Going Solo

I couldn’t believe it’s been a week since I flew out of Manchester airport. Until I counted the number of t-shirts needing washing! So I fired up the washing machine, and it all came out damp and nice-smelling ready to put outside in the 28 degree warmth.

Kerry and Conor are back at work, so we’ll have evenings and weekends together for the next fortnight, and they’ve taken my last week off work so we can do some more things together. It’s bittersweet, in that I look forward to spending the time with them but it will mean my holiday’s nearing the end. In the meantime they’ve left me with an idea of the area, contact numbers and two motorbikes. What could possibly go wrong?

First test; see if I can find my way into Port Douglas via the petrol station. I thumbed the Bonnie into life and confidently set off, only to stop a second or so later so I could go back for my crash helmet!

On the second time of trying I managed to execute the plan perfectly, and parked down at the marina. The car park was nearly empty, which didn’t stop a car being parked across two spaces marked ‘Motorcycles Only’. They live and breathe and walk among us!

A mooch round Port Douglas, looking into a couple of shops, and I decided it was time for an ice cream. This turned out to be the biggest challenge of the day so far – trying to eat it faster than it could melt! I won, but it was close.

I made it safely home again to find my washing had dried already. It’s too hot to do anything else with it yet, and in any case I’m almost certain holiday etiquette dictates that ironing is optional. We’ll see.

Conor sent a photo of a huntsman spider that had run out of a switchboard he was working on. I’ll put a picture below. Apparently they'll normally run rather than fight, but it's the word 'normally' that introduces enough doubt to keep out of its way! It could have woken up on the wrong side of the web this morning. There’s nothing near it for scale but it was about the size of his hand, so you can get the idea. There’s plenty of other wildlife I want to capture as well, and some of it’s non-lethal!

We all went for a walk on Four Mile beach again before tea. It’s only a few minutes walk from the house, and tonight we saw someone doing yoga, in addition to the usual swimmers, dog walkers and anglers. Apparently a variety of fish can be caught from the shore, including sharks and barramundi, so we might give it a go one evening to see if we can get some barbie-fodder for tea.

The following morning – Wednesday – dawned bright and clear again, and I was sat outside with a coffee at seven thirty. The only sounds were birdsong and the next door neighbour hosing their garden before the day hotted up. I could faintly hear the occasional car in the distance and one or two locals heading off for work but overall it was a very calm and peaceful start to the day.

While I was contemplating the day ahead a random thought came into my head. I read last week that the payment for sperm donation has just increased, so with the amount of w*nkers in the Labour Party couldn’t that be a way to reduce the alleged £22bn black hole? Always looking for solutions…

Anyway, back to reality. I took the Bonnie into Port Douglas again as there was a market on. It was very varied and colourful although there wasn’t anything there for me,  but it was conveniently situated outside Hemingways so it seemed rude not to call in for a cold one.

Back home for  a brew, and once Conor came home we met up with a mate of his, Dilsy, with his Aprilia Tuono, and went for a ride through the twisties up to Julatten. There’s only one Aprilia mechanic and he wasn’t available when first needed due to covid, so Dilsy bought the necessary tools and learnt how to do it all himself. Judging by the way he went up that road I’d say he’s got it right! He was also wearing a camera and kept moving around to get good footage of both our bikes, as well as the bends, and I should be able to share some in a future post.

Kerry and I went for a walk on the beach again tonight. There seemed to be more people around just doing the same thing and really, why wouldn’t you when you’ve got a nice evening, it’s a few minutes’ walk from home and not a hotel or villa in sight. Occasionally a coconut is going to drop, so just don’t walk under the trees!

I’ve been here a week now, and looking back over this blog it’s easy to see where the time’s gone. I’ve done so much thanks to Kerry and Conor, and there’s a lot more to come. I haven’t met Bruce or Sheila yet, but there’s time!

The pictures show Conor's huntsman spider, the bonnie parked at Port Douglas Marina, Port Douglas waterfront and marina, the Wednesday market, part of the main street in Port Douglas, an old Landcruiser because it fitted in so well and looks cool and I want it, Nautilus street where Kerry and Conor live, Conor going up through the twisties to get a cold one, me on the bonnie at the top