Day 6: Hidden Treasures & The Percy Islands

The Percy Islands, Great Barrier Reef, QLD - 11 January 2011 at 10:30pm
Kansas City, USA – January 11, 2011 at 5:30am

This morning I was a little bit of a bum…I hung out in my cabin reading and writing while we travelled to our next destination…The Percy Islands. 

I earned a new nickname on this trip: Bear. They were teasing me about being in hibernation due to my recent 13 hour sleeping escapade and now I was cooped up in my cabin for most of the morning. I tried to explain that sometimes a girl just needs a little down time, ya know. And hell I’m on vacation!

Once I was out of the bear cave I went out on the back deck to get some fresh air and watch Paul fish. We have some amazing conversations…this guy has done it all…I’m in awe listening to his stories.

Katie had read up on the Percy Islands before we arrived so we knew that there was a homestead on the island and a hut or shack of some sort where visitor’s could leave a trinket from their travels as a gift for using the beaches of this private island.

Well, we found it...and all its glory.

It was one of the coolest things we have come across (man made that is)…hundreds of little treasures from all over the world had been left in this place. People had left homemade signs, buoys, hats, life preservers, toilet seats, I even saw a couple prosthetic legs…you name it, it was there and for the most part everything was signed and dated. It was fascinating to read everyone’s little token gift and where it had come from and the date it had arrived. The book Katie was reading said the hut dated back to the 1960’s. I was amazed that a cyclone hadn’t destroyed it in all those years (maybe one had but you wouldn’t have known it).

 

While we were looking through each little awe inspiring piece of history, we noticed a row boat was coming ashore from the sailboat that was also docked in the bay. A short(er), gray haired, very tan fellow, he had obviously been at sea for awhile, quickly approached us. His first mission was to find his tobacco that he had left up on shore earlier in the day…haha…note to self: never come between a man and his smokes. After he located his home grown tobacco, he introduced himself as David. He and his mate Don (who was still on the sailboat) had been there since Dec. 20 and were watching over the island. He was very kind and explained a little bit about the history of the island and the family who was living at the homestead. He asked us about our travels and the shared a little about himself as well…and then invited himself and his buddy Don for dinner on our boat….kidding…I think Ross invited them over for dinner and drinks later that night. So once he got his tobacco (grown on the island and rolled with a zig zag, ha) and finished his interrogation of our intentions, he got back in his rowboat and headed back to the sailboat. We finished walking around the hut looking at each little piece of other voyagers lives and headed back to the Aroona.

Once we were back on the boat, Paul and Katie made focaccia bread and pizza for dinner. I was watching intently…trying to learn as they cooked/baked. They made homemade bread and sauce…it was delicious (as always)!

The pizza and focaccia bread were almost finished when our new found friends Don and Dave joined us to check out the boat and break bread…literally. 

It was a fun night, learning about these new chaps and their lives…all the jobs they had held, families, places they’ve travelled…again, I’m really not an interesting person after meeting all these new folks.

Don and Dave took off in their little row boat back to their sailboat. They were leaving early the next morning to continue their journey.

Another great ending to a super, super fine day!
  

Additional Photos: Day 6

Numbers at Random:

# of discovered treasures: MILLIONS, ok, hundreds but millions makes for a better story

# of eccentric island men: 2