As you can see from the picture above, lots of beautiful beach, palm trees, calm ocean etc. Your basic paradise sand island. And sure we had a couple of cloudy and windy/rainy days, but overall the weather was fantastic and it really was a fabulous trip.
So what did I get up to then? Well the first day was fairly relaxed, it was a bit breezy so the ride over was interesting with lots of spray in your face if you happened to stand on the top deck like us. This also meant that for the daily dolphin feed in the evening (did I not mention the place called itself a 'dolphin resort') you were unable to see a great deal because of the surf.
The following day things were calmer and I went to the daily pelican feed in the morning...
...and the kookaburra feeding in the evening.
The pelican feed was quite interesting as there were also some kites swooping in to catch fish and a lot of cormorants loitering around. One of which had a fish hook stuck in his foot, so we got to see the staff jump into action and help the little guy out.
Next day things were a little cloudy, but that didn't stop us from hiring a boat and heading out to the Tangalooma wrecks, 15 deliberately sunken ships that used to help create a harbour when the place was a whaling station but now act as a n artificial reef. So we snorkeled around and despite the water being pretty nippy, saw some very cool fish. Not that I could name you any of course. Later I also tried my hand at quad biking, where I fell off in a feat that amazed all others. No it wasn't that spectacular an actual fall, nor did I hurt myself - merely getting my boot trapped under the bike. What was impressive was how I seemingly defied physics, falling to the right when on a steep left hand turn and incline.....go me!
The next couple of days continued to be sunny and glorious, the water in the bay was completely calm and I had a go at kayaking and paddle boarding. We even saw a dolphin out in the bay which was very cool. Then later at the dolphin feed there were 10/11 dolphins present, including a baby, though my camera didn't seem to really want to take many decent shots.
The weather then took a bit of a turn with a storm blowing in. Pelting the ground with palm branches and nearly taking out a few unsuspecting passers by. Though with the rain, wind and being near the ocean I was reminded of my time in Aberystwyth and so felt quite at home. With water sports off the cards I spent the day just quietly reading indoors.
On the final day before we left, my new friend Chris, who works in the shop at Tangalooma, offered to guide me on a short hike further into the island. There we walked through blackened and burnt forest, the remnants of the fierce forest fires that had struck the island a few weeks previously, and came to a desert. Yes a desert, in the middle of this small idyllic island.
The image above doesn't quite reveal just how windy it really was. I have never felt so exfoliated in my life and once I got back to our rooms I discovered an abundance of sand virtually everywhere.(Tip: don't wear low cut tops in windy deserts,and make sure you empty your pockets outside!)
So as you can see I had quite an adventurous and fun week, I enjoyed it so much I've even emailed in my c.v (or resume as the Aussies prefer to call it) in the hope that perhaps I could work on the island for a spell.
One final thing I will say about the island was that it had some fantastic sunsets. Being on the east coast of Australia the sun sets over land, which isn't quite as spectacular as it setting over the sea. So yes, if you check the album on facebook then you'll see looooooads of pics of the sunset, I'll just settle with giving you the one here!
So there you have it. One fantastic week on a dream island. I really can't thank Annette and Nick enough for taking me as it was an amazing experience and one I would really recommend to others. It was great to get away from all the traffic and noise of busy towns and cities, and yes, some might find it limiting to have just the one shop, one bar, and nowhere else to go, but I found it so beautiful and relaxing.
