“And you find yourself in another part of the world”
-Talking Heads
Airlie Beach was a big camping stop for me. It was also my stop for exploring the WhitSundays. I was almost at ONE with my camping gear. Walking up early one sunny morning in Airlie and for a minute I thought I was back in Canada camping. I saw a turkey <not a problem we have them in Canada>. Then I realized I was no longer at home when I saw this 4 foot Goanna chasing it within a few feet of my tent. Every morning I was woken up by the very loud calls of the Kookaburra and the Cockatoo birds.
Airlie was a party place and most definitely a tourist area. Much thanks go to my camping mates for introducing me to Bundaburg rum and roasted Barramundi. I thought halibut was a great tasting fish but Barramundi beats it. I had to spend an extra day in Airlie (due to the Whitsundays boat I was booked on broke a rudder). It is funny in retrospect that I almost never made it to the Whitesundays. It was a tour organizer in the Global Gossip Internet cafe that convinced me I could not leave Airlie without a trip to the Whitsundays. I am in debited to her.
The campgrounds were full of Aussies, Kiwis and Tassies. This is where I met the country’s real people. I spent three fantastic nights around late-night campfires drinking rum, listening to tall tales and discovering the real Aussie people. One of my fondest memories of Oz I have is sitting around the fire, drinking Bundy rum and singing a reggae version of “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash. I then gained confidence and led the crowd on in the hockey night in Canada theme song. Ha…not quite. I started up “Gimme Shelter” by The Stones and the night ended well.
