I think, of all the places we planned to visit, this one held the most anticipation for me. Conrad and I came here for our honeymoon 16 years ago, so this area has so many magical memories for us. Our poor girls had to smile and nod over and over again as we pointed out another landmark or special attraction we visited all those years ago.

We made sure to carve out a whole week here, which was so fantastic considering our tight schedule to date. With most places we’ve been (Rollingstone and Hervey Bay excepted) we had watched the grey nomads around us kick back each day, potter about their site, maybe take a casual stroll or drive to an attraction in the afternoon. While the road runners next door (that’s us), turned up in a cloud of dust, set up their van in a blur, threw their kids in the car and tore out to see the town, flying back in at night before they fell in a heap. Only to burn out the following day before the sun had smiled upon the morning, on to another horizon to begin the whole process again. Well, not so in Airlie!

We really wanted to show the girls all the incredible sights this beautiful place had to offer. So we started with the very best attraction we could think of – a scenic flight in a seaplane! The girls had never been in an aeroplane before, so this was so super-duper exciting they nearly burst. The view over the Whitsunday islands was absolutely breathtaking. Not to mention landing near the beach and taking off from the ocean again. What an amazing experience!

Next logical activity was to visit those islands we’d seen from the air in a boat. We settled on an Island Hopper Pass that let us meander around the Whitsundays on a catamaran cruise to our heart’s content. It was a massive day. We caught the earliest boat (6.30am) we could and waited for the last boat home. In anticipation for the diving we wanted to do, we had given the girls plenty of practice with their snorkel sets. So first stop had to be Daydream Island where we saw some amazing sights snorkelling at the infamous Lovers Cove reef.

Hamilton Island was another place Conrad and I remembered well, so we spent a bit of time exploring here too. The island has undergone some serious development since we were here, but thankfully it still holds some of its original charm. On the agenda was a spot of tourist browsing, a buggy exploration (unfortunately these were all booked out) and a paddle in the sea/pool. Conrad and I kicked back on deck chairs on the beach, while the girls took turns burying one another in the sand.

A boat is all good and well, but nothing is more fun on the water than a jetski. Having owned a jetski back in BC (before children), Conrad and I were super keen to get out on one of these babies again. While our firstborn has obviously inherited the lion’s share of the Jackson Daredevil Gene, our second-born has always exhibited signs of the Cope Cautious Gene, so this outing was always going to be interesting. Thankfully both girls absolutely loved the action and we all had a brilliant time carving up the swell.

A lovely highlight of the Whitsunday Adventure Park we stayed at, was meeting the young family that pulled in beside us. The girls had a wonderful time making new friends with the 2 little girls next door. They made biscuits, played games and watched a movie together on a rainy day.