Thursday Island may be the administrative and commercial center of the Torres Strait Islands, but it is definitely not the center of the universe! My take on this stop is that it is between where we were and where we want to be (the Great Barrier Reef) and it was a chance for us to get off the ship and stretch our legs a bit. The best things about the island were the people who shuttled us up to a fort on the top of the highest hill for a view of the beautiful turquoise waters and a small art museum/gallery that had some very interesting pieces in it, all done by artists who live on the islands. Pathetic as it is, this photo is the best I could manage at this spot.
In the afternoon, we stopped at the most northerly point of mainland Australia, Cape York. Here we were offered the chance to go hiking. The best thing about this stop was that one could have their picture taken at a marker proclaiming this fact. Mike had just hiked through a mangrove swamp, following naturalist Tom Ritchie on a “short cut”, so he is not looking as dapper as he often does. I don’t know if that is a smile or a grimace of pain on Mike’s face, but he is just glad to be out of the swamp!
Dinner was a Welcome to Australia BBQ on the back deck where we were served grilled lobster tails, lamp chops, barramundi, chicken - the list goes on and on. Here is a picture of me and Tom Richie, with the wind at the side of the deck blowing our hair backwards. See if you can count the freckles I now have on my face!
