Day 44 - Tuesday February 27, 2024, Airlie Beach Australia

Arrival 8:00 All Aboard 15:45 Departure 16:15

We arrive in Airlie Beach to torrential rains. It is coming down in buckets. We are not sure whether the 2 private tours we had booked will be a go.

We need to use the private ferry boats to shuttle passengers to shore. After clearing customs, the first ferry carrying passengers on the ship tours at 08:30 left the ship. We meet up with our friends Bev and Glenn at 09:15 in the Insignia Lounge to collect a tender ticket to board the next ferry. It was supposed to arrive at 09:30 but a medical emergency took precedence as a passenger on our Trivia team needed to be transported to hospital. Best wishes to our friend, Ben.

The ferry arrived at 10:15 and we needed to be at a certain meeting point for our Turtle cruise at 11:00. Luckily a taxi was readily available so although we got there 10 minutes late the captain of the electric boat waited for us. It helped that there were only 2 other passengers on the tour. It was very tranquil cruising the water and the mangroves looking for turtles and possibly dugongs (manatees in the United States). We did see a few turtles pop their heads out of the water for a few seconds.

With the tour finished we needed to get to the meeting point for the air flight over the Great Barrier Reef. Unfortunately, Mother Nature did not cooperate, and the tour was cancelled which was quite disappointing.

Lunch was at Sorrento's at Corral Sea Marina before walking back to Airlie Beach. The boardwalk made it easy to find our way back into town. Janice did a little shopping and bought a few linen outfits.

We are now sailing towards Cairns (pronounced Cans) 275 nautical miles away.