The past two weeks have been crazy, I feel like I have done sooo much!!! From leaving Karumba, to being back in Cairns and then doing the long trek down to Airlie Beach to live in the Witsundays! It has been insane. But; before I get to my adventure getting here and telling you about island life I have to tell you a story.
Behind where I lived in Karumba was the old staff housing, an old blue house with two levels that are now boarded up and locked. My last week in Karumba (before I knew it was my last week) Liz, Cass and I grabbed wine and bundy rum and drank into the wee hours of the morning. On this very drunken night after we danced on our front porch and sang along to the iPod I pop up and say “you know what I have wanted to do since I got here? Break into the blue house!!!” Well, the girls thought it was a great idea, so off we go to the forbidden blue house. We walk up the steps to the top level. Locked. “Cass cough” “What?” “Cough really loud” as she coughed, I – thinking I’m tough – kick the door hoping to break it down? Ya right it didn’t even budge. Defeated we walk back down and were ready to call it a night when I said “there is a door on the ground level” Cass walks up and turns the handle and the door moves, she pushes it again and it opens a crack but something seemed to be blocking the door. Liz joined her and pushed on the door. They get it open enough for all of us to squeeze through. There was a huge king size mattress blocking the door which of course happy and excited we got in had to act like toddlers and jump on the bed.
The place was pretty clean, not overly dusty or covered in cobwebs. There were other rooms with mattresses that didn’t seem to be old or rotted. Liz found a scarf, there were empty beer bottles and a full set of golf clubs and of course deciding we just needed them for no apparent reason took two of them home with us. Cass found a lamp shade glued to the ceiling in one of the rooms “I like this she said” and ripped it down and wore it as a hat. The place seemed pretty cool and we wondered why it had been shut down. To be honest, the place gave me the creeps. I felt weird in there, that something was hiding in the shadows, as fun as it was I was happy when we left. Also, just to add, I had not been drinking goone like my last BnE lol though I was not at one of my most reasonable moments.
Karumba. I do miss it out there and even though I left there two weeks ago it feels like it was a lifetime a life time ago. I went back to Cairns for 4 days and felt like I was home again, I had an absolute blast and got to catch up with people and then Jarrett (one of the guys who used to work at Calypso Hostel where I stayed)and I applied for a job with Club Med Lindeman Island and got the job. So 24 hours later and drunk as skunks after a big party night at the hostel we boarded the Greyhound with yet another 11 hour bus trip ahead of me.
So now here I am living on Lindeman Island in the Witsundays, Paradise, and pretty much a haven for backpackers. The views here are amazing! We are surrounded (360 degrees) by mountainous Islands for endless miles all with golden lines of beaches. The water is so blue and sometimes so calm it is like glass. The wild life here is amazing. Bush turkeys that constantly squak and chase eachother and wild cocatoos that fly into our canteen and steal peanut butter. Elvis (one of the resident cocatoos) flys in grabs a packet and flys back into his tree where he peels the lid back and sits up there cleaning out the whole packet with not a trace of peanut butter left. When he is done he just drops it to the ground adding to the pile of the packets previously enjoyed. One day he even ate it off our fingers. He very slowly walked up to us and like a tame cat just licked it right off our fingers. They are really curious birds and seem to have no fear of us. They will fly up right behind us and just sit there looking at us, turning their heads and fanning themselves out. Then there are the spiritual birds (I’m not sure what they are called) they have long skinny legs and their feathers have the most interesting brown and black design, some parts almost looking like the spots of a leopard. They have the blackest eyes and they just stand there not moving for minutes at a time, staring at what I don’t know. They make this weird clicking-hissing sound and then they run towards whatever they are hissing at. It is said they are warding off evil spirits and if you purposely kill one your number is up. I love watching them.
There are butterflies, snakes (which I have not seen), moths, horribly big marsh flies that bite, green ants that bite but apparently taste like citrus and spiders, big ones, but I am dealing with them ok. The weather here is so hot, almost flawlessly hot, I am tanned as, working outside in a polyester uniform really isn’t the greatest fun. What am I doing for work? I’m a PA. No no not personal assistant, Public Area. We mop the floors, clean all the toilets, pools, tennis courts, pool areas, rubbish bins and our living area GE Land. GE Land is made up of shack like appartments A-D block and the Donga’s which is where I live and the best place to live. We each have our own rooms though we share toilets and showers but its incredibly social here and everyone gets a long great. My door is always open unless I am at work, I would like to say it is closed when I sleep but usually I pass out with it open when I nap. Even when there are parties here I fall asleep with the door open and do not wake up to the loud music lol. There are three parts to the Dongas. There is oneside called the Monga’s – they are quiet and don’t party, then there are the Donga’s which has two blocks there is the end part which is clean with painted doors which I call Beverly Hills and then there is my block which I like to call Harlem. This is where all the parties take place on our doorstops (mine being one of the main ones), garbage and cigarette butts that I try and clean in the mornings but is back to the way it was by the end of the night and graffiti on the doors, sounds ugly but we love it though and wouldn’t change it. GE Land is set up on a hill away from the resort and guests are not aloud here, we have a gym (with rusted equipment), ping pong room (that has holes in the walls containing aspestos but they have been checked and it is safe), a canteen where we eat all our meals (3 meals a day done buffet style, yum yum), a pool, a bar, laundry facilities and the shoe tree. The shoe tree is massive covered with heaps of shoes, when leaving the island if you have a pair of shoes that are ruined and need to throw out you put them on the shoe tree so they can stay on the island. Work isn’t really that bad. PA is one of the best jobs to have on the island and I actually really enjoy it even though I am cleaning toilets. I’m happy and always smiling at work even when I sweat like a pig in heat I smile. Our polyester shirts just sit on the sweat and the mesh at the side to help you breath…not so much by the time I am done work I feel so grungy I can’t wait to get into a shower. My shifts are 630am till 3pm everyday, early I know but I like the hours. I have even been napping in the evening so I can party at night. We have a disco on the resort which is pretty much all staff, it kind of sucks but it is nice to go out and see the GO’s which is the other side of the staff. The GO’s are the FOH (front of house) staff and have different accommodation from us so it’s nice to see them.
It’s really cool working and pretty much knowing everyone since we all live here. Everyone is great! I’m having a blast, I’m even trying to extend my stay here so I can stay and save some more money. Plus there is so much to do here. Snorkel (as we are on the outer part of the Great Barrier), camp outs on one of the island beaches, kayaking, weekends at Airlie Beach, helicopter rides over the Witsundays, hikes up Mount Oldfield where you get a 360 degree view of our surroundings which is absolutely breath taking, watching sunsets from the 8th hole of the golf course which are probably some of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. I DID have pictures of most of this stuff but I lost my SD card so I have to take the pictures again so please be patient.
Anyways I know I am lack of blogs lately but so much happens its hard to keep up so I will be trying my hardest to keep you updated. I must go though, there is an epic night waiting to happen at the disco tonight and I must join in the festivities of my Donga-ites and get ready for tonight. I just napped for 4 hours as I have to wake up at 6 and clean…guess what…the disco haha.
Take care
PS It is my 7 month anniversary!!! Miss me ? J
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