Airlie Beach
“And you find yourself in another part of the world”
— Talking Heads
Airlie Beach was a major camping stop for me and my base for exploring the Whitsundays. By this point in the trip, I was almost at one with my camping gear.
Waking up early one sunny morning in Airlie Beach, for a moment I could almost imagine I was back home camping in Canada. I saw a turkey — nothing unusual there; we have them in Canada. Then I realized I definitely wasn’t at home when I saw a four-foot goanna chasing it within a few feet of my tent.
Every morning I was also woken by the unmistakably loud calls of kookaburras and cockatoos. There was certainly no need for an alarm clock.
Airlie was very much a party town and definitely a tourist destination. Much thanks go to my camping mates for introducing me to Bundaberg rum and roasted barramundi. I had always thought halibut was a great-tasting fish, but barramundi beat it.
I ended up spending an extra day in Airlie Beach because the Whitsundays boat I was booked on had broken a rudder. Looking back, it’s funny that I almost never made it to the Whitsundays at all. It was a tour organizer at the Global Gossip Internet café who convinced me that I couldn’t leave Airlie Beach without taking a trip out to the islands. I’m indebted to her for that advice.
The campgrounds were full of Aussies, Kiwis and Tassies, and this was one of the places where I felt I really got to know people. I spent three fantastic nights around late-night campfires drinking rum, listening to tall tales and enjoying the company of people I had only just met.
One of my fondest memories of Australia is sitting around one of those fires, drinking Bundy rum while everyone sang a reggae version of “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash. Feeling confident, I considered leading the crowd in the Hockey Night in Canada theme song. Ha… not quite.
Instead, I started up “Gimme Shelter” by The Rolling Stones, and the night ended well.
