8:44 a.m. - 2003-10-07
Paradise
2003-10-05 - 8:44 a.m.
I'm still on Maggie Island. I've been here three weeks. I got a cleaning job so I�m not spending the little money I have left ($200). I�ve been the most relaxed I�ve ever been in my life.
It�s Paradise.
The island is beautiful and unique; it really is �magnetic.� Almost everyone that comes here stays longer than planned, the Belgiums were supposed to leave weeks ago. Maggie has a real presence especially with all the fallen boulders balancing precariously on top of each other. The beaches are gorgeous. I am staying on the right side of the island in that respect. Every day is like Groundhog Day. We all get up at 8am, Mick and I work for two hours with occasional bong breaks and then after work is finished we all congregate at the back of Mick�s Ute. We smoke some cones, sit for a while, then smoke some more, sit a little longer, think about making breakfast, have another round of cones, make breakfast, smoke some more, chill, get ready to go to the beach, wait for Michael to get his shit together, smoke again, then one more for the road. After making ourselves incredibly wasted we walk for 45 minutes in the hot, hot heat up and down the 4kms of steps to get to the really pretty beaches and then relax. Sometimes I go snorkelling; I saw a turtle (it was big too) yesterday. It is well worth the trek. At first it was a struggle, but now I can do it in flip-flops without breaking into a heavy sweat. After three weeks of this I actually lost weight. Hurrah! It is so laid back here, only 2000 live on the island and it's just 8km away from Townsville, the capital of North Queensland. It feels miles from anywhere. At first I hated this campsite because it�s a bit grotty and run down. The kitchen had been shut down just before I arrived, the showers have zero pressure and the bar shuts at 9pm. This place is so beautiful. I could sit in the shade all day just looking at the different species of trees and the cockatiels flying in and around them. The wildlife here is amazing. There aren't many campsites where you can feed possums from your tent and dozens of Rainbow Lorikeets feed out of your hand.
I've decided to stay in Oz until next May, when my visa expires. I may as well. Even if it means skipping Thailand and India, I'm here now and I don't know when - if ever - I'll be back. I'll definitely do my best to get to Asia next winter or if I earn lots of money here I'll do it on the way home. I can't see myself working too hard though, life is just so laid back... I should be leaving here on Monday with Michael. I'm getting a lift to Airlie beach where I'll look up Rick (my original lift to Cairns). There isn't even a real beach there though; I'll have to keep working on my tan while I'm here. Today I am going to the beach again, maybe Radical Bay. The only complaint I have is that the days are too short. The sun sets by 6.30pm. And so ends another day in Paradise....
Monday 6th October
Went out on Jono�s (Geoff�s Place assistant manager) playboat on Saturday. It was okay, but we didn�t really go anywhere and I felt a bit sick after an hour. His friend Luke came to the beach with us and we got chatting after Jono dropped me off on dry land. Pretty soon into the conversation he asked me if I smoked and we went back to his to get high. I got really high. Luke was a hardcore stoner. He had five hits for every one of mine. He made me beans on toast and we watched loads of TV. We watched The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, which was insane. I tripped out because I had D�j� vu for the duration of the film. I felt like I�d dreamt the film the night before. It really bugged me. I�d never even heard of the film, so I couldn�t have seen it. I�ve had this happen to me before after smoking bongs. It shook me up because I thought I�d experienced the mobious strip time loop theory. He invited me to go out fishing on his boat today, but it didn�t happen because I didn�t see him yesterday as I expected to. There was a Pagan Pride Day at Geoff�s yesterday. I had to move my tent to make room for their stalls. I�d been looking forward to it all week actually. I thought it was going to be freakshow. It wasn�t a very good turn out though. Boogie kept calling it Bogan Pride Day, much to his own amusement. There was the usual fire show and pagans dancing in circles act. I was more interested in the possums in the kitchen. There are usually a couple sitting on the beams and rummaging through the bin, but this night there were loads. They�re cute, but some of them have sores and cuts from fighting. I don�t like opening the cupboards in case one is lurking; I�ve had that surprise once already. There was also a cute guy cooking his dinner in there that Steph and I were trying to get a good look at.
Tuesday 14th October
I heard a disturbing story about another long-termer here. An ex-convict called Anthony. Mick told us he�d done time, because he smokes Ox cigarettes and apparently that�s what they all smoke in the Big House. We�ve nicknamed him Coconuts. This moniker works on two levels: his job on the island is to maintain the palms and cut down the coconuts. He has to climb all the way up some really tall trees. He is also nuts. He has gone mad from taking too many drugs and is constantly paranoid. He went from being Mick�s friend to not talking to him at all. We don�t really understand why. I think Mick gave him some unwanted advice about getting work. He is a creepy one. He struts around half-naked, either wearing a flimsy sarong or his tight white jeans. He does have a good body for his age (late 40s). He even tried to get Mick to feel his six-pack, he�s so proud of it. He�s definitely not attractive though. He has a ponytail and a moustache for ultra creepiness. Anyway, poor Mick told us that he�d caught Coconuts in his cabin �abusing himself� as he delicately put it. He�d gone to fetch him after inviting him to the beach along with three Irish girls. It was weird because he knew there was a chance of being seen and he�d left his door ajar. Must have been the �excitement of being caught� scenario. This was the icing on the cake for Mick as Coconuts had told him previously that he liked to sniff women�s knickers. No wonder he was so helpful to me on that first night.
