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
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!
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!
ROOM TOUR!
Bonus points for hospitality, nothing beats a handwritten welcome note 🙂
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!
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!
Nowshad was most pleased with their fisherman’s basket as well!
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 🙂
WATCH!
We’ll overlook the typo in his name on the menu just this once, because it was THAT delicious 🙂
Also this Ron Zacapa display took me flashBLOG to Rio for the Diageo Reserve World Class Global Finals.
Ernest Hemingway famously once said, “Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.” So true! So here’s to you Mr. Hemingway 🙂
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!
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 🙂
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.
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!
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.
It’s free, massive and absolutely pristine! No surprises then that it has won a world tourism award! 🙂
In fact, someone managed to leave some love in the sand for Airlie Beach even before we got there!
5. STAND UP & FLOAT
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…
And this very cool recycled bench!
Oh and check out where our lesson was held…
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.
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 🙂
Post paddle highlight: we found Nemo and all his pals! Although ironically in the fish tank of a sushi restaurant, *gulp!*
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.
Seriously the closest I’ve ever come to a fully grown crocodile!
WATCH!
We even saw some baby crocs who will eventually grow up to be Lenny’s size. Look how tiny they start out 🙂
Lunch was delicious Aussie BBQ at the camp!
The rangers also pointed out that crocodile skin looks best left on the crocodiles and I couldn’t agree more.
Later the rangers took us on an informative tractor-trailer ride around the freshwater wetlands to spot more flora, fauna and friendly wildlife.
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.)
MORE PHOTOS!
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** 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.**
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