Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
of the area's most established operators is
Salty Dog Sea Kayaking
(
&
07/4946
1388;
www.saltydog.com.au), which takes escorted trips through the islands.
Half-day trips run on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday and full-day trips on
Monday, Thursday, and Friday, departing Shute Harbour at 8:30am. A half-day
trip is A$50 (US$33) per person, and a day trip is A$90 (US$59). Three- and
6-day trips, where you camp out, are A$395 (US$257) and A$995 (US$647);
rates include snorkel gear, meals, hotel pickup, and, on overnight trips, camping
gear. They also deliver sea kayaks to you anywhere in the Whitsundays. A full
day's rental is from A$50 (US$33) for a single kayak, A$60 (US$39) for a dou-
ble, including delivery and pickup and all safety equipment. A security deposit
of A$200 (US$130) is required for rentals.
AIRLIE BEACH
640km (397 miles) S of Cairns; 1,146km (711 miles) N of Brisbane
The little town of Airlie Beach is the focal point of activity on the Whitsunday
mainland. The town is only a few blocks long, but you will find an adequate
choice of decent accommodations, a small selection of good restaurants and
bars, a nice boutique or two, and facilities such as banks and a supermarket.
Cruises and yachts depart from either Shute Harbour, a 10-minute drive south
on Shute Harbour Road, or Abel Point Marina, a 10-minute walk west along the
foreshore or a quick drive over the hill on Shute Harbour Road.
Airlie Beach has a massive beachfront artificial lagoon, with sandy beaches
and landscaped parkland, which solves the problem of where to swim in stinger
season. The lagoon is the size of about six full-size Olympic swimming pools, set
in 4 hectares (10 acres) of botanic gardens, with a children's pool, plenty of
shade, barbecues, picnic shelters, toilets and showers, and parking.
Perched on the edge of the Coral Sea, with views across Pioneer Bay and the
Whitsunday Passage, Airlie Beach has a village atmosphere where life revolves
around the beach and the marina by day, and the bars and restaurants by night.
The spit of land between Airlie Bay and Boathaven Bay is home to the Airlie
Beach Sailing Club. Shute Harbour, 11km (7
3
⁄
4
miles) from Airlie Beach, is one
of Queensland's busiest ports, filled with yachts, cruisers, water taxis, ferries, and
fishermen. For a bird's-eye view, head to the Lions Lookout.
Great Whitsunday Walking
The Whitsundays will have the first of six
Great Walks of Queensland,
which are being developed over the next 4 years. The Queensland Parks
and Wildlife Service (
&
07/4946 7022;
www.env.qld.gov.au) is planning
tracks that will highlight some of Queensland's most valuable parks and
forests in World Heritage areas. The Whitsundays Great Walk is due to
open in June 2004 and will cover 36km (22 miles) in Conway State Forest
and Conway National Park, behind Airlie Beach. Half-day walks to
extended overnight adventures will be available.
The walk will begin at the parking lot at the end of Brandy Creek Road,
a short drive from Cannonvale. The trail will wind in three stages from
Brandy Creek to Airlie Beach, with two campsites at 12km (7.5-mile) inter-
vals. Walkers should take drinking water with them, as the water in nat-
ural systems is not good for drinking.
A second Great Walk will open on Fraser Island in June 2004 (p. 341).
