Sunday March 8
We were up at 6am again, and then drove to the nearby beach to eat breakfast. Pretty views all around. We then drove back into town, 1st stopping at a small waterfall hike to stretch our legs. We got to Shute Harbour and met our water taxi to head out to Nari Beach. We rented kayaks, so we slogged those onto the boat as well. The awesome thing about Nari beach (onWhitsunday Island), is that its only accessible by boat at high tide! And, there are only 6 campers allowed at once, and since it was off-season, we were the only ones there!
We got dropped off at 11am, and setup camp under our own palm tree (for real!). We spent the rest of the day exploring the surrounding bush and shoreline, snorkeling the reef just off our beach, and also kayaked around. We saw a sting ray, crabs, and some jumping fish. While snorkeling, Dave was stung by jellyfish on the neck!
As the sun started to set, we soaked it all in. The crazy sounds of the forest, the spectacular colors in the sky...we had our own beach, with own campsite under a palm tree, on in island off Australia for a night...wow!
Breakfast at Conway Beach
Camping under a palm tree at Nari Beach
Dave stung by a jellyfish
Sunset Views from Nari Beach
Monday March 9
The sun was up again at 6am (that thing is never late!) and kayaked over to Sawmill Beach, for a hike up to the tallest point in the islands, WhitsundayPeak. And the hike kicked our butts! They were correct in saying its not an easy hike. The air was dead and humid, and our energy levels were a little low. When we got the top, Nadine had to ring her shirt out, it was that sweaty!
But the views (and the breeze) from the top were worth it. The perspective of the islands was incredible. We shared some romantic, melted trail mix for a snack & headed back down the trail. On the way back, we came across a Goanna Lizard. Very cool! We then hopped back into our kayaks, got back to camp, & ate lunch. During the final hour before pickup back to the mainland, Dave decided to snorkel & Nadine explored with the kayak. A sailboat showed up & anchored offshore, which meant we had neighbors! But we soon left, and let the next group enjoy the amazing-ness of Nari Beach.
We got back Port Airlie, hopped in the car, drove straight to Mackay, and arrived with 1 hr to spare before our plane departed. We made it all the way back to Melbourne on-time. We checked the weather to find another cyclone forming and nearing the reef later that week. What great timing for us that the weather held out!
View atop Whitsunday peak
Dave snorkeling off Nari Beach
Kayak selfie!
Sat Mar 15 & Sun Mar 16
The week following the Reef was the most intense work week for each of us. Nadine spent some 16 hr days running samples, and Dave's right wrist started to hurt from so much data analysis. But our projects are moving along nicely (even though it sounds like we never work :-) )
The 3/14 weekend was terribly unflashy, and mostly about prepping for Dave's parents to arrive and spend the following weekend in Melbourne. But Saturday morning we did get up early to go surfing down in Torquay. It was a chilly morning, as you could see our breath on the bike ride down. It was a tough morning for surf, as Nadine got smacked in the leg by her board (big ole bruise) and Dave was struggling to find managable surf for NaDave. We spent more time paddling than surfing. But overall, it was a surf morning in Aussie!
Nadine then headed straight to work from Torquay to complete her last 6 hrs of samples, and Dave went home to run errands. The rest of the evening we planned out our NZ trip (with wine of course)!
Sunday was super exciting, as we each completed our US taxes, and caught up on things. There was a Formula 1 race in Melbourne that we hoping to go to (bc we want to catch every sport we can while we are here!), but we just had too many things to care of. The ides of March were now behind us, but so was the 1st half of our Aussie experience. We had now entered the back half of our fellowship.
**The next couple of weekends will be spent with Dave's parents. They arrive later today in Melbourne!!! We are very excited! Wooooo!**
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