't turn out to be as elusive as we expected. When we got down to the viewing platform, there were 2 or 3 of the little guys swimming about having a feed. What a sight! God is a comedian.



As we settled in for dinner, a storm blew in that had us thinking we might be stranded out here for a few days. Floods had just cleared from the Gorge from the last bad rainstorm and this was shaping up to cut us off from the main roads. Luckily, after a romantic dinner by blackout imposed candlelight with an ominous thunder clap soundtrack, the storm passed with no major damage.

Whitsunday Magic

All three days on the boat began to run together into lazy hours of snorkelling, diving, eating and sunbathing. Wake up, eat, wrestle into the stinger suit, snorkel, shimmy out of the stinger suit, sunbath, lunch, repeat. It was glorious.



Jon went diving with a our fabulous Frog dive instructor while I opted for slothful snorkelling - floating along with a noodle doing absolutely nothing. The underwater scenery was something out of a picture book; it was hard to believe you were actually there. The piece de resistance was when we came across clown fish - NEMO!



One morning, we took the Zodiac to Whitehaven Beach, which is known for its pristine aquamarine waters and white silica sand. The sand is so unbelievably soft and fine that it was like walking on sugar. It's no wonder it is considered one of Australia's most beautiful beaches.

The entire experience was so relaxing that we never wanted it to end!

Arrival in Airlie Beach

You have got to love Jetstar. Back in September, in celebration of their millionth seat sale, they ran a sale with incredibly cheap fares. We bought tickets to Airlie Beach for $50 each for a February flight to sail the Whitsunday Islands from the airport across the road from our unit. How bloody awesome is that?

Of course, Jon had to torment me by trying to convince me the wheels were going to fall of the plane since the seat were so cheap.

Anyway.....

The Whitsundays are one of the "must-do" places in any trip in Australia. 74 islands bordering the Great Barrier Reef, crystal blue waters, absolute paradise. It was one of the filming locations in Fool's Gold (the Kate Hudson/Matthew McConaughey movie).



This has one of the trips that we were really excited about. We booked on the Whitsunday Magic for a 4 day, 3 night sailing trip through the islands and planned to stay in Airlie before & after the trip to depart the day after the Superbowl. The plan was to be in Airlie for the game, leave that arvo for on the sailing trip and return to spend another few days in town.



The first night, we stayed at the Airlie Waterfront Bed & Breakfast. In five years when the Abel Point Marina reconstruction is complete, this will be an absolutely beautiful accommodation. However, right now, the waterfront view is a muddy construction site with the bay in the distance. However, the facilities were nice enough with really great decor and a spa on the balcony. Overall, it was meh.

It quickly became apparent that 4 days in Airlie Beach was far too long. In the first night, after having dinner and doing some shopping for the ship, we had seen pretty much all there was to see in this town. We had a lovely dinner and got to bed early as we had to be up early to get into town so that Jon could watch his beloved Patriots in the Superbowl.



Now, we all know what happened and yes, there were tears involved on Jon's part. He grew up in the Boston area and I am a Jersey girl, so I had heaps of material, but any time you brought it up, he'd well up with tears, so it took the fun out of it.

As soon as the game ended, Jon pulled himself together and got ship-shape for our shove off from the marina. The boat was beautiful. It is heralded as the most comfortable in the fleet of the Airlie ships and lived up to everything we heard about it. The crew was amazing, the chef was an absolute gourmet and we can't say enough good things about the entire trip. Despite the flooding in Airlie a few weeks before and the high winds that came after we left, we had absolutely beautiful weather. The whole experience was everything we heard about and more.



The first night we took a short sail to a lagoon where we would be snorkelling the next morning. We were treated to a stunning sunset and a heat lightening show before we fell into our beds exhausted, but really excited for the next day.