Gismo Queen and her King

Off to Flinders Island - Thursday 14 October 2021

 We're off to Flinders Island for an "overseas holiday" to celebrate my birthday!

Up early for the short drive to Bridport for our scheduled flight to Flinders Island at 7:30am. Walking into the hangar, we dumped our bags to be weighed and were ushered into the lounge to wait for our fellow passengers . The plane was a 7 seater but also took the mail and other freight depending on how many people were booked. Three other people arrived - a lady who had grown up on Flinders Island, her Irish husband and their autistic non-verbal son. We were shown to the plane and climbed aboard, and soon afterwards took off in the capable hands of James who although he looked about 12, assured us he had been a pilot for 6 years! 

It was fascinating to fly over Barnbougle and Lost Farm golf courses, see where Jude, Rhonda and I enjoyed the spa, and the beautiful dunes. At Waterhouse Point we turned north, and the rain was pelting the plane’s windscreen. We had already been warned that due to the wind, we may have to land at Whitemark rather than Lady Barron, and that they would figure out how to get us back to Lady Barron where our car was. But no, not long after turning to head north we turned west again and headed back to Bridport! Abort! Abort! The rain and clouds were too bad for James to see and given he flew by visuals, he couldn't risk it. So we settled back into the “lounge”, had a bad pod coffee and got to know our fellow passengers. By 10:30am, we were told that the weather was clearing to the south so we should be able to go by 1pm. Greg and I decided to head into Bridport for elevenses and enjoyed good coffee and a delicious egg and bacon roll at our favourite cafe. Back to the hangar by 11:45am and a bit more waiting but at 12:30pm, we got the call to Take 2. And we were off! 

It was much clearer this time around and we could easily see the happenings on Waterhouse Island, Cape Barren Island, Badger Island, Anderson Island, Tin Kettle Island, Little Dog and Big Dog Islands before we came into land on the grass runway of Lady Barron. James parked the plane, we clambered out and as he unloaded the bags, he suggested we go and drive the car onto the runway to save carrying our bags. Yep, we’re on Flinders Island now!

After loading the car, we settled in for the drive north. There was still a bit of rain as we passed green paddocks with sheep and cattle, mountains in the distance, but it all cleared as we came to the crest into Whitemark. Whitemark is the administrative centre of Flinders Island, with the most shops and services even though the actual population is only about 150. We headed to the IGA where there was a box of groceries waiting for us (because the island based contact of our AirBnB was in home quarantine after visiting Victoria, and so he couldn't deliver it to the house). We stocked up, as there are no shops further north (our accommodation was 38km north west), tomorrow is a public holiday for the Show and the IGA is only open until 12pm on Saturday. After that, we headed north up the main north-south road where the bitumen ended after 17km, then we kept going for another 13km before turning off and heading 6km down West End Road. Now, we had been warned that every driver has to give every other driver the one fingered “Flinders Island wave” as you pass them. So there was lots of that while trying to dodge the potholes and washouts. We found our house number on West End road but then had another 1.4km down to the house, most of which was no more than a goat track. However, we finally arrived to this gorgeous place right on the beach with no neighbours to see for miles. After unpacking and assisting Greg with orientation, I headed down the beach to explore. I went east although the tide was coming in so it was only a narrow beach which ran out at the rocks so I clambered around, finding a cave and plenty of lilies and continuing east until I got to the closest neighbour at which point I turned back. The beach, the rocks, the water, the nature - all so beautiful. I kept the doors ajar in our house so we could listen to the waves crashing while we had drinks and nibbles, before I cooked scallops for dinner. I watched a couple of kangaroos come up to the house at dusk before I lit a fire to keep us cosy. What a great spot to rest and relax!

posted by Tracey @ 8:33 pm