Marlborough is not a spectacular place, but I recommend the detour if you need a place to sleep. You feel welcome right away here and it's cheep.
I go through my routine packing the bike and get on my way.about 500 meters down the road something feels wrong. I put a hand on my right pocket and the square bump my phone makes is not there. Damn it!
I pull over and start searched all pockets and places my phone could be but no luck. I clearly remeber having it in my hand as I finished up packing, but what did I do with it. Perhaps I put it on the bike and forgot to put it in my pocket before I left. That phone is my only link to the rest of the world, I cannot afford to lose it.
I turn around and start slowing backtracking my path. I have to find it. I try to remain cool about it but my heartrate does go up and it becomes a bit too exciting. I track my way all the way back but find nothing. A car with a camping trailer comes driving by and as it passes I notice the phone. It's on the road and the car is drive over it just missing it with it's wheels. Phew!
Besides a few sctraches on the corner, the phone is fine, and I feel very reliaved. The chip in the plastic is a small price to pay to get my phone back. Road, here I come… again.
Today my aim is Airlie Beach. I know nothing about it, but have been advised by many to check it out. It's only 354 kilometres to Proserpine following Bruce Highway, and from there just 25 kilometres towards the coast, to Airlie Beach.
About 230 kilometres up I pass Mackay, and although it's not very far compared to what I have covered before, I already feel tired. I think the fact that I know I'm getting very close to my final destination of this mad trip, is making me anxious to get there, impatient almost. As I'm closing in on Proserpine I have to force my self to make a right turn towards the coast, because quite frankly I just want to keep going.
I pass through a few small towns and suddenly I'm in a forest. That's odd, should have been a beach along the road somewhere. I pull over and check my map. No I have definitely passed it, but there was no beach. I have been driving with the water at my left side for a while so where did the beach go. I turn back and go through the last town I passed, once again, turn around and drive through it again, slowly this time.
There is the sign I missed; “Welcome to Airlie Beach”. Ok so I'm here, but a beach is nowhere to be seen. Actually I don't much care anyway, I just want a place to stay for the night. I find a hotel up the road and get a room. Yes I know, what's up with the hotel rooms now, shouldn't I be using my tent? Yes I should, but I'm on vacation and I'm tired so shut up.
I'm joking around with the woman behind the counter and she ends up giving me a discount. Aussies eh!
As I carry my stuff up into the room I'm automatically looking for spiders. I really want a picture of something venomous that I found myself, but no luck, spidie is shy.
The rest of the evening I spend catching up on my blog, or trying to anyway. So many photos to sort through, and video to edit. My original plan before I came down here was to edit together five minutes of video every day. I'm happy I chose to write for the most part because the video thing takes ages. I don't want to go to sleep because I might miss how comfortable this bed is, but I'm pretty tired so sleep comes easy.
I go through my routine packing the bike and get on my way.about 500 meters down the road something feels wrong. I put a hand on my right pocket and the square bump my phone makes is not there. Damn it!
I pull over and start searched all pockets and places my phone could be but no luck. I clearly remeber having it in my hand as I finished up packing, but what did I do with it. Perhaps I put it on the bike and forgot to put it in my pocket before I left. That phone is my only link to the rest of the world, I cannot afford to lose it.
I turn around and start slowing backtracking my path. I have to find it. I try to remain cool about it but my heartrate does go up and it becomes a bit too exciting. I track my way all the way back but find nothing. A car with a camping trailer comes driving by and as it passes I notice the phone. It's on the road and the car is drive over it just missing it with it's wheels. Phew!
Besides a few sctraches on the corner, the phone is fine, and I feel very reliaved. The chip in the plastic is a small price to pay to get my phone back. Road, here I come… again.
Today my aim is Airlie Beach. I know nothing about it, but have been advised by many to check it out. It's only 354 kilometres to Proserpine following Bruce Highway, and from there just 25 kilometres towards the coast, to Airlie Beach.
About 230 kilometres up I pass Mackay, and although it's not very far compared to what I have covered before, I already feel tired. I think the fact that I know I'm getting very close to my final destination of this mad trip, is making me anxious to get there, impatient almost. As I'm closing in on Proserpine I have to force my self to make a right turn towards the coast, because quite frankly I just want to keep going.
I pass through a few small towns and suddenly I'm in a forest. That's odd, should have been a beach along the road somewhere. I pull over and check my map. No I have definitely passed it, but there was no beach. I have been driving with the water at my left side for a while so where did the beach go. I turn back and go through the last town I passed, once again, turn around and drive through it again, slowly this time.
There is the sign I missed; “Welcome to Airlie Beach”. Ok so I'm here, but a beach is nowhere to be seen. Actually I don't much care anyway, I just want a place to stay for the night. I find a hotel up the road and get a room. Yes I know, what's up with the hotel rooms now, shouldn't I be using my tent? Yes I should, but I'm on vacation and I'm tired so shut up.
I'm joking around with the woman behind the counter and she ends up giving me a discount. Aussies eh!
As I carry my stuff up into the room I'm automatically looking for spiders. I really want a picture of something venomous that I found myself, but no luck, spidie is shy.
The rest of the evening I spend catching up on my blog, or trying to anyway. So many photos to sort through, and video to edit. My original plan before I came down here was to edit together five minutes of video every day. I'm happy I chose to write for the most part because the video thing takes ages. I don't want to go to sleep because I might miss how comfortable this bed is, but I'm pretty tired so sleep comes easy.
Airlie Beach is awesome, but not for its "beach". It's the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands for one - which you clearly missed! :P
ReplyDeleteThere are some good bars in town, sailing trips around the islands, Whitehaven beach, good fishing, and plenty of backpacker girls ;)