(Penguin Island)
Sea Kayaking
All this week I was looking forward to our weekend adventure, Sea Kayaking to Penguin Island! This adventure combined some of the things I love the most, like the sea, kayaking, islands, and challenges!!!
After waking up in time to leave at 8am, we took a sleepy 45 minutes drive to the coast near Rockingham. After some kayak training and packing of lunches, we took off into the ocean. Let me set the scene; As you can see from the photo, it was a cloudy and really windy. The combination of these factors made for some intense waves. So a large group on inexperienced kayakers, facing a head wind, and with lots of tall waves. Look out world.
The kayaks were two person kayaks, so it was important to work together with you partner to get to Seal Island, the first stop on our trip. This lesson was lost on some of the less fortunate kayakers, who fell pray to the strong wind and waves that took the kayaks in the opposite direction and away from the island. Megan and I powered through the waves, and made it to the Island first. It was amazing! The waves were intense, and that just heightened my desire to power through them and do well and succeed. It was quite the thrill ride to be sure. The guides went back and led the errant kayaks by tying them to their boat, and pretty soon we were on our way to Penguin Island!
(Pelicans and Bird on the Island)
Before we could reach the island, we had to brave a narrow passage through huge rocks. As luck would have it, Megan and I were the first to depart. In front of us was Penguin island, far away, but withing range. On either side of us were huge rocks, each with their own little pool of smaller rocks at their base. The water would hit these smaller rocks, and create huge, treacherous, kayak destroying waves. We somehow manage to stay on a straight path between both hazards (thanks to good steering from Megan), and everything turned out alright.
When we finally arrived at Penguin Island, there was much rejoicing. Tired and worn out, the group rested for a bit before taking a tour of the island. It was a beautiful island, lots of bird sanctuaries (cool pelicans and annoying seagulls), great beaches, and pretty awesome ancient rock formations. After the tour we ate a lunch of make-your-own sandwiches, (which was amazing!) and decided to head back to the mainland after some more adventuring. The ride back was cake, with the wind at our backs and the waves pushing us toward shore. After landing and loading up the kayaks, everyone was exhausted! The ride home was short, because I was sleeping the entire time. All in all, an amazing day kayaking and pushing the limits of what you should be doing in a stormy ocean. =)
American Food!!!
On Monday, Lacey, Megan, Kayley and I made community dinner for the group. And what was it? American Feast Night! I cooked some burgers on the barbeque, and we had an appetizer of cowboy caviar (a beans, corn, and gauc dip). Dessert was an amazing American Flag cake prepared by Lacey. It rocked my socks off, and was completely delicious. Making community dinner is one of my favorite things to do in Cleos, and this meal was especially good. I think it was the fullest that I have felt since coming to Australia. Good old classic American fatty food, can't beat it =)
Another Mysterious Man!!
This morning started off normally. I woke up at 7:10am and went on the run and swim with Tom Gannon. It's a great way to wake up, and the beach was beautiful. When I got home, Megan asked me why I had wandered into their room last night. I told her she was dreaming, but she said that around 6 am she saw me wander into their room, look around, and leave. Then, Alli added a new twist to the story. Apparently around 6:08am Alli woke to find a weird man hovering over her bed. He noticed she was awake and said, in and Australian Accent, "Sorry I'm late" (he meant lost), and then left. So apparently at 6:00am we had a weird man wandering around the building looking for the exit. Some say that it was me, sleepwalking. But how is that possible? No one has a perfect description of the man, except that he looked like me, was wearing clothes, and spoke in an Australian accent. Even Megan said she wasn't sure it was me, but just assumed it was. First of all, if I was sleepwalking, why did I put on clothes? Secondly, why would I speak in an accent? I'm positive it was not me, but only time will tell. What's with Cleos and having people wandering around at night? Men are weird.
That's the update for the week! If something amazing happens I'll give a mid week post, but if not, check back in seven days!
Cheers from Australia =)
