Day 69 - Monday 10 September - Lazing in Coral Bay

Day 69

Monday

10 September 

Coral Bay

We slept longer than usual this morning, but once we were awake we were up and about. After having a shower and breakfast, we decided to head out for a walk. We crossed the road and followed it to the first path leading to the beach. We were surprised to find the water right up and still coming in. We couldn’t walk where we had walked yesterday afternoon. 

We walked the curve section of the bay, watching a group of snorkelers head out with little scooters before making our way across the road to the various resorts and caravan parks to check out the menus of the restaurants. We stopped in to the Eco Tours room, to find out when Paul’s friend Roger would be back in town, but also picking up tips for fishing spots and the best place to have dinner. 

The wind was picking up considerably and we were disheartened to see the weather forecast for the next few days wasn’t brilliant. Thursday was looking as the day for fishing. With that in mind, we made our way to the Mahi Mahi shop to book in, only to be told that there would be no charters until Friday, due to the weather. Bum. 

We stopped in at the bakery, as we made our way through the centre and bought a pastry to enjoy. It appeared that plenty of others had the same idea. We stopped in at the newsagent/post office for a quick card, before returning to the van. 

We got busy, trying to fix the tyre sensor issue. In the end, we had 5 of the 6 picking up. We just hope they continue to work for the remainder of the trip. We then tackled the freezer, which had once again turned into the inside of an igloo. With that complete and frozen hands, we were ready to go for a short drive and check out the jetty, one of the spots Paul had been told to try fishing. As we crested the hill, an electric blue assaulted the senses, it was just stunning. 

We walked along the short jetty, spying a school of gardi and a few other small fish, just below the surface. Paul wasn’t keen to fish though, as the wind was quite strong at this point. We then ventured through the residential area of town, checking out the homes of the locals, before heading out to the Mauds Landing Road, where we were told we could follow to the beach. We did follow it for a while, but then it seemed to be getting a bit soft, so we turned around and returned to the van. 

I made my lunch, while Paul sat outside reading. He didn’t last long, as he was getting burnt, despite being blowy, it was still quite warm. After eating, I caught up on the blog and then we fluffed around for a couple of hours, before changing into out bathers and making our way down to the water. 

We found a place to dump our bangs, put on the snorkelling gear and then entered the cool waters. With my trusty noodle tucked under my arms, we began to drift across the water and over the coral bombies. We were both delighted to be straight into the thick of it. There were fish of all sizes and colours, ducking in and out of the coral forests. It was enchanting and a time waster. 

We eventually returned to the sand, as we were getting cold and towelled off. A crowd was gathering further around, so we went to check out the fuss. Turns out they feed the fish and they were obviously well conditioned, as large snapper were already cruising the shoreline. We didn’t stay for the feeding, as we were cold, instead we began the trek back to the van. We were waylaid however, as the Mahi Mahi charter had returned with another large haul that was busy being filleted. Paul got busy talking the skipper Bernie, telling him we were disappointed not to be able to get out and was told to hang around for a free feed. 

I left him to it and returned to towel off and find something warm to wear. I laid on the bed reading my book, until Paul returned with 4 fillets of Rosy Job Fish. He had also been told to book in for Thursday, so after he had returned from the showers, we went over to the shop. However, we were met with a “no” there will be no charter on Thursday. In the end, we left our name and number, with the hope we would get a call. 

We stopped in at Bill’s for a drink, sitting in the warmth of the sun and then made our way down the strip, making the choice to eat at Fins for our anniversary on Wednesday and booking a table. Having looked at all of the menus, I had noted that the restaurant attached to our park, did fried camembert, a dish I can’t resist and seeing we wouldn’t be eating there on Wednesday, I decided we should come back for entrée when they opened at 6pm. 

We had 45min to kill, we spent it reading and then we returned to the restaurant, sat at a table, ordered the cheese and a salt and pepper squid entrée and waited for it to arrive. When it did, we made short work of it and we were soon done and returning to the van to cook up main course and eat. 

The evening was spent in quiet retreat. I read for most of the evening, before retiring to bed, unable to keep my eyes open. Paul was up much later than me, before turning out the light.