spacealien_vamp | Australia trip report, Day 2

March 7

It was storming when I woke up (before dawn) to get ready for my trip. It included transportation to and from my hotel, but since the bus driver had to swing around a bunch of different hotels to pick up all the people who had signed up for various Green Island tours, and mine was the first stop on the route, I had to be ready to go quite early.

The rain had died down to a light shower by the time I boarded the boat to the island. The trip was nearly an hour on choppy waters, and though I don't often get motion sick, I was about reaching my limit by the time it was over. Luckily, by then the rain had stopped entirely. (On the return trip, I took one of the motion sickness prevention pills they offered for free, and I felt much better.)

The first thing I did was head for the snorkeling shop to pick up the gear I would need. At the counter, though, I was informed that the morning storm had stirred up so much debris that the beach was closed. Well, drat.

I meandered off to the island's main land attraction, a crocodile park. I strolled around looking at the various crocodiles. By the time it got to the point that they would hold the crocodile feeding show, I had three mosquito bites. (I guess they like the swampy crocodile areas...) I watched the crocodile feeding [video file], then I paid to have my picture taken holding a baby crocodile.

I wandered around the island for a while longer, then back to the snorkel shop to try my luck again. No dice. The beach had been opened up for swimming, but the water was still too full of debris for snorkeling.

Completely forgetting that my ticket included a buffet lunch, I ordered a meal at a restaurant there. It was a main dish of fried cheese accompanied by thin wafers of grilled bread, a salad, and a small bowl of olives. I have to say it was one of the best meals I had during my stay. In fact, the wild birds in the area were of the same opinion, and no fewer than four different kinds tried to steal food from my plate.

After lunch and a leisurely stroll through the gift shop, I slathered on some sunscreen and headed to the beach to paddle around in the ocean for a while. Sure enough, the water was an opaque brown. Attempting to snorkel would have been extremely frustrating. The sad thing is, the weather remained clear for the next several days, so if I had done the Green Island tour at a later time, I probably would have gotten to see the reef...not that I could have known such a thing in advance.

When my tour time was up, I was driven back to my hotel, where again I spent the evening reading and turned in early.