December 29
After a delicious rib dinner the night before, we hopped on a Greyhound Bus down the the Whitsundays, more specifically Airlie Beach, from where we had to somehow get to the ferry harbor on the outskirts of town for our boat to the island.
The bus ride was mixed. On the one hand it featured free wi-fi which is amazing when you rarely get it and are bored on the bus. It enabled us to get some quality catch-up time with the rest of the world. On the downside the bus' air condition wasn't the best and we were quite exhausted and hot by the time we got to Airlie Beach.
Where the bus dropped us off was a remote parking lot outside of town but still a few kilometers from the ferry. While still on the free bus wi-fi, we located the bus stop and just as we were dragging our suitcases through the heat, we saw our bus drive off. Next one was 45min away. Exhausted from the heat and lack of shade at the bus stop, we then just hailed down a cab and sucked up the $30 it cost to get to the harbor. After a quick 30min ride, we arrived on our idyllic Long Island for our 3 day retreat over New Year's.
Long Island is about 4-5 km in length and our resort was the largest one on the island. The other ones, which we would eventually encounter hiking, are more private villa rentals and quite remote. You have to take quite the hike to get to them or charter a private boat transfer to their beaches.
Our room had direct beach access and beautiful views. It was perfect!
The island featured an abundance of birds, including rainbow lorikeets, white cockatoos and crows.
For the next three days, we took it easy. We did take a 6km return hike to Palm Beach and tried to snorkel a bit but mostly, the water was just too choppy and murky.
Our hike to the remote beach was hot, humid and quite a little adventure. We encountered one of the big native reptiles, the Goanna.
One thing to note about the Eastern Australian coastline is that between October and March, it's stinger season - meaning the ocean is frequented by boxed jellyfish and the irukandji jellyfish, which can both be lethal but will most definitely put you in the hospital for a while. So we once again rented these fashionable stinger suits.
Before we knew it, New Year's Eve had arrived and we were already getting ready to get off the island in 2014.
After a delicious rib dinner the night before, we hopped on a Greyhound Bus down the the Whitsundays, more specifically Airlie Beach, from where we had to somehow get to the ferry harbor on the outskirts of town for our boat to the island.
Where the bus dropped us off was a remote parking lot outside of town but still a few kilometers from the ferry. While still on the free bus wi-fi, we located the bus stop and just as we were dragging our suitcases through the heat, we saw our bus drive off. Next one was 45min away. Exhausted from the heat and lack of shade at the bus stop, we then just hailed down a cab and sucked up the $30 it cost to get to the harbor. After a quick 30min ride, we arrived on our idyllic Long Island for our 3 day retreat over New Year's.
Our room had direct beach access and beautiful views. It was perfect!
One thing to note about the Eastern Australian coastline is that between October and March, it's stinger season - meaning the ocean is frequented by boxed jellyfish and the irukandji jellyfish, which can both be lethal but will most definitely put you in the hospital for a while. So we once again rented these fashionable stinger suits.
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