The Whitsundays

The Whitsunday Islands are a group of 74 islands of various sizes located off the central coast of Queensland several hundred miles north of Brisbane. They are a popular tourist destination and offer different resort accommodations ranging from deluxe to backpacker as well as camping. One whole island has recently been converted from farming into a golf course! Many people sail or boat through the islands. Good snorkeling and diving can be found closer in to the islands than farther north near Cairns.

We had decided to spend our last four days in Australia at an eco lodge on Long Island, one of the Whitsunday islands. The “eco” part of the lodge means that most of their electricity is solar and their water is collected and stored rainwater. By extension it also means no televisions, no hair dryers, and no heat. The maximum number of guests at this resort is 24 and most everything is included--meals, snacks and drinks, and all outings. During our time, there were never more than nine guests in the beachfront bungalows. A big draw is that every meal is prepared by a gourmet chef.

We were daily entertained by Edwina the wallaby, with her little joey in pouch, who visited for weetbix and banana snacks and also by a family of curlews who paced silently through the main gathering area at all times of day--silent that is unless you approached too closely, then they froze in place and hissed (almost growled) deeply. We had one sighting of a feral pig complete with tusks and had lots of boring bush turkey sightings. Of course, there were also oyster catchers and herons and noisy cockatoos and crows.

The main evening entertainment was eating: appetizers, dinner and dessert, all beautifully prepared. In addition, the guests read and talked. Two evenings all the guests and staff  had rousing men vs women games of pictionary.

men won one night, the women the other

Our days and nights were considerably cooler and breezier than we had anticipated (admittedly we were hoping for hot), but we adjusted quickly to wearing long pants and shirts most of the time. In the evening, since we dined al fresco, I was happy to claim a chair next to one of the large silver gas patio heaters.