Airlie Beach, Australia

On our way to Airlie Beach, the ship took on board a reef pilot to assist in guiding the ship through the Great Barrier Reef. At 7am it was already 29C and humid. We had booked a rigid inflatable boat trip to one of the Whitsunday Islands for swimming and snorkelling. It was a fast and bumpy ride to the island, where we then anchored off the beach. We put on our stinger suits to prevent us being stung by jelly fish and dropped into the water. The whole experience was disappointing. There must have been a storm some days earlier because the water was very cloudy and the visibility was poor. I did manage to swim to the reef and saw quite an abundance of fish but it was not the best I have ever seen and my wife, because of the poor visibility, was not happy swimming at all. So we did not spend long in the water. On the way back we stopped at another island for refreshments and we spent time walking and looking at the views, which I have to say, were disappointing. Perhaps we had not come to the best part of the Whitsundays. After arriving back in Airlie Beach, we strolled around the town, which we thought was lovely and it has a great man made swimming lagoon close to the sea. If we come again, this is where we will spend our time.Read more