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Day 36 Rest Day

 

I woke up this morning feeling drained and unenthused, despite today being a rest day. We had decided to try and sleep in but as usual my body clock kicked in and I was up and moving before the sun. It was later in the day that I discovered why I woke up feeling the way I did… turns out I had been having some active dreams throughout the night, basically the rest of the team heard me tossing and turning in the bed and at one stage crying in my sleep.

Rather then heading back on the ferry with the boys I decided to step my pace up a little and cruise back on the jet ski, with Jacky coming along for the ride. When we arrived at the boat ramp we noticed a few people hanging around staring up at an overhanging eucalyptus tree. Sitting up there was a big ball of grey fluff commonly known as a koala!

Jacky and I shot out into the bay making our way for Peel Island (one of the stunning sand island photos from my previous blog) but due to the high tide instead of being able to walk across it, we just floated past staring down into the depths at the beach now below.

The boys were going to be a lot longer on the ferry so we went and found some rock reefs and made our way to Horseshoe Island which was a little ironic as I left from Horseshoe Beach at Newcastle. We explored the island and found out we weren’t the only ones there but were relieved to find out it was nothing to sinister just a few kangaroo prints in the soft white sands.

We cruised around Moreton Bay for some 30 minutes longer before I couldn’t stand the wind chill factor anymore. Jacky had her fare share of fun for the morning with cheers of delight as I yelled to hold onto me before I jumped the wake of passing boats and threw the ski around with a few compulsory donuts! We headed in to the Raby Bay Marine Rescue area to wait for the boys arrival from the ferry. Shortly after they arrived Jacky’s lift also arrived, it was Dave from Westpac Helicopter Services Newcastle who had been doing some whinch training up north. It was so wonderful to see him, as majority of people are completely unaware of the absolute support, guidance and assistance Westpac Newcastle have provided me with. Dave has been a major influence of all things safety behind the scenes, we have held regular meetings at the Westpac base in the lead up to the paddle. Dave also went over my risk assessment protocol and provided me with an incredible amount of safety equipment and emergency devices. Dave and the Westpac crew not only gave me their time and personal support but they along with the incredibly generous Stan Wall have provided me with a lifeguard jet ski. This is usually kept on the Westpac base for training and rescue purposes, and it has proven to be my crucial safety device, hydration and nutrition carrier throughout the entire paddle.

The rest of the afternoon became a bit of a blur as we went to our new accommodation on Bribie Island and I slept the entire car trip.

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