Beach Break!

One of the amazing things about Australia is the fact that it is a small country and continent but very diverse!  Thursday night, I took a Charter bus 7 hours to a very small town in Queensland called Proserpine; home of the Camm family.  This week I will be staying at Cambil Brahmans, a Brahman cattle ranch that is also home to acres of sugarcane fields as far as the eye can see.  Bill and Tolma Camm, along with their son Lawson and his wife Sophie and five children are graciously hosting me this week.  I am also looking forward to this weekend, I will be traveling to the Proserpine Cattle Show with Lawson and his children who will be participating.  I love watching the junior exhibitors show here, it reminds me of the young members at home; they share the same passion and love for Brahman cattle and showing 15,000 miles apart.

In just 7 hours, I feel as though I have entered into a whole new world!  Proserpine is about 15 minutes from a small beach town, Airlie Beach, located right on the coast.  Airlie Beach is part of the Whitsundays, which also includes includes 72 islands off the coast of Australia, or in other words...just a boat ride away. :)  Unlike Rockhampton, the beef capital of Australia, Proserpine is near the coast and is definitely a small town!

I was able to take the weekend off and go to the beach to see the barrier reef and experience a completely different side of Australia.  I'm so glad I did!  The beaches are pure white and the water is crystal blue, not to mention once out on the islands it is so peaceful and quiet...seriously like heaven on Earth.  I am really glad that I was able to experience this amazing place with a fellow Brahman friend Crystal Ahrnes from Arkansas.  Crystal has been in Australia since May working on a research project with the university in Brisbane and also on a cattle station a few hours from Proserpine.  We were both interested in going to the reef so we coordinated dates and decided to go at the same time!  That's one of the great things about showing Brahman cattle, I have made friends all over the US and the world. 

At the beach, we were able to go shopping at the local markets, swimming, snorkeling, and go to a lookout over the prettiest place I've ever seen!  Seriously, the lookout we were at is on the front of a post card!  All in all, we had a great time and now I am sunburnt again, but it was definitely worth it!  Who knows, it might turn into a tan....

Pictures cannot begin to describe the beauty of this place but here are some of my favorites :)

 

 

 A picture is worth 1000 words right? :)