Loka: Stop 5: Emu Park

I left Noosa at 12ish on the Monday, and was amazed to find I was the only one on the Loka Bus. I chatted to my driver about Oz so far, and my plans for New Zealand. He was a Kiwi so had lots of ideas and suggestions for me. I was dropped off at Cooroy Station to catch the first train of my East Coast journey. I had some time on the platform before the train, and pretty much had it to myself. I had to keep moving around so I didn't fall asleep. There wasn't a comfy seat, but I didn't trust myself either way. The Spirit of Queensland arrived and my new guide, TK, jumped off to meet me. The seats looked really nice, super comfortable! We had four between us, there was meant to be two other people but they had cancelled. It would just be the two of us until Airlie Beach.

I watched a few films on my tablet, walked the length of the train for a cuppa, and had a few naps until we arrived at Rockhampton about 10pm. We were picked up by Anna in the hostel minivan. She asked if we were hungry, and until that point I hadn't realised just how much I really was. It was late so our options were limited, I voted Dominoes. Anna couldn't remember exactly where this was, but we got there in the end. Unfortunately, we missed the cut off for the value pizzas, I wasn't paying more so went for a garlic bolognese baguette instead. It was messy and so unhealthy, but just what I needed.

We made it to Emu Beach Resort and Anna showed me to the room. I was gobsmacked, there were no bunkbeds in sight! I was going to be sleeping in a single bed. Bliss! I dumped my stuff, trying not to wake the only person in the room. Don't think I succeeded, for a start I turned the light on because I hadn't seen him. Ah well. I popped up to the bar and chatted with the other staff on site, Sammy and Matthi-something. I also met two Loka girls going South, Charlotte and Laura. We decided to make the journey to Keppel Islands together the next day. TK could only join us if we had another person, and the only other person staying in the resort was leaving in the morning. So that we wouldn't get lost on our own, TK drew us a map and told us where to go and who to speak to while we were over there. It sounded awesome. I was so tired now that I was beyond amazed at Sammy's card tricks. To be honest, she could have completely fluffed it up and I still have been impressed! That bed was calling me...

~

The other guest in our room was awake really early, it must have been around 4am when I roused. Luckily, no sooner had his bag disappeared around the door than I was back to sleep. The bed was so unbelievably comfortable that I completely ignored my alarms. I snoozed until about 8.15am, which was unheard of for me. I only had 15mins to pack my bag for the day, repack my rucksack, get changed and checkout! TK surprised us at reception, he was going to come with us after all. None of us had had breakfast, or prepared lunch, so we hot footed it to the IGA. Mandy picked us up from there 10mins later and drove us down to the wharf.

At first, we couldn't find the ferry. A school group soon joined us in searching, turns out it was just in a different bay to what TK was used to. We climbed aboard the Keppel Konnections and were off on our merry way to the Southern Great Barrier Reef. We had wanted to sit outside, but were a bit too slow. We found ourselves inside with the school group and a really cute dog. The journey over wasn't long at all, and we relied on those outside to look for whales and other marine life. No such luck unfortunately. We did get to see part of Great Keppel Island that tourists don't usually, the students were dropped off on a different side. It looked beautiful. We had an extra 10mins or so to reach Fisherman's Bay, where it was our turn to climb down onto the sand.

I had been wearing my converse, but took them off as soon as possible so I could enjoy the sand beneath my feet. The view was stunning, as we walked across the beach I just couldn't stop gawping at the beauty around me. Keppel was a proper tropical paradise, with soft sands and turquoise waters, palm trees and nothing but a few boats along the shore line. An unspoiled natural beauty. We arrived at the hire hut to find it empty. While TK phoned the owner, we took the time to apply more suncream. Bruce (I can't remember his actual name) arrived in his ute and was so laid back he was practically horizontal. He chatted away to us as he supplied snorkel gear and we tried on flippers. With all our bits in a handy bag, we bid him farewell and headed off on our trek to Monkey Beach.

First we had to continue our walk to the topmost end of the beach. From here we would be going inland so we all perched on rocks to put our shoes back on. The walk was a little more challenging than TK had described, I struggled carrying my snorkel bag, along with my own bag, up the steep climbs. Charlotte had a knee injury so was finding it more difficult, especially going down. I revelled in going downhill, it was so much easier for me and I was faster than the other girls. TK was too quick for his own good, I kept making him wait for the others. He'd start a conversation with me halfway up a hill and I would only hear half of it across the distance or over the sound of my huffing and puffing.

We finally made it and boy it was something. No matter how many stunning beaches I visit in this amazing country, I'll still be speechless every time. Monkey Beach really was postcard material. The contrast between the glistening sea and golden sand was perfect. And there was only one other group of people when we arrived. TK had found an overhanging tree to claim as our spot. I hung my bags from the branches and stripped to my bikini. I slathered on some more suncream and got my snorkel gear ready. I adjusted the snorkel to fit and spat in the lenses (this stops them fogging up). We all waded out into the water, I was surprised to find it the perfect temperature. The flippers went on in the shallows and we swam out to meet the reef.

Our main aim of the day was to find a turtle, or two. We all swam along together at first, eyes down at the coral. The clarity was amazing, I could see metres in each direction. There were so many different fish swimming beneath us and alongside us. I don't know any of their names, but I saw stripey ones, rainbow ones, big ones, small ones, fat ones, and thin ones. We still hadn't seen a turtle though. TK left us to go spear-fishing and we persevered on our quest. By this point, we were at least a kilometre out to sea. With my head down constantly, I quickly lost sight of the girls. I would bob up to the surface and see them on the other side. One of the times I looked up, Charlotte was signalling us to hurry over. I swam over as quickly as I could.

And there we had it. Our first turtle. I was over the moon to see an actual sea turtle, in his own habitat. He was gorgeous, with a beautiful shell pattern, gliding effortlessly through the water. I could have cried. We swam along with him for a while, and I took way more photos than necessary. We surfaced for a minute or two to organise selfies with our new friend. By the time we'd swapped cameraman, he had swam off. Ah well, now we were even more determined to find more! Relentless swimming around in all directions pursued. I tried to swim to the dropoff but I kept swimming in the wrong direction. As hard as I tried, with my face in the water, I would just keep swimming the wrong way. We all reconvened and decided it was time to give up for now and head back. We could always come back out. As if by magic, the second we put our heads down ready to swim off, a turtle appeared! How lucky! This one looked bigger than the last, but was down deeper. We just floated around watching him for a while. There was something so calming about just observing him swim along, completely undisturbed by his audience. Charlotte dived down and tried to get a close up before he disappeared. We didn't learn from our mistake and all surfaced again to discuss photo tactics. Surprise surprise, Mr Turtle had taken his leave while we weren't watching. Now it really was time to swim back, I'd say we could call that a success.

It was a much longer swim to shore than I had envisaged. I didn't remember swimming out so far, but it felt like hours until I could finally touch sand. The day was turning into one big workout. I was happy to get across the beach to my bag and rehydrate. Checking the time, we had been out in the water for just over an hour and a half! It hadn't seemed that long at all. Time flies when you're having fun - and turtle-spotting. TK hadn't returned, I ate a few crackers from my lunch supply and stood on the water's edge to dry off while we waited. It was so warm that this didn't take long at all, and we soon saw TK running up the beach towards us. He had caught some sort of rainbow fish and proceeded to take a gas canister and foil trays from his bag. This guy sure was organised.

While our fish lunch was being cooked, we headed back to the sea and paddled in the shallows. Laura had an amazing DSLR camera and was building a portfolio. We all had herbal essences hair flick photos and then I left them to it as I wandered further up the beach. There were a few more people now, but it was nothing compared to the crowds of Bondi. I could honestly have got used to the island life. Snorkelling out on the reef everyday, catching fish and collecting coconuts. After about 25mins on the handmade grill, the fish was ready. Now, I'm not massively keen on seafood, and up to this point in my life had only really eaten (and liked) the usual cod/haddock/tuna. Alas, what kind of traveller would I be if I didn't try new foods? Oh my goodness. It was so fresh and quite simply delicious. TK had basted the fish with brown sugar and lemon, it was well cooked.

We gathered all of our belongings, making sure we left nothing behind on the beach but our footprints. We all had soggy bottoms from our wet swimmers, but we would just have to get over it. We had to start our walk back or we would miss the ferry. The walk back up, over, and down seemed much quicker. Once we were on level ground, at the end of the track, TK decided we could take a shortcut. Instead of turning onto the beach, we carried on in land. The first surprise came in the form of a pack of wild goats. They were kind of cute, and even had a few kids. The second surprise was that our new route brought us out a stone's throw away from the hire hut. We dropped our gear off and made our way across the remainder of the beach towards waiting ferry.

On our return, we decided we wouldn't miss out by being inside again. The seats outside were taken, but we simply leaned against the railings. I wanted to wave goodbye to Keppel and enjoy the scenery en route to Rosslyn Bay. We were nearly there when we began to change direction. The captain clearly spotted something in the water, as we veered off course. The sudden detour was worth it, we saw a family of whales about 100m from us. The boat engine was turned off and all passengers rushed to one side to watch. There was at least two sperm whales playing out in the waves, putting on a show for us. They breached a few times, it's amazing how they can lift themselves out of the water. I mean, they have really really heavy bodies. Each time, I would watch the waves to see if there was a snowball affect. Nothing. It was all performed so gracefully, you couldn't feel it. With a flick of the tail in farewell, they were gone.

Anna was waiting for us at the ferry terminal and we all clambered aboard. I had used the last of my suncream, and the girls needed food, so we headed straight to town once we'd reached the resort. I popped into the discount chemist, hoping to be in and out in no time. I got a talker. The shop assistant wanted to discuss every brand of suncream with me. And I mean every brand. He would not stop, even when I'd made my choice. I shut him up by purchasing some aloe vera gel too, there was bound to be sunburn on the horizon.

Back at the hostel, I was dying for a shower. I got to use the special staff ones as technically didn't have a room anymore. Feeling fresh and clean, I met the others in the common area. We had a  BBQ tonight, and I piled my plate high with salad, pasta and a few cheeky sausages. Myself and TK decided we needed lots of fuel for our overnight train, so had another helping each. Sammy then said she'd have to throw away the pasta if it wasn't eaten. And so I had another plateful of that too. I'm certainly not going to be losing any weight soon.

The worst part of the day was the waiting around.. We didn't have to leave for the station until about 10ish. I chatted with the girls and we looked over our photos for the day. A large G Adventures group then arrived, and Paulie the hostel owner also appeared. Somehow, we managed to get free drinks out of him. I tried one of Laura's favourites, a pineapple and mango soda. While reception was open, I reclaimed my belongings and packed away my toiletries. I was ready and raring to go. Sammy drove us to Rockhampton, I have a feeling I napped on the way as I don't remember it at all.

Now we had another wait until our train arrived at 11.50pm. At least we had re-runs of First Dates in the waiting room to keep us amused. The train arrived and we found our seats.. these had screens in the back, complete with films, TV shows and music. Luxury! Hopefully I'd get some sleep, ready for Airlie Beach...