The water is amazing and the overall impact when you first drive over the hill heading in is extraordinary.
When we first drove over the hill and for the rest of that day there was a lot of ooh’s and ahh’s as the scenery was breathtaking and the girls professed this was ‘awesome’ and ‘the best place ever’. I don’t think their impression has changed at all mind you.
Don’t get me wrong it is a beautiful, picturesque location for sure. It is a gateway to the islands, yes (remember your cheque book).
It has got remarkable picture postcard spots, yet after being here a few days I am left a little underwhelmed and left with that what am I missing feeling. There is just something that seems lacking. Oh, I know…..an actual Beach! I guess I was under the (false) impression that since it was called Airlie Beach that there would indeed be a beach. No, there is inlet bay type areas and more marina space than I have ever seen and a wonderful kids water park on the esplanade but there is no beach. It shows that I need to know more about my own country, certainly does. Yet at the same time reminds me that we are on the search for kid’s friendly places and activities to do along the way at the same time.
So, aside from the no beach this place is beautiful and the water park area is a definite 5 out of 5. It even has its own lifeguards. It has a small kiddies wading section for the real little ones and a park included. The bathroom amenities are clean and they cater for families and there is plenty of grass space and tables and chairs and even some sand thrown in too (not literally!).
I have the impression that without the tourist trade and in particular the huge amount of backpackers then Airlie Beach would not be what it is. I was warned there was a large concentration of backpackers (the person called it backpacker central) and I actually don’t mind that as, like I said I do question what Airlie Beach would be like without such a number of transient visitors, and for me it made for the holiday feel. We have stopped at spots that because it isn’t school holidays have been a bit deserted- which at times yes does have its benefits.
I can’t not comment on the Big 4 in town, well all right just a little bit. There are a number of caravan parks but as you enter the first (and to be honest could be the best!) is one of the 2 Big 4’s in town. It does have all the kiddie stuff any kid would want but while we possibly would have liked to stay there and had almost promised the girls we would (lucky it was almost a promise and not a real promise!) we couldn’t justify it –
1. Because it would totally blow our budget challenge but more importantly
2. Because it seemed an absorbent price per night for a caravan park, albeit one with all the bells and whistles.
But we definitely don’t feel we stayed at the consolation prize caravan park. We stayed at a lovely park- the Top Tourist Park called Island Gateway. We met on the first night in the caravan behind us a really lovely family how by chance happened to have 2 girls almost the same age as ours and they made an instant connection and they played lovely together and had a ball for 2 days till they moved on south and we stayed a few more nights before we head north. That’s one of the beauties of caravan park life, the quick and simple connections made.
My overall comment on Airlie Beach is …it is a splendid location and almost chocolate box in its perfect idyllic scenery.
My littlest one needing some persuasion on doing a boat trip out to the islands as she was convinced a shark would eat her as she snorkeled and preferred to keep her two little feet firmly planted on the ‘mainland’ (from Tinkerbell she got that).