It’s fun to wake up in the morning, pull back the curtains and see where we sailed to during the night. Here is this morning's sunrise and our first glimpse of the Whitsunday region along Australia’s eastern coastline. After another night of coughing, I had no plans to even get off the ship today but after lunch I changed my mind and decided to venture out.
good morning, Whitsunday islands
The Whitsundays use their own tenders which are essentially speedboats used to transport passengers from large vessels like ours to shore. That turned out to be a good thing since the water was white capping and our smaller tenders would have provided a much bumpier ride. Theirs were also very large and air conditioned, so that was a plus as well.
Whitsunday tenders
our ride to the island
We didn’t plan to stay long because I’m still lacking stamina and also because Ronnie was hoping to be back in time for Team Trivia. We arrived on the island, then took the complimentary bus for about a 15 minute ride to Arlie Beach. The waters are so beautiful, blue and clear. However, the tide was out so we didn’t spend any time on the beach. In fact, kids were out playing and picking up shells where the water would normally be.
don't we wish!
We walked around a bit and went into a Woolworth – remember those? In Australia, they are not dime stores (do dime stores even exist anymore?) but large grocery stores. Ronnie is on a never ending search for hamburger dill pickles – the equivalent to his favorite kind at home. We did find one halfway decent substitute a while back though I can’t remember where. So the search will continue.
There are 74 islands that make up Whitsunday. They are known for their pristine white-sand beaches, clear waters and tropical vegetation. They are also known for their incredible marine life, colorful fish, sea turtles and dolphins. Without a doubt, Arlie Beach has everything one could want in a beach town. The streets were very clean and pleasant with lots of tourists and locals shopping or eating, many of them wearing swimsuits. The main street was home to colorful shops and restaurants.
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| hats anyone? |
A fitting way to end this post is as it started – the beautiful sky over the Whitsunday islands - this time at sunset.
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| goodbye, Whitsunday islands |
Barbara: This looks like my kind of place! The Whitsunday tenders are very very nice. I guess the ship pays them? The waters there must need larger ones and the cruise line is happy to have them. I know you did not feel well because there aren't market or even pickle shots. I'm with Ronnie on pickles. I like them and some things are just not good without them. Do you get tired of everything being new everyday? Are there places you'd like to stay a couple of days? What would happen in a place like this if you missed the last tender??
ReplyDeleteYou're right - I was feeling pretty doggy and shouldn't have even gotten off the ship. Today we're docked in Township and I will stay on the ship. Hopefully this z-pack is going to turn things around for me! I'm guessing you're right about the tender charges - they don't allow our ship tenders, but someone has to pay for all that fuel. It's fun seeing snippets of each of the smaller ports, but I'm happy that we'll have 2 days in Singapore, but 3 or 4 days would be even better! Re: excursions - if we're on a ship sponsored excursion and get delayed, the ship will wait on us. But if we're with another excursion company and miss the ship, we'd be on our own trying to figure out how to get to the next port. We have several excursions coming up that are not with the ship but for those we make sure we're not going to cut it too close! It would be a frustrating and expensive boo boo!
ReplyDeleteBarbara: I hope you get to the Orchid gsrden in Singapore. They have 50,000 varieties..and a walkway where they are climbing and hanging. I also love the spice markets in Little India section and the Chinese section has amazing street theaters some days, and cool "medicine" shops. I love Singapore...I hope their subway is still as clean as it was when I used to visit.
ReplyDeleteRonnie said to ask you what the name of the country manager in Singapore was? He always reminded him of Nehemiah. I would LOVE to visit the spice markets in Little India if we have time! Thanks for mentioning it (and the street theaters in China town sound good too!)
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