Week 32 One daily Positive and Project 365. The Whitsundays and Sydney

We had quite a lot of downtime last week and I've read literally all my spare time. We read on a walk, out for coffees, on the boat and just sitting on the balcony. I've also caught up with blog post commenting and scheduling. To be fair we've done a lot of walking and travelling.

This week we're with child 3 in Sydney and I doubt our feet will hit the ground as he has so much planned for us. I'm not complaining, but I'm already looking forward to our 3 nights in Kuala Lumpur for a rest.

219 Sunday A two hour boat trip out to the Great Barrier Reef, followed by 4 hours of snorkelling off a permanently moored pontoon. Peter went scuba diving for the first time. It was totally amazing and to date the best experience I've ever had.

220 Monday Last full day in the Whitsundays, we had a lazy morning and walked along the Bicentennial Boardwalk for lunch, then back to the apartment for a couple of hours and out for dinner in the evening. Distance walked 11km.

221 Tuesday Moving day. Checked out of our accommodation, airport transport was 3 hours later, so we sat on the grass near the beach reading and drinking coffee. Flight delayed by 2 hours, straight forward transfer at Brisbane and arrived in Sydney at 9pm. Son picked us up and took us to the accommodation via the supermarket. 

222 Wednesday Woke late morning, met son for a coffee then he went back to work and we caught the train into Sydney for a coffee and a walk. Son came round in the evening. 

223 Thursday As yesterday morning then into Sydney to the Chinese Markets. Peter went to the cinema to watch Oppenheimer and I wandered round the shops and had coffee. Distance walked 14km.

224 Friday Peter and I walked over The Sydney Harbour Bridge which had spectacular views. Operation Malabar was in full force which is a naval exercise involving Australia, The USA, Japan and India. We walked along the coast in Kirribilli stopping for lunch and coffee. Son visited in the evening.Distance walked 11km.

225 Saturday A lazy morning, son picked us up at 11am and we headed off to Bondi Junction for a spot of shopping. In the evening we went to the Alianz Stadium to watch a Rugby league match, The Roosters v The Dolphins. Peter and I walked back to central station then caught the train back to Sydenham where we are staying as son went off with his mates for the evening. Distance walked 14 km.

On the blog this week:

A week in The Whitsunday Islands

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A week in the Whitsundays

We spent a week in The Whitsundays as part of our holiday in Australia.

We flew in from Melbourne after a week there and we'll be going onto Sydney next to visit our son, who has lived there since 2017.

Our route into Prospering airport was down a valley, followed by a tight turn to the airport, low over the trees and the hillsides level out the windows. It was also very bumpy. We picked up our luggage and were greeted by our pre booked airport transfer to Airlie.

We arrived at midday but couldn't check in our apartment until 3pm, so we got changed on the side of the road from boots, coats and jumpers and found somewhere to have coffee and lunch, then spent an hour in the laundrette.

Our accommodation was described as 5 minutes from the beach, but no mention of the hill.

The view from the balcony was lovely and our neighbours were fab, if not a little noisy.

Airlie is a typical seaside town, full of souvenir shops, beachwear, restaurants and bars, as well as a pharmacy and a supermarket. There is no sea front, just a harbour and a manmade lagoon for swimming and playing as well as play parks. Almost every other shop though is selling tours for the Whitsundays.

We opted to stay at Airlie as it's winter time and we're not really beach people in regards to spending a week on the beach. We like to explore and go off the tourist route.

There are some lovely walks alongside the ocean and inland also, but we spent most of our time in the accommodation, reading and just chilling out.

A not so welcome sight was this snake, a Collared Whipsnake, mildly venomous.

We did however go out on two boat trips, that were great value for money and whole day trips, with food and drink available to buy on board. The optional extras of lunch on the beach at $29 weren't really value for money as it was just said and meats, with the Gluten Free option being 'don't eat the bread or the pastas' The second boat trip was from 8am - 6pm and they provided free tea and coffee, a breakfast, cooked lunch and afternoon snacks.

Our first trip was to Whitehaven Beach, which has been regularly voted the Best beach in the world, made of 98% silica sand that is almost pure white and looks amazing against the turquoise sea. We also ventured out to the Great Barrier Reef, but the photos are for another post.