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Asia » Malaysia » Terengganu » Perhentian Besar
July 6th 2014
Published: July 7th 2014
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Over the course of the week, many members of the party succumbed to various ailments. They were dropping like flies and I, the forward thinking person that I am, felt confident that I could escape the bugs in my self-imposed quarantine on the verandah. Dean and Obie, both not quite a 100%, soldiered on to eventually complete their PADI course (with a healthy Eleanor in tow). Seeing sharks, moray eels, thousands of fish in formation and lots of other marvellous sights will forever be captured on Obie's 'GoPro'. Stayed tuned for viewing times at your nearest loungeroom. The Stitt's man-cave may provide the best atmosphere, so the footage probably won't have to go on tour.

The heat didn't let up for the entire week. I spent much of the time hiding in the shade and ducking into the cool of the room when it all got a bit too much for my Melbourne sensibilities. The kids found jumping off the pier to be an enjoyable way to pass the time. A few adventurous parents got into the act too. The fishermen seemed to enjoy the show as much as the kids participating in it - their amateur film-making was a little disconcerting, but I think they were trying to get shots of the EXTREMELY bronzed blonde-haired family more than the capturing the whooping and a hollering from our little whiteys.

The lightning show each evening kept us entertained during and after dinner. Unfortunately all the rain was on the mainland (or was it fortunate??), so the humidity was fairly unbearable at times. There wasn't a storm after our second evening but I guess it meant that we could sit on the beach and view all the activity on the other side of the ocean.

The little green snake made an appearance in front of the cabins. Obie was in the thick of it again. I'm just glad he keeps himself to the beach and all I have to contend with is the pesky squirrels and a very curious lizard.

Dropped off the bag of washing at Nia's Café (as you do), only to later have it displayed for all the island to see on the wall of the Marine Park Centre to dry. I am sort of puzzled as to why clothes lines aren't in use and the wall is the place of choice for the drying action. Not sure if the architect meant for the front fence to not only keep the riff raff out of the property but to also act as the holder of the riff raffs' clothes as they dry.

The jungle walk beckoned on our last full day. Some people begged off sick, some begged off going with Obie after his last adventure and some just didn't want to go. Fair enough. Sitting for six days on the torture racks has not been the most productive use of my time, however I was hesitant to follow Obie again since the last 'two hour walk' didn't quite go to plan. Especially when he says things like, "Just go left at the generator..." What????!!!!!! Every place on the island is hooked up to one. If we turned left, we'd be going in circles all day!

Obie was determined to leave around 10:30 but in my mind that was too late. John, Nicki and myself headed off around 9:30, half an hour later than intended, but it was difficult to move John away from the breakfast buffet. We left in a jolly humour, all the more so because John had nearly polished off his water before we'd reached the second pier (about 150 metres from Tuna Bay). We eventually located the extremely small signs to Flora Bay and then immediately found ourselves in someone's bathroom (admittedly they were showering outside and not completely nude - we hadn't literally stumbled into a Malay bath-house) and one of the kind gentlemen (well, the one that could understand us) pointed us in the general direction of Flora Bay.

Walking through a derelict toilet block wasn't quite the ancient ruins you may expect to see on a hike, and then a wrong turn to the right saw us reach the cove. Yes, the one we just left. We were going in a rather large circle. I had the beginnings of hysteria. We'd walked about 100 metres and almost found ourselves back in the bathing area. Retracing our steps, we took the other path and began the ascent. A few ant nests, some jokes in poor taste and a meeting with a non-communicative family (assumed their forebears may have had something to do with the invasion of Poland in 1939 - but we can't be sure because they didn't respond to our jaunty "Hello") passed the time and almost made us forget about the sweat dripping off us. The sound of boats and/or a generator kept us on track and we were at Flora Bay in good spirits.

A drink stop at the large and well-ventilated café at Flora Bay Resort revived our energy. Nicki panicked when asked which fruits she'd like in her mixed blended (not 'Blanded' like at Nia's). Like a rabbit in the headlights, she faltered then blurted: "Banana...pineapple...and...watermelon." Interesting. The guy taking the order didn't really think she was serious at first because he wasn't writing too much down. After she repeated her order, yes, it was true. A similar experience to my 'Eggplant, anchovy and ginger' order of a few days before. Sometimes us Westerners do go a little crazy and order an unexpected menu item. However, let's just say that she won't be ordering that combination any time soon and I'd easily scoff down a dish with some eggplant, anchovies and ginger whenever it pops up on a menu again.

The half-hour rest rebooted us (but not in the Obie sense - that's an horrific tale that may constitute another chapter of his memoirs) and we had a pleasant walk along the beach. We delighted in the hammocks, the serenity and the options for dining. The pool at the Arwana Resort has a thinking - what the hell were we doing at Tuna Bay?!? A chocolate aroma permeated the air, the pool lapped invitingly at the very clean edge and I looked longingly at the shaded areas with padding on the loungers. Not that we outstayed our welcome; John went to ask directions and we were soon passing the magic generator. Along with a what appeared to be where the monitor lizards had set up there accommodations. Just a few metres back and I could have been at the Clayton tip. A monitor lizard was literally enjoying his monitor, although I'm not sure how many channels you can receive with no electricity. Same with the computer - I think this Google machine needs something to get it running more effectively.

Walking through long grass with images of leeches fairly fresh in my mind from January's hike, I grabbed hold of Nicki's Rid and sprayed enough poison on myself to kill any bug within a three metre radius. Every strange sound, every snapping twig and every leaf falling had me on edge. A helicopter bug passed by us and nearly landed on John's head. We didn't have enough Rid to deter that enormous flying reptilian creature. The 'markers' had us giggling, however. Maybe somebody had heard about the infamous Tarra Bulga Tragedy of 2014 and wanted to ensure there would be no repeat performance.

A family of monkeys kept us entertained for a little bit. They were pretty high up in the trees but didn't seem to care about us. A Chinese family passed us, dressed in traditional hiking gear of crocs, long flowing white dresses, no water and no bag. Their five year old daughter was loving it but mumma bear didn't appear to be having quite so much fun. Not sure how she would enjoy the bit we just passed through because after we passed them the going was quite easy.

When we came to a fork in the road, we opted for the left path, which saw us miss the beach route, but it was very shady so it may have been the better option for my delicate white skin. Hearing the call to prayer in the distance, we knew we were pretty close to the end. A discussion ensued as to who got to have the microphone and Nicki thought it was from a 'Greatest Hits Compilation'. Hmmm...I think we need to conduct some further investigations. We emerged from the jungle at the Cozy Chalet and dragged our sweaty bodies towards the refreshment area. That was me done for the day.

The night ended with another spectacular lightning show. Half the party were off to bed early due to an early departure the next day. Our boat wasn't scheduled to leave until 8 am, so after a few witnessing the storm on the mainland for a while and a few games of 2048 (I officially have RSI now), Eleanor and I retired to bed. Dean's coughing fit and subsequent hucking sounds woke me up around 6 am. He went out to say goodbye to the early birds and, lo and behold, their boat was delayed due to mechanical problems. Upon being transferred to another craft, they zipped away.

After getting our gear together, we had a leisurely breakfast of noodles, wedges and fruit (the alternate days was rice and hash browns). I never really went for the baked bean, cereal, pancake, bread or egg options but Dean and Eleanor often supplemented the noodles/rice with a variety of combinations. Nicki came over and waved us goodbye and then we were off (in the boat that had been delayed because of mechanical issues...) to Kuala Besut for our taxi transfer to Kota Bahru.


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