On our travels, we’d heard mixed opinions on Airlie Beach. It’s a resort town on the Whitsunday Coast and is a very popular location with backpackers. After spending a couple of days there, we could easily see why. There are lots of happy hours for beer and a McDonald’s right in the centre which was always full of people checking their wifi.
There are many water sports and being the gateway to the whitsundays, there are tons of boat trips available with snorkelling etc. None of them are cheap though and we had stormy weather so had to give them a miss as most of them weren’t running!
Despite the dodgy weather and getting totally drenched, we still managed to spend some time by the Lagoon which is a free man made pool on the coast that provides a safe swimming environment so no worry of sharks or stingers. A brilliant idea!! We also did the bicentennial walk along the coast to Cannonvale which is 7km return and a lovely opportunity for a stroll.
Every Saturday morning, there is a market on the coast full of local food and crafts. Definitely worth getting up for as they also have live music on.
Finally, I want to talk about cane toads. We were in a big pub happily minding our own business with a drink and a pizza when we noticed a guy dressed like a Circus Ringmaster stood next to us holding a toad. Yes, a toad! At first, we just thought he’d had a few too many and was taking his pet toad for a walk. How wrong we were. Before we knew it, we were sat in the middle of a cane toad auction. The Ringmaster was leading this auction and we were shocked at the people around us bidding big bucks on toads. What on earth was this place!! Finally, the auction was over and apparently it was now time to race the toads. Race them?! We were sat in amazement the whole time. The toads raced and the new owner of the winning toad got a big pay out. We couldn’t help but feel the whole thing was quite cruel, especially the way the Ringmaster was handling the toads! We got home and googled it straight away because we really didn’t know what was going on so if you want to read about cane toad racing in more detail, you can do so here: http://www.amazingaustralia.com.au/cane_toad_races.htm
We enjoyed Airlie Beach but have to admit that we hope the stormy weather doesn’t follow us all the way down to Brisbane!
?feeling so sad for the toads. Hope they were allowed to return to nature to enjoy their lives. Hope the weather improves for you ?xxx
A very timely blog. I have just finished a book in which one of the characters was a uncommon toad called Mungo Forth Mungo, a very knowledgible toad who had a liking for sitting in a saucer of red wine ? enjoy ? xx
Sounds like a strange thing to witness. Different cultures, different experiences !!!! ?