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Got to the ferry just in time, left 'The Enterprise' (I was not involved in the alcohol infused naming of the car) at the dock and set off across the bay. We arrived at Magnums at 7.30pm but there was nothing open, the restaurant was closed and the bar was empty. We were also greeted with a huge sign saying no alcohol allowed on the premise's unless bought from the bar...woohoo!The next news we got was that on top pf the $22 we have to pay to stay there, that doesn't include a pillow, sheets or douvet. They are extra. So after devouring our microwave meal we'd managed to get from reception we set up our own little bar behind our dorm with candles,a table and chairs and drank nice wine whilst played cards...I won of course.
As soon as the sun was up we were out of there and off to find a friendlier place. Greg ran travelers hideaway and what a fantastic guy. He let us rent his bikes for free to get some food, he gave us an array of DVDS to watch in the evening and was always smiling. As the sun was settling on the pier Simon taught me how to fish and what an amazing hobby, I love it. I only managed to fit in a few casts so didnt catch anything but Simon caught two little pretty things. That evening after a massive portion of seafood pasta we bought some bottles of red and watched love actually, what a great end to the day.
The next day we were up cooking scrambled eggs at 10am and off out exploring the island. We walked 6km in total through rain forests which lead to quiet little coves. The bays were surrounded by mangroves, creeks and rivers and so we had to climb through it all to get to the sand. I love treking, its so much fun and you see so much. . The last part of the walk was the most hardcore- all up hill. The stream and the rocks were the path leading eventually to a downward hill to the biggest bay of all-horse shoe bay. Without hesitation we were straight in the fresh mountain water washing off the sweat and dirt and bugs. I came across a colourful boat at the end of the fresh water creek where an old man was feeding whisting kites and other birds. I said i loved his boat and we started chatting. It must get quite lonely when your neighbours are birds and walobees. He turned out to be quite eccentric. He wore a hat with a glue stick, pen, badge, knife and many other obscure objects attatched to it, plus he'd cut out the top of his hat for his pony tail to poke through. He talked about killing chinese people in the olden days and developers that he wanted to kill...Apparently back in the day chinese people had come across and tried to take land and so the story went on. I took everything he said with a pinch of salt as he seemed to come out with a lot of random stories that didn't fit, but what a character, he's bloody fantastic. He let me and Simon feed Grandma and Grandad (his two birds) and invited us into his humble abode. It was so random, shells and pop cans were hanging from the roof. There were pornographic pictures and secret little corners. I was ready for lunch by this point lol and decided to try and finish the conversation and with someone who doesn't talk much to people that can be quite time consuming. Eventually we just had to ignore him and walk away and stumbled across a boat wreck. Only the night before had this boat been washed up, after only buying it two days before, it was a complete mess, such a shame for the owner. After lunch we were back on the ferry to townsville and to our trusty 'Enterprise'. We managed to find 3 of Chris and Simon's old friends from the start of their travels and they joined us for a drink and I managed to have a wash in the holiday Inn toliets-bliss. After much deliberation we decided to drive that night to Airlie beach and sleep in the car once we got there. But not until we had danced our socks off at Mama Africas when we first arrived. It was an awesome night, all except some hillbilly of a pilliak decided to jump on my camera. We crammed into the boot of the car like sardines and tried to sleep-very amusing. The other two being 6ft something means I get next to no space. After 3hours of cooking in the furnace it was time to get up. I feel like mould, but after a healthy breakfast and a slap of suncream we're off to the lagoon for a swim. You cant swim in the sea here as there are so many stingers, sharks and box jelly fish, but the lagoon is beautiful and does the job. Our day didn't consist of much else except sneaking into a hostel to use the showers and kitchen to save the spondoolies. That night we had a quiet drink in the hostel and went to bed, or I did, the guys went on a mental night out and didn't come back until 5am, but i'd managed to find a friend who knew of a spare bed in a dorm and snuck me in. You don't realise how good a bed is until you've been without one for a few days!
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