Strange creatures, snakes and blue skies

We couldn’t believe it when we woke up this morning as the wind must have blown away all the rain and the clouds were broken and we could see the sun for the first time in a week. I had a wander down to take a picture of the old paper bark tree that had fallen into the river and a few more around the pool. We headed into town with Bill and Barb to see them off onto their ferry and also to get a Mini Moke. Trouble is by the time the paperwork was finished we had missed Bill and Barb so have a great trip guys! We also had to head straight off to get petrol as it was on fumes but the owner has an account at the garage so we didn’t have to pay.

We headed to Picnic Bay to start off but the storms haven’t done too much damage and its amazing how much better you feel when the sun is out. Also the photos look so much better when in colour rather than monochrome. We had been here several times before but mostly I couldn’t even get the camera out for the downpours. The island was originally volcanic and has left lots of giant granite boulders everywhere. We didn’t bring the car here as we were worried that the roads wouldn’t be suitable, especially with the stormy conditions. We needn’t have worried as the roads are all bitumen; in fact it would even have been cheaper as everything over here is subject to Island pricing. Everything has to be brought over on the ferry which isn’t cheap so the prices are adjusted accordingly. Also we could have brought more stuff with us, especially regarding food and drink.

Following our walk we headed to the extreme other end of the island at the largest resort called Horseshoe Bay but the storm damage was considerable there and the waves still heavy. Where we parked seemed to have fallen into the sea along side the tree which was next to it. It was the same all along the Bay with trees, benches, signs all disappearing into the sea. Sand had been dumped all over the grass and consumed the outermost line of trees. The children's playground had turned into a sand pit. I spotted this strange creature amongst the rubbish dropped by the tide; I thought it looked almost embryonic. Looking back at the picture now, I wonder if it’s a baby Kangaroo; I know it doesn’t look much like one, but I believe that they have three young on the go at any time, the youngest barely an embryo that suckles on a teat after slithering out onto it. Whatever it was, it was very big and ugly.

On the way back we stopped of at Arcadia and although sand and water had been dumped on the grass areas there was no real damage. We parked up in Nelly Bay and walked past the Mantra apartments which are beside the ferry port. When they were first built they were selling for $1million plus for the ones with the best views but this just coincided with the world recession so nobody bought any more and the prices dropped right down. You can now buy one for around $350,000 and still most are empty so the developers must really have been hit. I have been told that the build quality wasn’t up to much and the word soon got around. It’s a nice spot so I guess that the prices will eventually pick up again so it might be a good time to bag a bargain.

We walked around to the Boardwalk restaurant and bar so that we could sit and watch the boats in the bay and the ferry coming and going. We both had Snapper with chips and salad which was quite nice and not too expensive for such a lovely spot. We were both quite hot by now so we headed back to our cabin for a quick cool down swim in the lovely refreshing pool. It’s the first time that I have been in it since we got here. I nearly did when it was pelting down with rain but was a little worried about lightning being in the water. Perfectly refreshed I had a quick shower and went to hang my trunks up on the outside clothes horse and thought that Claire had left one of her bikini bottoms on it so was just about to move them when I realized that it was a snake. Sorry the photo was a bit blurred but I was shaking a little. I wasn’t sure if it was poisonous or not so went to find Alan to identify and remove it for us. Claire was brave and hid inside the whole time but Alan said that it was only a young Python so you could pick them up. This is what he did and it bit him making him drop it again where it wriggled around on our decking before he managed to grab his tail, lift it up then get his other hand around its neck. He then took it around to show the other guests before releasing it on the other side of the river. I hope they have cleared that tree bridge away before it comes back.