Tag 159 - large

06.10.19

- Jonna

We wake up after a quiet, fairly long night and everyone except Mom is well-rested and refreshed from the long first day. The atmosphere at the campground is super nice and we enjoy a delicious breakfast with bacon, scrambled eggs, and fruit salad in the sun.

Afterwards, we take a stroll along the river and decide to go on a short hike that starts near the campground.

The trail winds through giant fig trees and rainforest, sometimes on wooden planks and sometimes on forest floor, through exotic undergrowth.

Back at the campground, a group of 50 motorcyclists arrive and the grill is used for a snack of at least 100 sausages. A good time to say goodbye to the hustle and bustle. We drive through landscapes that often take us through rainforests, but also provide views of dry, wide plains. We stop in between to buy a few things, but we have planned to reach the sea near the northernmost point of our route today.

First, we stop at the tourist information center because there is a free place to stay overnight here and we also want to gather information about the Great Barrier Reef. We chat with a very, very friendly lady who informs us that it is unfortunately too windy and all trips scheduled for the next few days have been canceled. Dad had planned to go on the snorkeling tour and that's why we drove mainly in the 'wrong' direction. We look around a bit and think about what alternative program we could do. Fraser Island tours are also offered here, but they far exceed our budget and we all agree that $500 per person for a day is quite a lot. The woman suggests a whale watching tour to us. We thank her for the advice but want to discuss it first before committing to anything.

We get back in the car and drive to the city and the sea. The travel guide reports that there is nearly a kilometer-long jetty into the sea here. That sounds good and is confirmed when we see the jetty from a distance. We stroll out onto the water, watch fishermen at the railing, and pelicans perched on lanterns watching over everything.

At the end of the jetty, there is a group of men who seem to have the most talent for 'pulling fish out of the water', at least they maneuver two tuna fish out of a giant freezer that can easily compete in size with the seals in New Zealand. The fish are gutted and freed from jaws and blood. It's quite exciting to watch and we are fascinated enough to stare at the guys during their work. They offer us the giant fish for sale, but we suspect that the meager $100 we have with us would not even be enough for the tail fin.

So we stroll back until we are overtaken by a shouting man who lifts his fishing rod above us and is obviously being pulled towards land by a huge fish. We can't resist this spectacle either and watch as a small reef shark is pulled ashore amid loud cheers from the audience. The man takes a photo with it, frees it from the hook, and throws it back into the sea. We are more than satisfied with the selection of animals we have seen today and drive to the next campground.

It costs a little something, but so that we can do our tour tomorrow, we want to stay here for one night and nobody says no to a hot shower. We find a nice spot where the trees reluctantly make room for our roof tent, but eventually give in. We cook and play among peacocks and possums and then go to bed early again.

- Jonna