On The Road Once Again | Drive to Airlie Beach
Last morning in Yeppoon! Looking forward to my next destination – Airlie Beach. It’s about a 6 hour drive north of Yeppoon.
I left Yeppoon around 10am right after I checked out. The weather was overcast so it was a perfect day to be in the car. And it seems I keep escaping the rain! Apparently Brisbane and Noosa had bad rain storms right after I left. The weather in Airlie Beach though is supposed to be iffy.
The 6 hour drive was pretty uneventful. Not a lot of cars on the road. And when there were cars, I did a good job at passing them! I wonder how many mph 130-140 km/h is? Sorry not sorry. I had a low gas tank scare driving to Yeppoon so this time I mapped out where I can stop. First stop was 1.5 hours in at a gas station. Perfect timing as I needed a bio break and coffee! The latte from the machine wasn’t too bad. I then mapped out where I could stop for lunch and a break. Everything recommended by ChatGPT, Google Maps and Lonely Planet were all closed because it’s Sunday. I found a place called the Koumala Hotel that served bar food. So I drove about 2.5 hours longer and stopped at this totally random restaurant/town right on the highway. Blink and you’ll miss it. The place was definitely a bar and restaurant for locals. There were some interesting (aka very local) looking older men having beers at 2pm on a Sunday. Do what you gotta do! I had a cheeseburger with fries. I ate maybe a third of it. It wasn’t very tasty. I had paid for everything in advance so I was able to bolt without insulting anyone directly with my relatively full plate of wasted food.
At this point I had about 2 hours to go. Btw I got to catch up on some really good full Howard shows! I’m still catching up from September. About 30 minutes out from Airlie Beach I stopped at another gas station to fill up and bio break. Although the car is a hybrid, I’m not sure how frequently I need to get gas 🤷🏼♀️ Oh! The scenery was mostly the same as the other day. A lot of green rolling hills with cattle and horse farms in front of the hills and mountains. Some of the farms were for sugar cane. It was a very beautiful drive although the road was mostly 2 lanes. Therefore it sucked when I got behind someone driving slower than me. I wish I could’ve taken pics along the drive but I’m not that coordinated to be a photographer and driver at the same time. I know my limits!
I arrived at the hotel where I booked a 1 bedroom apartment at about 4:30pm. The hotel looks really nice! I’m pleased with my room too. Amazing views of the Coral Sea right off my lanai.
I found an Italian restaurant for dinner that was down by the beach. In the meantime I wanted to go to the grocery store to get sun lotion. The sunscreen in the spray isn’t as good. I think that’s why I got so much color the other day. What was interesting about the sunscreen options is they were all 50 SPF! Nothing was. Totally get that the sun is VERY strong here but they are not messing around with the sun protection!
Before going to dinner I researched some snorkel tours to the Whitsunday’s. The Whitsunday’s are an island chain that’s part of the Great Barrier Reef. I’m still debating on whether I’m up for an 8 hour excursion tomorrow. I’m doing another snorkel tour on Wednesday from Port Douglas (a town very far north) about an hour north of Cairns. I need to make a final decision soon. Argh. Don’t want fomo but I am not sure I have the energy!
I took a brief stroll along the beach and the main drag before my dinner reservation. Most of the stores were already closed (probably because it’s Sunday) but there were a ton of bars and restaurants! It was hopping with activity!
Dinner was nice. I sat at a fantastic table outside. Had the arancini and pasta (homemade fettuccine) with bolognese. Super tired so I was out of there with lots of leftovers. Going to chill out and debate my plans for tomorrow!
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