When it became obvious to me that I wasn't going to make it to the starting line for this adventure I offered myself as weather monitor and land contact. It is not the same as being there, but I feel privileged to be offering forecasts and plotting their progress. This way I can share some of the adventure vicariously as the boys island hop through this remarkable chain of coral cays.
At Lady Elliot Island they were happy to stay put through a cycle of weather changes that included moderate to strong nor-easters and assorted offshore winds. With no need to force the pace to catch another weather window they used this time wisely, swimming with Manta Rays and reef fish in the pristine waters, refuelling and reflecting on the lessons learnt from their first big crossing.
When I spoke to Gary about the relatively ''short'' 40km hop to Lady Musgrave I could tell that he had really started to live and breath with the rhythm of the outer reef environment and was very tuned into weather shifts and how they would affect conditions.
On Sunday afternoon they easily made this crossing to Lady Musgrave and settled down to a couple of days of fishing, snorkelling and chilling out.
Last call was at lunchtime today from tiny Hoskyn Island where they had stopped for a break.
It is possible to visit this remote archipelago just by jumping on a charter boat for a day or to take your tent and camp for a while, or even to hit the resort with nothing but a few clothes and a credit card; but I reckon there is something special about arriving and leaving by kayak, in your own time, on your own terms, with a sense of freedom and adventure worthy of such a place.
1 comment:
Thanks for the update Rob, good to see the boys are enjoying themselves.
Brian & Deb
Post a Comment