Today the plan for the rest of the trip Mapped out. Still a fair distance to go, we need to spread out the kilometers a bit, and there's a lot to see along the east coast.
The weather is (again) 27°C, sunny, and the UV is extreme. Today we're exploring Airlie Beach. We walked there, although it was further than we thought; we're in the neighboring village, in a sort of housing estate, and Australian towns are more geared towards cars.
Speaking of cars, you often see this model too: a camper van with a tent on top, a snorkel, and a fishing rod stand on the grille.
You hardly see any bicycles, except for a few electric scooters here and there. Or a stray fat bike. Holiday park entrance:
There was a small market at the marina, mainly selling hats, clothes, and trinkets. Adinda bought a turtle necklace (with a turtle, not made of turtle).
Airlie Beach is a fashionable town with marinas full of big yachts (1 radar is for losers, 2 or 3 is better), a busy shopping street with restaurants, boutiques, etc. A bit of a St. Tropez feel.
You can also book trips here in town, by boat, jet ski, speedboat, plane, you name it, to one of the Whitsunday Islands off the coast.
Tomorrow we're going sailing and snorkeling, and today we'll check if they have prescription snorkeling goggles. And yes, the dive shop even claimed to have the largest selection in Australia.
We also quickly looked up the boat launch site, then swam in the Lagoon, a free outdoor swimming pool just off the coast, just like in Cairns. With lifeguards and clean water (no "message").
Swimming in the sea isn't such a good idea here either: stingers! Nasty creatures! That's what the vinegar you find at all the beaches is for. And then call 112.
Just popping into Woolworths for some groceries. Interesting self-checkout that also weighs all your groceries. And it gets completely confused when you put things on and take them off to put in your bag.
My thought about the vinegar was that it would be sandflies, but there are more types of stingers.
Aren't there sea urchins underwater when you walk into the water or are you wearing shoes??
We didn't swim in the sea here. We did swim in other places, but we didn't see any sea urchins, and the water was clear. So far, I haven't needed water shoes.