With quite a good deal of rain and wind we were unsure what today's weather would bring.
Today we were booked into a special tour of Great Keppel Island including a glass bottom boat tour, snorkelling, free time, morning and afternoon tea plus lunch.
Before we had headed off we had received a phone call from freedom fast cats advising us that it was going to be very rough and that the glass bottom boats were likely to be cancelled due to poor visibility, could we come tomorrow? No! Today was our last day in Yeppoon (forever known now in our books a town of wind and rain!)
Optimistically we headed down to the ferry terminal a mere 5 minute walk from our accomodation. Despite missing seeing the platypus out of Mackay and the wallabies in the sunrise, I was holding high hopes of manta rays, reef fish and marine turtles as well as the many memories of my childhood watching the reef floor through a glass bottom boat.
Once we arrived we discovered that the glass bottom boat was definitely cancelled but we could still do everything else. Ok, good!
We took our precautionary seasick tablets and waited.
The young girl from reception came out to us to advise snorkelling had also been cancelled, what did we want to do? Well of course we would still go!
We boarded the vessel and finally settled on our third choice of seat downstairs in the mainpart of the boat, engines started and off we went, the marina was smooth and then it started to get a bit rough, actually quite rough but we were ok in fact it was a bit of fun, Lewis was waving his hands in the air like he was on a rioller coaster and even Aimee was smiling! Then the lady in front began to be sick and then another and then another. Aimee was fading and leaning all over me, stoic for a bit and then she needed a cool cloth and a seasac, Lewis followed. To their credit neither of them used them. Thankfully we hit the calm waters 10 minutes out from the island and they were both ok, I'm not too sure I had much more time left in me to be honest.
Once we arrived to the island the sun was out and the water looked very inviting and we were left to our own devices. The main beach has(had) a resort on it which has now become derelict so it was a bit univiting. Eventually we headed up a goat track which was sign posted to a beach we had heard had good snorkelling so in our best trail walking thongs! We headed off and up and then down, I found the most appropriate way to scale down the rocks was a sliding shimmy type of movement on my bum! Hey, it worked. We found a quiet secluded beach area and went out into the water. Brett and the kids both saw a striped fish, yep one! But they were pretty excited, I missed it! And then proceeded to worry about the incoming tide and the rocks! Lewis bobbed around like a kid who has never been to a beach, stealing in delight as the waves rolled him around and then the kids went into their crazy sand building, digging frenzy that they always seem to get into on any sand.imnot too sure why Aimee gets so into it as she constantly complains about sand being everywhere once she has had a play. And as for her feet! Oh my, she hates and on her feet in any shape or form.
After a good deal of paddling, playing and digging we headed back over the goat track to the mai beach to be collected for lunch and a bit of a tour onboard our boat which was really quite good, only about 18people doing the lunch component so good numbers.
After lunch was boom netting off the back of the boat, I couldn't tell if Aimee wanted to really do it or not but when for about the third time after asking if she wanted to and her replying only of you will do it with me I realised I had to step up to the plate as a mum and do something I wasn't too keen about as my girl wanted to have a go!
So in we went and it wasn't too bad,but best of all she loved it! Getting out was far from glamorous but I eventually go out and didn't fall off!
We had about an hour to spare so headed back onto the island but the rain caught up with us so we didn't get much done, Aimee was unhappy as all of the sand had washed off her while on the boom net and now she was covered in sand again.
Our ride home was so much better than the one out, more like a Manly ferry on rough choppy Watters so that was a big bonus.
It sounds like a horrible day but it was still lots of fun, it usually is when we do things together. It wasn't what we had expected and the loss of activities was a little disappointing but I think it was all the fault of the weather rather than anything else and we couldn't control that and based upon the weather that we have had since we have been here the weather at the island was fabulous. Brett got too much sun on his face, my arms didn't have enough sunscreen and the kids have both got ruby cheeks but not too bad.
So to finish off our last night In Yeppoon we decided to have a cheese/seafood plate, we started off getting some Moreton bay bugs and banana prawns but ended up adding a mud crab to that too!. All from the fish market which we walked to/past on our way home from the ferry terminal. All of the seafood was delicious and a nice dinner to finish off our adventurous day
Of course the internet is not coping well here especially with the wind and rain so I have no photos to add tonight.
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