Day 6 at GKI

Day 6

(Thursday)

Feeling good from all that exercise, we decided to be adventurous and actually check out the rest of the island. Armed with a $2 souvenir map, a lunchbox of sandwiches, and enough sunscreen and bug repellent to cover a small army, we went in search of Geoff to let him know of our plans.

We showed him our hand-drawn map and pointed out our intended route, which basically covered a good three-fourths of the 4k long island.

After he got done laughing, Geoff recommended an alternative route, sighting goat tracks and high tide as precautions that we would have encountered going OUR way.

Whatever.

Don’t ever try to tell a woman to change course, mate.

So we started off on our course, beginning with Putney. The tide was a little high, but not un-passable. We cruised the high-tide line for shells, picking out a couple here and there, and then came to our first major obstacle.

What yesterday had been a ten-foot wide, four-foot deep rut in the sand was now a river connecting the ocean to a lagoon. We stood on the embankment, pondering our next move.

Go back, or get wet.

Go back, or get wet.

Finally I ventured out and tested the waters. The current was strong, a direct flow from the ocean. The sand gave way quickly, like quick sand. At the halfway point, the water was up to my knees. I went back to Caroline.

Go back, or get wet.

You only live once, right? We went for it.

And survived.

Obviously.

Ha! Take that, Geoff!

So off we went, proud of ourselves, blissfully unaware of what lay ahead.

Which was:

A Goat Track.

Greeaat.

After climbing straight up the side of the mountain and sliding down the other side, we came out on Leeks Beach, home of the curious Chocolate Rocks. We had to see these rocks based on principle. Why were they called Chocolate Rocks? The color? The formation? Can you guess?

I was nosing around taking pictures when I figured it out: I caught the unmistakable scent of chocolate. How awesome!! I have no idea HOW, but there is was. Too cool.

Pressing on, we came across a positively creepy swamp, but did not see any crocodiles.

It’s starting to warm up now, and we’re thinking we should have brought more water. We stopped at a crossroads and took a banana break, then trudged on towards the Shearer’s Shed. Keppel Island was originally an ideal place to run sheep, and the shed they were herded to was still standing as an attraction. On the way, we met a nice older woman on an ATV who confirmed we were going in the right direction, and who said she’d bring us back some more water. She was heading to the Village to use the internet, to protest a proposal to build huge apartment complexes on the island. Our confidence renewed, we kept trekking.

The Shearer’s Shed turned out to be exactly that: a shed facing the swamp. No more goats or sheep. Just two plastic chairs. Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing: we had to pee and the corner of the goat shed looked pretty private. So while Caroline took the first ‘go’, I headed out to take pictures of the swamp.

And that’s when I realized the ground was moving.

I had a flash of those African Giant Ants that destroy entire villages in half and hour, so I thought I should go check it out.

Even better than ants:

Thousands and thousands of blue crabs… I’ve never seen anything like it. Definitely one of the highlights of the day!

After the Great Crab Chase, we got back on the trail and headed towards the ‘Homestead’, I guess where the person that owned the sheep lived. The house itself wasn’t much, but the valley it sat in was gorgeous:

To make it perfectly picturesque, a pair of eagles flew overhead. So, so pretty. Even saw some Lantana!

Next came the Mangroves:

Pretty creepy. We didn’t stay long, as the ATV Woman warned us about swarms of man-eating sand flies and we’d had plenty of those on the beach, thank you. By now, the trail was going straight up another mountain, and we were burning up, almost out of water, hungry, and tired. When we crested the mountain and saw the ocean down below, we all but ran down towards it.

After a quick dunk, we ate our better-than-ever tuna sandwiches and looked out at the rocks where oysters were harvested. Feeling much better and rejuvenated, we climbed a little further up hill and found ATV Woman’s house. She met us and introduced her husband, offered us lunch, and gave us lots of water for the way back. Her husband Carl showed us around—he’d lived on the island almost all his life—and made sure we knew how to get back. Check out the ‘Moon Trees’—palm trees that he planted the year man walked on the moon.

And finally, at a little after 3 pm, we were on our way home, taking the short cut along the beaches now that the tide was out—but racing it back.

This was defiantly was faster, once we got over the rocks. Steadily, we picked our way along the coast, spurred on by the promise of home. By the time we reached familiar territory (see: Putney Beach) we were exhausted and sore and wondering why we did this in the first place. The tide was coming in again, and the birds were hunting at the water’s edge, but we were starting to see people again.

At 5:30, we were stepping back up onto our porch, sooo ready for dinner and TV and bed. Geoff came by to check on us, cuz that’s the great sort of person he is. Then: sleep.

Overnight, Kitty attacked the garbage cans. When I went out to chase him off, I found out he had brought a friend: Ratty.

After that, I kept hearing Ratty creeping around under my bed for the rest of the night.