We were relieved to be out of croc territory. We arrived to Yepoon in time to catch a sunset over the quiet coastline.
As soon as the sun disappeared, we were hit with a cold night; it made the idea of going home a little more inviting. On Great Keppel Island we strolled along the clear waters of the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, and managed to sneak in a cocktail and ice-cream. Its good that Yeppoon is so close to home, as we will definitely want to return with some kayaks and explore the picturesque coastline.
Just down the road, a mere 3hr drive, we arrived at Seventeen Seventy. A sleepy little town where we indulged in Thai food, surf lessons, almond latte’s and fishing.
Felix being an eager fisherman had the first catch of the day. The boys had agreed on freeing all catches as no one was keen on prepping the fish. So there’s Felix, about to experience his happy moment. The fish is out of the water, we all run over and examine how big and interesting it looks. Next minute, the hook is out, and a gentle shove with his foot (which is protected with no more then a thong!) he tries to edge it into the water. Andrews words ‘Watch out for the spi(ke!)‘ are cut off by an almighty howl, followed by a sound that resembles a hippo giving birth. The fish had its timely revenge on the young fisherman. We learnt, that the pearly-spotted rabbitfish, otherwise known as a Happy Moment, has very sharp spikes that give an excruciating sting which can be felt for hours. Luckily for Felix, he only howled for 20minutes. After realizing we wasn’t going to die, he continued to fish, caught another rabbitfish, but this time, left Andrew with the release efforts.
As I write this we’re 150km from home, which is a rather surreal feeling, after camping for 4months! Once I have a moment to process our return to reality, I will post a ‘final wrap up’ and include some pearls of wisdom…or better yet, I will dig up some blooper moments from the archives.
