Whale Bone a-go-go (or How I Spent My Last Days at Tangalooma)

"You went home so early last night," my co-worker Lance said to me on Friday morning, my last day at the resort. "You should have stayed out with us. We went to the Flensing Deck and hung out there until 3 or 4 in the morning."

"What is that some kind of new nightclub?" I said, bursting into a laugh.

You know you live and work somewhere really special when the hottest place to party is at a place called the Flensing Deck.

But this is how life is on Moreton Island where you've got but one bar and one pub on the entire island (Note: the two are separated by a distance of about 15 km.)

The Flensing Deck, in case you were wondering, is a hollowed-out concrete building in which, once upon a time, giant humpback whales were gutted, deboned and otherwise mangled during the height of the Australian whaling industry in the 1950s-60s. The building now serves as a badminton and basketball court for resort guests by day and a place to party for staff when the main bar shuts down. Funny that, isn't it?

Well, I never made it to the Flensing Deck on Thursday night but I sure had a good time anyway. My co-workers and I from the shop went out for dinner at the Steakhouse where we enjoyed fine slabs of cow, chicken and fish, along with a few very tasty desserts.

"It's so nice having a meal that's actually prepared especially for you and not 180 of your 'closest' friends," said Lance, referring (not-too-kindly) to our usual meals in the horrific resort staff room. He is full of witty remarks that boy.

We all had a really good time drinking down at the bar and laughing for a couple of hours after dinner. It was the first time we all went out like that and I now wish we'd have done it more. And as Lance noted, I never got too crazy. I was at home by midnight and in bed by one. I had to open the shop at 6:45 a.m. after all!

My last week at Tangalooma went by in a flash. Between doing laundry, packing my bags, cleaning my room, oh, and working 37 hours, I didn't have much time to twiddle my thumbs. Of course, I'm not complaining. I think life is often at its best during periods of change when the anticipation of future events keeps you feeling relatively carefree.

I'm now back in Brisbane for a few days before heading far, far north up the Queensland coast to the city of Cairns (pronounced Cans, as in beer cans). I figure it's going to take at least three weeks to get there with all the stops I plan on making. Queensland is truly blessed with natural beauty, beaches and a whole bunch of other good things, such as the Great Barrier Reef. I'm so excited about snorkelling up there that it isn't even funny.

Speaking of, I tried snorkelling for the first time ever with two new friends about two weeks ago. We spent a night camping on Moreton Island about 2 km from the resort, just off the beach from a landmark known as the Wrecks. The Wrecks is a group of 15 ships that were deliberately sunken in order to create a safe haven for small boats that drop anchor there when the tide is rough. The sealife like it too, making it a great spot for fishing, snorkelling and diving.

Snorkelling was one of the most relaxing experiences I've ever had. All you can hear is the sound of your breathing as you float from wreck to wreck and look at all of the amazing fish swimming right in front of your face.

I've got some great pictures of all the things I've been doing in the last month or so but they'll have to wait until the next post. I wasn't organized enough today to get dressed, find my camera AND make it to the library by 10:15 a.m.

My new friend Oddur will be joining me for the first few days as I travel northward. A native Brisbanite, Oddur has been very good about showing me around the city and taking me to places I would otherwise never know about or get the chance to see. Last weekend we visited Mt. Warning, an absolutely beautiful and ancient volcano in the middle of lush rainforest about two hours south of Brisbane.

Yesterday Oddur, his brother and I went to a waterslide park on the Gold Coast near Surfers Paradise called Wet 'n Wild. It's essentially the watersliding version of Disneyland. What a blast! I hadn't been watersliding in years since my last visit to the West Edmonton Mall. Pictures of some of the slides to come too.

Well, I'm now running out of time on computer. But rest assured, I'll be posting again a lot sooner than I have been lately.

Thanks for reading.

Daddy Roo

Ahh, how the days fly past and the months roll on.

It's been weeks since I've written so much as a word on the blog. There are lots of reasons for this but I won't bore you with the details. As it stands, I've got exactly 27 minutes to finish this entry, continue checking emails and do some other miscellaneous Internet stuff. Then I've got to buy a long distance phone card, get some groceries (not to mention a bit of alcohol) and make my way to the ferry back to the island. The prices for food and booze are shocking on the island so I prefer to do a bit of stocking up when I'm in the city. The joys of living on a remote, nearly empty island are truly endless. I don't mean that in a completely sarcastic way.

I cannot believe that I never posted this picture sooner. Not sure what I was thinking. I was oh-so-pleased about making friends with this kangaroo when I visited Brisbane's wildlife sanctuary a couple of months ago. This guy here was posed so perfectly and relaxing in the sun when I found him. He wasn't scared or intimidated when I got right close to take the picture and he even let me pat him on the head a couple of times (kangaroos in the wild are not this tame, mind you).

So, I still haven't seen a roo in nature (or any koalas) but at least I got this cool photo.

I was lucky enough to visit Noosa, a resort town north of Brisbane this weekend, with a couple of new friends. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful drive to and from. We thought maybe we'd catch a glimpse of some koalas sleeping in the eucalypts near the beach but no such luck. Maybe next time.

This here is another favourite photo from the resort: It's taken underneath the jetty (i.e. wharf, pier) on a day with a very low tide but unusually rocky sea. The different shades of water happen based on how deep the ocean floor is beneath. The shallow parts reflect the sand and take on the greeny/aqua shade while the deeper parts are more of a classic ocean blue. It's beautiful!

My time is sadly running out. This wasn't much of a blog entry but it was better than nothing.

In a few more weeks I'm going to quit my job on the island and head back to the mainland for further travels north. I'm very excited about getting back on the road and there are so many things ahead of me. Rest assured, the blog will also regain a bit of vitality once I set off.

Toodles.