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Swimming in Tropical Storms
Brisbane -> Bribie Island, 4th to 6th February 2002
We spent the next few days in Pat's house on Bribie Island. Josh,
our friend from England, joined us when we left Brisbane on 4th
February. He asked if he could join us as we travelled up the coast
to Cairns. Luckily there's enough room for Custard to fit in an
extra passenger!
While on Bribie Island, we made the most of having a place to stay
for FREE! After Bribie Island we'll be heading up the coast quite
quickly because of deflated bank balances. We'd made a decision to
move on out of Oz quite quickly, and onto Bali & Asia where our
money would last much longer.
Bribie Island is a small, but extensive, island off the east coast
of Oz, just north of Brisbane. It's got plenty of houses, shops and
even a school. I don't think it's on the tourist trail, there's no
mention of it at all in the Rough Guide. It's a bit of a hidden gem
because the beach on the far side of the island is fantastic! It's
long, golden and very quiet, we had a whole stretch to ourselves.
The house we stayed in was a lovely little house a good way from
town. We actually shared the house with Pat's friend Dennis. Dennis
lived on the bottom floor and we lived on the top floor, although we
shared the kitchen. Dennis was a friendly old guy with white hair
and a glint in his eye. He loved golf and nice food and talked a lot
about his fond memories of touring the golf course of England in a
Jaguar.
On our first night on Bribie Island, we decided to hire out some
videos. After lots of running around and swapping, we managed to get
a bunch of videos on special offer and vegged out for the evening.
Stinge and Em were desperate for a game of Perfect Dark on the N64.
When they found that the local video shop rented out N64s, they
jumped at the chance. However, their copy of Perfect Dark didn't
work, so they went on a 2 hour trip in the van hunting the whole
island and a big chunk of the mainland for a copy of the game. When
they came back, they were still empty handed, so they had no make do
with playing Goldeneye.
Josh, Nat and I were restless after waiting around for them for
ages. You can't really get anywhere, from the house we were staying
at, without a car. So as soon as they returned, we went for a drive
to the beach on the far side of the island, the surf beach at Woorim.
As we had started driving, a tropical storm had started. We got
their quickly, parked the van and ambled onto the beach. We stared
at the sandy beach stretching off into the distance. The only sign
of life we could see were two people in the water, so far away they
were barely specks in the water. We walked up to the water's edge
and looked at the waves splashing before us. We loved it! Bolts of
lighting flashed in the sky and booms of thunder rolled in the
distance. Light rain started to fall all around us.
Suddenly, I pulled my T-Shirt off and took a running dive into the
deep blue waves*. The water was lovely & refreshing so
I stood up and beckoned the others in. After a moments hesitation,
Nat and Josh ran in.
Fully soaked, I looked out to sea. All I could see were rolling dark
blue waves, topped with white peaks. I could barely make out a small
island faintly in the distance. A yellow lighting bolt raked
horizontally through the purple sky. I could just feel the gentle
rain landing on my shoulders. Around me, the splashes of the rain
drops looked like sparkling stars.
We played around in the waves for a while enjoying the refreshing
coolness of the water. Although the water was cool, it was very warm
and comfortable, especially by English standards!
On the way back home, we did a true Ozzie experience. We went to a
alcohol drive through and picked up a 12 pack of VB 'stubbies'
(bottles).
We also made a decision that we would return to this beach tomorrow,
with the others, and enjoy the beach in the sun.
*A bit of health and safety here: Swimming during storms is
not recommended. The risk of electric shock from lightning touching
water is quite high. Neither Go Gap nor I endorse or suggest
swimming during a storm. If you do so, you do so at your own risk.
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To know the road ahead, ask those coming back
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