I hadn’t done any of the longer walks here so decided to leave Steve to rest a little after his morning swim and head off.

I was on my own and Lindy the helpful activities adviser warned me to be careful on the slippery tracks. Especially going downhill.

I headed off for Transit Hill which climbs up behind Pinetrees, winds along the ridge and then drops down to Blinky Beach , then swings back along past the airport.

Of course I missed the arrows at the turn off for Transit Hill and continued up the hill I was already walking. It came out near the path to Middle Beach.

The track going up was leafy and damp and so quiet.

I passed the solar farm and continued gently sloping up to Clear View. A wonderful outlook towards Ball’s Pyramid. The weather today is beautiful so you could see the Pyramid in the distance.

I returned along the same track back down the hill and joined the Transit Hill track. It started off gently with a timber walk over the rain runoff, then became a track of steps. Climb, climb, climb. I passed some people who again warned me about the slippery path down the other side. They had turned back!

I went up to the lookout and joined two men there to see the plane take off. There are about 4 planes a day in and out. The wind was good. The plane revved it moved down the runway and after a good ten minutes of revving with no take off the plane ended up back at the little terminal. A mechanical fault?

By now my red face had recovered and as I was setting off one of the men said I didn’t look right for a walk – my silver FRANKie 4 shoes, stylish hat and painted nails. I decided to take the hard route down.

In fact in wasn’t hard. It was slippery but I took it carefully and eventually ended up at Blinky’s Beach. It is a beautiful spot. There are waves here and the surfer man staying at Pinetrees tells me it’s a good place to catch a wave. He was out there in the distance enjoying some waves. And unlike most beaches he was alone. No crowded surf break.

The final walk along the airport road was hot and boring. Except for the farm with the Dorper sheep. These unusual sheep from South Africa shed their own wool. No shearing involved. The ones here are not for wool – but for meat.

I arrived back thinking Steve would be wondering where I was. He was about to send out a search party but as he joked with our beautiful French waitress if would involve too much paper work. Nice.

We had lunch on the deck for a change. No picnic or bbq for us. It was delicious. Fish cake with a tomato basil salsa.

We walked off lunch, heading to the pontoon beach for a swim then to the jetty to watch the fortnightly shop unload. What a spectacle.

Loads of crates where being fork lifted up to the town. The PO staff were there receiving the crates and helped by a dozen children who were unloading the crates.

Box after box of wine from Dan Murphy’s made its way into the PO storage area.

I wondered what they were paying the kids. Turns out they got a packet of lollies and a can of soft drink! The kids looked very happy.

Island life for locals particularly kid looks idyllic. There were a handful of kids we recognised from the schools Discovery Day activities all splashing around and jumping in from the pontoon. Others were riding bikes. Others helping unpack crates. Saturday bliss.

We enjoyed a bubble on the deck of the Crooked Post. A small pub / bar with a great verandah overlooking the water.

Sundowner drinks were a very friendly gathering. It’s amazing how you bond with others staying at a place like Pinetrees. You can mix in as much or as little as you want.

We joined AnneMarie and Greg again tonight. They are from Wollongong and we’ve shared many chats and laughs with them this week. We finished the night with Greg offering to order & pay for the cheese plate. Such a love gesture as that is what it was – the cheese plate is complimentary!