After a
lovely few days resting in the caravan at Bowen, we went off to discover more
of the Whitsunday’s mainland. First off we stopped by Airlie Beach. This is the
main tourist centre of the Whitsundays and as such it is very touristy, very
much like a mini Gold Coast, which is great if you like the cafe culture,
boutique shopping & resort lifestyle. Personally I like a more subdued
setting but we couldn’t be this close and not pop in for a look around. We had
a marvelous picnic lunch in the park by the boat harbour and had a go at the
outdoor gym along the way. We are so unfit. Note to self: I really must get out
and resume my daily walks at least.
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| Outdoor gym in the park at Airlie Beach |
From
here we went through Proserpine and then continued towards Mackay, camping at
Ball Bay adjacent to a lovely quiet beach. (Camps 6:89).
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| Ball Bay's beach |
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| Camping at Ball Bay |
You had
to drive some 15km off the highway to get there and then half way along, you
come to a road sign that says not suitable for caravans. We persisted with caution
and we discovered that whatever the original reason for the sign was, it was no
longer relevant. For an unpowered site it is relatively expensive however it
has other redeemable features. It is a lovely, soft, thick, green grassy area. The
park is adjacent to a lovely calm beach with short walking tracks access
through some trees. The park also has very clean toilets with a cold water
beach shower outside. The covered BBQ and picnic table that is well lit up at
night and it also has hot water in the sink and electricity. You are not
allowed to run an extension cord to your van or campsite but you can make use
of the electricity at no extra charge. We took advantage of this and ran the
turbo oven and had a baked lamb and vegetables for dinner. There was hardly
anyone else there and the one and only camper left early the next day so we had
the BBQ area to ourselves.
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| Feeding the ducks at Ball Beach |
There
are 7 whistling ducks, 2 Burdekin ducks and 2 shy curlews that are ‘residents’
of the park. We both enjoyed feeding the birds especially hand feeding the whistling
ducks several times over the 2 days of our stay.
Star fish that we found at low tide on Ball Bay's Beach
Below are 3 of the unusual shells we found on the picturesque Ball Bay beach
I loved your review of this area. I intend to visit soon. I noticed you didn't stay in Mackay. Any reason? Joanna
ReplyDeleteThank you Joanna for your kind compliments. We tend to avoid cities where we can unless there is something of particular we wish to visit. More often than not larger towns and cities are expensive and Mackay is no exception.
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