January 15

So the 6 am game of frisbee didn't work out, but we planned to leave for Straddie at 7:30. Unfortunately it took about half and hour to pack everyone's gear into the bottom of the bus. It took us about an hour to get to the barge. Apparently Straddie is the 2nd largest sand island in the world. I'm guessing we'll need the bus to travel to various places around the island.

We got an orientation session by one of the assistant staff members. It seems like they have lots of (slightly odd) rules here. We're supposed to make our beds every morning (or face a 35 dollar cleaning fee). And, we're not supposed to travel in packs of 10 or more because apparently we'll scare the little old ladies in Dunwich...

Luckily, with our own bus we won't have to use public transportation, which is expensive! A bunch of us tried to catch the 12:00 pm bus to Point Lookout (past Amity Point, where a woman got fatally mauled by 3 bull sharks) but it was $9.50 for a round trip. Apparently it is $5 for a round trip for UQ students, but none of us have been given ID cards. We walked back to the station where we attempted to catch a ride with one of the tutors, Glenn. The problem was that the van only fit 10, and there were 12 of us.

While waiting, we watched one of the staff members at MBRS (Moreton Bay Research Station) feed the bamboo/cat shark in a holding tank, which was pretty amazing. Because there were 12 of us, CC decided that the only fair way would be for the 10 people to chip in to pay for the 1:00 pm bus fare of the two people. DS and I volunteered to take the bus, and while waiting we threw around a frisbee in the water near the bus station. So, apparently we aren't supposed to walk through a trailer park that is really near the bus stop, so we tried finding our way around the thing. Unfortunately, that took us through a heavily wooded area and a CEMETARY right by the parking lot. I can't imagine people walking back from the pub, drunk, at night, through that area.

The bus ride was interesting because I realized that there was a bit of kanji on the doors and windows. I'm not sure whether the bus was manufactured in Asia, or they just throw some on for the tourists... Also, a guy from the UQ (with an ID) hopped on the bus, and the driver charged him $5 for a one way ticket to Point Lookout. Apparently there's supposed to be a student discount, but, I dunno...

We got off the bus at Point Lookout to an AMAZING view of the beach. The water was gorgeous--crystal clear and just a beautiful gradient of greens and blues. We met up with a couple other people who had taken the van to eat lunch. After, we took a walk along a cliff overseeing a gorgeous cove. Apparently you can see dolphins and sea turtles, though we only saw 4 sea turtles.

We made our way down to the beach where I got to test out my waterproof camera case. The waves and currents were a bit more strong than those at the Gold Coast, but it was definitely more scenic. After about 2 hours of splashing about, we got some gelato and hopped back onto the bus.

It was insanely crowded, with these annoying surfers. It was interesting that on the way back, one of two girls asked the driver, "Shane, can you drop me off at my house." And so, on our way back to Dunwich, he just pulled over to the side of the road and let them off. It was very indicative of the fact that the island is such a tiny community.