Our 40km paddle yesterday to an island a fair way off shore seems to have been worth every bit of its while! We are currently located at Forbes Island and this is it... I truly believe I have found my piece of gold.
This divine Island is surrounded by reef on every side and even in a kayak we had to go the long way around as we had arrived at low tide and even our 6 inches or less of draft was too much at this time. We circumnavigated the island in awe and amazement and eventually found our way into one of the bays on the north side of the island. I guess in paradise all creatures are in attendance but the resident croc we found on the way in seemed welcoming enough as I paddled directly over the top of him, him eyeing me and me him.
We arrived late in the arvo so spent most of this time eating coconuts, exploring the beach and relaxing. The following day (today) we decided that beauty like this place may not find us so often so even though fresh off a rest day we called in another.
With no sign of the croc we hit the reef snorkelling. WOW. You first have to swim out beyond about 100m of shallow reef with channels of spectacular corals and more fish than you have ever seen. Then you hit the outer drop off reefs. Here you enter the big fish realm and the stunning bommies sheltering all sorts of species. Out here I found incredible swim throughs, some just big enough to actually fit through (some not quite big enough as I scratched my leg up trying to squeeze through... What's a bit of blood in a croc bay!)
With a fish speared for lunch and coconuts in abundance a fish rice coconut dish was lunch before more snorkelling.
All in all I really have found paradise here and leaving tomorrow may prove more difficult than I imagine. Lets just say the bar has been raised on tropical islands. But I will keep looking!
Picture: Arriving on the beach at Forbes Island - paradise.
Hey Lain - a delayed blog response - but how often does one discover paradise - your description of Forbes Island and its reef wonder-world is so evocative - clearly a place that should be visited at least once in a life time. Take care when squeezing through the bommies....where do Moray eels live again?
ReplyDeletePaddling must come as second nature now...watch out for Justin he seems to be attracting a fair share of shark interest - or perhaps he just does not write about the scrapes that you get into!
Cheers.
Mick (and Jane)