Thursday morning did not go as planned – typical Shearer style. Ty seemed to have picked up a bug and had a low grade fever. My mama side of my brain was shouting “don’t go!!” but I felt like we couldn’t postpone our trip. So, we headed to the airport. Along the way Miranda got her first lesson in holding puke bags in the car. Then we got on a plane and flew to Mackay (tickets were only $50 one way!!). We drove 2 hours north of there to Airlie Beach, which is on the mainland near the Whitsunday islands. We found out later we could have flown directly into Hamilton Island and stayed there…good to know for next time. The drive was quite nice, heaps of sugar cane fields everywhere. It is harvest time, so we saw some equipment in the fields, and these little trains hauling carts of sugar cane from the fields to the mill. Not something we get to see every day.

We arrived at Airlie Beach, found our hotel (Waters Edge), and walked down the really steep hill to the esplanade. We had missed lunch so we ate an early dinner at a little sidewalk restaurant. Then we walked around and stopped by a couple shops. We went back to the hotel and I had to lay down – I was fighting a headache. The rest of the gang put on their swimsuits and went to check out the pool, which was a 4 level pool and hot tub. We had some feathered friends watching over us while we were there. So cool.

Crocs.
Friday morning we were able to finalize our plans just in time and catch the Crocodile Safaris tour. I have to admit I wasn’t super excited about this outing. I figured it would be cheesy, just sort of OK. Boy, was I wrong! We followed the shuttle bus out into some dirt roads and into the Australian bush. Along the way we drove through a forest that was FULL of butterflies. Everywhere. All different kinds. Monarchs, yellow ones, blue ones…. We arrived at a covered picnic area and waited for the tour to begin. It started off on the right foot with jokes about the permanent port-a-potty facilities (which were actually quite nice, all things considered). Ty was fascinated by the crocodile skulls.

We did brief introductions where everyone had to say where they were from. Ty piped up when it was our turn. Turns out we are from “New Zealand.” Oh Ty…everyone got a good chuckle when we told them we are actually from Iowa.

And then it was time to get on the boat. I was a tad bit nervous, but nobody else seemed to be fretting. We found our seats and Mic (this wasn’t really his name but it seems fitting for a guy that goes out looking for crocs every day) headed upstream. It didn’t take long to find the first if many crocs. Mic has been doing these tours for 14 years and knows the crocs really well. The commentary throughout the boat ride was very entertaining. Interesting facts about crocs in general, personal stories about each of the crocs we saw in the river, and of course a few croc attack stories (most of which involved drunk idiots). He pulled the boat right up close (sometimes too close for this mama) and the crocs just laid there and watched us. We followed one gigantic croc up the river for a ways. He would come up, then duck under water, and we wouldn’t see him for several minutes until he decided to pop up and say hi. Fascinating.

We came back to shore for lunch and then rode in wagons behind a tractor on a bush tour. I wasn’t looking forward to this part if the tour, but once again, I was captivated by it. We learned so much without it feeling like learning. The guide that did this part of the tour knew so much about the plants, animals, and history of the area, and was an excellent storyteller. We watched one guy literally lick the butt of a tree ant because it tastes like lemon. I could share all of the stories with you, which are fascinating, but then that would ruin it when you all come down and see it for yourself.

After the bush tour, we came back to “camp” for afternoon tea – bully tea and damper, which is a type of bread cooked over a fire and was delicious with sugar cane syrup poured over top. Such a great day. The tour guides were fantastic – didn’t over do anything, just let us experience a day in their lives. Highly recommend it.

Big Fury.
Saturday we were booked into a boat tour of the Whitsunday islands on a boat called Big Fury. I was looking forward to this day because I couldn’t wait to see the beaches that are all over the internet if you google Whitsundays. What I didn’t expect was the over the top amount of awesomeness that was packed into Saturday. We got on the boat, which was open air and fast – guaranteed not to have seasickness (very desirable for both Ty and I). Captain Matt and first mate Braden were taking care of us for the day. Braden had some pretty cheesy jokes but was such a lovable guy it didn’t come across as cheesy. He genuinely seemed excited about doing his job. We got all settled in (it was a bit chilly but not unbearable).

So we are cruising along in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Ty is asleep on my arm, I am gazing out to see just happy as can be, when I saw a huge creature jump out of the water. I shouted “WHALE!!!!!” Holy crap! I saw a whale!! A real live whale!! So Captain Matt pulled back the throttle and got as close as is legally allowed. It was a mama humpback and her baby. Baby was a bit of a show off. He kept coming out of the water, flopping into his back, showing us his belly. He kept wanting to get closer to us, but mama kept circling him to try to keep him away. She was huge. I mean huge. She would show us her back, then it would disappear, and them a couple times she waved at us with her gigantic tail. I got some pretty good video if you want to check out Facebook.

I was amazed at how beautiful the islands were. I guess I was envisioning flat sandy islands, but they were mountains, covered in green, rocky cliffs in areas, and the water was an unbelievable blue/green color. We anchored the boat in a secluded area protected by a couple islands. Lily was asleep, so Jay and Miranda put on their snorkel gear and jumped overboard to check out the coral and fish. Ty got to ride in the dinghy with Braden – he thought that was pretty awesome. There wasn’t enough time for me to snorkel, which was OK because it was pretty cool out.

Then it was hammer down, past the most beautiful beach that is full of crocs, snakes, spiders, and sting rays (so we cruised in past it). Ty was loving it. No sign of seasickness!

We were dropped off at Whitehaven beach for lunch and relaxation for a couple hours. We didn’t realize that the boat had to anchor down out to sea a ways, so I went into panic mode when I realized Captain Matt was leaving and our diaper bag, towels, and sun screen was on board. Braden said that Matt would be bringing the dinghy to shore after lunch, so for the next half hour I was praying that lily wouldn’t poop, she wouldn’t start screaming for a bottle, and the sun wouldn’t destroy her skin. Amazingly, everything was fine. As soon as Matt came ashore, Jay and Ty rode out to the big boat to get our stuff. Another mama in the tour did the same thing – I don’t think it was clear that we had to take all of our things to land. Anyhoo, no worries. Ty asked Captain Matt “how fast will this jet boat go?” (I am sure in his best gravelly race car announcer voice) and Matt said not too fast with dad in the front. So they dumped dad off and Matt took Ty for a spin. Ty thought that was pretty awesome.

Braden has a special talent of taking the best beach pictures ever. He was trying to get some takers but nobody was taking him up on his offer, so we told Ty to do it. Braden laid down on the sand and told Ty to jump. I couldn’t believe the picture! So of course Miranda and I had to do it. And them Ty did it a few more times. And then everyone on the beach did it. So fun!

Aren’t they cute?

I don’t want to ruin a surprise, but I have to tell this story. Miranda wanted to get a picture of her name in the sand. So she asked Father Nature (Ty) to let her borrow a stick (he had found about 20) and after careful discussion about how and when he was going to get said stick back, she went about writing her last name in the sand. She was just writing away when I thought, hmmm, that doesn’t look right. And them she shouted, “oh my gosh! Scroggie doesn’t have 2 o’s!!” Oh lord…yes, she is expected to graduate next year… Too funny.

After a couple glorious hours on the beach, back on the boat we went for our even chillier ride back to the mainland, which got delayed by THREE huge male humpback whales. They came straight to the boat. They were probably 10 feet from the boat. Coolest. Thing. Ever. Seriously – have I mentioned lately how blessed we are to have this experience?

When we got home, we had to wait for our towels to dry so we put them in the dryer and went down to the hot tub. We splashed around there for a bit, then got cleaned up for a late dinner. It took forever but was pretty tasty (no, Miranda did not have the kangaroo/lion dish, nor did she have the kangaroo loin dish, but she did have lots of questions about whether the plate came with both types of animals). Ty was being extra good at dinner even though it was late and he was tired. I think it was because he “got ready” and put on deodorant, hair gel, and handsome clothes. And he practiced his finger-gun-shooter-look-out-ladies move. Lily didn’t last long…

Sunday morning was spent packing (ugh), driving back to Mackay, and flying home. We landed just in time to make a quick stop by Currumbin so Miranda could hug a koala and feed the lorikeets.

Back to the grindstone tomorrow. Quick week ahead of us before flying back to the states on Saturday. Yay!! This was one of the best vacations. Full of unexpected surprises, great company, and overall awesomeness. We are all pretty worn out though – Lily couldn’t say it any better… G’day mates!