Settling in Together

A happy tanned couple returned from that trip out West. We were no sooner back than it was time to go away again. This time for the Big Event . . Seeing in the New millennium!! We decided - fairly late in the day- to go to a National Park called Kinkuna which was on the coast on the way up to Hervey Bay (of whale-watching and Fraser Island fame). We left late on New Year's Eve and only got to a camping spot on the beach about an hour before midnight. From we left the Bruce Highway, we played a game of 'pop-the-toad' as we drove along through a never-ending stream of cane toads crossing the road. The last part of the journey, through the actual park, was made following the stars in what we believed was East in order to reach the coast. There were no sign-posts, many fishermen's tracks and the four-wheel driving was through thick sand and mud along roads made very bumpy by the network of tree roots that held the sand together. There was also no moon. By the time we lifted the tailgate, sorted the mattress, put a few candles down in the sand and popped the champagne, we were exhausted. The sandflies and mosquitoes followed soon after to make it a night punctuated with whines and bites.

The following days saw us going on long walks and abstaining from sex because of our rashes, although we did manage one memorable bonk in which we are certain we were seen and heard by walkers, but hoped the steamed windows and tropical thunderstorm hid things a bit. ! The beach had a lot of pumice which Claudia collected. A very creative person, Claudia had visions of little sculptures and tea-light holders and everything except a means of removing callouses from feet. We collected banksia heads that could be sanded down into a fairly common Australian souvenir, we found a dead sea snake that was so long that when held over my head as high as I could, it's head still rested on the ground. We watched the birdlife, we tramped through the mangroves looking at the funny little crabs and other creatures that lived there and we swam in the ocean. We watched the sun rise and set, we walked along the beach hand-in-hand and loved each other's company. We cooked on an open fire, ate the biggest sweetest pineapples ever and Claudia set about teaching me to appreciate red wine. We were blissfully happy despite the bites, scratches, sunburn .... And the rash!