My Uncle Tony and his partner Bernadette are travelling around in a big
fifth wheeler with their Harley Davidson motorbike on the back on their truck.
Last year we caught up with them a lot on the road and we were all really
excited to see them again this year. They were heading back to Port Douglas to
spend a few months there, so we planned to be there at the same time.
We arrived a week earlier so that we could spend the whole school
holidays in the little tourist town in Far North Queensland.
We followed mum and dad along the beautiful beachside road and arrived
at Pandanus Caravan Park on a beautiful sunny day.
As soon as the caravan was unhitched we threw on our bathers and headed
down to the beach.
The beach at Port Douglas is perfect for children. It is incredibly
shallow and when the tide is out the sand is solid enough to ride a bike along!
The water is a beautiful temperature and feels almost like a warm bath. Until
now Zaccy hasn’t really enjoyed playing in the ocean. We have spent a lot of
time at surf beaches and he has always been afraid of the waves. Because the beach is so shallow at Port Douglas,
the waves are tiny. Perfect for 3 year olds to feel like giants, jumping right
over the top of them!
Our first week at Port Douglas was filled with sunshine and we spent
most of our time exploring the area, trying our luck (which Dad had plenty of,
but I had none) at fishing and working out what we should do the following
week.
The next weekend Tony and Bernie arrived followed soon after by my
little brother, Chris and his pregnant wife Leah. It was very exciting seeing
everyone as we hadn't seen them since we left home in February.
Throughout the week we acted like tourists on holiday. We ate out most
nights, went on sightseeing tours and soaked up the sun on the beach.
We all spent a full day out on the Great Barrier Reef. Getting up early
we met at the Marina and boarded the Quicksilver catamaran.
After about an hour heading out over the reef we stopped alongside the
Quicksilver Pontoon on the Agincourt Reef. We boarded the pontoon and fitted
ourselves out with snorkelling gear.
I had been concerned that Zac would have a difficult time snorkelling
and that he wouldn’t get to appreciate everything that the reef has to offer.
We climbed into the warm water in the beginner zone which is closely
supervised by many lifeguards. I put the mask and snorkel on Zaccy and tried to
coax him into looking under water. He didn’t like the snorkel in his mouth,
kept taking it out and was getting mouthfuls of salty water. I decided to be a
little harsh and I shoved his snorkel into his mouth and before he could remove
it , I pushed his head under water. I wish I had taken a photo at that moment –
his face lit up and his eyes grew huge as he realised there were fish that were
nearly as big as him, swimming between his legs. Through the snorkel he cried
out and it took me a few seconds to realise that he was squealing with delight.
Although he never quite got the hang of the snorkel (every time he
needed to take a breath, he would raise his head out of the water and gulp in
air) he spent the next hour watching the rainbow of coloured fish of many
different shapes, sizes and colours.
Meanwhile Dan, Mum, Dad, Chris and Leah had taken Sam and Will to the
reef further out. They had a wonderful time exploring the amazing underwater
world filled with beautiful colours and fascinating creatures.
We paused for a buffet lunch but were all really eager to get back into
the water and continue exploring and taking photos with our underwater cameras.
While we let our lunch go down, we took a trip down in the semi-submersible, an
underwater boat that took us on a 30 minute trip down to get a close up of the underwater
world that is a dazzling kaleidoscope of colour and brilliance.
Now, in case you haven’t read my previous blogs, I should probably let
you know something about myself. I’m not afraid of many things; heights don’t
bother me, I think snakes and spiders are really cool, I used to play with
creepy crawlies when I was a kid…. However, there are two things in life that
scare the hell out of me….. Mice and crocodiles!!
We went through a mouse plague last year while travelling through
central NSW and I think my fear of mice may have lessened since being exposed
to so many mice (that is, I no longer throw up when I see a mouse).
So my theory to overcome my fear of crocs was to expose myself to as
much information about them as possible.
Since arriving in Far North Queensland I have spent a lot of time
looking up info using the internet, talking to locals and bombarding Visitor
Information Centres with questions.
However, my heart still lodged itself securely in my throat whenever
myself or the kids were anywhere near water. I spent one afternoon fishing near
the marina with Dad, and I’m sure he was incredibly embarrassed to be seen with
me. Let’s just say I was glad I was using my surf rod because I was standing a
good 15 feet away from the water’s edge and I kept gasping every time anyone
went anywhere near the water.
What I thought I needed was a trip to the local Crocodile
World. My theory proved to be very wrong. It was as if I had filters over my
ears and all I could hear was the ‘croc experts’ talking about how dangerous
the crocs are, the statistics of everyone who has ever been killed or injured,
how powerful they are and how they kill their dinner.
As we went on a boat cruise around the lake at Hartleys
Crocodile World, I ignored all of the ooos and aaahs from all the other
passengers as the crocs jumped out of the water, as I imagined the dead chook
on the end of the pole as my head, or worse, one of the kids!
We had a great day watching all of the animal shows but it
did nothing to ease my fear of Australia’s great Estuarine
Crocodile. In fact, I think it may have turned my rational fear into an
irrational one!
Being a sucker for punishment, I was determined to overcome
my problem. So one sunny afternoon I agreed to go out in a little 6ft pontoon
boat with my Dad, Chris and Leah. We were heading down the river in search of a
good fishing spot (and on the lookout for crocs in the wild) I figured seeing
one in the wild wasn’t going to be anywhere near as scary as at the shows. Surely they make it look worse than it is for
entertainment purposes.
Wrong again! The first croc we saw sunbaking on the muddy
river banks sent Leah and me into petrified screams. It didn’t help the
situation when Dad, who was driving, turned the boat around because he didn’t
get to see it. Leah and I couldn’t understand why Dad was heading straight for
the croc. Dad still couldn’t see the croc because it was so well hidden in
plain sight! Lying out on top of the mud, it was beautifully camouflaged and
could only be seen from a certain angle.
Very quickly Dad changed course once he realised how close
we were, but it was too late. I was a nervous wreck! I spent the rest of the
day convinced that we were surrounded by crocs.
Not to mention that the fishing trip didn’t go so well.
Don’t get me wrong, everybody else caught lots of fish, but it wasn’t one of my
better days. Apart from only catching a few little ones, I also managed to
accidently throw one of Dad’s catches back into the river. Then I dropped
Leah’s first catch overboard when I was cleaning it – I suddenly had an image
of a croc jumping out of the water to
eat the meal I was so generously holding for it.
Needless to say, my fear of crocs is still as strong as ever
and I cannot wait to head inland and away from the coast of FNQ!