THURSDAY 15 AUGUST     FORREST BEACH

I took Couey for another beach walk in the morning. John, who was up relatively early, came too, so dog was much happier.

John went to Macknade bowls. They were having a “Pink” fund raiser day, so he borrowed my pink T shirt to wear. It did not look as big on him as I had expected, but he wasn’t very happy when I commented to that effect. He did not enjoy the day; said that the various novelty aspects that the women had thought up “ruined the bowls”. He got back about 6.15pm.

My shoulder reconstruction had ruled me out of playing bowls. There is a silver lining in most things.

During the afternoon I tried to download books to my e-reader, from my library’s free borrowing site. No success. I wasn’t sure what I was doing wrong. It was all still quite unfamiliar and I couldn’t remember how I fluked it, the first time. The manual, which itself was a book on the reader, was really hard to navigate around, and so not much help. I found it all very frustrating. I do not cope well when machines refuse to co-operate with me.

Once again, we went to tea at the hotel. Thursdays were the $10 steak and schnitzel meal deal nights, and we hadn’t tried that, to date. My pepper steak was alright – a bit bland, and I wasn’t sure what cut it was, but it was huge and I couldn’t eat it all. John liked his schnitzel, and finished off my steak. We’d done that now, and probably wouldn’t repeat it.

There was a big party group in for tea at the hotel, celebrating someone’s birthday. They do a surprisingly large meals trade, at this hotel. For this party, there were tables set out on the lawn in front of the outdoor terrace, as well as some on the terrace itself, though much of that area was taken up with the tables of we ordinary diners. The terrace was a most pleasant place to be, especially when there was some cloud over the islands, which reflected the sunset behind us. One needed to apply heaps of aerogard, though. The swampy areas nearby guaranteed lots of mosquitoes and midges, once the sun was going down, as well as sometimes earlier.

What we had noticed, as a major difference from our last visit in 2009, was that there was no longer the regular arrival of “tinny” boats at the beach by the hotel, carrying people from Palm Island come to buy alcohol to take back to the islands. We had been surprised by this trade at the time, believing that the islands were “dry”. There was now a prominently displayed notice in the bottle shop stating that there are to be no alcohol sales to Palm Islanders. I had noticed, in a recent Sunday Brisbane newspaper, an item about the trial in Townsville of the mayor of Palm Island, on charges relating to an attempt to take alcohol from Forrest Beach to Palm Island, back last January. In 2009 we had commented to each other how lucrative the boat trade appeared to be for the hotel.

WEDNESDAY 14 AUGUST     FORREST BEACH

By the time I got up, this morning, our acquaintances over the way had made an early – and quiet – departure. They left us their contact details in a note tucked under the Terios windscreen wiper – for if we found ourselves in Perth in the next few years.

Straight after my breakfast, took Couey for a beach walk. John was still in bed. She was a bit reluctant to leave him behind. A little way along the beach, which we were walking with her off the lead, she turned tail and ran off back, almost to the track back into the campground. I had to walk a fair distance back to retrieve her, whereupon she got put back on the lead and dragged along the beach until I was satisfied that we’d walked as far as I wanted. Just sometimes, I need to be boss around here!

It felt good to get walking properly again. I don’t think I could ever get sick of walking this beach, with  its outlook south along the sand, to distant ranges, and to the Palm Island group to the east. I wouldn’t like to live here in the summer humidity, cyclone and flood season, but it is a little patch of paradise in winter. Bit distant from Melbourne to have a beach house here, unfortunately…..

After lunch, had a visit from a lady we had gotten to know in the first week we were here. She had moved from the campground to stay with a local friend, but came for a walk and a chat, so that was a pleasant interlude.

I made a version of lemon chicken for tea. Cut up chicken thighs into pieces and par-boiled them, before coating them in tempura batter and shallow frying. Then added the lemon sauce – from a packet! John liked it a lot and said I should make it regularly. My improvising did not always meet with his approval, so I enjoy such success when it comes.

TUESDAY AUGUST 13     FORREST BEACH

The weather was definitely getting hotter in the daytime. We had to set up the electric fan in Bus.

Before lunch, drove into Ingham.

Went out to the fruit stall first and bought some more pineapples, and some zucchini. At Target, John bought a pair of shorts, having decided that a couple of the pairs he bought from home are no longer comfortable – the wash must have shrunk them! I bought a couple more of the $8 T shirts. Did a quick food shop.

Called at the Post Office on the way back. The parcel with the throw blanket had finally arrived.

I booked us in here for another week. This only cost $75, because we’d now triggered the monthly rate eligibility. That was $600 and since we’d already paid $525 for the three weeks we’d been here, we only had to make up the difference, this week. Whilst the park had some issues, to be paying only $150 a week for a powered site with the outlook we had and the access to such a brilliant beach, was really unusual value.

Went to tea at the hotel again, since it was the two-for-one meal deal night. We’d been put at a table for six, rather than two, but the two couples from “over the road” were there too, so we asked them to join us. They were very entertaining company. John had mackerel in batter and I had the excellent salt and pepper squid again. Our meals were fine, but one of the others had barramundi that arrived still part frozen and cold in the centre. That had to be sent back to be cooked properly. Another had a steak that was very well done, but he’d ordered medium rare. We discovered later that the usual cook was on a week’s holiday.

It was really pleasing that Couey could be left in Bus, with no fuss, and we could do such things. I wasn’t sure, though, how she would be if we drove off, instead of quietly walking away.

MONDAY AUGUST 12     FORREST BEACH

We passed the usual sort of day, here. Read, sewed, spent some time on laptop.

I took Couey for a couple of walks around the campground and along the foreshore path. No beach walks until the tide times become more favourable.

I spent some time talking with two couples with a van and camper trailer, who set up across the road from us. That started when one of the men asked me about the car hitch and how it worked. They were from Perth, heading north as far as the Daintree, then west. The ones with the camper trailer were hoping to drive the Savannah Way. I advised them that Lawn Hill/Adels Grove was a must-do detour.

Scotch fillet steaks for tea, with green peppercorn sauce.