Our trip to the Great Barrier Reef on Thanksgiving

I think on everyone's Australia "to-do" list, snorkelling, diving or even just visiting the Great Barrier Reef is a top priority. Will always wanted to dive the reef and I was content to snorkel but we weren't sure if we'd ever get the chance to get out on the water. As our luck would have it, Will's mom and grandmother were kind enough to send all of us out to Reef World this past Sunday. Reef World is a pontoon anchored right off the Great Barrier Reef and has all of the dive/snorkel gear, change rooms and even a gift shop. Here are just a few of our photos of the day, we hope you enjoy them as much as we did taking them.

Dingo Beach, Hydeaway Bay and Sunset Beach

This past weekend us girlies went out on a bit of a sight-see day while Will and his tempermental tummy stayed home to do some cleaning. We cruised north just shy of Bowen to Dingo Beach and Hydeaway Bay. Here is a shot of Cassie, Heidi, Katie and Tara at Dingo Beach. I'd heard so much about the beach here but was quite disappointed to find that it was a shallow beach and that you couldn't swim directly off the beach (see the swimming enclosure in the next picture). Not satisfied with the beaches at Dingo we moved on to Hydeaway Bay, just down the road. The views along this stretch of coastline were magnificent but we continued through town on a gravel track, in search of a beach to call our own. We finally found it at the end of the road at Sunset Beach (see below). The water was so still, warm and peaceful that we stayed for a swim and a bit of suntanning. Next we drove into Bowen so the British girls could get their picture with the "Big Mango". Australia has a love affair with all "big things" in small towns along major highways, much like you would encounter across Saskatchewan if you were doing a road-trip (think the "Big Grasshopper" in Wilkie or the "Big Santa" in Eston - I think). We had a great day, got a bit sunburned and sang our hearts out in Fanny, the British girls car. The girls have all secured positions on nearby Daydream Island so they will be moving out there this week. It has been so much fun to have a housefull all this time. But not to worry because as we lose them, we'll be gaining Will's family this Wednesday.

Guests - Round 2

Well we've been entertaining Chris and Tara for about a week and a half now. Chris leaves for Canada tomorrow and Tara isn't much further behind him (maybe a week or two). On Saturday we inherited three lovely British girls that I used to work with in Brisbane. They're up here looking for work and living in our loft in the meantime. It's so wonderful to have the house full of people and laughter. And with everyone in the house having a car we finally have more opportunities to get out and see some sights! I'll hopefully post a picture of the girls soon!

Mackay and Bowen

Will and I rented a car this weekend for the first time since we arrived in Airlie. Having the freedom to get things from the supermarket that we previously couldn't (large garbage cans, tank refill for our gas stove) was only part of the excitement for us. Getting out with the wind in our hair, listening to our own music, brought back lots of great memories of just getting out of Calgary for the weekend.

Saturday when we finished our running around we picked up Cathy and Naomi and went to Mackay to see a movie. The girls opted to see Step Brothers, while Will and I saw the new Mummy movie. We had a nice dinner beforehand and did a brief walk around the town. It was lovely just to be somewhere else for the first time in a long time.

 

Sunday we picked up the girls again, added Tara to the mix and headed to Bowen with the hopes of snorkelling at Horseshoe Bay in mind. Bowen is a sleepy little town about an hour away from Airlie with some of the best beaches and ocean views in the area. Coincidentally, the movie Australia starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman was filmed in Bowen. We had a great lunch, did some snorkelling and lots of suntanning. Here are just a few of the views we enjoyed this weekend.

This weekend also gave Will and I a great chance to scope out some drives and sights we'd like to show his mother and grandmother when they arrive in October.

Our first batch of guests

Will and I got our first batch of houseguests last night around 11:30 p.m. Our friends Chris and Tara from Calgary and their friend arrived late last night after their wild three month drive around Australia. We are thrilled to finally have a housefull, no matter how long they decide to stay with us. It will get tricky though as we are expecting friends from Brisbane to be arriving in a week or two quickly followed by Will's mom and grandma! At least there will be a bit more excitement at our place and hopefully more stories and photos to follow.

Audi Hamilton Island Race Week - Photos

Hey, I finally developed the photos from our Race week trip. Enjoy.

Audi Hamilton Island Race Week

If you've ever wondered what it's like to swim with the "big fish", we got our first taste of the action this weekend when we went to Hamilton Island to catch the end of the week long yachting regatta. We didn't need to beg and plead for a spot on the media boat to get fantastic pictures - our ferry trip to the island put us smack in the middle of the race, so Will was able to get up close with his camera, all while standing at the back of our transportation.

Our stay at Hamilton was made relatively cheap and fun as we bunked with some of my Infront co-workers that had been on the island all week running the media centre. The last night was no exception to the craziness that had dictated the entire week, as Will and I were put to work taking photos and proofreading newsletter/media release copy, well past 9 p.m. Once we escaped the media centre though, we were OUT for the night!

Cathy, Naomi and I managed to stay out well past 3 a.m., partying it up with some of the journalists and camera crew from the local television station. Will on the other hand barely made it until the pub closed. Sunday we nursed some sore heads while we patiently waited for breakfast at the overcrowded marina restaurants. We did some wandering, did some souvenir shopping, took some fabulous photos and finally called it quits to go home and rest. It's safe to say that this was probably our last trip to Hamilton Island. The accommodation was free for us (thanks to an extra bed in my co-worker's room), we've seen pretty much all of the island and it's rather boring and expensive if we wanted to just spirit ourselves away for the weekend.

Airlie Race Week & Parrothead Party

When each weekend looks like the last it's natural for Will and I to not get too excited about Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Without a car we find we do the grocery shopping, clean the house, maybe go to the local artist market and then sit at home. Each weekend almost seems like an eternity, and this past weekend was shaping up to be the same except for the kick-off of Airlie Race Week.

Yacht owners from down the west coast are in town to race this week in Airlie and then they head to Hamilton Island for the much larger Audi Hamilton Island Race Week (with 222 yachts booked to race this year). To launch Race Week in Airlie there was a fireworks display on the beach Friday night with food tents and carnival rides along the promenade. We went out on the town with my co-workers and left the bar at midnight but due to a backlog at the taxi stand Will decided it would be better if we walked home. I don't know how to convey to you how challenging it is to manoevre a 6 ft. 4" drunk along a path, but it took us an entertaining hour and fifteen minutes to walk home.

 

Saturday Will recovered from his Friday night and I took in some of the sights around town. Sunday was the Parrothead Party back down along the promenade. It was themed as a funky reggae party complete with a steel drum band and plenty of Jimmy Buffet merchandise. Will was pretty happy with it although we didn't stop for long. Alas we didn't get photos of the weekend either. Methinks too much drinking went on.

 

Hamilton Race week is coming up soon and although I won't be on the island this time as support staff I'm sure I'll still get to participate in some way, shape or form. Soon hopefully we'll get a car so we can escape Airlie for the weekend. Until then we try to entertain ourselves as best possible.

Dave Special #3: Our favourite Australia commercial!

Dave, as soon as we saw this TV commercial we thought of you. Then we thought of how much everyone at home would love it! I don't think I can actually post the video, but I can post the link. http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=stdJd598Dtg Enjoy!

Rider Pride alive in Airlie Beach

Oh ya, I've been following the team all summer long (mostly thanks to my Dad's weekly updates). But I have tuned into TSN on-line a couple of times to catch a few minutes of the game. We're on fire, and I'm so happy to hear it! My Medicine Hat roomie requested that I send her some photos of me with any Rider memorabilia in front of signs of where I live. The results were pretty funny but successful. Imagine the stares I was getting from passing traffic as this Saskatchewan nut-bar posed with her flag. Too funny! Anyway, I just wanted to re-affirm that 'Rider Pride is alive and well in Airlie Beach! GO ROUGHRIDERS!!!