When I'm 64 (Sal Salis, Cape Range National Park)

The night was calmer, although colder until the early morning when the wind whipped up again. No drama. The tent stayed anchored to the ground. We heard the sound of distant voices heading off to early morning adventures and dozed on. 

Those voices became the soundtrack to our week. We heard them on the plane up from Perth, on the shuttle to Sal Salis, in the morning as they went on their dawn walk, in the Lodge. I named them Tinnitus because they were always in my head.

Today is Jayne’s birthday (August 19 if you’re reading this out of sync) and the intention is to be as relaxed as possible and just go with whatever takes us. It is also responsible for today's title, When I'm 64 by the best band ever, The Beatles. 

Breakfast was the usual offerings, although this morning we tried the coffee machine. I know, dear reader, there are multitudes of people who believe the new-age machine does good coffee, but I am not among their number. What appeared in a cup this morning, masquerading as an espresso, did little to alter my perspective. I drank it and then opted for a cup of tea.

Stunning every morning.

Following breakfast, we were fitted out for our snorkelling gear, sans wetsuits. The water temperature is remarkably warm and we felt we wouldn’t require them. Back to the tent to change and then it was straight across the sand dune to the water. The reef is less than 10 metres away but the south-north current ensures you need to walk many metres down the beach to allow your snorkel to bring you home. Otherwise, it’s Mauritius or Madagascar, as I’ve heard the guides say.

We walked maybe 500 metres up the beach and then it was into the gutter between the shore and the coral. Mask adjusted, flippers on, into the current, over the coral and let the ocean do the rest. Visibility was still not as good as we’d hoped. The fringing coral was in various states of life or death; it wasn’t easy to tell the difference at times. It’s a spectrum I guess and the opposite ends share some similarities. The coral closest to the shore was covered in sediment which was unsurprising given the current and the nature of the reef.

There was a variety of coral but the abundance and diversity of fish life was astounding. Regardless of whether we were over sand or coral, there were fish. All shapes and sizes and colours. Large schooling fish I would have liked to have taken home for dinner. Trumpeter fish with their oversized beaks. Leather jacket, angel fish, Nemo (well, his relatives) and so many more I didn’t recognise. Magic.

Pretty and  slightly over-exposed.

Back on shore, we retired to our tent for showers and a spot of reading on the verandah. The sun and the breeze ensured our gear dried quickly. The only disturbance was the aircraft. Planes heading out to the reef whale spotting or just sight-seeing and the jets. I assume they were heading for Learmonth which is, after all, a Defence base. And Tinnitus droning away in their tent.

A Nankeen Kestrel falcon.

Sal Salis is one of those resorts where everything is included in the price. Unlike some cruises we’ve been on that profess the same, Sal Salis is the real deal, we paid for nothing after we arrived. An ordinary day offered breakfast, lunch, canapes and dinner with the alcohol cupboard being freely accessed whenever you like. It being Jayne’s birthday, we thought lunch might be nice. The choice was burrata and whatever or bugs and a capsicum (muhammara style) sauce.

Bugs. Wow. Two full bugs with the capsicum sauce and a baguette. I didn’t need to eat that much, but it would have been wasteful not to finish. Absolutely delicious. Even the two corellas that wanted to share my lunch could not distract me. Corellas and bugs despatched, we repaired to the Lodge interior to avoid the sun and consume some more Chardy.

He was uninvited.

Horror of horrors. I pulled the wine bottle from the fridge and commenced to pour. The pour was terminated abruptly with a gasp loud enough for Jayne to hear 15 metres away. Some philistine had returned a red wine bottle to the row of chardonnay and I had inadvertently poured red wine into Jayne’s glass. In my defence, the bottles were similar. And who expects to find a red in the fridge? Even up here.

Lunch done, it was back to the tent for a rest before our next meal. It’s a tough life. OK, maybe I spent time writing this blog and reading. What am I reading you enquire? Evie Wyld’s latest, The Echoes. I wanted to dislike it because I haven’t forgiven the Miles Franklin judges for awarding her the Miles over Flanagan’s Narrow Road to the Deep North. The latter did go on to win the Booker so my judgement was vindicated. Quite like the new book though. About half way through. We’ll see. The ending may disappoint, like that of Immaculate By Anna McGahan. Discuss.

A wine induced afternoon snooze followed (for me) before we raised ourselves and changed for dinner. Another excellent three courses: scallops for entrée, rib eye for main and a white chocolate mousse for dessert. As it was Jayne’s birthday, her mousse came resplendent with a ‘happy birthday’ chocolate disc. And a rousing version of ‘happy birthday’, kicked off by the staff and taken up by the guests.

A starry night.

Back at the tent I attempted some night photography. “Attempted” is the correct verb, dear reader. Over exposed. I blame the full moon and will try again tomorrow night. At least I know how to shoot the stars now, Dave. Sadly, they are not as impressive as the night sky on the Larapinta. There is potential, but not with a full moon.

Too much light from the moon.

Until tomorrow.

Bus stop (Rarotonga)

Pancakes, syrup and fresh fruit.

Today's title will become obvious my curious reader, but it is a nod back to the Mersey bands and the great Hollies. Curiously Herman's Hermits also did a version which is a lovey link to our resident hermit crab, Herman.

The day began as the others had, sleeping late and sleep-walking down to breakfast. The excitement for me my discerning reader is what they will do with the eggs. We've had quiche, scrambled eggs and an omelette.  Today's surprise was ... wait for it ... pancakes! Winner! And beautifully presented they were too.  Pancakes, fresh fruit and tea. A great way to commence the day.

The weather was as it has been since we arrived. Around 27°, breezy with cloud moving so quickly that it is generally sunny. And humid. Let's not forget the humidity. The sort of humidity that makes think you need another shower after you exert yourself by putting on your shoes. Not that it is such an issue because the lagoon and the sea breeze are a few steps or an open window away.

Today's activity, according to the resort, is cocktails. I think we can manage that one without too much trouble. It is a tad early though and we have a few things we need to get sorted for the remainder of the week. We set out for one of the local stores to buy our daily 3 litre bottle of water and check out which nights the Night Markets operate. We have a cultural experience tonight, will go to the  Night Markets for dinner tomorrow, after the cocktail party and then our final night here is the Polynesian night. All sorted. Oh, and a massage to kill time before we leave for the airport on Thursday.

The snorkelling we did yesterday was just a test case and following the recommendation from another holiday maker, today was going to be more serious. We swapped the reef shoes for fins and headed off to the point of the island to search for the coral outcrops. It took about 30 minutes to negotiate our way there, stopping to adjust goggles and talk about what we were seeing underwater. The number and variety of sea cucumber is amazing. There were also more small reef fish than I noticed previously. But this was nothing compared to variety of sea life that lived in and around the giant coral outcrops. the coral looked like massive pumpkins and there were fish everywhere. Small reef fish, larger fish that would have looked good on my plate, star fish, urchins and a particularly aggressive fish that we would call a leather jacket. A couple of them had a go at me for invading their territory, one swiped past my board shorts, but the bravest one actually bit Jayne on the finger as she trailed her hand behind her. When she turned to see what had happened, he was floating nearby, mouth open, daring her to fight.

We snorkelled to the far end and then out toward the reef

We spent almost an hour and a half snorkelling various parts of the lagoon. We paused on the island for 5 minutes on the return swim to de-wrinkle our fingers. Nearby there were a number of girls in bikinis. White and yellow are always my favourite because they are see through when wet. The other girls were wearing iridescent orange. I was bemused by the fawning boys with the cameras and poses the girls were doing until I realised it was a photo shoot. Excitement over, it was time to head for the other shore and have a swim in the pool to de-sand.

Cheers Amie, this one's for you

That done it was time for lunch and cocktails. Once again Jayne opted for a Piña Colada. However, ever the adventurer, I went for Amie's Mistake. I'm not sure if the mistake was making the cocktail or drinking too many of them, but this is the first cocktail I have had that tasted remotely alcoholic. Believe me, it tasted alcoholic.

Balcony time. The breeze is lovely as we sit and watch the passing parade below and while away the hours until tonight's cultural experience. Relaxing holidays are the best, but despite our best efforts and copious amounts of sunscreen, the sun is taking its toll and these afternoon hours spent in the shade are an absolute necessity. It's also allowing me to catch up on some reading my avid reader. I've made it back to the 1968 Miles Franklin Award winner.

Soon enough it was time to walk down the driveway to the bus stop (you see the link now) and wait in any available shade, or anywhere there was a breeze, for our pick-up to attend the Highland Paradise Cultural Centre Ka'ara Island Night. It was still very warm and there wasn't much shade or breeze and we had a 15 minute window to wait for the ride. He was 10 minutes outside of that, not bad for island time. While we waiting a lady turned up to catch the bus into town. The bus is supposed to arrive at quarter past the hour, today it rolled past at 5:16 and despite the fact that we were standing at the bus stop, it did not slow in its progress and sailed straight past us. The lady in question arrived at 5:20 and was very surprised when we told her that she had missed the bus. She went off in search of alternative transport home rather than wait for the next bus.

Safely inside our bus, the air con was blasting away at temperatures of cold I'd not experienced since Malaysia. It was, however, most welcome. We had a few more guests to pick up along the way and then Willy, our driver, talked to us about the island and the people and crops grown in the area as a taster for what was to come.

The view from Highland paradise

It was an interesting and an enjoyable night. There was cultural history and a short walk around the property, including a symbolic offering ceremony in the Marae, the meeting ground for the tribe's government. This was followed by dinner and then a show that traced the history of the people to the present time. The drumming and the dancing was absolutely amazing and it was an excellent way to convey the story. Danny, the MC and a descendant of the King from the early days was a good host and interspersed the history lesson with cheesy jokes. There was also the ritual humiliation of a few guests who were chosen as the leader of different groups, but it was all in good fun (because I was safely seated at my table - wrong demographic anyway, too old and grey).

The meal was interesting. It was buffet style and probably contained food most people would recognise, but there was a twist. The chicken and pork was cooked in the traditional underground oven and there were other traditional dishes as well, taro leaves in coconut milk and raw fish for instance. It was tasty and very filling.

The Highland Cultural Centre is apparently charged with providing these experiences to all the island school students to ensure that their culture is keep alive for all. It is a pity that Australians can't/don't/won't recognise indigenous culture in the same positive way in Australia, but I assume that is part of our cultural background and the fact that the invaders stayed in big numbers and colonised the country.

We were deposited back at our door some time after 10pm, the last stop on our bus group.  We had offered for Willy to drop us at the roadside to walk back to the resort but he insisted on taking us to the reception door.

Warning: Political statement following: What I struggled with throughout the night was the role the London Missionary Society (LMS) played in the destruction of the culture that existed before they arrived with their prudish, puritanical concepts of sexuality and the superiority of their god. Seriously, a christian invisible god is better than an islander invisible god? Of course, I've long believed that many of the current world problems can be traced back to England. Let's think Australia still holding onto the monarchy and the near destruction of our indigenous culture; Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales speak for themselves; Israel; parts of Africa, India, Sri Lanka; need I continue? ... colonialism and its white-man superiority supported by christianity has much to answer for in today's world.

Fire-twirlers practising their art across the lagoon

Until tomorrow, when I may have calmed down a little