Tuesday (29 December) we woke up to a cloudy day but the sun was trying to break through. So we had a leisurely start and then headed to the lagoon pool for the day. We were quiet surprised as most of the lounge beds were ‘reserved’ with towels placed on them. We made camp best we could in the adults’ area before going bobbing in the pool which was lovely. Four hours later we decided to evict two towels and commandeered two lounge beds as we needed some shade from an umbrella. By now two people had returned and it turns out they were British expats – although they moaned loudly enough for us to hear nobody else turned up to take possession throughout the day. It was all very strange but we just ignored them. Later on we returned to Morphie for a quiet dinner on board and a movie night.

During the night the heavens opened and by Wednesday it was raining heavily. So we just got on with boat jobs like laundry, freezer defrosting, and a bit of cleaning before having a relaxing afternoon and evening down below. Our sole entertainment for the day was feeding the fish that lurk underneath our neighbour’s boat with some out-of-date seedy bread LOL.

Overnight it rained heavily again and we thought that New Year’s Eve might be a bit of a washout. But Thursday morning it cleared up a bit so we headed out for breakfast at the Anchor Buoy which was very nice.

Whilst there we downloaded some Netflix programmes to watch later, then did a bit of shopping, before going to the lagoon for a little while. On the way back we showered off using the marina facilities and then headed to the Pizza Wine Bar and had a delicious thin and crispy pizza. And yes no cooking for me for the whole day woo hoo!

Back on board we rested up for a little while before heading back to the lagoon suitably adorned with our wristbands which we had picked up earlier in the day giving us access to the pool bar for the beach party. The trees that were lit up around the lagoon looked really pretty.

The mix of people was quite interesting: from yummy mummies in their expensive skin tight dresses and killer heels (not forgetting the fake body parts) pushing infants in prams; to people dressed to the nines having clearly come down from the masquerade ball; and other guests like us just casual there to have a drink and enjoy the fireworks. Surprisingly a large contingent of the younger guests were British ex-pats who were definitely having a good time LOL. The DJ played very cheesy songs – a bit like a bad wedding entertainer – but the kids enjoyed dancing around even when the heavens opened while we all ran for cover for a little while. There was a full moon to check out too which was pretty spectacular as it appeared in the clouds above us.

At midnight we did the count down and watched the fireworks which were great. It felt strange to be alone again (and socially distanced) as we usually spend NYE with friends but that just sums up the rest of 2020 really. Anyway, Happy 2021 everybody.

Friday we had a lazy start and again it was drizzly and cloudy. But by noon it had cleared up and we headed into the Marine Village to meet Sandra and Nigel. The last time we had seen them was many years ago when they returned to the UK for a while and came to Clive and Sharon’s for Christmas and our two families spent the holiday together. Afterwards Sandra (Sharon’s sister) and Nigel returned to Australia where they had been living for many years. Coincidentally Clive mentioned to them that we were currently in Sanctuary Cove and they had literally just got a place around the corner on Hope Island. What a small world eh?!? So we had quickly organised a reunion.

Well, as you can imagine, we had many years of news and memories to cover so we chatted, had lunch, chatted some more, had another drink or two or three….and before you know it the whole afternoon had passed. Was lovely to catch up with them!

We said our farewells, promising to see them again soon, and headed back to Morphie for another quiet night on board.

Saturday it was partly cloudy but the sun managed to burn it off and we headed to the lagoon where we spent the whole day. Once again the place was pretty quiet now that the NY celebrations were over and we had a choice of beds and was able to get a floating bean bag for bobbing purposes whenever we wanted through the day. Around 4pm, having had more than enough sun, we were packing up and some kangaroos decided to join us – I love watching these creatures.

On the way back to our dock we used the marina showers. I got myself ready, put my toiletries in the shower cubicle, took my glasses off and climbed into the cubicle. I was just rinsing my swimming costume out when something moved in the corner and, of course, I’m pretty blind without my specs. Quickly I grabbed them and realised that there was this HUGE spider (about the size of my fist) sitting there looking at me and then it reared a couple of legs up. OMG I thought my heart was going to stop, I’m petrified of spiders, and of course in Australia many of them are dangerous. So I rushed out of the cubicle grabbing all my belongings and ran naked into the main area before taking another cubicle having checked first carefully that it was clear of nasties. Will definitely be more careful in future not sure I could stand the shock again LOL. I have since found out it was a Huntsman spider which is probably one of the most common (and scariest!) spiders in Australia. Their size, fast movement and ability to “jump”, coupled with their habit of finding their way into houses and cars makes them pretty frightening although they are non venomous. 

Back on board we had a sundowner in the cockpit before retiring down below for dinner and another Netflix binge night.

This morning, Sunday, and it is cloudy and very humid. This is our last full day booked here into Sanctuary Cove Marina so we need to get ourselves ready to leave having been here a month. Richard is cleaning Morphie’s topsides while I’m down below blogging. Afterwards there will be engine checks, water top ups and then we’ll probably head out to get a final internet download fix before we go back on the hook tomorrow. It is time to try out our new Christmas anchor. Typically the weather forecast for the next week is currently very mixed, nice for a few days then some strong winds with possible thunderstorms. So not sure we’ll actually go too far as we need to return to the Boatworks on Monday 11 January for doctors appointments.

Bye for now, take care of each other.

Jan