Our little friends at Cow Island

My grandfather would sit us down by the rivers in New Zealand when we were little boys and coach us to be still and quiet, he said when you sit quietly in nature the creatures will get curious and seek you out. He was dead right. When being immersed in the natural environment for weeks on end it is incredible what you start to notice. I swear all of your base senses increase in ability and function the longer you are away from civilisation. You just start seeing things you would never have noticed before. The pleasure this little stick insect gave us checking out our kayaks and equipment was better than a TV show. He was relentless in his exploration of the new invaders of his home, he was great fun. Similarly when you stood still in the shallow water sting rays would swim up to your feet to check out what you are. It is a little unnerving at first but when you realise they are just doing what you are doing it becomes fun.
This trip would have been an entomologists dream, sooooo many insects, yes a lot of them bit. Five days now out of the water at Airlie Beach, a beautiful place – lots of civilisation in a nature lovers playground. I am trying to picture what it was like in 1770 when Captain Cook first sailed through, I wish I could time travel. DT