A smooth boat ride from MI to Townsville; a smooth drive from Townsville to Airlie (there seemed to be a lot less roadwork); with a quick stop at the Burdekin Bridge, and a quick and very steep side trip to the top of Mt Inkerman; a short shop at Cannonvale, and finally we found ourselves in our Shute Harbour home. This is where we’ll stay for the rest of the trip.  We have a huge L-shaped balcony with views over Conway National Park and the islands.

Getting here is the closest we’ve come to orienteering on this trip; there are several route choices, as the roads wind their way up almost to the top of the ridge.  We still haven’t figured it out – one way is marginally shorter but steeper, and both routes finish with a steep pinch to the 5 pointer … I mean the house.

This afternoon we took a wander around the neighbourhood, admiring the views over the Whitsundays (it never gets old), and checking out some of the more impressive houses up here. We didn’t come across any Crazy Yellow Ants – phew!

There is a contour map of sorts in the house, so our sights are set on Coral Beach and The Beak, for tomorrow.