Last Tuesday we stopped off at Percy Island for a full day of
adventure, only 24 hours after departing Airlie Beach, Queensland.
The island has a long history of welcoming yachties ashore.
They even introduced goats to the island to feed those who became shipwrecked
or were low on food. Today, it's believed 500-800 goats roam the island; the
population is controlled by one of the 6 permanent residents, as he eats goat
stew roughly three times a week. He says he doesn't shoot the black or white
ones, as they are thought to be the first species introduced to the island.
The couple who currently hold the 20-year land lease are in
their 60s. They have it until 2018. A childless nature loving couple in their
30s reside in a treehouse built just off the main bay. Along side their house
is an A frame construction full of visitors' memorabilia. Splayed around the
space, including the ceiling, there's everything from a signed wooden leg to a
3k camera which had gone over board.
The saddest piece I learned about was a dishevelled looking
desk chair, labelled "Fred's Chair." I was told when Fred visited the
island for the first time, he took a photo of the A frame to apply as the
desktop background of his work computer. Whenever colleagues asked him to
explain the photo, he told them it was the best place on earth and he couldn't
wait to get back there. Unfortunately Fred passed away before making it back,
perhaps from spending too much time at the desk. His colleagues transported his
chair to the A frame in his honour, which is now sat on by visitors who cook
and eat dinner from the nearly BBQ.We ate burgers and drank rum late into the
night before hoping into the tender to get back to Eve, our 65 ft yacht. We
woke earlier the next morning to create our own memorabilia, the empty bottle
of rum with a pirate-style note rolled up inside.
In between waiting for it to be finished, the skippers used
the tender to create a wake to surf behind. The boys made it look too easy to
stand up, but the girls could only kneel.
During the heat of the day we went exploring inland, which
I'll tell you about in my next post!