Whitsundays, QLD

Our next stop was Airlie Beach, which is really just a gateway to the Whitsunday Islands. They are a stunning group of islands off the east coast of Australia. The weather was stunning with the sun shining, not a cloud in the sky and since we were heading further north it was getting warmer. After having lunch at a park at the beach we went looking for deals to sail the Whitsundays. We were going to book ahead but decided against it since it wasn’t the high season and we thought we could get some last minute deals.

We walked around from travel shop to travel shop and finally found one that had employees who knew what they were talking about. We booked a 3 day/2 night cruise aboard the Kiana sailboat for the following day. We were able to get a great price for it because it was so last minute, and after talking with Anne she booked with them too. She would meet us at Airlie Beach later on that night. Included in the price was 2 nights at a hostel. Since parking was scarce we decided to stay at the hostel that night (so we had somewhere to park the car) and then again when we got back from the trip. Andrew negotiated a great price for us and even received a further $10 off because, as the guy told him, just because you asked. So there you go folks, proof that if you don’t ask, you don’t get.

We bought some burgers and beer at the grocery store and headed to a park to use one of their free BBQ’s. We had a great time watching the sun set while grilling the burgers and drinking some beer and wine. After dinner we checked into the hostel and Anne met us there shortly. The 3 of us had an 8 person dorm room to ourselves and we went to sleep early as we had to be up early to meet the boat the next day at 8am.

We arrived at the marina and boarded the boat. Our captain introduced himself and explained the rules of the boat and everyone introduced themselves. The weather was stunning and we were excited to get going. We were a little behind schedule but soon enough we were on our way. Earlier in the morning it had a been a little chilly but the sun was higher up now and everyone was slowly taking off their sweatshirts and sitting at the front of the boat in their t-shirts soaking up the sun. We learned the weather would be changing, not for the better, for our return trip. As I’m sure everyone is aware by now, I’m not a fan of boats so I was not happy to hear this news. The captain said we would have a “fun” trip back, with a mischievous grin. That was all it took for me to start worrying. I approached the captain and kept asking him if we would be okay on the trip back and he dismissed me with an “of course”. Andrew kept telling me not to worry but again I felt like I was being dismissed. Since it was a few days before I really had to worry I put it out of my mind. We were on the open water now and on our way to Whitehaven beach. We had lunch while anchored in between two islands to block out the wind. After lunch we made our way over to the famous Whitehaven beach. It was stunning!

The colour of the water was amazing and the pure white silica sand was almost unreal. We took a small tender boat and were dropped off at the beach. Ben, who was our dive master as well as our tour guide for the trip, took us on a walk to the lookout over Whitehaven beach. The view was stunning and seeing the rivers spilling into the ocean, combined with the silica sand was almost unreal. We took turns taking photos getting a couple of group shots. Then we headed back down to the beach where we would spend the next few hours.

Back on the beach everyone laid out their stuff and of course wanted to go in the water. Before we could go in the water however, we would have to put on the “stinger suits”. They were needed because that area has a lot of deadly jelly fish during a particular season, but they can really be there at any time. These stinger suits are full bodied thin wet suits and cover everything, including your head, except for your hands and feet.

Andrew and I took a walk on the beach and were amazed at how fine the sand was. Ben had told us there had only been 3 times in history when permission had been granted to take the sand off the island. Since the Whitsundays are a protected national marine park, you cannot take anything off the islands, including sand. It is an offence and if caught you could be fined up to $10,000. Permission had been given to a couple from Hawaii to take a vile of sand, then a resort on one of the nearby islands was given permission to take the sand for their beach. The last, and most interesting, time permission was granted to take the sand was for Nasa to use for the Hubble Telescope. The mirror is actually made of the silica sand from the Whitsundays! After our walk we met up with the group and found out those that had gone swimming had seen some stingrays (not to be confused with the stinger jelly fish). Andrew and I quickly changed into the stinger suits (we looked like ninja’s) and went in the water. I had a great time floating around in the water. While floating around I actually got to see some stingrays. There were only 2 but it was still great to see them from shore. I had seen a lot of stingrays while diving, but the novelty was that now I was in waist deep water. Of course I couldn’t get too close as they would swim away.

Once on the beach we all hung out as a group and we were all chatting about what everyone does back at home. I was so excited to meet Luca from Italy because he is a chef in a 3 Michelin star restaurant in Italy. Anyone who knows me knows I love to cook and Italian food is my favourite. I knew I was going to have a great time with Luca picking his brain over the next few days. It also didn’t hurt he was cute J (Sorry Andrew!).

We headed back to the boat and while still docked we saw a large turtle swim by. We headed off to a bay where we would be spending the night. While sitting at the front of the boat and watching the sun set, the captain came out and we started chatting. I, of course, started asking him about the weather for our return trip. He was trying to blow me off again but I didn’t let him. Finally he said the swells might get high but the boat could handle it. He summed it up pretty well when he asked me what I was afraid of and my reply was “The boat tipping over”. His response shut me up – “Why would we get on a boat that would tip over?”.

We had dinner that night and again we were all chatting together when I asked Julian, one of the guys, where he was from in Canada. He said Mississauga. After chatting for a bit it turned out we went to the same high school at the same time. It was so weird to be on the other side of the world talking to a guy I went to high school with, even if we didn’t remember each other. We knew a lot of the same people but not each other.

The next morning we were going diving. There was a free dive included in the price of the trip and if you wanted to participate you had to dive this particular site and not the Great Barrier Reef which we would have an opportunity to dive later. The dive was first thing in the morning and I’m not usually feeling the best when I wake up so I wanted to do the free dive later on but Ben said it had to be this site or I could miss it and just pay for the remainder of the dives. I was puzzled why this was so but didn’t argue further. The next morning I woke up, put on all the dive gear and went diving. Very quickly I understood why this was the free dive. The visibility was crap as we were near an island and the tides caused the sediment to stir up and cause the poor visibility. I was a little annoyed because at this point we had completed a lot dives during out trip and I was very disappointed with this particular dive as I couldn’t enjoy myself because I kept having to make sure I could see the dive master at the front.

Once we were back on the boat, I was freezing. Although the weather was fairly warm it was by no means hot. It was warmer in the water than out of the water. We hung around the bay for a few more hours as Ben took all the people who had never been diving before but wanted to try it. Anne was one of those people and she was ecstatic when we came back on the boat. From the bay we had a 3 hour sail to the Great Barrier Reef where we would be completing more dives for those who wanted to participate and we were also spending the night there. I was excited to see the reef but I was a little nervous about the 3 hour open ocean sail. It turned out the sail out wasn’t too bad, although there was some swell, but some people started to get sea sick regardless. I’m lucky in that I don’t get sea sick, but no one can understand my fear of boats. A couple of hours into the ride I started to feel queasy from watching others get sick so I decided to go under to our cabin. Since we had gotten up early that day I was feeling tired and cold from the wind so when I lay down I fell asleep quite quickly. When we arrived at the reef I was still cold and sleeping so when they started asking who was going for the next dive I opted out. I woke up just as they were coming back from their dive, and knowing how cold Andrew was I made him a cup of tea to have as soon as he was back on board.

We had lunch and relaxed for a bit and when it was time for the afternoon dive I decided to take part. I was still cold, since we were out in the open ocean but I didn’t want to miss out diving the Great Barrier Reef. One of the main differences between diving in the open ocean (far away from land) and diving in bays or near islands is the current you can experience. Usually you can swim across it and no problem, and you can also plan your dives so you drift down with the current and meet back up with boat so you never had to swim against it. On the Kiana there was a small tender boat that would drop us off away from the boat and then at the end of the dive, if the dive master knew where he was going and if we all lasted with our air, we would emerge right by the boat. We went under water did experience some current but nothing too strong. The visibility was much better than that morning, but since the sun was low on the horizon, it wasn’t as light as I would have liked. In Australia, they are very safe (some would say paranoid) in their diving techniques, and the rule was no one was allowed to be underwater for more than 43minutes. This is unusual because we usually stay under until someone reaches a certain point in their air and then we all surface, no matter how long we had been under. Andrew and I can usually stay under for approx 55 – 60 min. Because of this rule, I knew exactly how much time we had left under on this dive, and that’s why I was expecting to keep swimming around and exploring, but we started heading back. And this was completely against current. The only way for me to describe the 5 minute or so swim against current is as the hardest run you have ever had to do, but you’re unable to stop and catch your breath because the current will just sweep you right back, and because you’re in the open water you don’t see the progress you’re making so you feel as if you’re standing in one place. In addition, I felt like I couldn’t catch my breath and felt like my regulator wasn’t providing enough air. Near the end I was panting underwater as if I had just ran a mile. Luckily we had made it back to our boat and we were holding on to anchor line to complete our safety stop. I really don’t know if I would have had the energy to complete the safety stop without the assistance of the rope. When we finally surfaced I was glad to see everyone was out of breath. I still don’t know why we had to swim against the current like that but I was very annoyed.

That night after dinner our captain gave us a small lesson is looking at stars. I don’t remember much from that lesson, but I do remember the stars you’re used to seeing in N. America are either not there or in completely different places. Everyone went to bed early that night as we were all tired from diving and swimming that day, but Julian, Luca, Anne, Andrew and I stayed up for a bit chatting and drinking beer.

The next day there was time for one more dive but Andrew and I didn’t go mainly because we didn’t feel like getting up at 6am and for financial reasons. Then we started heading back to Airlie Beach. We had about 3.5 – 4 hours to sail back. I remember this was the day where the weather was going to deteriorate and the winds were expected to be at 25 – 30 knots. Our captain warned us to expect swells but that overall it was going to be a fun ride back. Since he knew I was worried, he told me to sit at the very back of the boat on the starboard side. I didn’t know why that was the place he chose for me because as soon as we got out to open water, the boat was at a 45 degree angle and I could almost touch the water with my hand! This is exactly what I had been worried about! The boat tipping over! After an hour of this I began to calm down when I slowly allowed myself to believe the boat would not tip over. It was around the same time when people started getting sea sick. I was so worried about the boat tipping over that I didn’t even think about motion of the boat or the swells, which were around 3 meters. Since quite a few people got sick on the boat the captain kept asking me if I’m okay and if I need a bag and I just couldn’t get him to understand that I wasn’t sea sick but that I was scared! There is a difference. About an hour or so later, Sebastian, another Canadian who was with us on the boat (and it turns out had worked as a rep in Montreal for my work…again small world), who was sitting up at the front and getting soaked spotted dolphins near our boat. I attempted to go see the dolphins but we were at such an angle that I didn’t trust myself to go up to the front, however Andrew got a few good photos as well as a video of the dolphins. When I was ready to return to my seat someone else had taken it and I had to sit on the opposite side. This is when I understood why that was such a good spot for me. Even though the boat was at a strong angle, the barrier was holding me up and I didn’t need to fight gravity to remain up right. Whereas on the other side, where I had to remain for the remainder of the trip, I was constant fighting gravity and was struggling to remain seated. Also, on this side the water was constantly splashing. The captain was wise.

We returned to Airlie beach in the afternoon, thanked the crew for taking care of us and headed back to our hostel. The boat company had reserved a seat for us at a bar for that night to all catch up. We went down to dinner and met up with everyone there. We were all exchanging photos and video and the alcohol was flowing. We didn’t stay up too late that night since we had all woken up quite early that morning, but the next morning I knew I had had too much to drink. I had a headache. We said goodbye to Anne and were thinking we might meet up in Cairns, which was the next stop on the itinerary, but Anne was looking for work so she wasn’t sure when she would make it up north. After stopping to pick up some groceries, we were off to Cairns.

Mackay, QLD

After leaving Agnes Water we were heading towards Mackay. Since we had left late we knew we wouldn’t make it that day so we took our time and slept at a rest stop on the highway. At the rest stop we turned on our laptop, plugged in the portable speakers we had bought in Thailand and watched a movie.

My family owns a condo building in Mackay where they rent out the units. We called my aunt’s husband, who owns the building, and asked if there was any way we could stay there. He made a call to the people managing the building and even though the building was fully rented out he was able to get us an apartment for the night. The catch was the apartment was under renovations so it wasn’t 100% finished. We weren’t too worried since we had been sleeping in a car for the past few weeks.

We arrived in Mackay around mid-day but since the apartment was under renovations we couldn’t check in right away. We walked around the town a bit and did some grocery shopping for the evening. While we were walking around a park near the building, a man approached us and said he was with the local newspaper. He wanted to know if could take some photos of us using the exercise equipment in the park for a story. We said sure and gave him our names. While Andrew was posing with the various equipment I was cheering him on. He told us we would be in the next day’s edition of the Daily Mercury. And that is how we made it into an Australian newspaper. When we were able to check in we were stunned. We would be staying in a two storey penthouse apartment with a hot tub on the top deck. With the exception of the two spare bedrooms the apartment was mostly finished. Unfortunately the hot tub was not yet in working order. It didn’t faze us. We had stunning views, a large kitchen we could cook in and a TV! This was luxury. We spent the night cooking and watching TV. Oh how we missed “normal” life! The next day we checked out and were again on the move north, but not before purchasing a copy of the Daily Mercury.

Here's a link to the article:

http://www.dailymercury.com.au/story/2011/05/12/new-look-caneland-park-opens/

Agnes Water/1770 - Again

The next day we went on a free “tour” of Agnes Water/1770. It was somewhat of a tour in that it took us around some various parts of the towns, but most of the time the girl spent talking about the different services on offer from her company. She also told us about a party at one of the hostels that night, which included a free pick up and drop off. After the “tour” we hung around the hostel and later that night decided to go to the party. We were picked up in a minivan and driven 3 minutes down the road to the other hostel. That hostel had a full licensed bar on their premises and alcohol wasn’t too expensive. I don’t like beer and wine was too expensive for me to drink so I asked the bar tenders if there was another option for me. They suggested their own concoction of goon, vodka and juice for $3 a glass. I wasn’t convinced there would be a lot of alcohol in it for $3 but they assured me there was. I ordered a glass and drank it like juice. I didn’t taste any alcohol in it. I kept buying and drinking this concoction and very shortly I was very drunk.

Part of the evening were some games you could play to win some prizes. One game involved sitting in a circle while a box was passed around with different dares in it. If the box landed on you, you had to reach in a select a dare and then complete it. Examples would be singing your national anthem or eating a spoonful of veggie mite (disgusting). The box never landed on me and throughout the game Andrew kept brining me drinks. Halfway through I told him I couldn’t drink anymore and that I was very drunk. I could not sit in that chair during the game without feeling dizzy. It turns out there was a lot of alcohol in those drinks! I started drinking water. After some dancing and socializing with people it was time for another game. This time we got a gummy worm and we had to tie it in a knot with our tongue and we would win a trip to the Whitsundays. Since I was not sober I had a brilliant idea to just tie it with my hands and then put it in my mouth. It worked and I was the first one to do it but there were other people who protested so we had to do it again with another gummy bear. This time Andrew won, and I’m still not sure if he used his tongue or did it with his hands too. Either way, we won! It wasn’t really a free trip, it was pay for 1 person and get the other person for free. Unfortunately it was for a very specific boat for only 1 night so we didn’t end up using it. I guess cheating doesn’t pay.

We got back to the hostel around 11pm and a bunch of us were sitting outside in the garden drinking a few beers. Andrew was chatting with a French guy and they started singing “Frere Jacque” when the owner of the hostel, who was right behind us cleaning the kitchen, came out and started saying “No, no, no, no” and took the beer Andrew was holding and started spilling it on people. Needless to say everyone was stunned into silence. Then he started accusing us of getting kicked out of the bar and that we had now brought the party back to the hostel. Besides Andrew and the French guy who had just started singing, everyone was sitting around quietly chatting. Unfortunately we had seen this guy be a jerk to other people since we had arrived at the hostel. He would scream at people if they didn’t dry their dishes. Not just comment on it but actually yell “Are you stupid? Didn’t your mother ever teach you how to clean and dry your dishes properly?” in general we he would treat everyone like imbeciles. The evening ended quite quickly after that and no one was happy. Andrew was livid. The owner acted like a complete jerk and had spilled beer on people, when the least he could have done was said it was too late to be making any noise and to break it up. The decision to check out the next day was very easy to make.

First thing the next morning we went to a surf shop for a cheap surf lesson. The 3 hour lesson would cost us $17 per person. Anne joined us and after filling out all the required paperwork we started heading down to the beach. We had a beautiful sunny day but it wasn’t that hot. Around the 20 degree Celsius mark. Not cold but definitely not swimming weather. At the beach we were handed some shirts to help protect us from the sun but not the cold. The first 45min the instructor explained the basics to us on sand and made us practice. We quickly learned surfing was all about paddling and I didn’t know it then but I would spend most of the morning doing just that. It was easy enough on sand to stand up on the surfboard, but once we got in the water I found it impossible. I tried and tried, even with the help of the instructors I couldn’t do it. My knees would just give out. Andrew managed to get up a few times and I was really proud of him but also annoyed. It seems like everything comes easily to him. I gave up near the end and had a blast just “belly surfing”. I would “surf” the wave on my stomach while lying on a surf board. It was much easier and just as much fun.

The surf lesson ended around lunchtime. We headed back to the hostel, made some food and showered. We wanted to get the most out of the facilities before leaving. After saying goodbye to Anne we left Agnes Water around 2pm and started heading further north.

Castaway (somewhere in Australia)

We had heard the plane had broken down a couple of days prior to our arrival and a lot of the trips to castaway were cancelled, but when we arrived at Tribal Travel the next day we found out ours had not been cancelled as the plane had been fixed. Anne was trying to get in on Castaway at the last minute, and for a bit it looked hopeful as one girl was not feeling well and wanted to cancel, but in the end she felt better and decided to go so Anne wasn’t able to join us.

Unfortunately we found out Andrew and I were booked on separate flights. He would be going on the 2pm flight while I was to go on the 2:30pm flight. At 1:30pm the wife of the pilot came to pick him and 3 other people up, and I had to wait for my turn. As I was sitting there friends from Fraser Island, Melissa and Fabian, were coming back from their surf lesson so I killed some time by chatting with them. The freaky part was, as I was talking to them, I saw Phil, the guys we had met at the rest stop before going to the Australia Zoo, walk by. He was looking straight at me and I’m sure it was just a coincidence but it completely creeped me out. He was looking at me like he knew me (which of course he did) but since Andrew wasn’t there with me I think he wasn’t sure if it was me or not.

Two other guys were scheduled to be on my flight, but when the wife of the pilot showed up to pick us up, they were nowhere to be seen. They arrived a half hour late but finally we were on our way to the airport. We arrived at a very small airport and I was surprised the landing strip was not asphalt but grass. Bruce, the pilot, greeted us and we drew straws for who would be flying in the front. I didn’t draw well and was not able to sit at the front. The plane we would be flying is a small 4 seat-er. It would be the 3 of us and the pilot. Bruce seemed like a nice guy and I just hoped he knew what he was doing. We boarded the plane, me right behind Bruce, and were taxing to get ready for takeoff. I was a little nervous because the plane was shaking since it was driving on grass. Then in minutes we were off.








The flight itself takes around 20 minutes to get to the island, however what an exhilarating 20 minutes it was. The views were unbelievable. We flew over the ocean and were able to see the breathtaking views of where the ocean meets the east coast of Australia and the various rivers that join the Ocean. The most thrilling part of the flight was the acrobatics Bruce performed. He would climb the plane vertically up and then drop it at the last second, telling the guy next to me to take a picture of me when he says go. When the plane would drop, it would feel like you are falling on a very steep rollercoaster and I was screaming at the top of my lungs. The first time especially because I didn’t realize what he was going to do. Then he asked if I wanted to hold his hand, to which of course I replied “No! You have to fly the plane!” but he made me hold his hand. As soon as I took his hand in mine, he swerved the plane to the right. Again, I was screaming like a little girl. He is obviously a guy who likes to have fun. Unfortunately I never obtained the photos of me in the plane from those guys.

We arrived at the island 20 minutes later and landed right on the beach. It was a beautiful view and the island was stunning. I got off the plane and Andrew greeted me with “How did you like the plane ride?” and a knowing grin spread across his face. There were a total of 12 people on the island already. Since Andrew had arrived earlier he had already selected the tent we would be sleeping in. That afternoon I hung out “reading” my audio book I copied from Anne on to my ipod while Andrew was fishing. During his fishing he actually saw a small shark close to the shore. Luckily he was small but Andrew made sure to see if its “mommy” was anywhere nearby. Bruce came back with the last 3 people an hour later, which brought the total number of people staying on the island that night to 15.



Included in the price of the trip is dinner which Bruce and his wife provide. It’s just a basic stew but it’s a huge pot. He brought it with him on his last flight and provided us with instructions on how to cook it. The two Italian guys were put in charge of the stew but I ended up looking after it to make sure it didn’t burn. While dinner was on the stove, the “men” went to look for firewood for the night. Once they collected enough wood and the food was ready we sat down to eat. Since this is a deserted island and there isn’t much to do since there is no electricity except for a few solar powered lamps, we just sat around chatting around the fire pit. The solar lights and lack of electricity might scare some people from coming on this trip, but what should really scare them is the toilet facilities. Or the lack of toilet facilities since our toilet was actually a hole in the ground. Not just an outhouse, but a hole with a toilet seat on top of it, with no walls. So if anyone was walking on the beach, they could see the top of your head and wave to you and you could wave back. We had to be really careful not to just walk in on anyone. At night it was easier since everyone had a flashlight with them. Also, the girls always went together at night so it was harder for anyone to just walk in on us.



Of course Andrew and I were the oldest ones and it made me feel really old once a guy said something along the lines of “I remember when I was 16 and how stupid I was back then”. Of course I asked him how old he was now (wondering how many years of wisdom had already passed by) and his reply shocked me…19! It was such a ridiculous statement that I didn’t even know what to say. I didn’t want to tell him my age when he asked me.

For 16 – 21 year olds sitting around the fire for the night (especially when it gets dark at 6pm…remember it’s winter here people) isn’t very exciting, so of course they came up with a brilliant game. Let’s roll down the sand dune in the tractor tubes provided for swimming in the ocean. As stupid as it was, I have to say it was entertaining to watch. Andrew tried to take some photos of this but it being night combined with them being drunk didn’t allow him to take the best photos. Later on Andrew and I took a walk along the beach and it was surprising how high the tide was. We ended up going to sleep fairly early since there wasn’t much to do that night.

One of the things Bruce also provided us with was a map of the island, albeit one that was open to interpretation since the markings of trails were really general and you had to assume the trail you were on was the right one. The island itself isn’t that big but it would take you a good part of a whole day to get all the way around it.

When we woke up in the morning we had a quick breakfast of bread and Nutella and decided to go for a hike. Actually, Andrew dragged me for a hike because all I really wanted to do was to sit on the beach and relax. We walked down the beach, about a kilometer, towards the end of the island. At the end of the island there was a hill which we would have to climb to get over to the other side, but before we got there we needed to get over the rocks. It was high tide so we weren’t able to walk along the beach near the end and we had to walk on the rocks. We made our way uphill to the peninsula and we were treated to a beautiful view of ocean. We kept on walking and made our way down to the other side of the island. According to the map there was supposed to be a path that led back to our camp. The map was very general as it was an aerial shot of the island with some lines drawn through it to show the paths. On the side we were on, there were a lot of small bays and beaches and it was hard for us to distinguish which bay/beach we should be taking the path from. None of the beaches are named and the path is not clearly marked on land as “they” would prefer for the island to be left in its natural state. After a good 30 minutes of searching, and even asking a random family that was picnicking on one of the beaches, we could not find the path that would lead us back to our camp. We were getting a little worried because we knew the plane would be coming to pick us up in the next couple of hours and it took us a good hour and a half to get this way. We had two options; head back the way we came and face another hour and a half walk, or cut through the bush across the island and hopefully make it out the other side.

Normal people would have turned back around the way they came, but not us. We decided, in order to save time, to cut across the island. I think our main reason was we were hoping to find the path and save some time. We started walking through the bush and initially it wasn’t too difficult as the bush wasn’t too thick. Gradually it became thicker and it became harder to cross. We were only wearing shorts, t-shirt and running shoes and we were completely unprepared for this crossing (a machete would have been nice to cut through the thick bush). We did our best to avoid the thickest parts by walking around them and we were trying to keep to a general direction hoping we were going the right way. Soon we could no longer hear the waves breaking on the beaches. Besides the thick bush, there were giant spider webs. I was worried about coming across any large spiders as well as stepping on some snakes. The ground was littered with dead leaves and branches, so at any time you could step on something unseen. Finally, after about a half hour of cutting through the bush we could hear the ocean again. I was ready to be out of the bush and I was trying to hurry to get out of there. In our rush Andrew almost walked into a giant spider web with a large spider on it. We made sure to be more careful after that. After another 10 minutes we came out on the other side, at the end of the beach, near the rocks where we had started our hike. Except for some scratches, we had made it out unscathed out of the Australian bush.

We walked back to our camp and a few minutes after that the plane landed to drop off its first people of the day and to pick up its first passengers. The first people off the plane were our friends Melissa and Fabian. They had made it to the island after all. We spent the rest of the day on the beach hanging out and talking, until it was time for Andrew to take his flight back. While waiting for my flight I just relaxed by taking a nap on the beach. I thought our hike was the end of the excitement of the day, and I completely forgot how exciting our flight in was, hence I was completely unprepared for the theatrics of our pilot again. In addition to doing some engine stalling like before, this time he placed a few cameras on the dashboard of the plane and created a 0 gravity atmosphere (by climbing the plane and letting it fall) and we watch the cameras float around the cabin.

Once we got back to the hostel and had a chance to shower, Bruce (the pilot) came back to pick us up and take us to his house for some beers. It turned out he brews his own beer at home! He wanted to download our photos for his facebook site. While Andrew and Bruce were downloading the pictures, I talked to Bruce’s wife and played with their dog. It turns out the dog has somewhat of a “condition”. When people come over and scratch the floor, the dog becomes convinced there is something in the floor and paces back and forth looking and listening to it. It’s funny to watch because he actually tippy toes around being extremely careful not to make a sound. He lifts his paws high off the ground and slowly walks around the room listening for any sound “in” the floor. Andrew thought it was hilarious and kept driving him crazy by scratching the floor randomly sending the dog searching for the source of the sound. It would have been sad if it wouldn’t have been so funny. Bruce dropped us back off at the hostel and we spent the remainder of the night watching T.V.

Agnes Water/1770

We left Pippies and Rainbow Beach around noon the next day. It was hard to get up in the morning but we somehow managed it. We said goodbye to everyone and exchange contact info with Anne. She was also driving up to 1770 but would be trying to get a job around Bundaberg. The drive was pretty uneventful, we were both tired so we took it easy. We arrived in Agnes Water in the evening and checked in to the hostel Cool Bananas where you could sleep in your can for a cheaper price but still use all their facilities. As soon as we got there Anne called and said she was in Agnes Water too so we told her to join us in Cool Bananas.

Agnes Water & 1770 are two towns right next to each other. I couldn’t get a clear answer if they were two separate towns or if they were the same town. Depending on which local you talked to, they gave you a different answer. On the map they appear as two separate towns, but because they are both tiny and right next to each other, they get bundled together as one. The name 1770 is used a lot more mainly because it’s a number, which is unusual for the name of a town. You may have guessed based on my previous posts, this town was named after Captain Cook passed through here in 1770.

We came here mainly because we learned from Tribal Travel that you can do a castaway trip to a deserted island from here. The cool part was you would be flown out there on a small plane and left on the island for 1 night, for only $85. This was exciting because you got a 20 minute flight there and a 20 minute flight back. If you would have liked to book a 1 hour flight anywhere else just to see Australia from the air, you would have to spend at least $200 - $300, so the $85 was worth it.

That night we spent a quiet night at the hostel watching tv. The past week at Pippies and Fraser Island had exhausted us. We were booked for Castaway the next day.