Smooth Sailing Ahead

We left Brisbane this morning after three days which included: a ride on the Cityhopper ferry, the Queensland Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art, the Brisbane City Museum at City Hall and a tour up the historic clock tower, a Broncos versus Knights rugby game, cycling around the river (mostly successful) and around the highway (somewhat less successful), the Botanical Gardens, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, and food... Tibetan, Nepalese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese food. (Perhaps not the best part but certainly the most memorable.) (More details (and pictures) on most of these things to come later.)

We arrived at the Proserpine airport this morning and took the Whitsunday Transport bus into Airlie Beach.  The route is not terribly scenic but I still find it pretty interesting: after all this is Australia and even after four (five now?) months I haven't really gotten used to it.  Also, Queensland!  We are a good 10 degrees north (and 1,400 some kilometers, if we were to have driven the whole way) so it's a little different than around Armidale.  It's a lot scrubbier inland and definitely feels more tropical.  As an added bonus the bus dropped us right off at our hostel Backpackers by the Bay, and as an even extra added bonus, the bus driver gave us a little history and information lesson about the sugarcane industry in the area on the drive down.

Airlie Beach Marina: we'll come back here tomorrow.

The first order of business when we arrived in Airlie Beach, after we were checked into our room at BBTB was lunch, and after that was taken care of we went to the tourism office for a final confirmation and to check in for our sailing trip tomorrow.  Unfortunately, we were the only two who signed up for the Ise Pearl so the trip was likely to be cancelled--they needed at least four people minimum for it to go ahead.  Luckily, (very, very luckily), there were availabilities on two other sailing trips, both which fall within our travel dates and even two that we had considered before we decided and booked this trip.  We will be leaving on the Ragamuffin II tomorrow morning for three days, two nights, returning Friday afternoon.  Sailing, swimming, snorkeling, hiking and walking along the beach: it should be a really amazing trip!  Everyone we've met so far here in Airlie have commented on the really great weather, which is also encouraging.  It's nearly the same every day: highs around 22 and a low of 17.  Only Friday is there a chance of rain.  This whole trip we've really lucked out: originally it was forecast to rain the entire time we were in Brisbane, but it only rained Friday on our drive (and even not that much), and drizzled most of the day on Saturday, but overall, not that much and it had cleared up enough by the evening for us to go to dinner by bicycle.  There were a couple sprinkles on Sunday and Monday, but so negligible compared to the forecast that they don't even seem worth mentioning.

It feels good to have everything settled and sorted out for tomorrow.  (I admit I was a bit nervous when Vicki at the travel office told us our boat was going to be cancelled, and traveling, no matter how easy, is always a little tiring.)  We had a relaxing afternoon walking around town, went swimming in the lagoon (just the public saltwater swimming pool, since there is no beach in Airlie Beach), picked up a couple provisions for our trip, and will be ready to go out and eat again pretty soon.  It's been a long day so it's hard to believe it's not yet six o'clock!