This site details the adventures of two hardy souls - Tara Cleveland and David Whyte - who embarked on a long and arduous journey to the other side of the world. They climbed steep mountains, sailed the far seas and searched for awesome beasts! Read on for fantastic! gruesome! and enthralling! tales of their adventures...
Airlie Beach was our jumping off point for the Whitsunday Islands. It's a bit of a party town with tons of backpackers getting drunk at open-air night clubs. But it also has a fantastic waterfront with a super-cool swimming lagoon. The lagoon is basically a giant natural-like salt + chlorine swimming pool set in a park and open all night long. It's got kiddie areas, a swimming lane, a bridge you can swim under and jets that you can sit next to. It's supervised during the day by lifeguards. It's very busy during the day, but almost deserted in the evening. We went swimming late at night in a rainstorm - it was fantastic.
A couple of points to note about Airlie Beach:
- There are two book exchange places downtown. Both will give you money for your books and let you buy books. The best one is Leas - opposite the lagoon.
- Waterfront Backpackers is great for cheap double rooms with ensuite. Very clean and modern - with balcony! The 1st floor (2nd floor in North American speak) kitchen a balcony you can eat on and has spectacular views out over the beach (see the top photo on the right).
- Unless you want to party all night long don't stay at Magnums since it's right next to several open-air night clubs. The same goes for any accommodation in the middle section of Shute Harbour Road.
- You can get an excellent meal for an excellent deal at Capers on the Esplenade. Order their tapas special for $27 - it'll easily feed two people - and it's delicious. It's a bit fancy - so wear shoes and shirt. Best deal in town.
