Whitsunday

Dearest Rachel –

You’re probably confused by this title; if you’re expecting a report on our next port of call, you’re expecting me to be discussing the town of Airlie Beach. Besides, you might even remember to point out, Whitsunday isn’t for over two months yet, as it’s the liturgical name for what we might refer to (if we hewed to such things) as Pentecost Sunday, and we haven’t even made it to Easter yet.

But it turns out that the Whitsunday region of Queensland is where Airlie Beach is located, in the farthest point southeast on the coast. And Airlie Beach, while a destination for cruise ships (due to its proximity to the Great Barrier Reef) is a tiny town of barely twelve hundred.

So, I thought I’d talk about the region it’s located in, instead.

Although, from just looking at the maps, it would seem that my customary procedure of comparing our destinations against our hometown would be rather pointless; in this case, it might make more sense to match it up against, say, Port Clinton and the Erie Islands that you love so much – which, I suppose, would make the Whitsunday region comparable to Ottawa County. Granted, there aren’t going to be a lot of people reading this over your shoulder that are likely to grasp the comparison, but that’s how it is.

Indeed, it so happens that my shore excursion will be taking me – for the most part – through the nearby town of Proserpine, which was the regional hub (if you can call it that, given that it barely has four thousand people to its name; between Proserpine and Airlie Beach, the two towns can’t quite scrape together the population of Port Clinton) for sugarcane production, as well as cattle ranching. Proserpine, despite its small size, still serves as the administrative center of the region – and given that the town contains over ten percent of the region’s entire population, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. In a way, it rather compares well to the state of Vermont – at roughly nine thousand square miles overall each, they’re similar in size, and Vermont’s own capital contains but a few thousand inhabitants (twice the number of Proserpine, to be sure, but considering that the state is some twenty times more populous than the Whitsunday region, Proserpine’s status as the leading city makes more sense than that of Montpelier’s).

But that only takes me through the morning; I’ll be done with my excursion by one o’clock, and have the option to wander around Airlie Beach or grab a tender back to the ship. Depending on the weather, I plan to check out the Bicentennial Walkway, a waterfront boardwalk offering views of the Coral Sea and the surrounding islands. Maybe I’ll do some shopping along the high street; if nothing else, I have to do something about the cash I drew from the ATM back in Sydney that I haven’t used.

In any event, it seems I may have done myself a favor in not getting a shore excursion here in Whitsunday to go out to the Barrier Reef; some folks are having to get a refund on theirs (and a discount on a replacement, if they can find one – there are only so many boats that can go out, and they’ve only got so much room).

While my trip into town hasn’t been cancelled by the weather, it will be interesting to find out how much I’ll be able to see of the town (such as it is) tomorrow. It is the one problem with trips like these; you really get only the one chance to be there, and there’s nothing that can be done about the elements.

With that being said, honey, keep an eye on me, and wish me luck. I’m going to need it.