Posted Sept 1, 2025
about Sept 27, 2022
When I last left off in the blog, we were in Australia’s Whitsunday Islands, leaving the peaceful island of South Molle for a short stay in the bustling tourist town of Airlie Beach. Here, we planned to refuel, do some provisioning, and have a few meals ashore.
Airlie Beach is so hyperactive because it’s the gateway town to the Whitsundays, for visitors who arrive there by land or sea. Most of the businesses are near sea level, while homes and resorts perch on the steep hillsides behind town.
Meanwhile the shore is lined with marinas and tree-filled parks. It’s actually a beautiful place, nice enough to be worth visiting even if a person has no interest in heading out to the islands. Of course those who do wish to do so can board one of the many day-trip boats. For multi-day trips, there’s the option to charter a catamaran. It comes as no surprise that boat chartering is big business here. Below, a map of the region.
It was a beautiful day for our 10-mile trip. We got a good look at Daydream Island before turning back for a final view of South Molle Island. Soon after, we were rounding a rocky point and getting our first look at this north -facing area of the Queensland Coast.
Just south of our route was another mainland gateway to the Whitsundays: Shute Harbour, mainstay of the charter business and filled with moored boats. It’s an attractive-looking harbor, protected by 3 small islets just offshore, and I’d considered stopping there while I was learning about this area. But then I read about Thomas the Terrible Toadfish.
Toadfish are yet another example of an otherwise harmless creature turning into a menace when it resides in Australia. It’s a type of pufferfish, actually, and those are always wonderful to spot while snorkeling amid coral reefs. This particular species, however, prefers to reside in shallows near river estuaries in areas like Shute Harbor, where the water is murky and the shoreline muddy. They’re aggressive and particularly fond of biting human heels and toes. These fish can grow up to three feet long and have a large, sharp beak. A bite can mean losing a good-sized chunk of flesh, or even an entire toe. Thus they have been given the nickname, “Toefish.”
Thomas the Terrible rose to fame after taking two toes off one child, a golf-ball size chunk of flesh out of another child’s leg, and aggressively chasing a man fishing from the shore during the summer of ‘79. The fisherman managed to get a photo of Thomas when it nearly beached itself while trying to get a bite out of him.
Thomas is likely no longer around, but there have been regular toadfish “campaigns of terror” in the years since that summer. Thus, it’s recommended that shore waders wear rubber shoes and shuffle their feet when walking.
After reading about the toadfish issue, I did not hesitate to cross Shute Harbor off the list of potential stops. I had no interest in visiting the muddy-shore habitat of Thomas or any of his relatives or descendants, even if we were able to tie our dinghy up to a pier instead of beaching it. I know the toadfish are there and would rather go places where I don’t have to think about them.
So Arlie, specifically the Coral Sea Marina, had been the easy choice. As we approached I admired the mountains that backed the town. This area is protected by a peninsular headland that’s large enough to block the easterly weather conditions that prevail, creating a harbor of sorts. Here, the calmer water becomes a very pretty shade of blue, beautifully contrasting with the bush-green mountains and resort-style scenery of Arlie.
Not surprisingly, there’s a fair amount of boat traffic here. After the quiet islands, approaching such a busy area felt overwhelming. It hadn’t actually been long since we left the marina in Mackay, but it felt like a lifetime ago. Compared to Airlie, that city felt like a mausoleum.
We approached the marina entrance, making our way with care as another boat was exiting. Marinas with lots of comings and goings can be very high stress as there’s so little room to maneuver. This certainly fit in that category! We had been assigned a slip, but even with a map of the marina it can be tough to find the right spot.
Thankfully things went well and we were soon able to get tied up in our slip, always an adventure. Once secured, I took a look around. There’s no doubt about it, Airlie has the visuals of a dream marina–upscale, modern, clean, with beautiful surroundings. I was very much looking forward to our time here.
We let the marina office know we’d arrived and made an appointment to buy fuel. Yes, boats need appointments to buy fuel, even if only filling one’s jugs by dinghy. As I mentioned, this is a busy place. Since we didn’t need to rush off to the office, our only quest for the afternoon was to get some lunch. With all the eateries around this would not be difficult, but we didn’t have the energy for much walking around and were already hungry. I found an Italian eatery, Sorrento, that overlooked a walkway that winds to town.
We made our way down the dock and up the ramp to shore. There, we found a few shops, including a chandlery. We needed a Y valve for our bathroom plumbing so we planned to visit after lunch.
One of the best ways to settle into a new place is to sit at a seaside eatery, have a drink, and soak up the local vibe. This restaurant was very representative of coastal Queensland: open air, casual, a view filled with masts and palm fronds, and the happy relaxed feeling of people on vacation. The pizza and spaghetti were tasty, as was the beer that accompanied the meal.
By the time we got back to the chandlery, they had just closed! Rich looked in through the door and spotted someone. That guy actually came to the door to talk to us and, bless him, actually let us in and sold us the much-needed part. Over the coming days this shop proved to be very handy; we’d recommend it for any yachtie coming to the area. Meanwhile, our time in Airlie was off to a good start.–Cyndi
