We Are In Tropical Paradise!

Today we are in Airlie Beach, Qld, on the Northeast coast of Australia. We just got back to the mainland after spending a few days out on Daydream Island, which is one of the beautiful resorts in the Whitsunday Islands. To get there from Albury we drove to Sydney, flew to Brisbane, flew on to Mackay, drove to Airlie Beach, and then took a boat to the Island. The entire island was one big resort, which had many amenities including restaurants, bars, pools, spas, shops, and lots of things to do for entertainment. It was very relaxing.

The weather up here in the tropics is hot and humid - it doesn’t allow us to get too far from either the beach or a pool. Stepping outdoors is like stepping into a hot steam-bath. Even our camera feels slimy to the touch in this climate. The weather has suited us fine though, since the most strenuous activity we’ve done in the last week has been either mini-golf or swimming/wading to and from the swim-up bar.

In addition to influencing our activities, the climate has also influenced our attire. We all arrived here with suitcases full of clothes, but it turns out we all over-packed. The only thing people ever wear here are swimsuits (and sometimes even less at the beach…). Since it’s perfectly acceptable here to go anywhere in a swimsuit, and it’s always uncomfortably sticky, that’s all you need. It makes getting dressed simple. All we do is wake up and put on whichever bathing suit we didn’t wear the day before. Too easy. (BTW, I am writing this blog outside at 10:30pm in nothing but my board-shorts...and I am sweating...profusely.)

Our favorite thing about traveling here is that everything here is picturesque. The water is very clear and turquoise. The palm trees are tall and loaded with coconuts. The sand is fine and squeaks under foot. It’s a lovely part of the world. Tomorrow we are leaving early in the morning for a boat trip out to the Great Barrier Reef. We are looking forward to seeing one of the natural wonders of the world, through a snorkeling mask.

We'll post again soon. -D