Doctor Rums Potent Cocktails

Airlie Beach!! What a beautiful place, perfectly designed and maintained, perched right opposite the Great Barrier Reef. Clean, picturesque, and delightful. A haven for backpackers and thirty-somethings, chilling, and just loving life.

Today we have blue skies, and balmy sunshine... and the Island Gateway Caravan Park is the pièce de résistance of holiday parks. Neat as a pin, with resident tropical birds, and hot, powerful showers with no timer! Happy days. Unfortunately, Airlie Beach is just a pit stop, so no time to enjoy any of the touristy stuff. Just enough time to catch up on our laundry and grab a bite to eat.

We took a lovely stroll along the waterfront in search of somewhere for Ern to get a seafood fix. What we didn’t account for was State of Origin[1]. In a bid to avoid being detected as New South Welshmen in the bustling bars packed with rowdy Queensland supporters, we walked to the edge of town and found Fish D’Vine and The Rum Bar.

The place was empty. Ern was a bit dubious, because we were off the main drag, and the place was quiet. Must mean it’s bad, right?

Wrong! What a find!

It was quiet because we were there at 5.00 p.m. Who eats at 5.00 p.m.?! We do. Because we are usually in bed at the time that most people go out to eat!

Delicious food, and Doctor Rums potent cocktails that can blow your head off. Daph suspects Doctor Rum is not a real doctor. Daph chose a Mai Tai, which was a dangerous choice. The last time she had this particular cocktail was in Thailand when she ended up fully clothed in a shower, hallucinating goblins. No goblins this time, but Daph was smashed after three sips. Ern, ever the gentleman, helped finish the cocktail.

The stroll home was a lovely end to the day. Warm sea breezes and that holiday smell in the air. No toe-snapping or bollock-freezing chills here. We need the fan on tonight! Loving tropical Queensland.

Onwards to Magnetic Island! Daph is super excited to take the Kombi on a ferry again.

[1] State of Origin is an annual Rugby Competition in Australia between the states of New South Wales and Queensland.