island was a ferry ride away from Townsville, where we got the train to. I’d had a look in our Rough Guide, and the ferry port was only around a kilometre from the station, so I figured we could manage that, even though it was the first time we’d carried our bags since we got the car in Sydney. Unfortunately, since our Rough Guide was printed, they had built a new station, and a new Ferry Port, with the result that they were now over three kilometres apart. So we arrived at the ferry almost crippled!!

After the marathon bag carrying session things went pretty smoothly though, the ferry journey was pleasant, and the bus met us at the jetty, and dropped us right outside our chosen campground, which was a lovely place with bungalows and camping space centred around a bar / restaurant. We arrived during happy hour, and after our long day we decided to indulge, with the result that we put the

tent up in the dark for the first time!!

The next morning we had a look around the village, which was lovely, very small and uncrowded. There were a lot of really great sounding walks around the island which we were keen to do, and the resort where we were staying had good deals on snorkel hire, so we decided to combine the two. There were still “stingers“ in the water, these were various kinds of small jellyfish, which could cause anything from painful welts to respiratory and heart problems and even death!!! So thankfully the snorkel hire included a free stinger suit. This was like a lightweight wetsuit made of Lycra, and also kept the sun off, so was pretty handy, if not the most flattering piece of clothing!!. Once again the water was not so clear, but we spent a couple of hours having a look around the coastal reef, and while it wasn’t quite as impressive as the outer reef, it was