Fitzroy Island

Instead of a BBQ this past Tuesday we decided to try a trip to Fitzroy Island instead.  Unfortunately, due to the cost, it meant less people came.  In the end it was Caterina, Jordan, Max, and I and we also had Roberto (Caterina’s boyfriend), Simone, Elisa, and Andreas – all friend’s of Caterina & Roberto.  We were lucky enough to have a partly sunny morning for our trip to the island.

 The island is beautiful and since we had booked an Activities Package we had full use of the ocean trampoline, snorkel gear, SUP, kayaks, and paddles skis.  We started the day by donning our full-body stinger suits and heading to the beach area where you have the best luck spotting sea turtles (mainly due to its proximity to the islands turtle rehabilitation hospital) to do some snorkeling.  Lucky for me, I finally saw one!!  The water around the island was rather murky that day so it was a bit hard to see, but thankfully someone did spot the big guy and we were able to gather round and get some photos of it.

 After some snorkeling we headed back to the beach hut to collect our lunches.  As we were finishing our lunch it started to sprinkle a bit so we headed to the Foxy’s Bar to put our stuff under the tents on the patio. The rain didn’t last long though, so Jordan and Max decided to head to Nudey Beach to do some snorkeling; due to time constraints (the beach hut where you hire out the equipment closed at 3:30) I decided to try the SUP before I missed my chance.

 I loved it, not that I was surprised at that, but I also found it to be quite easy to balance, which I was worried about.  It’s definitely a workout for your core and upper body, especially when trying to paddle against the wind to get back!

The signs said that it took about 20 minutes to walk to Nudey Beach and since we had to turn our stinger suits and snorkel gear back in by 3:30 we decided we’d turn everything in before walking there that way we wouldn’t have to rush back (the boat didn’t leave until 4:30pm).  Unfortunately for us, it started raining on the walk there…  The photos of the beach on a sunny day are spectacular, but of course on a rainy, cloudy day it’s not exactly the same.  Still pretty though:

We headed back to the bar and while the rest of them enjoyed a beer, Caterina, Jordan, Max, & I passed the volleyball around to kill some time.  About 20 minutes before the boat came it finally stopped raining, so at least we had a decent ride back to Cairns.  It was a lovely day and I got to cross two more things off my list: SUP and spotting a sea turtle.

Well, I'm sitting in the Sydney airport writing this, I had a busy day yesterday packing everything up and then hanging out with Mark & Namana in the afternoon.  We ended up going to a driving range and Kevin, his girlfriend, Davis, and Jimmy (all from volleyball as well, except for Kevin's girlfriend) ended up joining us as well.  The guys enjoyed hitting the golf balls, and even coerced me into hitting a few.  Definitely will not be taking up real golf any time soon, but it was enjoyable enough on a rainy Cairns afternoon.  We all went to lunch at KFC before heading our separate ways.  When I got to volleyball there were only about 8 people playing, but they waved me over as soon as I arrived telling me to join (even though it made the teams uneven).  As soon as I stepped onto the court it started to rain, thankfully not very hard.  It did drizzle for most of the night though.  Mark, Namana, and Max came and joined us so then we had an even number.  We had some good games, lots of fun despite the dreary weather.  Julisai and his Dad left at 8pm though and took the ball with them so we all ended up leaving as well.  Stefan hadn't arrived, and I got a message from him this morning apologizing that he'd been late to volleyball and missed me.  Turns out it was his last day in Cairns, so when I get back he'll have already left.  A bit sad, he's tons of fun, but I guess that's just a bit of preparation for when I have to leave Cairns and say goodbye to everyone.  I'm trying to just focus on my trip to Tassie & Melbourne and not think about how little time I'll have left in Cairns when I return.  Well, hopefully I can manage to keep you all semi-updated during my travels in the next two weeks.  If not I'll do my best to do an overview of the trip when I get back.  Cheers!