Mom, Grandma, Reefs, and Beaches

The following is a collection of photos from our various outings with my Mother and Grandma.

Thanksgiving Monday - Cedar Creek Falls, Conway Beach and more

On Thanksgiving Monday we rented a car and took Will's mom and grandma on a bit of a scenic, backroads tour of Airlie Beach and area. First stop we made was to Cedar Creek Falls, about 15 mins. outside of Airlie Beach. As you can see from the photos, the day we went it was "Cedar Creek No-Falls" but apparently from what the locals say and the photos we've seen, after a good few weeks of rain, it is transformed into something absolutely beautiful. I enjoyed the scenery anyway.

After Cedar Creek we decided just to drive down the road to see where it ended up. We discovered the tiny community of Conway Beach, and although the tide is out in these photos, it definitely was a cool little place, worth checking out again and one of the places no one had ever even mentioned that we visit. Bonus for us I think!

 

After making our way back to the major highway we took a quick tour over to Dingo Beach and Hydeaway Bay because no one had been there except for me. The views this time weren't as stunning but it was still worthwhile to tour along and see what we could see.

 

Finally we made our way into Bowen and arrived with enough time to take some stunning sunset photos off of Flagstaff Hill. No matter how many times I visit these places (every weekend it seems) I'm always taken with how beautiful the out-of-the-way places are in comparison to the over-hyped tourist traps.

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.