Adventures of Tropicali

Our last day in Airlie for a week or so, and we decided to get an all day bus ticket and become tourists of the Whitsunday Region. Firstly out to Shute Harbour, one of the places that bore the full brunt of Cyclone Debbie last March. What a sad sight, wrecked buildings, wrecked boats, some still sitting way up in the mangroves, but full car parks. We thought that the tourists were back and out at the islands, however the local bus service also came with a personal commentary and description of what being in the middle of it was like. The cars in Shute belong to tradies who catch the ferry out in the morning, work at putting the Island resorts and houses back together, travel home and back to Airlie each day. While there were some tourists there, most operations have closed, and you cannot even buy a coffee or drink anywhere. The largest bareboat charter operator, Sunsail, lost over 70% of their fleet and their pontoons. You can see in the pic, the remaining boats tied up to a temporary floating pontoon off their jetty. While Airlie is getting the resources to get back to normal, Shute seems to be down the priority list.

Back on the next bus, and a 40 minute ride the other way, we arrive into Proserpine, a sugar town on the Bruce Hwy that is a bit of a look back in time. Once the gateway to the Whitsundays, it has been well outbuilt and shaded by the classy Airlie Beach. Airlie is like the Noosa or Byron Bay of the tropics, but "Prossie" as the locals call it, has the hospital and administration because of its past importance.

A great day out for just $23 in bus fares, and I'm not sure we could have done it that cheaply in petrol cost if we had a courtesy car.