Whitsunday Islands Saturday 3/15/08

Thank God the harbor diggers are working today. We were afraid they would be off on Saturday and we would be forced to find different entertainment. There is actually a market in town this morning so after brekkie we walk into town and find it tucked in a corner of the beach park. John gets a cup of coffee while Mary does some bookkeeping at an internet café and then Mary wanders the market while John catches up on his computer chores.

A continuing rant we have is a lack of internet access at our lodging properties, or more accurately, reasonable internet access. The last several places we have stayed have had wireless access through some local huckster who shares revenue and they are happy to charge their guests 6 or 8 dollars an hour for a service that costs them basically nothing. In the good ol' US, lodging properties have figured out that wireless is an amenity they can offer at no charge, the only exceptions being the major hotels that still charge their business travelers $30 per day on their expense accounts. In Europe there was always internet access wherever we were, if not in-room then in a business center. We had access in most places in NZ so this is a puzzle for us. The phone company here, Telstra, is maligned for something every day in news circles and they may be part of the problem but it seems to be mostly the lodging operators who simply don't do the work and allow "partners" to set up a fee based system.

Mary has a leftover Salmon sandwich from yesterday so John finds a Mexican chicken wrap at a sandwich shop and we return to our resort for lunch. To stay with the Mexican theme we grab a short siesta after we eat and then decide that we should do something. Anything. Our resort is on Shute Harbor Road and we take a short drive out to the harbor that is the jumping off point for most of the island cruises and ferries. There are some spectacular views from the hillside above the harbor that showcase a number of the Whitsundays. One house built on the cliff that is blessed with one of these views has a sign in the yard that says, "stop development now!" That means, "now that I'm in." There is a point across our little cove and construction site that we explore and find more huge homes and a little waterside park with what seems to be an outdoor church. There are several rows of about a dozen benches with a little stone altar and cross in front. Our tour continues to the other side of Airlie Beach and another harbor with what we guess to be hundreds of people waiting for one boat or another. We are happy to be skipping the "isolation" of the islands. Instead we find a shopping center, grab some supplies and get back late afternoon.

Mary has a touch more shopping to do in town after which we order a take-away pizza for tonight and grab a couple beers while we wait. Mary can't resist the penny slots in the back and while John sips and watches a footy match on TV, Mary wins $13 in a couple minutes and quits. It doesn't pay for the pizza, but it does cover the beers. Once we walk back our day is done. We read, catch some news, have our piiza with some wine, watch the water, some more TV and a little reading to get us to a reasonable time for bed. We are regressing.

Today's local headline: Battle Zone Brisbane Courier Mail (Rural nurses are being assaulted at a rate of two per week)