Sleeping on holiday should be blissful and relaxing. But my first night was difficult, mainly because of the bush-stone curlew.
These marauding nocturnal hunters have a unique call, which sounds like a room full of toddlers being brutally tortured. And these blood-curdling screams ring out with an alarming frequency, usually right as I’m drifting off to much-desired slumberland. It was freakin’ annoying.
They didn’t bother Eva at all, which is also concerning.
I did manage to get some shuteye eventually, though, and awoke early to pop down to the general store for some breakfast staples. A lazy morning followed, before a walk to Nelly Bay for some lunch and a grocery shop. The 25 minute walk from Arcadia to Nelly Bay is quite lovely. Although it’s a steep hill to ascend and descend, it’s on a well-made boardwalk that is easy to traverse. And the view is typical of Magnetic Island – a beautiful bay, lush forest and strewn with giant boulders. Walking along Geoffrey Bay I was struck by how crystal clear the water was.
Despite being where ferry docks and where lots of the resorts are, Nelly Bay is surprisingly sparse when it comes to, well, most things. There are two or three cafes, a supermarket, a surf shop, a post office, a Vinnies, a bank and that’s about it. We perused a few of the shops, then headed into Scallywag’s Cafe. Unsurprisingly, it is pirate themed. Surprisingly, the tabletops have pages from Dr. Seuss books laminated on top. The food is quite good – I had a chicken burger and Eva had a haloumi and coleslaw baked potato. By the end of it I was stuffed and feared I’d need to be rolled up and down the hill on the return journey.
Fortunately, I was able to digest some of my lunch while we did a supermarket shop, and the walk back was not too arduous. A lazy afternoon followed.
Come dinner time, we decided to dine at the local pub – especially after the staff had been very kind to us the night before and recommending a restaurant that was supposed to be open. It’s a big pub, with your usual pub paraphernalia – pool tables, a giant screen showing a sport game, pokies, a bistro, and both indoor and outdoor dining areas. It also has a pool, an arcade game room and birds. Lots of birds.
First we noticed the scourges of the dreamland, the bush-stone curlews, responsible for my lack of sleep the night before. They were much quieter at the pub, given only to occasional whistles. We soon learned that that was because they were working on their stealth game – quietly sneaking up on diners. Presumably this was to steal their food, though we never saw that happen. It was fun to see them sneaking up, and then when you turn and looked at them they’d freeze (you can’t see me!) or change direction quickly (I was always going over here!). Strange game. Strange, horrible little monsters.
Not long after we’d arrived, I noticed the blue-winged kookaburra sitting atop a pole. For a while I thought it was a statue, perhaps to ineffectively ward off other birds – there were ceramic owls placed around the outdoor dining area for that. But then it moved slightly, and we knew it was real. We took some photos, because it was cute. Then we forgot all about it.
Dinner was standard pub-food. I had a chicken parmigiana* with chips and Eva had the salt and pepper calamari. It was good. At one point while eating my chips, I saw a curlew sneaking up on me. While I was watching him creep, for a split second my face was full of flapping wings and wind, and then nothing. Looking around in befuddlement, I realised that fucker of a kookaburra stole the chip from my fingers.
A quiet walk back to our accommodation and a quiet night of television. End of Day Two
Footnotes
* A parma, and definitely NOT a ‘parmi’ as they said on the menu. Barbarians.