the Whitsundays, Airlie Beach and Bowen

We have hit the Whitsunday region and took a detour from our route to Townsville when we saw the turnoff to Airlie Beach. Airlie Beach has a terrific reputation for being a fantastic holiday destination.


We went for a quick drive around the town and then ate our picnic lunch on the foreshore. It was really pretty and I think would be an ideal holiday place when your kids are very young. There were lots of playgrounds and a shallow paddle pool on the foreshore. The tide goes out a long way during the day so it is quite muddy where we normally see sand. The water was a beautiful blue and had lots of boats moored. It was surrounded by mountains which was very special.

Harry and Max holding up the 'Big Mango' at Bowen.

After the 60km detour to Airlie Beach and back we got onto the highway.  We soon came across the town of Bowen where Kensington Pride mangoes were first planted. The photo below shows the ‘Big Mango’ which meant we stopped to have a look. There was a story on a plaque nearby telling about how the original Kensington Mango farmer would sterilise the seed of the mango by threading a needle through the seed before giving it away or selling it. His idea was that he would be the only farmer producing this variety of mango and so make a fortune.











We made it to Townsville a little later than we meant to, and decided to stay in a caravan park. There’s a long story, but the manager of the park we chose was very unpleasant. The facilities and the other people at the park were lovely, but this rude woman made us want to leave as soon as possible. Our next door neighbours were a lovely couple who were from South Australia but had spent a lot of time in Western Australia. They shared knitting ideas, coffees and things for the kids with us.


Tomorrow is going to be a busy day as we’re going to Magnetic Island!!