Day 16: Thursday Island

Today we headed off early for our trip overseas. But where are the passports? We left camp at 7.30am for the 1 minute walk to the wharf. The boat trip took a bit over an hour, and Rick has managed to get a spot in the bridge on the way home. The scenery was great and we were surprised at how many islands there are in the Torres Strait. We saw Prince of Wales Island, which was a huge island and is the second biggest Queensland island (after Fraser Island) and we also saw Tuesday Island, Wednesday Island and Friday Island, before getting off at Thursday Island. Apparently there are no islands named after Saturday, Sunday or Monday because the Islanders like long weekends!

We jumped on a bus tour and explored the fort and cemetery and did a lap of the island before being dropped off in the main street. We wandered along and looked in the shops, before finding the Torres Hotel. It was nearly lunch time, so we thought we should stop and check it out. The Torres Hotel, is the northern-most Hotel in Australia. The beer was cold and the food was pretty good too. Helen had a crocodile burger, Jim had a prawn sandwich and Rick went for the Seafood Marinara – all excellent.

Rick enjoyed the boat trip home and managed to get himself into the driver’s seat, while Helen and Jim fell asleep in the air-conditioned lounge. We pack up from Seisia tomorrow and head south – not sure where we will stay, but we will explore a few spots along the way.