Taking photos of some of my favourite things about the island...like these rocks that always look like they're about to tip over...
Making sure I went to my favourite beach as much as possible (Rocky Bay), which I actually cried when I left the last time...
One of those last times I brought Franck with me thinking it would be nice to have some company and he did this the whole time...BORING!!!
Some more of those pretty rocks at Rocky Bay...
Balding Bay (which Laura took me to on my last Friday on the Island). It took us about half an hour to walk there up some pretty steep rocks in the heat and on the way we got yelled at by this crazy man who lives on a boat in Horseshoe Bay who told us we were "stupid females"and needed to "get a man". But it was worth it!
This one is at Picnic Bay and looks like the profile of a face. Can you see it???
Another one at Picnic Bay. Tired of looking at pictures of rocks yet? How about a picture of a Cockatoo than?
This Cockatoo flew down quite close to us at the hostel which is unusual. They normally stay high up in the trees eating mangoes and making crazy noises (not unlike most birds in OZ).
One of my last sunsets on the Island...
One night there was some live Latin music down by the beach close to where I lived so Franck and I went to check it out. The music itself sucked pretty bad (the woman was a TERRIBLE singer) but there was a dance performance which was kind of neat...
Franck and Vince decided they could do a better job (which they did) out on the Jetty.
At the same time there were people picnicking on the Jetty at Picnic Bay. Some people had really fancy food and decorations. It was super cute.
Here's one thing I won't miss about the island or Australia in general...
But I will miss having BBQ's with my Maggie Island family. This one was at Laura and Riccardos new amazing cottage-like flat in Horseshoe Bay.
Of course my last few weeks on the island involved some drinking and dancing and general mayhem (what night didn't, really). On this night we had our own dance party and the Frenchies decided to do a little Michael Jackson Thriller.
Jazz hands???
One night we went to X-Base because there were 2 amazing guitarists playing. Live music doesn't happen often on the island so when it does we made sure we were there.
Franck and Jeremy obviously enjoying the music. They are just too cool to smile!
Me enjoying the music...
Riccardo and I enjoying the music together!
Brilliant invention. Keeps the beer cold without having to water it down with ice!
After the live music was over they had a game of musical chairs and the winner got a bar tab. If you didn't get a chair you could choose to take an article of clothing off to stay in the game...
and the winner is...
I also went to the RSL Markets for the last time to enjoy some yummy Indonesian food with lovely Laura and Riccardo. Although I was very sad to find out that the cheesecake lady had sold out prior to our arrival because someone had come and cleaned her out for a dinner party they were having. Has no one heard of pre-ordering? Geez! So I had to settle for these little Dutch donuts which I still can't pronounce the name of smothered in chocolate and icing sugar. They were ok but nothing beats that cheesecake.
On my last Saturday night on the island we had a BBQ at Hideaway...
and Franck even helped out with the washing up. Amazing! Thanks Franck!
After we went to X-Base for our last night of crazyness. Unfortunately Paul passed out in the hammock before we got there and didn't make it out with us.
My last day was tear-filled and very bitter sweet. Franck drove me to the ferry and Laura and Riccardo met me there to say one last goodbye. Here they are waving to me as my ferry pulled away...
My first few days in Melbourne (I'm here for 10 days to say goodbye to the people I met while I lived here) were pretty emotional. My body was here but my mind and heart were still on the Island and to make it worse it was rainy, cloudy and cold for about 6 days straight which was hard for me after being in non-stop sunshine and warmth for 2 1/2 months (although today it's sunny and about 25 - hooray!). I fantasized a lot about going back but now that I've been gone a week I am starting to feel more excited about the adventures to come and trying to look forward (or to stay in the moment) rather than living in the past. It was an amazing time and with any luck I will be back there someday.
So...what's the plan now? Well, I fly into Christchurch New Zealand on Thursday night. From what I hear it's not a city I am going to want to stay in for any length of time so I am first going to visit a friend who I met in Sydney in December who I have kept in contact with and who has an art show the day after a get there in a small town about 200kms from Christchurch. We will probably do some sightseeing the next few days after that and then I will either meet up with a German friend named Hendrik that I hung out with for a few days when he came and stayed at Hideaway a few months ago and is now driving around New Zealand or fly to Wellington which is apparently the Melbourne of NZ and meet up with my Canadian friend Lindsay who I met while working for Cirque Du Soleil and is now living there. Nerys and some other friends will be in NZ for X-Mas and New Years so hopefully I will meet up with them. One day at a time...mate! I will post my new Mobile number as soon as I get one in NZ as I won't be able to use the current one I have after I leave OZ. As of now I plan to be there for approx. 4 months and then go to Thailand for a month before heading home in April.
Side note: One of my biggest pet peeves about travelling is when I tell people from home what I am up to (i.e. living on a tropical paradise island) and their response is "wow, you're so lucky"! Um...no...this trip has nothing to do with luck. If I had won the lottery, perhaps I could attribute this year and a half to "luck"but the truth is...I worked my ass off to save money to come here and I worked my ass off while I was here to save money again and I took a leap of faith and came to the other side of the world by myself and that is MY doing...not lucks. I created this reality for myself and so can anyone else. Thinking about it is much scarier than actually doing it. If you've ever travelled, you know what I mean. Ok, just needed to get that off my chest. Phew. That feels better. Hope I haven't offended anyone.
See you in New Zealand!
xoxo
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