Being spoilt for choice over what to do, we sat and turned on the television and settled down. We needed a moment for it all to sink in. After we were through with that, we nipped next door to the reception to see what DVDs they had. We also saw games there so we grabbed a selection and returned.
Having been sat down or stood looking at things all day, Steff was itching to run around and do something. The last thing he wanted to do was sit down and play a game or watch television. I humoured him for a bit but failed miserably at Frisbee and he was too fast for a kick-around. I tried wrestling him but again admitted defeat pretty swiftly.
With that out of our systems, we sat down for a game of Scrabble. Mel and Steff think I’m some sort of boffin who sneers at bad grammar and speech. Well they’re not entirely off point but they do exaggerate.
The supposed fun game soon transcended into competitive bickering and frustration. You didn’t need to be Sherlock to guess that was going to happen!
It was still early evening and we’d ran out of things to do. Mel, Steff, Emma and I sat and chatted for a bit. Emma was yet another traveller who loves Australia and couldn’t understand why we didn’t agree. Mel described our feelings perfectly but they fell on deaf ears. I felt a heated debate brewing and it was far too early for that so I swiftly changed the subject.
Before long, we moved outside for the moon rising. It was beautiful. What started off as a flicker of bright orange, grew to a flaming orb that rose steadily until it emerged as its usual glowing white self. The stars were shining beautifully to accompany this startling sight.
It was already cold and nobody was heading back. Steff and I absent-mindedly drifted off and started rambling about nonsense. This was all to Mel’s annoyance as she didn’t want to hear the order of the Batman movies and what happens in each one. I love it when Mel rants as she’s so sharp-tongued. I rarely can come back with anything as I’m laughing so much. We left Mel with the moon and stumbled in the dark back to the outdoor seating for dinner.
It was a mighty feast. I had steak, a sausage, potato salad, pasta salad and freshly baked bread. The meat was of a high standard which came as a relief. I’ve been put off of sausages lately thanks to the cheap supermarket branded shite.
Mel, Steff and I had a chuckle as we thought back to the night before when everyone was queueing for the free barbecue at the hostel. I was sceptical as to what this free barbecue included. By the time we rocked up they had ran out of bread. I couldn’t stop laughing at the fact that 20 people were queueing up for a sausage. What surprised me further was the shocked reaction from the queueing backpackers – “But it’s free.” Well yes, it is free, but I’d rather spend my time looking for somewhere half decent to eat and buy a meal than choke on a shrivelled scabby sausage. It was a very wise decision and one confirmed by the grumblings of those in the queue when I got back as they threw away said shrivelled scabby sausage upon receiving it. Sometimes the best things in life aren’t free my dear.
We ate like kings that night and I made sure I got a good fill. We took extra slices of toast for the next morning. I ate so much I could hardly breathe but I was happy.
The table discussed the trip and how surprised we all were at the high standards of it all. It does have a high price tag but so do all the other trips which aren’t even half as classy as this one.
Once dinner was over, we invited everyone back to our apartment for a game of charades. It is a game associated with tired parties and Christmas Day with the family but it’s a good laugh when we’re all a bit tipsy. I forgot to add that we had wine with the meal but I made sure I topped up as much as I could before anyone else noticed. I’m not sure how much I had but I was giggly. Mel and Steff love it when I’m drunk so I proved to be added entertainment for the evening.
At first nobody came over and we felt like rejects. Eventually the Canadian guy and Annette (one of the German girls) arrived. We wanted Drew to join in too so Mel and Emma went off to find him but failed. As if by magic he knocked on our door moments after they came back.
It was boys versus girls and I was determined to win, of course. There is an obvious downside to being good at charades. If you guess them too quickly, it gets boring for everyone pretty quickly. I grew cocky and relished in the challenges thrown at me. For some reason I stumbled on James and the Giant Peach.
Drew was hilarious and his hand signals for “in” had us in stitches. Steff’s attempt at Dumb and Dumber brought out the tears. I laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe. Steff does an excellent impression of someone being dumb!
Now the sensible thing to do would be to go to bed but I knew that when I woke up, it’d be time to leave the apartment. I wanted to take advantage of all the luxuries. We hadn’t really used the television and had previously brought across a pile of DVDs.
The choices were Mrs Doubtfire, Slumdog Millionnaire or LA Story. I really wanted to watch Slumdog but Mel and Steff didn’t fancy it. My second choice was Mrs Doubtfire but in the end we settled for LA Story as nobody had seen it before.
It’s such a weird little film and we didn’t get the comedy at all. I didn’t read the cover and got the film confused with Woody Allen’s Shop Girl. But instead it was an old-school Steve Martin film with a very young Sarah Jessica Parker. It’s something to do with him talking to an illuminated street sign. Most of the characters are vacuous and annoying so I was put off straight away. I always hate stopping a film part way through, even if I don’t like it. Part of me always hopes that I like it by the end.
We all skulked off to bed, disappointed with the night’s end. That soon changed when I enveloped myself in the duvet provided. It’s another thing that I’ve taken for granted and one that I’ve surprisingly not seen much of on my travels. Or, if I have, I’ve decided not to use it as I know that the covers don’t get washed after each occupant has left. Gross. Tonight was different and I slept like a log.
*****
Morning came far too quickly and I wasn’t ready to leave my bed. I contemplated barricading myself in and refusing to leave but that would get me nowhere. I admitted defeat at the last minute and haphazardly threw my things together to leave. I just about had time to eat some toast before we left.
There were only two stops during the second day. An awfully bumpy ride later and we were dropped off at the tranquil Lake McKenzie. White sand and clear water surrounded by picturesque landscape. Postcard fodder indeed.
I waded in the rather cold water, posed for photos and messed around with my waterproof camera. I’d say we had around 10 or 15 minutes of peace and quiet until the masses of tourists arrived. It was such a shame.
We moved across to a quieter beach, where Mel and Steff happened to be, and lounged on the sand until it was time to go.
Drew took us further into the subtropical rainforest where we stopped for lunch. Another filling feed in the form of turkey and beef wraps. There was a lot left over which was a bit of a waste. Mel asked if she could wrap some up for later. I knew there was an element of backpacker in her! For fear of missing out, a couple of others grabbed some too.
I didn’t put too much thought into the bush walk and thought it would be like the Blue Mountains or the Tiger Temple walk I did in Thailand. Drew warned us that once we decide to do the bush walk we can’t turn around and come back as he’s going to meet us at the other side. Everyone opted to do the walk.
Drew pointed out a lot of the trees and listed facts about them and other elements of the nature that surrounded us. I wasn’t paying too much attention. It was only when he mentioned spiders that my ears pricked up. He brought us across to a fallen tree and then pointed at a small hole in the ground. This is where funnel web spiders live. Drew warned us about the spiders and said that there will be species like this in the bush. Great!
As I was walking through the bush, I kept seeing holes of various sizes everywhere and wished that Drew kept his mouth shut. Ignorance is bliss you know!
Forty minutes or so of hell later and I was surprised I hadn’t screamed the whole forest down. Thankfully I only saw one small spider and a fat spider leg poking out of one of the holes. I didn’t want to hang about and wait for something to jump on my face!
Drew drove us back via the beach. We saw…
Dingoes.
What used to be a car.
...and coloured sand cliffs at the Cathedrals.
We still had some time left for cliche photos.
We said our goodbyes but didn’t swap details with anyone. Although, I did swap emails with Annette as we have photos of each other. After thanking Drew for a great trip, we packed up the car and left for Hervey Bay.
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