Kangaroos, Coastlines, and a Chaotic Skipper
Just as we’d cozied into bed after delightful showers, someone started trying to open our door — over and over. Then came heavy thumping up and down the metal stairs. About ten minutes later, there was a knock, a conversation, a bit more waiting, and finally we were kindly asked if we could switch rooms. Luckily we pack light, so it didn’t take long to move into another fresh room. Honestly, it seemed like a strange decision on the part of whoever wanted our room — they would’ve to wait for it to be completely remade. Meanwhile we crawled straight into another fresh bed and fell asleep fast.
We were up at dawn, slipping out of the room like two people embarking on a top-secret mission — except our getaway car was sitting on almost the exact number of kilometres we needed to reach the petrol station. We watched the fuel gauge like hawks with absolutely no reassurance. Perfect conditions for a relaxing morning haha.
The highway was quiet we saw a lot of kangaroos in the fields however we hardly saw any other vehicles, which made it exciting when we spotted a kangaroo on the side of the road. Cotty eased off the accelerator, giving it space… and then, in the single worst moment it could have chosen, the roo launched itself directly in front of the car. Cotty slammed the brakes and we skidded hard — tyres screeching — missing it by what felt like millimetres.
We didn’t stop in our lane, either. The skid carried us across to the opposite side of the road, right on a corner. For a breath-holding moment we were sideways on the wrong side, praying an oncoming car wouldn’t appear. Somehow, unbelievably, the road stayed empty. We were very lucky.
Once our hearts decided to remain inside our bodies, we coaxed the car onward, riding that shaky adrenaline surge all the way to the petrol station. We rolled in exactly as predicted — on fumes — 0kms available and still somehow made it to the boat tour on time, wide awake in the most dramatic sense possible.
There we met Gaza, the most animated, high-energy skipper you could possibly imagine. The actual boat ride was fine, nothing extraordinary other than a few dolphins, but Gaza was incredible. He was overflowing with environmental and historical knowledge about the coast, Walpole, the plants, the geology, the animals — you name it. The highlight of the outing was the fleeting stingray sighting and the hike across the island to the white-and-purple sand beach. Gaz even passed around bottles of the white and purple sand, and the weight difference was instantly noticeable — the purple sand felt dramatically heavier because it’s packed with dense minerals like garnet.
After the tour, we had a leisurely drive to Elephant Rocks, which were perfect for a bit of bouldering — we both climbed around a little. The weather was a touch too chilly for swimming in the gorgeous water, but we wandered over to Greens Pool before heading to Augusta for a quick resupply and a restful night. I crashed hard and slept a long time — apparently I needed it.
