Days 65 & 66: Airlie Beach

Brandon's claim of "this is awesome" and Micaela's squeals of delight reaffirmed my feeling that I had chosen the correct activity for us to do today.

Before I write about today's exciting time I had better catch up on yesterday.

We didn't do too much. It was fathers day so the kids took great delight in giving Daddy his presents and cards. There was no breakfast in bed though as we wanted to get underway to our next destination.

Big4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort is a professionally run park with really nice facilities.

Our highlight for the day was a game of mini golf. Darren won again, of course, but at risk of blowing my own trumpet my score wasn't very far behind his and I got two hole in one! Ethan is gradually learning you need patience to play the game. He played better than last time but his patience level is still pretty low. Don't know who he takes after!

Today was definitely a highlight and one we will reflect on for years to come.

Pete and Jo absolutely raved about Ocean Rafting when they were up here and so after a little convincing Darren agreed to do it. So today we went ocean rafting. Brandon articulated it perfectly with his awesome statement.

Ocean rafting is like going out in the ocean in a big surf life saving dingy. The driver deliberately swerves the vessel to make the ride as much fun as possible.

We were the last to get on the boat so we sat in available seats, which were at the rear. Once everyone was seated the driver informed us all that the front seats have a bumpier ride while the seats at the rear enjoy a smoother ride but often cop more spray. We inadvertently also sat on the side that copped the most spray. By the time we reached our first destination we were drenched to the bone, all except Brandon whom I sheltered from most of it.

First stop was snorkeling. The water is a little cooler here so we hired wetsuits but it was still too cool for Brandon who lasted about 5 minutes before retreating to the boat. The snorkeling was really good with heaps of coral and fish. There were also quite a few jelly fish that are apparently harmless but still have the power to freak you out.

The tour continued with a short walk to a lookout with views over whitehaven beach and some of the islands. We continued to Whitehaven beach for lunch and a couple of hours of beach time but not before our guides took us in search of turtles. The conditions were perfect and we were lucky enough to see 4 of them.

On the return leg of the journey we sat up front to experience a bumpy dry ride. The sea was a bit rough on return so we had a really bumpy ride. Micaela, Brandon and I enjoyed this much better. Ethan wasn't too sure and Darren tends to be ambivalent about most things.

One thing all of us really enjoyed on the return leg was seeing the whales. Our guides took the boat as close as is legally possible and stopped the motor so we could enjoy the show. We saw a whale in the distance on the way out but it was too far off our course to permit us to go and see it. On the way back though it was a mother and her calf we saw frolicking. It topped off an already fantastic day.

When we returned to the park the kids went for a swim while we socialised with other guests at the parks cheese and biscuits event. We had a great chat with other guests aswell as Kylie who was hosting the event and has also spent time travelling, so we shared travel stories.

Tonight we are all really tired and looking forward to a good nights sleep before moving again tomorrow.