The Whitsundays Trip - Getting there.

We had intended to leave Melbourne on Sunday the 25th August and take six days to get to Airlie Beach. Laurel had made a road itinerary inland for the trip. With all the last minute things I was doing on the boat (swore I never would be a lot-minute person), we delayed a day. This left us five days to get to Airlie so we could have one day spare and meet our daughter who was flying in to Proserpine on the 1st September.

So the trip up consisted of:

• Left Home 26th Aug.
• West Wyalong 26th
• Narrabri 27th
• Miles 28th
• Rockhampton 29th
• Airlie beach 30th Aug.
• Preparation at caravan park (clothes washing etc.) 31st
• Launched 1st Sept.

We managed to get away just after 7AM. During the trip up I tended to stop quite often to check up on how the boat was travelling. Laurel joked that if we stopped I automatically got out the ladder. This first picture was at Seymour where we stopped for morning tea around 10:30AM. I think we were slow due to stopping for fuel and tyre checks etc.

Nearly bumped my head on this one... Tocumwal for petrol.

Rockhampton - nearly there.

Our daughter arrived by bus from the airport mid-afternoon and we met her at Port of Airlie terminal. We had launched Kismet around midday at high tide at the Port of Airlie boat ramp and taken a berth at Port of Airlie where we spent that night. $60 a night was pretty reasonable.

Here's Kismet following launch. Waiting me to park the car and trailer then the little trip around to the Port of Airlie berth. Those big (to us) shuttles weren't a problem at that time of day - more about that later...

After moving Kismet to her berth, we took the car and trailer at the ECO Tourism Caravan park on Shute Harbour road (they stored it next to the office for $20 night) then caught the bus back. I had accidentally left the dinghy in the car so carried it (in its bag) all the way back on the bus and walking. We NEVER used it.