It was sad to leave Airlie Beach as we could easily have stayed much longer. But we knew we have to keep moving or we would run out if time. We left Airlie Beach on the 31st of August, stopping in Mackay for lunch. Mackay didn't really grab our attention which was a shame. I remember my Aunty Beverley and Uncle Jeffery and their family living there for many years. So I was curious about the regional city. However we decided to make tracks and continue heading ...

A very early start today to get down to Cruise Whitsundays terminal by 6:30am. The cruise vessel was much bigger and flasher than I expected. We chose to sit indoors on the upper deck. Once settled on board we headed off for Whitehaven Beach. We stopped briefly at Hamilton Island to pick up more passengers. Along the way we sighted several humpback whales playing in the ocean which was an added bonus. The skipper provided information on the Whitsunday Islan...

We arrived in Airlie Beach on the 30th of August and after lunch checked into a Top Tourist caravan park. The weather was beautiful, around 29 degrees. I weren't expecting Airlie Beach to so commercial, loaded with shops, appartment buildings and resorts. The kids spent the afternoon in the pool whilst Mandy and I sat on the deck chairs going through brouchers to work out what we were going to do and see the following day. We decided to do a half day cruise...

From Tully we drove a few hours south to Ayr. This is quite a large town about 14km inland from the coast. We grabbed some groceries and headed out of town over the famous Berdiken Bridge to a small town called Home Hill. Here we set up camp at the showgrounds alongside other campers. Caretakers John & Anne were very welcoming. We stayed two nights at Home Hill. During our second day we checked out the beach town of Alva. Many keen divers come here to d...

Day 2 in Tull was all about doing the Tully Sugar Mill Tour. We where booked on the 1:00pm tour. There are only two sugar mills in Australia the public can tour through, so the wait was worth it. Tully Sugar Mill was built completed in 1925. In 1931 a local farmers co-oerative purchased the sugar mill ftom the government. Over the years the co-operative faced many hostile takeover bids. In 2011 Chinese owned COFCO 100% aquired Tully Sugar. This made many lo...