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A Saturday Cruise Through The Whitsunday Islands After strolling around Airlie Beach for a while (and trying not to ogle all the beautiful, young women who had descended on this town for Easter weekend), I walked into the Tourist Information center on the main street. Just about every town in Australia and New Zealand has a Tourist Information place, marked with a huge letter "i," and they're a great source of information for what to do in that area. They also make bookings for free, they have tons of brochures, and if you don't have an AA motel guide, which is a must-have for every visitor to Australia, they're a good place to compare motel rates.
Speaking of motel rates, this is towards the end of "The Wet" (i.e., the summer monsoon season) here in northeastern Australia, so it's still the off-season. One nice thing about visiting during the The Wet is that motels often have "stand-by" rates that are sometimes as much as 60% less than the standard "book rate," the rate you'd pay if you made a reservation. You can get a nice motel room on the northeastern coast at this time of year for about US$35 a night, instead of paying over twice that during the peak season, which lasts from May through September.
I had done some snorkeling a few days earlier on the Great Barrier Reef when I was in Port Douglas, but I hadn't done any scuba diving on the reef yet, so I booked a scuba trip for the next morning. But unfortunately when I got down to the dock the next morning, I learned that the trip had been cancelled, so I settled on an all-day island-hopping boat trip through the beautiful Whitsunday archipelago. I've posted some photos of my day-trip through the Whitsundays below. The Whitsunday Islands are absolutely beautiful, unlike any other place I've been in Australia or New Zealand, and I'll definitely come back there again some day – some day when I'm richer and can afford to stay there overnight.
Above left: Shute Harbor is on the northern coast, a few miles from Airlie Beach. I hopped on a boat here for a day-tour of the Whitsunday Islands and got a glimpse into the lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Above center: My first stop that day was on Long Island, the first of three islands I visited. Above right: The Club Croc resort on Long Island.
Above left: After a few hours at Club Croc, I headed over to South Molle Island, another resort in the Whitsunday Islands. Here's the pier. Above right: The nine-hole golf course on South Molle. Of the three resorts I visited this day, South Molle was my favorite. For "only" US$150 a night, you too can stay here.
Above left: I kicked back here under a palm tree for an hour with a cold drink... Above center: ...then I hopped on another water taxi.... Above right: ...and headed over to Daydream Island. That's my boat tied up to the dock.
Above left: Here's the swimming pool at Daydream Island. Daydream Island was pretty hoity-toity and stuffy, so I didn't linger here too long. Above center: A tourist near Daydream Island died of jellyfish stings the previous week. Here's a stinger sign and a bottle of vinegar. Nope, I didn't go swimming. Above right: Beachfront rooms on Daydream. Time to head back to Airlie Beach. I had a great day cruising through the Whitsunday Islands – and all for only $20.
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