Island hopping to the extreme….

I know you’ve been missing them, so here are some more Aussisms to get you in the mood:

• Whizzer – genitals or private parts
• Rack off - go away!
• The Don – Sir Donald Bradman, an Australian Test Cricketer of the 1920’s to 1940’s who remained a popular hero thereafter. The Dons on the other hand, refers to the Australian Football League team Essendon.
• King-hit – To hit or punch suddenly and forcefully, usually from behind

Location: Townsville – Orpheus island – Dunk island – Bedarra island – and back to Dunk again

Weather: Sunshine and squally showers, 30ºc

After spending some time on what islanders call ‘The Big Island’, or Australia to the rest of us, it was time to venture back out onto the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef for some self-indulgent relaxing and pampering…oh come on it’s what the job was meant to be about from the day it was advertised!

We’d finished our last trip on the Coral Princess in Townsville and to get to our first stopover meant meeting up with an old friend Hylton from Nautilus Aviation, who’d flown me a few months ago from Cardwell to Magnetic Island. These familiar faces are starting to pop up everywhere and I love it.

Out on the trailer at Townsville airport a silver bird awaiting us, an R44 Helicopter looking resplendent in the sunshine. Bre and I climbed on board, Hylton powered up the machine, radioed the control tower to make our flight plan known and took us away.

I can never tire of the feeling I get from a helicopter hovering, powering forwards and whisking across the tarmac – the stomach loves it!

Orpheus Island

As we descended onto the grassy landing spot at the end of the beach Bridget (one of the co-managers) was there to meet and greet us, we said our goodbyes to our pilot and immediately felt immersed in somewhere very special – the luxurious surroundings of Orpheus Island.

It’s a picture postcard island to say the least; the lush green of the rainforest extends right down to the long white sandy beach before slipping into the sheltered blue waters of the bay. Somewhere hidden from view there’s actually a resort but it’s almost impossible to tell from the air as all of the properties hide behind the beachfront palms, which just adds to the air of being in a tropical rainforest paradise.

After a tiring few days we just flopped out on the bed as soon as we got through the door, our spacious suite did have little surprise though – an outdoor shower nestled in amongst the plants of the rainforest, sweet! I threw myself under the cold water (Bre cannot understand why I do this at all?) and felt invigorated again…there’s things to do here and I don’t want to miss out.

Not a breath of wind greeted me as I walked along the beach but a few splashes in the foreshore did – the fish, rays and even reef sharks come all the way into the beach here and as the waters so clear you can see them all going about their business cruising about trying to find their next meal. Luckily for them fish-food is standard issue here and we grabbed a bag from reception and headed back down to feed them – this is better than hand feeding them at Daydream Island as they’re actually in the ocean!

Our trip to Orpheus Island had come when the annual coral spawning was supposed to be taking place – it’s a phenomenon of nature, which happens once a year a few days after the full moon in November…but only nature knows exactly when, sometimes two days after, sometimes seven.

The James Cook University have a research station on the island a short boat ride away from the resort and as we were bang on the time of year when ‘it all happens’ on the reef so it made sense to head down to see what the marine biologists and scientists could tell us.

Every time I’ve visited one of these island-based research stations I’m greeted by an array if tanks, pools, pipes, gadgets and machines all whirring and ticking away recording their unique data about some aspect of marine life – and an equally technical and sophisticated person running the experiment. It was no different here!

Coral Spawning

Coral bleaching due to increased global ocean temperatures is a (excuse the pun) ‘hot’ topic here, and our guide Brad, sneaked us into a few rooms to see how the different setups which had been constructed simulated varying conditions in the ocean.

This type of research can give us a much better picture of the future and the huge damage which could be caused globally to sensitive eco-systems such as the Great Barrier Reef…it’s all a little scary and I know there are numerous theories about thermal changes, ocean currents, recurring ice-ages etc etc but it can only be a good thing to try as a planet to reduce CO₂ levels for the benefit of all things living not just above the ocean but below too can’t it?

You’ve got to be really, really lucky to witness a coral polyp actually releasing its egg as it can happen over a number of nights and different types of coral release on different nights – on the day of our visit the biologists were hopeful that the specimens they had in their tanks would be releasing that night but unfortunately we wouldn’t be there to witness it.

We decided to head out to one of the local islands which is renowned for having 340 of the 350 different types of hard and soft coral to see them in their pre-spawning state…they look the same as any other time of year but it made for some great photos as you can see:

Aaron, the other resort manager and Bridget’s other half, drives the launch and took us for a cruise around the island imparting us with the knowledge he’s gained from working and living on Orpheus over the last four years. Both he and Bridget really do have their dream job and have poured love and effort into making the island one of the most intimate and personal places to stay of all romantic retreats I’ve been to so far.

Having Bre with me for this part of the trip is perfect – finally I get to have dinner in a totally romantic situation with her and not a journalist for a change!

‘Dining with the Tides’ offers something very unique – a jetty all to ourselves with a table for two laid out to receive some of the most sumptuous cuisine plucked from the ocean and lovingly prepared by the chef. It was just the two of us with gas flares flickering, the mullet below slurping the water and the full moon slowly rising above the outline of the island behind us – a romantic ideal that has to be hard to beat.

By the time we’d gorged our way through the assorted dishes that made up dinner we could just about lift ourselves from the chairs and back to our rooms. The seafood which Bre had really steered away from in the early part of this trip is starting to become her favourite and it’s not hard to understand why…

Waking with the sun streaming through the bedroom window kicked me into life…and quickly reminded me of quite how much I’d eaten the night before – this would call for some serious sport/action/workout to try and combat the ever-increasing waistline I was suffering from. The tennis court beckoned and in the heat of the morning sunshine Bre and I managed to knock the balls around for nearly two hours before it all became too much and we had to retire to the comfort of our suite. A token gesture to staying fit, but a gesture all the same.

Dinner with the Tides

All too quickly the morning of our departure arrived and the familiar ‘thud-thud’ sound of the incoming helicopter filled the air signalling it was time for us make for the heli-pad ready for the return flight. Our stay on Orpheus Island had been perfectly timed; at the end of a few manic days rushing about, and there’s no better way to unwind and forget about the world than to come here to do it.

Rising high above the beach we waved a sorry goodbye to the ever decreasing island, looked at each other and both knew it’d been a very special couple of days…oh well onto the next one!

Dunk Island

After an all-too-short stop at Mission Beach where we’d just about had enough time to get used to the lavishly, unique décor of the Elandra resort it was onto the Quickcat fast ferry across to Dunk Island. We’d been here the week before but not to stay on the island just to board the ‘Coral Princess’ for our cruise and this time were really looking forward to enjoying some of the many activities on offer.

Dunk is one of the Family Group of islands that Captain Cook named after George- Montague Dunk, he described it as a “tolerable high island” and sailed straight past! Prior to that the Aboriginal name was Coonanglebah meaning ‘The Island of Peace and Plenty’ as it had a high population of crayfish, dugong and turtles – which make particularly good eating.

Dunk Island was inhabited by the writer E J Banfield towards the end of the 1890’s where he lived with his wife Bertha and so became the island’s first white settlers…I was about to become just another one albeit temporarily…

Banfield said of the islands “Other islands and islets are in close proximity, a dozen or so within a radius of as many miles, but this, Dunk Island, is the chief of its group, the largest in area, the highest in altitude, the nearest the mainland, the fairest, the best”… E J Banfield – ‘Confessions of a Beachcomber’

As we wound our way through the resort it seemed to go on forever – there’s a deceivingly large number of units and accommodation types on the island all nestled away in the rainforest and it’s only when you have to walk from one end to the other that you realise where everybody stays.

This is a very different type of resort to Orpheus, it caters for families and has loads to do…that’s if you want to or of course you just laze on the beach and soak up the rays of the sun! Our Beachfront Suite opened out onto the wide, sheltered sandy bay with views across to Mound Island and once I’d setup my portable office decided it was time to explore a little further…

The Hamilton Island Triathlon is getting so close now (at the end of November) and my training has been close to nothing over the last few days, however Dunk does have a 9km walking trail around it, so I took the chance to climb Mt Kootaloo at 271 metres above sea level and head off to do a lap of the island…forgetting quite how challenging it is to run when the humidity is high.

I wound my way along the leaf covered path scaring the odd Brush Turkey along the way and once I’d gained some height had a great view back across towards to the mainland and the oncoming rain cloud which was about to engulf me. At the very top of Mt Kootaloo it hit me – perfect timing as I never run with a drink but this came as a welcome relief.

There are still the remains of the old radar station at the top which was used during the second World War as an early warning for enemy aircraft approaching, the track continues around the island through the lush green rainforest and out to Coconut Beach facing east. I set off thinking it’d be a short, simple run and an hour later returned to camp with tired legs – the hills are deceiving!

The Mission Beach Film Festival happened to be screening a few films on the island during our stay there and, after a hearty seafood buffet; we headed down to see the very amusing ‘Big River Man’ – a tale about a Slovenian man who swims the length of the Amazon River. He’s a champion and very amusing too – well worth watching if you get the chance.

Bre and I had been looking forward to the water sports available on the island – there’s wakeboarding, waterskiing, kayaking, dinghies…the works. However to do any of these activities requires the wind to calm down to anything below 20 knots…please just below 20 knots, come on is that really to much to ask? We left the water sports Centre frustrated…

So what was left to do, I’d done my run, we’d had a knock around on the tennis court, swam a few times, we’d had a superb massage in the spa, we’d watched a film…oh well back to the restaurant it is then!

Dunk and Bedarra Islands are both part of the same group of Family Islands and when the weather allows you can see Bedarra off in the distance – it has an air of intrigue about it, from researching it on the web I know it’s pretty damn luxurious and very exclusive and so couldn’t wait to get over there to find out more first hand.

Bedarra Island

As our launch arrived at the jetty we’d just completed the lumpiest sea crossing of the trip so far, the wind has been howling at 20 knots for the last 24 hours and the surface of the ocean was suitably whipped into a white-crested frenzy. Bre especially enjoyed our arrival at the resort…

Ali welcomed us into the reception area and gave us a quick tour of their setup. Luxurious dark wood lines every square metre of the restaurant and the same theme continues throughout the resort; around the pool, the bar, in the rooms and even the jetty. It feels although you’re arriving in a very grand, yet personal setting where it’s all about you.

Children are not allowed here – that’s a massive bonus of course if you’re there to relax as a couple, there’s been a few times on the Best Job adventure when I’m either settling down to work or trying to catch a few minutes shut-eye and the sound of a screaming kid breaks the silence. Not a chance here at all – solitude and peace are the order of the day.

As we make our way up through the rainforest that covers the island we pass the tennis court and beach water sports centre following the little track meandering through the resort’s accommodation. I’d done a little bit of research before and knew that The Pavilion was one of the most luxurious of all the places to stay within Bedarra and once we’d got to the door of our room realised we’d actually be staying there – how damn lucky are we! The hardwood door swung open and before me were the incredible surroundings of the Casuarina room, the pictures really don’t do it justice.

The room is nestled in the rainforest and looks out over the ocean with two separate living areas, one for sleeping and one for relaxing. There’s a huge double bed which has views out of the massive glass walls to the view over the bay, a big double headed shower, a Jacuzzi bath and double sinks to finish it all off. That’s without even moving across the hallway to the other room which houses a relaxing sofa, wide screen TV and day bed (basically a four poster outside).

I have to confess that the weather wasn’t perfect by any means while we stayed at Bedarra which left us a few less things to do than we’d hoped but the plunge pool got a thorough work-out, in fact I spent so long in there that my feet almost became wrinkly old prunes by the end of my stay there. Being able to unwind without internet reception (which of course means no work), a hamper which was supposed to be for our dinghy ride (which was cancelled due to the weather) and the run of somewhere as relaxing as The Pavilion made our stay there the perfect break from reality.

Our evenings were just as good. There’s only a maximum of 16 tables set up for dinner and you can rock up there whenever you feel the need, reclining in a chair so comfortable that it almost swallows you up. The bar experience is something else too – with a vast array of wines and spirits from around the world you can choose whatever you want and prepare it yourself so some exotic cocktails became the order of the day!

As we couldn’t get out on the water during our stay we had to find something else to do to keep ourselves amused and decided to follow up the rumour that on the other side of the island the old Hideaway resort was still just about visible in the heavy growth of the rainforest…we set off to investigate.

An hour later we’d broken through the undergrowth and found the old bricked driveway which led us down to the maintenance buildings which only a few years ago had serviced the resort here, sure enough as we followed the path along the beach front the outlines of the old villas started to appear from the trees. It’s amazing to think that only a few years ago people were staying here enjoying the view just as we’d been doing a few hours earlier but on the other side of the island.

It was a little creepy crawling through the undergrowth to find the buildings, which are in surprisingly good condition, slowly going back to nature. The main restaurant and reception building are huge and the swimming pool even has water in it still along with a few cane toads…but I don’t fancy swimming in it that’s for sure.

After mucking around like naughty kids from The Famous Five we retraced our steps back to the real Bedarra on the other side of the island avoiding the huge spiders webs along the way.

We’d only stayed for a couple of days but during that time had an incredible experience. I actually relaxed and didn’t feel I needed to be doing something every hour of the day for once – Bre really appreciated that I can tell you; the feeling of just kicking back with a good book is hard to beat and takes you away from the pace of everyday life. Highly recommended for any stressed businessmen out there.

As we clambered aboard the launch back to Dunk Island, where we were to fly out of, I wondered if I’d find anywhere else on the Best Job adventure where my heart beat would drop down to that sort of hibernation-level again…we all need to take some time out every so often and this was mine.

End of day location: Dunk Island after jumping between islands

Distance covered: 250kms

Cruising south aboard the Coral Princess

Location: Dunk Island

Weather: Sunshine with scattered cloud…windy though and a rough ocean. 28c

I’ve flown places, I’ve driven places…I’ve even kayaked places but so far on this crazy Best Job adventure not been lucky enough to cruise anywhere and to be honest in the past I’d never really given it much thought.

As we flew in low over Dunk Island our vessel ‘Coral Princess’ was moored up in the bay overlooking the island. Bre and I were about to jump onboard a day into the three day cruise down the Queensland coast from Cairns to Townsville. Coral Princess Expedition Cruises offer a huge variety of different experiences around the coast of Australia, and far beyond on their fleet of luxury ships.

Dunk Island’s launch ferried us out to meet our floating palace and as we jumped onboard an air of excitement filled my body – this was going to be very different from the usual hotel room, much more like the view from my Land Rover’s tent last year with every day changing!

The friendly crew welcomed us aboard and a very familiar face popped up, Brittany who we’d met back in July in Palm Cove was now working here. Our room was a delightful little double cabin with perfect ocean views and even a little ensuite bathroom complete with shower – the lap of luxury again!

As our fellow passengers started to come back onboard from their afternoon exploring Dunk Island I sat down and chatted to a few of them. They were from all over the world and a wide range of ages and backgrounds too, with people from South Africa, Germany, USA and the UK enjoying the relaxing environment away from the hectic pace of life on the mainland.

As the sun descended into the ocean the engines were fired up and we started our cruise south heading out into less protected waters and the waves started to build, the number of people enjoying the social lounge decreased as the consequences of the swell started to take effect and seasickness took its toll!

We finally moored up alongside Pelorus Island and entered the sheltered waters of the bay just in time to witness a very colourful sunset – the passengers all gathered in the upper bar for the complimentary drinks and nibbles which was a great way to meet other people and to familiarise myself with the crew.

Josh, the cruise manager, was a particularly knowledgeable guy and told us all stories about the surrounding islands then ran through the itinerary for the evening and following day. Dinner was then announced and we all made our way downstairs to the dining hall.

Each couple on the cruise has a chance to dine with the Captain and tonight was to be our lucky night! The food was great, really well made and presented good old fashioned home-style cooking with vegetables – no over-the-top presentation here, just classic simple cooking. Full marks.

I had some catching up to do on the blog so made my excuses and headed back to the room to work away, the gentle rocking of the boat adding to my already tired head.

Sunrise is one of those great times of the day when colours just erupt like an artist’s palette, and being so close to Pelorus Island just amplified it even further. Once breakfast was out of the way I had a quick chat with Matt, the dive master, and discussed the plans for our dive later in the day. We’d head off the shore of the island to explore some of the coral and clams which line the rocky coast, excellent news another chance to get under the water to investigate. The tender was prepared and we all headed ashore for a day of relaxing and eating – more of it!

The gorgeous sandy beach on this side of the island acts as the hospitality area for the cruise guests and the staff from the boat were busy preparing our lunch by the time we’d returned from our guided walk around the island – Josh again imparting the guests with his knowledge in a very unique way.

After a 40 minute dive navigating our way along the coastline I broke the surface of the ocean to find Bre still there sunbathing away – this Canadian will never learn, her slightly pink skin testament to the strength of the lunchtime sun. Slip, slop, slap is definitely the order of the day here.

Back on board we all met up on deck for sundowners and as we socialised preparations were underway for our evening’s activity, the Coral Princess quiz – a test of our knowledge and fact recollection from all of the information Josh had fed us over the last 48hrs.

With dinner out of the way it was down to the hard work, ten quick fire questions followed by a drawing competition to try and portray our cruise assistant Brittany in the best light possible and once all of the marks had been given we found ourselves in a very respectable third place out of four!

After a long night at the computer I hit the pillow heavily and before I knew it the alarm was ringing again announcing the start of another day…our last onboard. We’d cruised down the Queensland coastline all the way to Townsville and as breakfast was dispatched the familiar sight of the foreshore came into view.

What a relaxing few days we’d had at sea, a thoroughly enjoyable time getting to know lots of different people and learning lots about the geography and coastline of the area. This experience would suit the ‘less-active’ traveller looking for a chance to travel at a more sedate pace whilst stopping off at a number of different remote locations along the way – the comfort and fine dining adding to the cruise-like encounter.

End of cruise location: Townsville, Queensland

Distance covered: 190kms onboard

A day diving with the sharks….

Location: Townsville, Queensland
Weather: What a great spring day! Blue skies, 32°c and really rather warm!

Wow what an incredible day…where on earth do I start? Another early start for me, I’m desperately trying to get in some sort of shape ready for the Hamilton Island Triathlon at the end of November so fitness has become the order of the day, I donned my running kit and headed for a sunrise run along the beachfront to get the blood pumping around the brain.

After a hearty breakfast at the Sugatrain restaurant downstairs from the Grand Mercure Apartments where I’m staying, it was a ten minute walk to the Reef HQ Aquarium – the location for the first of the day’s incredible activities.

Reef HQ is the world’s largest living coral reef aquarium and is a must see attraction in Townsville. The tanks which contain over 150 types of fish, 120 types of coral and a staggering 2.5 million litres of water are the central focal point of the exhibition and provide a near-perfect artificial environment for a wonderous array of marine life living here.

The main tank supports two underwater environments; the deep water display and the coral reef display both thriving with all the life you’d actually find out on the Great Barrier Reef itself.

Sharks, rays, sawfish and turtles swim around the reconstruction of the deck of the SS Yongella, the passenger ship which sank off Cape Bowling Green on 23rd March 1911. An extremely famous dive-site named as ‘The Best Wreck Dive’ in Australia by Lonely Planet. I’m going to be lucky enough to dive the original wreck for real at the end of the week and can’t wait!

It’s in this tank I was to have my first experience of diving with an Aga Face Mask on. It replaces the conventional mask and regulator normally used when diving and has an internal microphone and ear speakers so communication is possible with people on the dry side of the aquarium…the general public and the assembled tv and film crews all wanting to cover my appearance with the sharks for some reason.

As I lowered the mask onto my head, pulled the five straps tight and took my first lungful of bottled air, the anticipation of a new experience came over me for the umpteenth time this month – this was going to be a good one, I was so excited. As I dumped the air from my BCD the waterline rose above the mask and a descended into a truly awe-inspiring world below, I tightened the straps to ensure no water was leaking in and focused on the mighty huge fish swimming around me – Trevelley, Maouri Wrasse, Remora, Sawfish, Potato Cod, Leopard Shark, Black Tip Reef Shark, Tawny Nurse Sharks, Shovelnose Rays.

It could be possible that I didn’t take a breath for those first few minutes….or maybe I took three times as many as normal – who knows, who cares, this was a magnificent experience getting up close and personal with such an array of underwater beasts all looking pretty huge when they’re only a few centimetres away.

Part of the job for the day was to provide audio commentary of the experience to the media crews out in the auditorium discussing the feelings and emotions I was going through….and there were plenty, or at least I thought there were. You wouldn’t have been able to tell by the first five minutes of the dive as a sat open mouthed on the bottom just watching the world go by.

Steve, my dive buddy and experienced Reef HQ employee, had me approach the Green Turtle in the tank giving me a chance to stroke and pet the beautiful shell before leading me across to the ‘big boy’ a large Tawny Nurse Shark resting calmly on the ocean floor. This thing was huge and as I gently mimicked Steve’s actions stroked my hand across its surprisingly smooth back feeling the corrugations in its body without even a reaction from the tiny, beady eyes. This was brilliant madness!

For my comfort and the relief of my mother no doubt too, the sharks here are all well fed in the morning and don’t pose any threat at all, the Black Tips have been living here for 20 years and have never even taken a finger from any human occupant in the tank. As I swam around the floor of the aquarium Steve collected up some teeth which the reef sharks constantly drop, their sets of teeth acting a like constant conveyors as they replace old worn out teeth with new ones from behind.

Then all too soon the signal was given to ascend back to the surface and my adventure in the watery world was over but what a memorable one it was, the feeling of having a Sawfish cruise right underneath me checking me out all the time with its beady eyes was a total highlight.

A new facility within Reef HQ is the addition of a turtle hospital where sick and injured marine mammals can be cared for and rehabilitated, it’s just completed Phase 1 of the project which gives the carers a means of rescuing, holding and treating turtles which are generally brought in by the public after they find them in some form of distress.

Wunjunga (named after the beach she was found on) is the latest patient, recovered from a rock pool covered in leeches and barnacles floating on her back with little chance of escape or recovery. She’s been brought here and after a freshwater flush to remove the parasites, a good feed to build her back up to strength and constant monitoring from the ever-attentive Nick and Shelley meaning that in a few weeks time she should be well enough to release back into the wild. I had the chance to help bring her onto the table then measure the shell and weigh her to check that the recovery is going as planned. This is one lucky turtle!

Another quirky little thing they do here is propagate their own coral, there’s so much coral growing in the near perfect conditions in the big aquarium that the staff have started experimenting with literally taking ‘cuttings’ from established coral and growing their own in tanks up on the roof. The signs are good too with new coral forming from the little stems, enveloping the mounts they’re placed on and meaning in the future Reef HQ can grow all of its own coral rather than taking any from the Great Barrier Reef. Eco-tourism here providing a potential answer for rebuilding some of the world’s damaged coral reefs?

Reef HQ exists to inspire everyone to care for the Great Barrier Reef. It is operated on a not-for-profit basis and relies heavily on sponsorship and donations for its commercial viability. It provides an interactive experience for children and education departments, with the help of the linkup the Arga mask allows schools around the world to actually experience live HD-video feeds from within the aquarium to their classroom on the other side of the world…I wish I’d had that sort of experience when I was at school, I might have paid a little more attention then!

End of day location: Townsville
Distance covered: Maybe 50m underwater with sharks swimming by! Love it.

Townsville here I come….

Location: Hamilton Island
Weather: Clear blue skies, a light wind – a near perfect Spring day. 28c

They say bad things happen in three’s and today was certainly the case. I won’t bore you with the details but suffice to say that my anticipated arrival at Townsville for 15:00hrs didn’t happen. Let’s just say missed boat, closed car rental office and wrong direction for the first hour of the journey!

What was supposed to be a relaxing drive up the coast from Airlie Beach to Townsville turned into more of a road race onboard with the Beyond TV film crew in order to make my first appointment of the new itinerary – the football match between North Queensland Fury and Brisbane Roar, two of the countries top football teams.

As we pulled into the city confines and checked into the Grand Mercure apartment there was just enough time to slip into my uniform, the blue Island Caretaker shirt, and rush downstairs to meet Brent Randall and his wife for the drive to the Dairy Farmers Stadium where the two teams would be playing.

I haven’t been to a football match for ages in the UK and I had a few butterflies in my stomach as I walked through the car park with the bright floodlights, singing fans and footie atmosphere building all them time. These Aussie fans are just as dedicated as those back home you know! The stadium doubles up as rugby league venue for the very famous Cowboys who regularly fill the 20,000 seater to capacity but the Queensland Fury are only in their first season so still building a fan-base, even still 8,000 people were here for a night’s entertainment.

One of the biggest draws the team have is the monumental signing of Robbie Fowler, an ex-England player with eight international goals to his name and a superb history in the Premiership for Liverpool amongst others. After leaving Blackburn Rovers at the end of the 2008 season Robbie and his family decided to take the very sensible step of moving out of England to enjoy the delights of this part of the world for a few years and he’s now playing as captain as his new club.

I sat with Don Matheson, the Chairman of the club, to watch the first half of the game and had a great laugh discussing the rather lacklustre Coventry City team I support back in the UK…I stick by them through thick and thin (although there’s plenty more thin I can tell you!) as I was born there much to the amusement of anyone I tell.

Awesome start to the game too, Robbie Fowler only went and scored the opening goal after ten minutes. I was up in the air high-fiving the chairman and other Fury supporters…maybe this could be the first win of the season for them? The run of good luck didn’t continue as after half an hour the Fury had Paul Kohler sent off for a second bookable offence…disaster as they were down to ten men for the remainder of the match.

The half time entertainment was massively entertaining…mainly as it involved me and ten other non-talents playing ‘Celebrity Binocular Football’ much to the amusement of the crowd. Take a pair of blacked-out safety goggles, attach a pair of plastic binoculars and attach them to your head – what can you see? Absolutely nothing for the first 20 metres.

As we all ran around like headless chickens there was the occasional kick which did something but I don’t think we managed to string two passes together all game, thankfully it only lasted for five minutes before the teams were out again.
The second half really was just a case of holding on for the Fury, constantly defending attacks from the Brisbane Roar team and it was only a matter of time before a ‘very’ lucky deflection skidded past the Fury’s keeper, Justin Passfield. 1-1.

The final whistle arrived and a dejected Fury team left the field, they were ten minutes away from their first win of the season….oh so close, but that’s sport for you.

I headed down to the changing room with the chairman and had a chance to meet some of the players including the legend himself, Robbie Fowler – who’s the most down-to-earth guy imaginable, we chatted for a while about what it’s like to be an overpaid Pom in this country and I even asked him if he’d join me next year as I row the length of the Great Barrier Reef – he said yes for a few days! We’ll see…

What a superb evening all round; a good game of football, a new town to discover and a celebrity-meeting too! Excellent.

We headed back to the hotel and an early night…I have my usual exploratory run to do in the morning!

End of day location: Townsville
Distance covered: 398kms