Since nothing of much importance has happened in the last couple days, I have decided to just bunch them up together.
On the morning of the 9th, I woke up early and took a boat half an hour over to Tin Can Bay to feed wild dolphins! Now, naive as I am, I expected a tropical beach like that of Fraser Island. I was hoping we'd put on snorkel gear and actually swim with the dolphins while we hand-fed them. I pictured crystal clear water, scattered coral, sparkling sunshine, and playful dolphins. As we clamboured aboard the bay ferry, floating in briney water, I knew I was mistaken.
The captain was a character, dressing us in pirate gear as he shared his wide knowledge of the bay and its surrounding islands. The half hour passed quickly and we were soon piling out onto a petrol dock, looking at a group standing on the yellow sandy shore, pants rolled up, smelling of fish, snapping photos of two dolphins looking a little worse for wear.
The male and female Indo-Pacific Freshwater Humpback dolphins were 19 and 23 years old, both showing the scars and missing flesh of several fights with both sharks and other dolphins. They were floating placidly in the shallow water, waiting for each tourist to approach them and thrust a fish towards them under water. Two seconds later, the fish would disappear and the next tourist would approach. Photos were taken desperately fast as no one wanted to miss their big chance with the dolphins.
Our boat group stood in line, payed $5 for a bucket of two fish, and waited again for our turn to step into the water. The handlers (volunteers who kept this endeavor going) informed us that we were not to try to pet the dolphins as it would frighten them into attack mode. They did suggest that a dolphin would approach you if they wanted to be pet. None had been so forward, so I guess they'd had all the scratching they wanted for the day.
Soon, the handlers called me forwards and I handed my camera to a friend so I could wade into the knee-deep water with my bucket of fish. The long-nosed mammal in front of me lunged forward as I put the fish underwater. A yoink and a photo later, it was gone. I did this twice and, to be honest, it was a little anti-climactic. Don't get me wrong, I truly enjoyed being so close to wild dolphins, but I think my morning's tropical visions had led me to a downfall. Smelling of fish and covered in salty sand, I waded out and spent the next 40 minutes wandering listlessly around as the other tourists had their turns then ordered breakfast at the cafe on the water. At 9:00, we boarded the ferry once more and motored back to the Rainbow Beach dock.
I spent the rest of the day packing and doing nothing. As my laundry was not yet dry, I chose to stay another night at Dingo's. That day was spent reading, reading, sleeping, and reading. I found my book, Atonement, at the community centre, and got 3/4 through it by the end of the day. That night, we enjoyed live entertainment from a local who played didgeridoo, guitar, drums, and vocals at mostly the same time (obviously not the two winds simultaneously). It was an awesome beat and great fun. I would have bought his CD, but I have exhausted my cash supply and am now fully reliant on Visa. Not a smart way to travel, but I was going to get huge Visa surcharges from Peterpans when booking my adventures so I was forced to pay with cash and travellers cheques to get the best deal.
10th - Honestly, worst day ever. People who were involved will know why. For all intensive purposes, I woke up, computed, nearly packed up and flew home, and caught a bus at 12:30 to Agnes Waters instead. Six hours on the bus, totally dehydrated and feeling sick (not hungover, just not eating and drinking properly), watched Pirates of the Caribbean, arrived at Agnes Waters, checked into the hostel, computed once again, exhausted my international credit on my phone, and went to bed completely miserable.
11th - Raining. Again. I wanted to explore Agnes Waters, known for its surfing and wonderful sunsets, but the weather would not permit it so I computed, then took a boogie board down to the ocean and just sat there for two hours, praying and watching the waves crash in. A couple rogue waves managed to snake up the beach to where I was sitting so my bottom half was sandy and soaked by the time I stood up to go back to the hostel. I watched Accepted with a few other hostel inmates (truly, it is rather like a prison in the rain) then went upstairs for a 2:00pm phonecall from home. It was wonderful to hear my parents' voices after nearly a month. I felt totally homesick and regretted missing Thanksgiving, was thankful to talk through my problems with my parents, and got off the phone feeling peaceful and on-the-mend. I went grocery shopping and got bread, tuna, peanut butter, and bananas to last me the next few days, then went back to the hostel to watch another couple movies before bed. Sound boring? It was.
That, my friends, sums up my last few days. Homesickness has kicked in, partying has caught up with me, I need to start eating better, and this rain has got me down.
Hoping for the sun to come out again!
Love to everyone back home, and everyone reading this blog. If you are religious, please keep me in your prayers; if you are spiritual, keep me in your well-wishes; if you are friends, keep me in your thoughts : ) It's been a rough couple of days and I am thankful that everything is starting to look up again.
The next blog will be happier, I promise!
xoxo - Katrina
p.s. There are plans to put a marina up in Tin Can Bay where the wild dolphins have been coming since 1950. This is their home, their habitat, ingrained in their migration habits. If the marina goes up, they will no longer have a place to come and be fed. The feeders are careful to only give them a small percentage of their daily intake in order to keep them wild, so this is truly an amazing place for the dolphins. If you want to help petition to keep the marina out of Tin Can Bay, go to http://www.marina.tincanbaydolphins.com.au/ and fill it in. Every name helps!
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