Thursday was an early start. Glen decided to sit the day’s activities out and do his own thing so I struggled up to be ready for us to go and meet the 7:30am ferry to Direction Island. This is the only time the ferry goes there and there is only one ferry back at 2pm. If you miss it…

The ferry ride took an hour as it stopped at Home Island along the way. We then disembarked under a clearing sky, the previous night’s rain having moved on but still threatening around the edges. We wandered along the island and staked a claim at one of the shelters which had picnic tables. It was also conveniently placed next to the toilets and a water tank.

Tarryn and Ruan, a couple from Perth who’d been on the canoe tour with us, joined us under the shelter. Ruan also kindly loaned me his reef shoes for the snorkeling.

Direction Island has a famous rip current that you can plonk yourself in and float down as it tries to suck you out to sea. Meanwhile, you get a fantastic view of the coral and fish below you. I didn’t do that the first time though, feeling a little unsure about it, but the upside was I was the only one to see a sea turtle. 

My second go was much better, seeing great schools of fish, as well as quite a few sharks. Unfortunately the swim back to shore took ages. A reminder for next time to take flippers.

We ate some snacks then, did a walk around the island, then went for another swim. By this time the current had gotten stronger and I freaked out so I didn’t last long in the rip but instead took my time going nearer the shore and checking out the smaller outcrops of coral.

We had a gin and tonic, sent up Voey’s drone, then packed up our things and caught the ferry back to West Island via Home Island. 

Later that evening we went for a drink at the pub and dinner at Saltmakers. They do themed nights and that night was coconut. We missed the coconut demonstration but all the meals and cocktails had coconut in them. (Not sure what you do if you don’t like coconut.)

We had some drinks, talked to Ru and Tarryn sitting at the table next to us, all while wondering if the rain was going to wash us out. We trundled off to our accommodation at about 8:30 and sat around having last drinks for a while. It was all fairly chill.