Day 53 to 57

Kilometres travelled.......184

After leaving Ayr we travelled south to Airlie Beach, our only stop was in Bowen at the Big Mango. Arrived Adventure Whitsunday Van Park and moved on to site 60, excellent site, at $47.00 per night less Big 4 discount.
Met up with our friends from Swan Hill, Max & Marie Taylor, and Barry & Di Stevens from Sydney. We attended a barbecue at the pool on our first evening.
We had been to Airlie on numerous occasions during the past years, so it was a question of re-visiting some of the local attractions.

Airlie Beach is in the Whitsunday Region and is one of many departure points for the Great Barrier Reef. Near latitude 20 Degrees South , Airlie Beach, Proserpine and the nearby Whitsunday Islands enjoy a tropical climate and lifestyle.

The Whitsundays', named by James Cook in 1770, are a sailors' paradise. Cook named the islands, as he believed he passed through the area on the Christian festival day of Whit Sunday. It is now widely accepted that he didn't actually pass through on this date, as he had failed to take into account the yet to be brought into existence International Date line.

Airlie Beach is a tourist destination, extremely popular with backpackers. Its beach is small and the sea is inhabited by marine stingers, and the box jellyfish from November to May. In order to provide somewhere for the visitors to swim, the Local Council has built a small - medium sized swimming pool.