Airlie Beach, Queensland
Airlie Beach, Queensland

Hello again! As you can imagine we’ve been having quite a whirlwind adventure out here in Oz and now that we’re finally at Room 753 on the Gold Coast I’ve had a chance to “download” and get some blogging done! Take a look at all of the awesome things we got up to on Airlie Beach in Queensland – from tasting Hemmingway’s favourite daiquiri to going on a crocodile safari in the wild wetlands, and tell me which one you’re dying to do in comments below! xoxo

Whitsundays
Whitsundays
Whitsundays cruise
Whitsundays cruise

1. A TASTE OF PEPPER

After an awesome stay on Hamilton Island at The Reef View Hotel and the mind-blowingly luxurious qualia, we hopped on a Whitsundays cruise ferry (yup, best way to travel – EVER) and checked into Pepper’s Airlie Beach, which did not disappoint!

Peppers Hotel, Airlie Beach
Peppers Hotel, Airlie Beach
Peppers Hotel, Airlie Beach
Peppers Hotel, Airlie Beach

I must confess we’re becoming increasingly accustomed to “hotel room” meaning “full service apartment” which means future one-room hotel experiences are just not going to cut it anymore!

Peppers Hotel, Airlie Beach
Peppers Hotel, Airlie Beach

ROOM TOUR!

Bonus points for hospitality, nothing beats a handwritten welcome note 🙂

Peppers Hotel, Airlie Beach
Peppers Hotel, Airlie Beach
Peppers Hotel, Airlie Beach
Peppers Hotel, Airlie Beach
Peppers Airlie Beach
Peppers Airlie Beach

PS. Can you tell we’re riding the Nemo wave here with our turtle instavideo? (Yup, just one of Nowsh’s many talents.)

For more details on Peppers Airlie Beach check out their website here. 🙂

2. Hemmingway’s High!

Fish D'vine, Airlie Beach
Fish D’vine, Airlie Beach

I’m a huge fan of Ernest Hemingway (especially A Farewell to Arms) so I was super psyched to visit the famous sea food restaurant and Rum Bar – Fish D’vine in Airlie Beach that features his favorite cocktail on their menu!

MissMalini at Fish D'vine
MissMalini at Fish D’vine
MissMalini at Fish D'vine
MissMalini at Fish D’vine

Nowshad was most pleased with their fisherman’s basket as well!

Fisherman's basket, Fish D'vine
Fisherman’s basket, Fish D’vine

Stacked with over 400 kinds of rum, the spot has a great, easy, vibe and their cocktails are dangerously delicious! You’ve been warned. Open 7 days a week. 5pm till late 🙂

Fish D'vine & Rum Bar, Airlie Beach
Fish D’vine & Rum Bar, Airlie Beach

WATCH!

We’ll overlook the typo in his name on the menu just this once, because it was THAT delicious 🙂

Rum Bar, Airlie Beach
Rum Bar, Airlie Beach

Also this Ron Zacapa display took me flashBLOG to Rio for the Diageo Reserve World Class Global Finals.

Ron Zacapa, Fish D'vine
Ron Zacapa, Fish D’vine

Ernest Hemingway famously once said, “Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.” So true! So here’s to you Mr. Hemingway 🙂

MissMalini at Fish D'vine
MissMalini at Fish D’vine
MissMalini at Fish D'vine & Rum Bar, Airlie Beach
MissMalini at Fish D’vine & Rum Bar, Airlie Beach

More about Fish D’vine here. And don’t forget to order the Hemingway 🙂

Since it was still pretty early, we decided to walk about Airlie Beach town and find another cocktail. Our poison – Mount Gay and Rye at the famous beer garden on The Boardwalk, so yummy!

Magnums, Airlie Beach
Magnums, Airlie Beach

Best part was, we randomly asked to share a table with this French couple and they turned out to be the sweetest peeps! OBVIOUSLY we played my favorite bar game KINGS and had a blast! Pauline & Antoine, it was awesome meeting you two, now come and visit us in the bay 🙂

Nowshad & MissMalini
Nowshad & MissMalini
Pauline Baranowski & Antoine Dufour
Pauline Baranowski & Antoine Dufour
MissMalini & Pauline Baranowski
MissMalini & Pauline Baranowski
MissMalini, Pauline Baranowski, Antoine Dufour & Nowshad
MissMalini, Pauline Baranowski, Antoine Dufour & Nowshad

3. SATURDAY MARKET

If you love street markets, then this is the spot for you! The Airlie Beach/Whitsunday market is held every Saturday from 8am to noon and entry is FREE.

Airlie Beach
Airlie Beach

If you’ve ever been to Goa you’ll know exactly the vibe I’m talking about, with a lot of the same hippie street style on sale 🙂

WATCH!

Whitsundays market
Whitsundays market
Whitsundays market
Whitsundays market
Whitsundays market
Whitsundays market
Whitsundays market
Whitsundays market
Whitsundays market
Whitsundays market
Whitsundays market
Whitsundays market
Whitsundays market
Whitsundays market
Whitsundays market
Whitsundays market
Whitsundays market
Whitsundays market
Whitsundays market
Whitsundays market
Whitsundays market
Whitsundays market

More on the market here.

4. LAGOON LIVING

After a sweltering morning spent exploring the Saturday flea market we decided to cool off by taking a dip in the Airlie Beach Lagoon.

Nowshad on Airlie Beach
Nowshad on Airlie Beach
Airlie Beach Lagoon walk
Airlie Beach Lagoon walk
Marina at Airlie Beach
Marina at Airlie Beach

It’s free, massive and absolutely pristine! No surprises then that it has won a world tourism award! 🙂

Airlie Beach Lagoon
Airlie Beach Lagoon
Airlie Beach Lagoon
Airlie Beach Lagoon

In fact, someone managed to leave some love in the sand for Airlie Beach even before we got there!

Airlie Beach Lagoon
Airlie Beach Lagoon
Airlie Beach Lagoon
Airlie Beach Lagoon

5. STAND UP & FLOAT

Marina at Airlie Beach
Marina at Airlie Beach
MissMalini at Airlie Beach
MissMalini at Airlie Beach

After that we were scheduled for a lesson is stand up paddle boarding so we made our way over, stopping only to photograph a few locals…

Airlie Beach local
Airlie Beach local
Airlie Beach local
Airlie Beach local
Airlie Beach local
Airlie Beach local

And this very cool recycled bench!

recycled bench
recycled bench

Oh and check out where our lesson was held…

Paddle boarding on Shingley Beach
Paddle boarding on Shingley Beach
Paddle boarding on Shingley Beach
Paddle boarding on Shingley Beach

If you get a chance, I highly recommend signing up for a lesson with Whitsundays Stand Up Paddle. The friendly instructor Mark Anthony Pearson (no relation to JLo‘s ex-husband Mark Anthony) does a fabulous job of training everybody in just under 20 minutes on the shore.

And then you’re off for a super fun paddling experience set against the picturesque Shingley Beach, right next to Abel Point Marina in the beautiful Whitsundays.

Believe or not Nowshad and I did pretty well! Neither of us fell over backwards and Nowshad even managed to do a lap of the marina.

Nowshad and MissMalini paddle boarding
Nowshad and MissMalini paddle boarding

See? That’s me out paddle boarding! Nice thing is, Mark will even take pictures of you while you do your thing so you have proof to show your friends later 🙂

MissMalini paddle boarding
MissMalini paddle boarding

Post paddle highlight: we found Nemo and all his pals! Although ironically in the fish tank of a sushi restaurant, *gulp!*

Nemo's pals
Nemo’s pals
clown fish
Clown fish

6. CROCODILE SAFARI

And finally, here’s an experience we won’t soon forget! We took the Proserpine River Eco Tour that lets you cruise around the crocodile country wetlands and experience a genuine Aussie Camping BBQ.

Crocodile safari
Crocodile safari
Proserpine River Eco Tour
Proserpine River Eco Tour
Nowshad and Lenny
Nowshad and Lenny
Lenny the crocodile
Lenny the crocodile

Seriously the closest I’ve ever come to a fully grown crocodile!

MissMalini and Lenny
MissMalini and Lenny

WATCH!

MissMalini and Lenny
MissMalini and Lenny
Lenny the crocodile
Lenny the crocodile

We even saw some baby crocs who will eventually grow up to be Lenny’s size. Look how tiny they start out 🙂

Baby crocodiles
Baby crocodiles

Lunch was delicious Aussie BBQ at the camp!

Proserpine River Eco Tour
Proserpine River Eco Tour

The rangers also pointed out that crocodile skin looks best left on the crocodiles and I couldn’t agree more.

Proserpine River Eco Tour
Proserpine River Eco Tour
Proserpine River Eco Tour
Proserpine River Eco Tour

Later the rangers took us on an informative tractor-trailer ride around the freshwater wetlands to spot more flora, fauna and friendly wildlife.

Proserpine fresh water wetlands tour
Proserpine fresh water wetlands tour
Proserpine fresh water wetlands tour
Proserpine freshwater wetlands tour
Proserpine fresh water wetlands tour
Proserpine freshwater wetlands tour
Proserpine fresh water wetlands tour
Proserpine freshwater wetlands tour
Proserpine fresh water wetlands tour
Proserpine freshwater wetlands tour

When we came back for tea, the rangers had brought some new friends to play – mud crabs! (Don’t worry we didn’t eat these guys, they are “show crabs” that get returned to the river after the tour.)

Mud crabs
Mud crabs
Mud crabs
Mud crabs

MORE PHOTOS!

[nggallery id=1837]

[nggallery id=1838]

** MissMalini is one of 22 bloggers from around the world invited to explore Queensland by Tourism & Events Queensland. As always, all editorial control – including our reviews, opinions, and what we choose to cover – remains completely our own.**

**Follow all the action LIVE on social media with #thisisqueensland #Room753 and #DesiGirlTraveler :)**