Firstly I think I should reassure you that the reason I haven't written anything on here for so long is not because I'm having a rubbish time, but rather that I've been far too busy doing fun things that I haven't had enough time to get on here and update you all about the fun things I've been too busy with. But as I landed myself in Christchurch yesterday and as it's the creepily spitting image of the town I grew up around (Stratford-upon-Avon for those who've met me since) I already feel like I know it, so I can spare a few hours to sit at a computer and tell you all about everything I've been up to!
So in the few hours between blogging and getting my boat nothing managed to be considered un-seaworthy again, and I managed to get on. Due to some rearranging on their part I didn't end up stalking Tim, which was partly a shame and partly a relief, as I didn't exactly want to be getting myself *that* sort of reputation. On first sight I couldn't quite believe the boat was supposed to hold 22 people - 18 passengers and 4 crew - as it didn't look much bigger than the Enterprise we used to sail, and that only managed to hold myself, Dad, and a few packets of Werther's originals... We went below deck and discovered it was one open plan sleeping quarter which partly explained the tiny size, with a tiny kitchen surrounded with narrow bunks squeezed in along the edges. It's technically a 'pocket maxi' - 18m long, and a previous Sydney-Hobart winner.... in 1983. So, reassuringly, I was actually younger than the boat! The retro wood panelled decor was quite cool though, so she hadn't aged badly (not sure the same could be said about me).
The day was spent on the deck in the incredibly attractive combination of bikini and bright yellow fisherman's raincoat (it can only be described as 'flasher chic'). We were probably on the best boat possible considering the stormy weather though - we got drenched with torrential rain and huge waves that crashed over the deck, but the speeds we were getting up to were amazing! After a few hours of racing along with occasional dashes to the top side (to avoid falling overboard as the boat tipped with the wind) and pulling sails up and down, we made it to a secluded harbour just as the rain died off. I donned yet another highly attractive X-men-esque stinger suit, and set off with my snorkel - the reef was amazingly close to the surface so despite the poor weather the visibility was great. So many people had pulled out of their sails or been unable to leave the harbour so it was surprisingly quiet and there were thousands of fish; including my first stingray! Sadly I still didn't find Nemo, although I did learn some interesting Pixar-related facts - the sea anemone that the clownfish live in normally stings most fish, but young clownfish are intelligent enough to realise that if they swim to the bottom of the anemone (which doesn't sting) and rub themselves against it to get coated in it's mucous, it won't recognise and sting them; that's what the scene where Nemo is reminded to brush or the anemone will sting him is all about. Incidentally I also learnt on my travels that Dory (of Nemo fame) is often referred to as a surgeon fish, as the spines on each side of the fish as very sharp and can inflict deep wounds and so were used by sailors to perform medical procedures on board ships hundreds of years ago. I pick up some random stuff, don't I?
Anyway - back to the boat. We decided to stay in the harbour overnight for shelter, and after a fantastically cooked meal and drinks on the deck (our skipper had kindly put up a tarpaulin to keep us all dry) we crashed out in the uncomfortably hot cabin. We were woken up pretty early (around half 6) for breakfast, and our skipper explained his plan to take is through a narrow pass between two large islands to get to the biggest beach - not the usual route, but boats that were moored next to us had already tried to go around the coast and returned because the sea was too rough. So we set off and had a nice gentle sail for an hour or so, then went up on deck just before we left the pass - you could actually see the line where the pass ended; the water went from relatively calm to huge, frothy waves! Aside from the inevitable drenching we all got it wasn't too bad - although I can't remember ever getting seasick, so I might be slightly bias. It only took 30 minutes or so to get to Whitehaven beach - apparently we covered the route in around an hour less than the normal time, due to the high winds. We had lunch sat on the deck, where a loggerhead turtle took an interest in us eating and sat watching from the water around 5metres away - no-one else noticed for a while which was nice, I just stood there staring at him staring at us, until suddenly there was a barrage of cameras and shouting and he decided he wasn't that interested in our boat after all and dived down; resurfacing for a few seconds every so often until we left later that day. We took the small motorized dinghy down to the shore and spent a few hours on the island - the views weren't amazing due to the clouds and drizzle, but we went walking in the water just off Whitehaven beach surrounded by stingrays, which was amazing - although I learnt to always slide your feet through water if you know they're present, as they can detect this better than stepping and won't get surprised by your presence, so you're less likely to end up with a barb in your foot (or elsewhere, ala Steve Urwin). We went to another harbour for the night and spent another few hours up on the deck having drinks and enjoying the view of the boats on the water - very few of our boat spoke English as a first language but I spent most of the night with a group of four Irish guys who'd met each other travelling in the States the previous year, and had a great time with them. I decided to retire at about 1am but donated my remaining alcohol to Georg - an Austrian who'd lived in the UK for a year and a half and was the only one not to struggle with the thick Irish accent - and John, who I'd actually been on my Cairns reef trip with; needless to say neither of them looked great the next morning when we were woken up at 6.30 yet again!
Sods law the weather was suddenly beautiful for our final morning, but we enjoyed sunbathing and reading on the deck for a few hours before we returned to the harbour. Our skipper thanked us for making the most of the shite weather (apparently most people just spend the whole trip complaining) but to be honest it didn't feel like much of a compromise - I can sunbathe anywhere, and the sailing was much better because of the storm anyway! I had a whole day to kill before my night bus to Bundaberg, so I spent most of it lazing around the award-winning 'lagoon' complex (a man made chlorinated sea water lake) reading, swimming, and making the most of the free showers after having spent the last two nights trying to wash in a room smaller than most broom cupboards. I exchanged my book for the Lord of The Rings Trilogy - I thought I'd better read it at some point in my life, and seeing as my travels include New Zealand sooner rather than later would be best - and headed off to 'Beaches' to meet the rest of my sailing group for drinks. There seemed little point in going to sit in the bus shelter until midnight, so I stayed out with my new Irish friends and ended up at another bar down the road for happy hour. This was without doubt the best decision the guys could have made, as just before I had to leave for my bus I had the best experience of my entire world tour so far... Jo from S Club 7 sat down next to me. Now I know it's sad to be so excited about this but dancing and singing along to 'Reach' has been associated with so many memories, going back to when i was still at school, and it still has a huge amount of kitsch appeal - so I left for my overnight Greyhound bus very, very happy.
After a fitful night napping on the bus I made it in to Bundaberg, a place famous for only two things; rum, and turtles. I was picked up from the station by the very lovely owners of the hostel I was staying at - more like staying at someones house than a hostel - and given a guided driving tour of the town. Having been told that no electrical devices are allowed on the rum distillery tour because of worries of igniting the fumes, and the general stomach-turning nature of the smell of rum to me, I decided to give that one a miss. Instead I opted for a few hours of proper sleep, and then going for a wander around town - it's was nothing special, just a typical Australian small town, but it was nice to be somewhere not overflowing with tourist shops for once! We headed off for Mon Repos ('My Rest') beach, the home of the turtle conservation centre, at around 6 and walked around the information centre reading about the turtles and the areas research - the beach had been known as a nesting site for decades, and research had been going on there for something like 50 years, but in the 1980's so many turtles were coming up the beach to lay their eggs and then turning around without laying due to the thousands of people coming to see and take pictures, that it was closed to the public and numbers were limited to small groups taken on to the beach by researchers. As we booked through 'Footprints' we were given priority and put in the first group to go down to the beach - around 8pm there was a call to say that a group of hatchlings (teeny, tiny baby turtles) had been spotting burrowing out of the sand and heading down the beach, and we were brought down to see. These tiny little things look adorable - probably only the length of my thumb, and more flippers than anything else, they burrow their way up through the sand as a group; it takes them around 5 days as the nests are about 60cm deep, and they sit just beneath the surface waiting for the sand to get cool (indicating it's night) before they break through the surface and propel themselves along the sand with their flippers, like tiny clockwork toys. In order to stop the hatchlings being distracted by the night time glow of the nearby town and heading the wrong direction (they are programmed to follow the moons light to get to the ocean, but light pollution disorientates them) they're are allowed to break through the sand and start to make their way along the beach, before being put in a temporary enclosure until they're all out of the next - then they're taken further down the beach and volunteers line up one behind the other down to the water holding torches; the turtles are released and follow these lights down to the sea (although one still got confused and made a break for it, trying to ditch it's siblings and clamber over our feet towards the town!). The sight of 80 or 90 of these tiny things stumbling along the beach before being washed away was just amazing; only 1 in 1000 makes it to adulthood as they have so many predators when they're young, but hopefully some of my ones get lucky!
After this we went back to dig the nest and find out how many hatchlings were successful from the whole batch - we found another 3 alive who would otherwise have died in the nest, and set them off on their journey to the sea as well. Our guide and researcher went through counting broken egg cases and getting all of the information about the mother from the information slip that was placed in the nest when it was made, then we headed back along the beach to the research centre. A minute or two in to the walk our guide told us to stop, and hurried off up the beach - it took a while to see what she was investigating, but once my eyes had adjusted to the light I could see two clear tracks up the beach; a laying turtle. She reappeared 5 minutes later to confirm that there was still one turtle who was just in the process of digging her nest, so we got to head up the beach and sit around her watching this huge turtle - well over a metre long - serenely lie there, laying eggs and crying (it's not an emotional thing, they do it to expel excess salt, but it's very eerie to see). Then she began to fill in the nest, using her huge front and back flippers to fling sand everywhere - we got covered! After about 20 minutes of this she began to throw her weight up and down to compact the sand - pretty impressive considering the size of her - before turning around and heading back down the beach with us following. By this point it was well after 12 and I was happy to go home, but I had an absolutely breathtaking night - it's amazing that something that is just a normal part of life to these animals can be so fascinating, but it really was, and I'd recommend it to anyone; I've never seen anything like it.
At the risk of boring you I'll leave it there for now, and you can hear all about Hervey bay, Fraser island and the rest of my East Coast travels when I next get the chance to write - I'm heading across to Greymouth on the Tranz Scenic train tomorrow (it takes me across the body of South Island) which is supposed to be a beautiful journey, but there's very little to do when you get to the end, so you might get to here more in another 24 hours (if you're really lucky). But keep me updated about home - although I do feel like I'm back in the UK right now the lovely sunny weather is a bit of a give away that I'm not, and I do like to know what's going on in your lives whilst I'm away! Take care of yourselves,
Lots of Love,
Kat
xxx
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