Thursday, March 6
Airlie Beach is a tender port so I knew it would take some time to get those on ship tours off so I slept until 9:18. Watched the morning show, got ready, and was passing the clock on the way to the Queens Room as it chimed 10:00. Picked up my tender number which was 25 and they were calling 16 and 17. The room was packed so I went into the Golden Lion Pub to wait.
Morning trivia was being played so once again I played against myself - I got 13 out of 20, my best score ever. Once trivia was over I went back to the Queens Room. At 10:35 my number was called. We are not using our own tenders but catamarans - they hold more and are much more open and comfy. It took about 20 minutes to load and then the ride was 10 minutes.
Luckily, there was a shuttle bus service from the marina into Airlie Beach. The bus driver was a hoot!
There was a small market set up where the bus dropped us off but most of the items were not locally made so I was not tempted to get money from an ATM to augment the A$5.50 I had left. Stopped at a McDonalds and had a large coke for A$3.35. Tried to use the free wi-fi but could not get connected even though it showed up as an available service. People around me had the same issue although a few were able to connect. I was able to get on some wi-fi long enough to download e-mail but then I lost it.
Since it was after one and I had no breakfast and the McD food was starting to look good, I decided it was time to head back to the ship. Walked along the beach which was beautiful.
After taking the shuttle bus to the marina and then waiting in line for the catamaran, I arrived back on board at about three. Just made it to the Lido buffet before it closed.
Went back to my stateroom to get my book and then back to the pub for afternoon trivia. Did not do as well as this morning with only getting 8 out of 20.
It was then time for the sail-away party. talked with some friends until about 6 pm when I went to sit on my balcony. Watched the sunset and then fell asleep until 7. Time to get ready for dinner and then went to my third trivia session of the day - this time I got 12 out of 23.
Once again we only had five for dinner. My key card is still not working in the slot machines so I could not lose any money. I did ask about it and the lady at the casino said I needed to get a new card because the machines are more sensitive than the door locks. I will go tomorrow and get a new card because I have to turn in an immigration form for Papua New Guinea in the same place.
The ship from the beach
Main Street of Airlie Beach
Stalls set up along the beach
Picnic shelter
Many shelters in Australia have free grills
Sand art
What's wrong with this picture? Beautiful day, temperature near 80, gorgeous sand and water and nobody is swimming.
The answer - it is jelly fish season. The little holder on the right holds vinegar to use until you can get emergency attention. They sell special suits (like the guy is wearing) to protect against the nasty varmints!
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