Tag: Whitsunday Gold Coffee

Whitehaven Beach, Australia

Summer Adventures in Australia Part IV: Airlie Beach

Published on by Cheryl LockLeave a comment
We finally reached warmth in Airlie Beach!

Hi friends! Welcome to installment four of our Aussie Summer Adventures! (Sydney, Canberra & Melbourne were the first three.)

We woke up 4 a.m. on Tuesday to head to the airport for our 7 a.m. flight to Proserpine, which was about a 20-minute drive to our Airbnb in Airlie Beach.

I do love a good window view.

We couldn’t check into our Airbnb for a couple of hours since we arrived early, so we stopped at Whitsunday Gold Coffee (a haven of delicious food and coffee, fun animals and a huge play area for the kiddos, even if you do have to pay $10/kid to play) and then found an amazing (free) playground by the beach that was literally one minute from where we stayed.

Delicious ice cream with a delightful Macaw as a chatting mate.
Playground of our dreams.

We took it slow Wednesday morning, then headed out to explore in the afternoon.

The Airlie Beach Lagoon was such a hit! The depths of the water were so clearly marked and sectioned off that I felt totally safe letting the girls run around … PLUS there were lifeguards!
Of course nothing beats the actual beach <3
We spent a good few hours here, just exploring, collecting seashells and chatting with other beach-lovers.
Such a gorgeous day.
Chris was dying to see some crocodiles, but the actual tour would have cost us more than $500 for the five of us, plus it would have taken all day. Instead, we headed over to The (Real) Crocodile Lookout (thank goodness for Google) and did get to spot one!

Thursday was some kind of special. We booked the Northern Exposure Tour with the Ocean Rafting company, and it was AMAZING. The tour met up at 8 a.m., rafted out for about an hour and a half, and included two snorkeling adventures, a small “bush walk” to a gorgeous view, lunch on the beach at Whitehaven and then the ride back.

The crew was spectacular. They made me feel comfortable enough leaving Lotte and Emilia back on the boat for a bit when they got cold (Grace, however, rocked it, and absolutely adored snorkeling!), and they catered wonderfully to all of our dietary needs with lunches that were so super tasty.

This was a day that I know I’ll never forget. Hopefully our girls won’t, either.

Ready for fun!
This girl has found her calling. Snorkeled for probably over an hour and saw a sea turtle, a bunch of Nemo fish, tons of other fish and amazing coral. It was a spectacular experience to witness.
I cannot say it enough … these girls are up for anything, and I am so in love with their sense of adventure and fun.
Such spectacular views.
Beach love <3
We spent about 40 minutes on the beach, which was meant to include lunch. Of course the girls had no interest in eating when the ocean was calling!
Thanks for just an amazing experience, Ocean Rafting crew!

And that was it, friends. On Friday we packed up to ferry it over to Hamilton Island, our FIFTH DESTINATION!

Until then … bis bald, friends!