Australia Part Two
Monday August 31, 2009 in travel |
Actually I forgot to mention the jetlag that comes with a visit to the other side of the world. If you are prepared to get up very early, say 3am, and go to bed at a modest hour, say 8pm, then the jetlag isn’t an issue. And I find that the timeshift allows for some good quality, dream free sleeps, with those early hours perfect for quiet reading or frequenting otherwise sleepy internet cafes. A trip to Australia shouldn’t be any less than two weeks, because it takes that long to get back to normal sleeping and waking.
After Sydney our destination was Dunk Island, named by Captain Cook after his friend the Earl of Sandwich (who, as we all know, invented the sandwich). It was also home to E.J. Banfield, who penned Confessions of a Beachcomber (although not, I must add, an Australian romp from the 1970s starring Robin Asquith but something far more sober). Dunk is situated just off the Cairns coast and is accessible by 10 seater plane, a type of transport exciting for children but memorably grim for timid adults such as myself who tend to hang on to their hats and convince themselves they are in a brief sequence from an Indiana Jones film. It’s a 30 minute flight, with breathtaking views if you can bear to open your eyes.
Guests are flown directly to Dunk Island’s holiday resort, where you are constantly fed until bursting point although it must be added that the service by young Australian twenty-somethings is a little haphazard. It’s almost as if a prolonged stay on the island dulls your senses. Activities are divided between doing nothing, following one of several island walks and water pursuits. For the very first time I went snorkelling and, garbed in a comforting lifejacket, did fairly well. I also surprised myself by taking command of a small motorboat (or “tinny” as the locals corrected me) for some light sailing.
In my opinion six days and nights on a tropical island is just about right (I don’t know how Robinson Crusoe lasted so long without going doolally). It’s a great break, but one longs for some return to civilisation. Which will be the subject of my next post…