The first unmistakable guitar chords of rock classic Sweet Home Alabama waft into the street as the man behind the microphone on stage suddenly spots us.
He smiles broadly and gestures to the packed lunchtime crowd before him.
“Everybody wave to Milo.”
You haven’t really lived until the whole undercover beer garden of the Airlie Beach Hotel gives a thunderous cheer and waves to the driver of your tuk tuk as we pass by on the esplanade.
“Nobody knows me in town,” Milo quips in his characteristic effusive manner before showing his gratitude with repeated honking of his horn.
So much for keeping a low profile.
We have taken up the offer of a free ride, literally, as part of the celebrations for Bonza’s first commercial flight: AB777 from the Sunshine Coast to Whitsunday Coast Airport at Proserpine.
The chance to be a part of Australian aviation history is too good to pass up.
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But making history is exhausting, let me tell you.
There’s the ‘obligatory’ photo ops at the boarding pass check-in counter, in front of the brand-spanking new plane with its eye-catching purple and white livery and thumbs-up logo, and the aircraft name under the cockpit: ‘Bazza’.
My excitement is palpable – a pinch-myself moment usually reserved for an international flight to a bucket-list destination.
And I haven’t even climbed the stairs into the cabin yet. What awaits is a sea of purple headrests, the ‘new’ smell of the Boeing 737 MAX jet and a welcome through the genuine smiles of the cabin crew in their refreshingly casual mix-and-match uniforms and comfortable sneakers.
It has certainly been a day of firsts to wheels up … like when State Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe’s speech is interrupted by the call over the PA system that the flight check-in service for the flight is closing in 10 minutes.
The room explodes in claps, laughter and ‘woo-hoos’.
That’s soon followed by Bonza CEO Tim Jordan giving the first boarding call; the first welcomes and ticket checks by Brett the cabin supervisor; the first safety drills on board the aircraft; the first closing of the cabin doors and captain Scott Haywood’s call for cabin crew to arm doors and cross check. The list goes on…
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As part of the contingent of media, VIPs and five paying guests in the 186 seats available, I am only headed just “up the road” to somewhere I’ve flown, driven and cruised to a dozen times before.
But Bonza has done something no other airline has before: brought the Whitsunday Coast a whole lot closer for Sunshine Coast residents wanting to add powdered white sand, balmy nights and island dreams to an exotic getaway.
No more avoiding the potholes, roadworks, flooding issues and B-double trucks for 12 hours on the infamous Bruce Highway.
No more driving south to Brisbane Domestic Airport, battling sometimes snail-paced traffic, in order to fly north.
Bonza promises it is “Here for Allstralia” with the first 27 routes gradually rolled out to a total of 17 destinations … and more to come.
So, Airlie Beach is within our reach – even for a day trip. It’s a mere 30-minute airport transfer and about an hour and 40 minutes of no-fuss flying away.
The Bonza app (available from Google Play or the App Store) is responsible for a large part of that ‘no fuss’.
It has an In Flight section where passengers have entertainment, food, drink and merchandise (including Bonza Budgie Smuggler men’s togs) at their fingertips.
With your mobile device switched to flight mode and the Bonza Wi-Fi turned on before take-off, you can access anything from the popular snag in a bag to a sweet chill chicken wrap in the food department, or drinks ranging from Your Mates Larry Pale Ale, Sirromet Pinot Grigio 2021 and Sunshine and Sons Gin to Nerada Organics Green Tea and Saxby’s no-sugar lemonade.
And hooray! No trolleys on board to take up space, knock unsuspecting elbows and prevent trips to the toilet when nature calls.
Once on the ground (another first!), the day’s festivities are turned up a notch with a long lunch reception (showcasing fresh seafood and chargrilled black angus beef) on the sands of Airlie Bay.
But we are not alone.
Dozens of other holidaymakers are enjoying fish ’n’ chips and picnics under the foreshore pavilions or on lush green lawn under shady trees in the foreshore parks – all with the same glorious view of yachts and two offshore cruise ships.
Hundreds of others are tuckin’ in to the good vibes and extensive food and drinks menu of the Airlie Beach Hotel, browsing the shops in nearby Main Street, and soaking up relief from the humidity in the Airlie Beach Lagoon.
Our day trip reminds me of the popular Mystery Flights in the 1990s: largely last-minute takeoffs to ‘the great unknown’ that gave guests a thrill while also putting bums on aircraft seats of half-full planes.
Now, Bonza allows Sunshine Coasters to fly on a whim to coastal favourites such as Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Cairns, Townsville and Mackay for a short getaway or to reconnect with family and friends.
Other regions such as Mildura, Albury and Tamworth are suddenly on our radar.
Then there’s the wineries of the Hunter Valley (Newcastle), Melbourne’s world-class sporting events and the Great Ocean Road (a half-hour drive from Avalon Airport near Geelong) – all just one direct flight away.
It even makes a game of golf do-able in a day at Whitsunday Green (looking good on the bus ride from the airport).
And that brings me back to Airlie Beach and our charismatic Milo.
Milo reckons he doesn’t just have the best job in Airlie, but also the best in Australia as a Just Tuk’n Around tuk tuk driver.
He keeps a straight face as he tells us: “I wanted a part-time job that would keep me off the streets. I started tuk tuking and it hasn’t worked out that well: still on the streets. Then I wanted to be a stand-up comedian, that didn’t work out either: they couldn’t see me from the back of the room.”
Just Tuk’n Around started in Airlie in 2015, creating a light-hearted, informative and eco-friendly experience highlighting all the hotspots.
The tuk tuks operate partially by battery and the rest by pedal power.
In a fleet of 14, each tuk tuk boasts a canopy for shade from the tropical sun, has a low step for easy access and padded seats for maximum comfort.
The drivers are locals who, like Milo (“American-born, Australian by choice”) have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Whitsunday region.
This includes the history: “The lagoon was built in 2000-01 because of the Irukandji box jellyfish. A lot of people may not realise that the Irukandji breed in the river, then the rain washes them out and so the Irukandji season corresponds with cyclone season: November 1 to April 1. Because of that, we used to lose a lot of tourism in the summer. So … they built this facility: the Lagoon Precinct.”
The secrets: “You see the clocktower? McDonald’s came in 1998 and wanted to put their arches on top of the clocktower. They made a very attractive offer. Three thousand of us lived here at the time: 2950 signed a petition saying no, and of the other 50, 25 were on holiday and the other 25 wanted a job. That’s the only McDonald’s in Australia that doesn’t have the golden arches above the roofline.”
And some things you didn’t want to know: “Now we come up here to the kids’ section of the lagoon. For some unexplained reason that we haven’t figured out, the water is always warmer in here.” Think about it …
With Milo, the tour is a laughter-filled ride covering a route along the Bicentennial Boardwalk on Airlie Esplanade, across bridges and around roundabouts (sometimes twice!), photobombing, ducking low-flying seagulls, going into the ‘rainforest’ (path-hugging tree branches), cruising the Main Street businesses and absorbing views of the bustling markets, the sailing club, marina and some of the region’s most exclusive addresses.
We manage to cover such wide-ranging topics as one-time most-wanted fugitive Christopher Skase’s association with Airlie, the life cycle of Moreton Bay figs, school holiday outdoor cinema, the best place to buy fish and chips in town and the destructive force of Cyclone Debbie, which hit North Queensland’s coast between Airlie Beach and Bowen on March 28, 2017.
And he ends our trip with one last flurry of horn honking and these parting words: “When you ladies go to the tattoo shop this afternoon, make sure you spell my name right: ‘Milo’, like the drink.”
My bonza day trip has been quite a ride.
Bonza flights from Sunshine Coast Airport to the Whitsunday Coast start from $49 per person. Download the FlyBonza app or see your local travel agent to book. These are regular fare prices, not sale prices.
Shute Harbour – the gateway to the 74 islands of the Whitsundays – is about 10km and a 15-minute drive east of Airlie Beach. Visit the Tourism Whitsundays website.
