A week in the tropics revisited
As promised (see my NY resolution is working!!), here are a few pics from our trip up north last week to the Whitsundays in the Great Barrier Reef (Queensland).
We spent a couple of days visiting JR's family in Mackay first (a couple of hours drive from the islands) which was great. Must admit, whilst we're used to great weather in Sydney, we both still had to acclimatise to the sweltering heat up in Queensland (I'm guessing you Queenslanders out there will pipe up now and call us wooses!)
Mackay coast, Queensland "Cheers!" - hubby with the first beer of many :)
Had a fantastic time winding down before heading off to the islands, doing all usual things like drinking, eating, and generally having a great time catching up :)
An ugly mutt with JR's sister and niece View from our balcony in Mackay, Queensland
Then it was off to Daydream Island in the Whitsundays. SUCH a beautiful island and so small you can walk the length of it in about 20 minutes. Seeing as we haven't had a break in 18 months, we plumped (does anyone still use that word?!) for a posher room so got a large room with two balconies and two large doubles (each had it's own, different "purpose" :O). The view from our room really was stunning, straight out over the ocean - which definitely helped me to relax and unwind after an horrendous few months of stress.
View from our balcony #1 (slightly wonky) View from our balcony #2
Admittedly the island is INCREDIBLY family-friendly so there were a handful of 'let's move before we throttle that child' moments - but clearly being the "only two gays in the village", we were able to find spots of complete calm and (mostly) quiet. Particularly enjoyed the fauna - although we won't mention the huge bats and especially won't tell how a certain grown man squealed as they flew past at waist height! - and even seemed to make a few friends! But yeah, bats, birds, lizards, goanas, wallabies, sharks, mermaids, etc, are all native to the islands.
"Lurch" "Squawky" and "Greedy Bitch"
The island also has the largest man-made lagoon in the world with thousands of fish and underwater animals - everything in it is real so no plastic starfish or coral here. Every morning they had a public feeding which was amazing to watch close up.
"Bruce" the nursery shark "Pancake" and "Pikelet" - stingrays
Don't worry - I'm not going to bore you with the 100s of pictures we took, but suffice it to say it was a much-needed and to be perfectly honest, bloody well-deserved break. Looking forward to exploring some of the other islands next time.
And relaaaaaaaaaaax Happy happy joy joy: the smiley couple :D
Hugs to y'all x
We spent a couple of days visiting JR's family in Mackay first (a couple of hours drive from the islands) which was great. Must admit, whilst we're used to great weather in Sydney, we both still had to acclimatise to the sweltering heat up in Queensland (I'm guessing you Queenslanders out there will pipe up now and call us wooses!)
Mackay coast, Queensland "Cheers!" - hubby with the first beer of many :)
Had a fantastic time winding down before heading off to the islands, doing all usual things like drinking, eating, and generally having a great time catching up :)
An ugly mutt with JR's sister and niece View from our balcony in Mackay, Queensland
Then it was off to Daydream Island in the Whitsundays. SUCH a beautiful island and so small you can walk the length of it in about 20 minutes. Seeing as we haven't had a break in 18 months, we plumped (does anyone still use that word?!) for a posher room so got a large room with two balconies and two large doubles (each had it's own, different "purpose" :O). The view from our room really was stunning, straight out over the ocean - which definitely helped me to relax and unwind after an horrendous few months of stress.
View from our balcony #1 (slightly wonky) View from our balcony #2
Admittedly the island is INCREDIBLY family-friendly so there were a handful of 'let's move before we throttle that child' moments - but clearly being the "only two gays in the village", we were able to find spots of complete calm and (mostly) quiet. Particularly enjoyed the fauna - although we won't mention the huge bats and especially won't tell how a certain grown man squealed as they flew past at waist height! - and even seemed to make a few friends! But yeah, bats, birds, lizards, goanas, wallabies, sharks, mermaids, etc, are all native to the islands.
"Lurch" "Squawky" and "Greedy Bitch"
The island also has the largest man-made lagoon in the world with thousands of fish and underwater animals - everything in it is real so no plastic starfish or coral here. Every morning they had a public feeding which was amazing to watch close up.
"Bruce" the nursery shark "Pancake" and "Pikelet" - stingrays
Don't worry - I'm not going to bore you with the 100s of pictures we took, but suffice it to say it was a much-needed and to be perfectly honest, bloody well-deserved break. Looking forward to exploring some of the other islands next time.
And relaaaaaaaaaaax Happy happy joy joy: the smiley couple :D
Hugs to y'all x