Long Island, Australia

December 18th - December 21st 2011

We woke up early as we were due to catch a boat to Long Island, one of the Whitsunday Islands. The boats first stop was tiny Daydream Island which looked like paradise. After an hour on the boat we were the only two to get off at Long Island and were greeted by a man on a golf buggy to take us to the resort. When we booked the day trip through Base backpackers we had the choice of an organised day trip with lunch which would include full access to the resorts pool or we could just buy the return boat trip to the Island. We decided to take our own lunch and booked return boat tickets but as it turned out we had access to all of the resorts amenities anyway. We were very happy that we decided to buy the boat tickets ourselves which cost $60 each as we saved ourselves $29 each which would mostly have gone towards the travel agencies commission.

Long Island walk

Once we had been shown the lovely pool area and beach we decided to start our day with a circuit walk around the island. We climbed some steep steps and were eventually surrounded by nothing but trees. As we walked we noticed how many spider webs there were in the trees and also crossing over the path. Craig and I both have a fear of spiders which was made worse when we accidentally walked into the webs! The path seemed like it was abandoned and was littered with sharp stones and rocks which were painful to walk on and it wasn’t very peaceful as crickets shrieked everywhere that we went. Despite the beautiful sunny day we felt like we were walking in the wilderness and couldn’t wait to get back to the safety of the beach. After an hour we made it back to the white sand of the beach and found some sun loungers to sit in while we ate our picnic lunch. It rained for a couple of minutes but the clouds soon cleared again to reveal beautiful blue skies which along with white sand and turquoise water meant that we truly were in paradise.

Long Island Beach

View from the sun lounger

After a relaxing afternoon under the shade of a palm tree reading books and listening to music we decided to cool off with a swim in the resorts pool. We walked back to the pier and saw a manta ray gliding through the water as well as what locals referred to as a ‘sea cow’. We enjoyed the boat ride back on the open deck and looked out for other sea life and were treated to the sight of a turtle coming up for air. The salty spray misted our faces as we came in to the dock at Airlie Beach. We treated ourselves to pizza before heading back to Flametree where we had spent a lovely evening a couple of nights before.

Tropical flowers

The following day we packed up and headed south to Cedar Creek Falls which was a small detour on our long journey to Rockhampton. The falls were more of a drizzle due to the lack of rainfall in the area but funnily enough as we got out of the van to take a look it started to rain. In heat like this rain is a welcome respite. We drove south for hours stopping at Revive and Survive areas which were set up by the Australian government to reduce accidents on the roads due to tired drivers. Volunteers run it and you can stop off for free tea, coffee, juice and biscuits. We stopped at Yaamba rest stop for free to save some money on camp sites and planned our trip to Capricorn Caves for the following day.

Inside Capricorn Caves

The next day we drove to Capricorn Caves and paid $26 each for a ticket. I’ve always loved caves having explored Cheddar Caves and Wookey Hole in Somerset, England when I was little. The guide met us and our small group and took us around the caves explaining each interesting feature. He took us to Cathedral Cave where weddings are actually performed and played us a piece of music demonstrating how the natural acoustics here are nearly perfect and actually better than in the Sydney Opera House. With the music playing and the lights and candles extinguished to demonstrate ‘cave darkness’ the place took on an eerie yet magical quality. During the last part of the tour we followed a zigzag path carved through the rock which was surprisingly tight and not for those with claustrophobic tendencies. We crossed the swing bridges and were back outside in the daylight. After the Capricorn Caves we drove on to Agnes Water and Town of 1770 where we stayed the night paying $36 for a site and that price was discounted! The closer it gets to Christmas the more expensive everything gets.

Craig and I in Town Of 1770

The next morning we parked up in Town of 1770 and went for a leisurely walk along the boardwalks with views over the ocean, golden sands and boats bobbing gently in the breeze. It was another hot day but noticeably less humid. The further south we went the more we noticed that the sun still shone brightly but the unbearable humidity had begun to disappear. We climbed some steps and found the stone monument dedicated to Captain Cook commemorating the year that he first landed on Australia in 1770. We walked back to the van and drove to Agnes Water where we admired the people having surf lessons but decided to give it a miss ourselves. We drove on through Bundaberg and Childers and some beautiful landscapes and arrived at Hervey Bay. We found a beach front campsite and got a night for $25, much more reasonable than in Agnes Water! We got chatting to the friendly manager and booked a tour of Fraser Island which cost $185 each. It’s very expensive but Fraser Island is a must do and I’ve been looking forward to seeing it.