Daydream Island, Airlie Beach and a hospital visit

We drove into Airlie Beach, parked the van at the ferry terminal and caught the boat over to Daydream Island for the day.  Ross, Barb and Daniel would meet us at the caravan park that evening.

Welcome to Daydream Island!

Daydream Island is beautiful and it would be a nice (but expensive) place to stay for a few days.  The hotel is modern but not over the top posh and there is plenty to do.

Our main goal was to snorkel at Lovers Cove, a spot highly recommended by the Big Mango info centre lady in Bowen.  We were bummed when we arrived there to find it closed for a wedding until 2.30pm that afternoon so we walked the length of the island (it is only about a 1km end to end) to check out the lagoons that are throughout the resort.   The walking trail cuts through a rainforest and up over a rise and so has spectacular views of the beautiful blue waters around the island.  

Walking through the rainforest.

Beautiful views.

The lagoons in the resort are filled with Manta Rays, Shovel Nosed Sharks and loads of different reef fish.  One ray was very friendly and came over to wave to us with his wings.  It was like being at the aquarium. 

"Hi Benny!" says the ray.

We had lunch at the bakery and swam in the resort pool before taking their golf buggy shuttle back to Lover’s Cove.   Unfortunately, the afternoon winds had picked up and when we got to the cove it was far too rough to swim.   

We went to another beach called Mermaid Bay though and snorkeled there.  It was calmer and there were still lots of fish and interesting coral to see.  

Mermaid Bay.

After another pool swim we caught the ferry back to Airlie Beach.

We came to Airlie Beach a few years ago when Ben was about 2 and stayed at the Big 4 Caravan Park.  It was awesome and had a pool with 2 water slides that Ben loved.  We wanted to revisit it, especially since the pool was now heated so we booked there on this visit as well.  Ross, Barb and Daniel were camped next to us and we joked about how many times we had said farewell to them, only to meet up again soon after.

Ben has an egg allergy and we are always very careful to check the ingredients of any food we buy.  We are particularly careful with crumbed foods, especially after Ben had a reaction to the chicken kiev we had bought in Broome and eaten at Lombadina, up on the Dampier Peninsula.  Even though the butcher we bought it from had promised there was no egg in it, Ben had an allergic reaction to it, which was very scary in the middle of nowhere.

The butcher in Airlie Beach had some Chicken Kiev and Lou bought some after again grilling the butcher about egg content.  He swore black and blue that there was no egg.  Lou told him what happened last time and he was adamant that it was egg free.  We ate it that night and were playing cards with Ross and Barb in the van when we heard Ben whimpering in his sleep about an hour after he went to bed.  We rushed straight in and found his face swollen and he was really hard to rouse, just like last time.  We gave him antihistamine straight away but were concerned as the reaction was stronger than last time and had happened sooner.  We called an ambulance just to be sure and they took him to Proserpine Hospital.  The doctor examined him and by then the antihistamine had worked so he said that no more treatment was needed.  He kept Ben in hospital overnight though to be sure and Lou stayed in there with him.  All the medical staff were awesome, especially the nurse, Bobbie.  She gave Ben a big teddy bear and an activity pack and was just fantastic.

Poor Benny feeling lousy.

Much better the next morning.  With 'Tim' his new teddy bear.

Ready to go home now...

The next day Lou went back to the butcher, ready to rip someone’s head off but all the butchers on duty assured her that there was no egg in the kiev.  They were actually really helpful and brought out all of the batter and breadcrumb mixes to show the ingredients.  No egg.

So now we have a huge mystery.  It was chicken, butter and garlic, all of which he eats regularly.  It was also breadcrumbs and the batter mix.  Nothing else.  There is no egg in the breadcrumb or batter mix but he must be allergic to something in there, so we are off to the allergist again as soon as we get home, armed with the ingredients lists to see which additive or preservative or odd chicken kiev combo of things is causing this reaction.  It’s totally weird.  Maybe the first one was egg free after all and it’s something to do with the bulk ingredients that butchers would use.  Needless to say, no more crumbed items for Ben unless we’ve made it ourselves from our own breadcrumbs!

We took it easy for a couple of days while Ben recovered.  He ended up with a ripper of a cough and blocked nose but was in good spirits after a bit of downtime.

Molongle Creek, Bowen and a very strange free camp

Our next stop was a place called Molongle Creek.  The caravan park there had good reviews and supposedly great fishing.  We needed somewhere to stop overnight and it looked like a perfect fit.

The park is next to a boat ramp with a man-made channel running out to the nearby sea.  It’s also next to a bunch of mangroves which we eyed dubiously, both remarking about their proximity and usual association with biting insects. 

Walking down to the ocean.

We set up camp and Lou went for a short walk along the bank to go fishing.  She didn’t have any luck, and in the process of catching no fish, slipped down an embankment, landed hard on her arse, got covered in prickles and cracked the face of her phone, which had been in her back pocket.  The only positive about it was that there were no witnesses.

Crap fishing and nasty prickles. But a great sunset to fall over by.

The next morning as we packed up the van, we realised that we were both covered in sandfly bites.  Thankfully Ben was not bitten.  We had loads of the hard, blistery bites that signify sandfly, not mozzie and Lou had a dozen just on her neck – they drove us mad for days and days.

We need calamine lotion! Stat!

Bowen

Bowen was a surprisingly lovely town that we could easily have stayed in longer.  The lovely lady at the Big Mango info centre recommended a great fish and chip shop at the wharf and directed us to Horseshoe Bay for good snorkeling.  We realised that hiring stinger suits every time we wanted to swim was going to be very expensive so we bought our own and headed out for a swim.

Ben with Blake's undies at the smaller of Bowen's two Big Mangoes.

The story of Mangogate!

Fish bin!

Hanging out at Horseshoe Bay before going for a swim.

Ross, Barb and Daniel had changed their plans to go inland and turned up in Bowen too!  They met us at the beach and we all decided to travel down to Airlie Beach together.

The caravan parks in Bowen were ridiculously expensive, especially as it was evening and we were planning to leave early the next morning so we decided to drive a bit out of town to a free camp that had 4 stars in the app we use (WikiCamps). 

We arrived at the camp site to find that it is like a hippy commune.  The app said it had power and water (neither of which we really need but it was super hot so being able to use the aircon would have been nice) but the area for vans was just a paddock with broken glass strewn through it.  There was a highway on one side and a train line on the other – it was really noisy.  The section for tent campers was next to a shack where the owner lived and it had a fire pit, tin shed toilet and farm enclosure.  The backpackers love it because they all sit around the fire and smoke dope all evening (there is a huge plant growing there to supply them).  No wonder they don't notice the traffic and rumbling trains.

What kind of plant is that Mummy?

On the positive side, the owner's sow had just given birth and Ben and Daniel were invited to come over to the pen to see the piglets, which they loved.   

Very cute piglets.

Townsville and Magnetic Island

Townsville was a great chance to take some time out from moving around and just stay in one place for a week or so.

Jenny wanted to do her advanced open water scuba course and we were waiting for some mail to arrive, so we set up camp at the Big 4 caravan park which had 2 water slides, a splash park, mini golf and a jumping pillow.  Needless to say, Ben was very pleased.  These are our Townsville highlights…

Happy Halloween!

With no encouragement from us, Ben was super excited about Halloween.  He remembers going trick or treating last year along the local shopping strip (they go all out) and was very keen to dress up and do it again this year.  I asked at the caravan park and they said that nothing was planned so we used Google to find what seemed to be the only Halloween event in Townsville (well, 45 mins out of town) and planned to go there on the Saturday night.  Luckily, due to an influx of kids during the week the caravan park decided that they would decorate the park and put on a Halloween themed movie night, which saved us a long drive.

We decorated the van and upgraded Ben’s cardboard armour to be a zombie knight costume. 

Zombie Warrior Ben.

He even went for the scary look underneath his helmet.

When 5.30pm came along Ben and Jenny went trick or treating around the caravan park and Lou sat out the front of our van with a tub of treats for any other kids who came knocking.  Unfortunately, we were about the most enthusiastic people there.  Only two other caravans had decorated and for the first 30 mins, Ben and Jenny were the only people trick or treating.  Luckily some of the non-decorated vans saw Ben out and about and found something for him so he didn’t feel totally let down.  Lou sat out the front in a zombie mask with people walking past looking at her like she was a weirdo.  

Lonely Lou waiting for trick or treaters.

Luckily our van was right next to where the outdoor movie was being shown so Lou was able to give some other kids some of the treats.  Ben ended up doing OK with treats as the caravan park owners handed some out too.  Ben made friends with a Dutch girl dressed as Princess Elsa and they sat together to watch the Goosebumps movie.  Overall, it was a bit disappointing and we’ve had to promise Ben a more exciting Halloween next year.

Scuba

Jenny did her Advanced Open Water Scuba diving training with Adrenaline Dive Center and had a great time out on the reef.  The second day included a dive on the famous Yongala Wreck https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Yongala which was a bit of a bonus.  She saw heaps of amazing coral and aquatic life including Giant Trevally, Maori Wrasse, Green Turtles and an olive sea snake that swam 10cm from her head (the olive sea snake is Australia's most venomous snake!)

Diving on the Yongala wreck

And something that unfortunately can’t be unseen – one of Jenny's dive buddies….

Aargh, my eyes hurt!

Barra Fun Park – Part 1

While Jenny was out diving, Lou and Ben went to the Barra Fun Park, where they have a giant slip ‘n slide, a dam full of inflatable play equipment, a cable ski (which we didn’t do) and four dams full of barramundi for you to catch.  What more could we want?  Maybe Lou would finally catch that barra, even if it was kind of rigged.

Barra Fun Park

Lou and Ben had a great time on the inflatable playground.  It is one of those places that is ‘old school’ fun.  Adults need to leave their dignity at the door, as it is like walking onto the set of Wipeout and there is no chance that you’ll make it through the day without landing unceremoniously on your arse several times.   The likelihood of injury is high and if the OHS people ever went through they’d enforce all kinds of sensible safety measures that would ruin it for everyone.  As it was, Lou only sustained some bruises (from slipping backwards down a steep wall she’d been climbing to reach the top of a slide.  She went down back first and ended up squished between two of the mats at the bottom with her legs sticking up in the air.  It was VERY funny).  

Ben did the biggest belly whacker in history and had a sore tummy for a week, although this can’t really be blamed on the equipment.  He went to jump off a high tower onto an inflatable pillow and knowing his love of a belly whacker, Lou yelled up to him “DON’T land on your tummy!”  Unfortunately Ben heard “Land on your tummy!” and leapt off like a skydiver.  Lou and another Mum who were watching both winced as he landed. There were tears but before long he was climbing and sliding and leaping again.

Benny belly-flopped off the pyramid behind him in the pic onto the pillow below.

Lou tried some of the barra fishing but the fish are really lethargic and obviously so overfed that that they can’t bothered being caught.  Here is a picture of her line, with bait on it in the water being sniffed by 5 barramundi, all of whom then just turned away and slowly swam off.  It was ridiculous and no fun at all.

Lethargic, over-fed Barramundi

Riverway

There is an awesome free swimming area in Townsville called Riverway that sits alongside the Ross River.  They are called ‘Lagoons’ but they are actually beautifully clean and clear swimming pools right next to the Ross River and a great playground.  We spent a lovely afternoon there.

Checking out the turtles in the Ross River.

One of the lagoons at Riverway is an infinity pool.

The Strand

Townsville has a great esplanade called The Strand.  It has a free water park, lots of exercise stations and playgrounds along it’s length and a huge sea water rock pool at one end that has filters to keep out the stingers.  We went into The Strand a couple of times, it's great fun.

One of the many playgrounds along The Strand.

The Strand Rockpool.

The Strand Splash Park

Castle Hill

Castle Hill provides 360 degree views over Townsville.  It's also obviously a very good place to exercise as we saw heaps of people running and walking up it.

View from Castle Hill.

Another view from Castle Hill

Magnetic Island

Magnetic Island is tantalizingly close Townsville and we decided to do an overnighter there while the car got serviced.   We booked a hotel room in Arcadia Village and caught the ferry across to the island, taking the local bus from the ferry terminal to the hotel.  

We got some good tips from the lovely woman at the hotel, including the recommendation to hire a stinger suit for Ben at the local dive shop. She said that it was early in the season and they hadn’t had any stingers yet but it is best to extra careful with kids.  

Our first stop was Horseshoe Bay where we swam in the area sectioned off with stinger nets.  There is no coral to see but we took our snorkel gear to test it out and get Ben used to it again after a long time without using it.  We swam all around the enclosure and as we got back to shore Ben announced that one of his fins had fallen off his foot – sometime in the previous 10 minutes….

The next half an hour saw Ben sitting on the shore playing in the sand while Lou and Jenny did a grid search of the entire enclosure, trying to find the fin.  The water was pretty deep so we had to take big breaths and dive down to see the bottom.  It was hard work!  Jenny persisted longer than Lou and was rewarded by somehow spotting the fin stuck in the sand. 
  

Ben in his stinger suit "Burqini"

After a rest, we went to Alma Bay which is near our hotel.  There are no stinger nets there but we went for a snorkel (Ben had his suit on) anyway and it was fine.  We saw great coral and lots of fish and Ben was awesome even though it was a little choppy.

Ready to snorkel at Alma Bay.

The lady at the hotel had told us that there is rock wallaby feeding at 5.30pm so we walked across the road to the designated spot in a carpark near an old jetty and saw an old man in a mobility scooter with a few buckets of grains and fruit pieces.  There were a bunch of tourists there and we could see lots of wallabies in the rocks surrounding us.  The man feeds the wallabies every day and knows all 60 of them by sight.  He said that if we wait around until everyone else leaves the wallabies come down from the rocks.  So, we waited and were amazed as dozens of wallabies emerged and gathered around us.  Ben absolutely loved it and was hand feeding all his new friends, even working out which ones liked which types of grains and gathering little piles of each accordingly.

Hand feeding the rock wallabies.

Ben made lots of friends.

The rock wallaby whisperer.

The next morning we visited Arthur Bay which is a bus ride and a walk from the hotel.   The snorkeling is really great there but the water was a bit rougher and colder so Ben didn’t enjoy it as much.  We had the beach to ourselves and it is a gorgeous spot (even though it rained, it was still warm).  I felt a couple of little stings but didn’t see any marks but when Jenny snorkeled over the other side of the bay she suddenly felt a lot of them (still little stings) so got out straight away.

Setting Ben up for snorkeling at Arthur Bay.

Time to leave after Jenny got a few little stings.

We had a swim in the hotel pool before heading back to the ferry terminal to return to Townsville.

Ross, Barb and Daniel!!

We’d been keeping in touch with our good travel buddies Ross, Barb and Daniel and realised that we would be in the same area at the same time again.  We decided to surprise the boys, and the day we came back from Magnetic Island, they checked into the Big 4 as well, in a site next to ours.  We had left our van there and when they pulled in Daniel said “Look! There’s Benny’s caravan!”  Barb had to fib and tell him that it wasn’t but he was insistent as Ben’s bike was chained to the front.  Somehow she was able to persuade him that it was just another caravan that looked like ours and they spent the afternoon at the pool.

Ben fell asleep in the car on the way home from the ferry and when he woke up he was a bit groggy.  We told him that we had a surprise for him – that Daniel was waiting back at our caravan but he didn’t believe us!  We promised him that we weren’t tricking him but he never really believed it until we turned the corner and he saw Daniel’s van.  He jumped out of the car before it had stopped moving and ran over to the pool.  The look on his and Daniel’s faces when they saw each other again was priceless. Such good friends!

Oh my God, it's Daniel!  And check out the look on Daniels face.

We spent a few days together in Townsville and took them to Barra Fun Park again.  Benny had even more fun with Daniel there and as Lou thought, Jenny loved it too.

Barra Fun Park.

She made this great video of Ross and Barb – hilarious!

Unbeknownst to us, Ross was making his own video of Jenny's Barra Fun Park day.  As we said above, you leave your dignity at the door.  Introducing 'Glamourpuss'.

 

Lou and Barb went fishing and almost immediately caught a couple of smallish fish.  Barb also caught a reasonably sized estuary cod.  It was all looking positive until they realised that they were being massacred by sandflies.  They packed up quickly and fled that spot but not before scoring a number of very itchy bites each!

We had a great time seeing those guys again and we were sad to part ways once more.  They have about 6 weeks longer than us to travel before heading home so are heading inland again for a while.