Moniques new friend had told her a Big Secret that only the locals Know about ,,, So we decided we should check it out soon

DAY 5 ,,, Waiting for a guy to tell us if our Big snokelling trip was on .,,, But to windy for a smooth trip . So a relax & investigate the secret

On the way to the secret location we checked out the Local Thompsons Store ,,,,,, Must have been the Original store and it is showing its age and the attitude of the staff that only comes from Dad making you serve in the Shop when you would rather be out swiming
There was a Grass Tennis court very close to us ,,,,,, Never got to use it though ... Not enough time and we were getting heaps of exercize on the bike rides .
We rode on down to Old Settlement Beach ,,, To see what we could see .

We arrived at Old Settlement Beach looking forward to see the Secret ,,,,,,, TURTLES up close

It was very quiet there and we were by ourselves ,,,, There was a cool breeze blowing today , a good reason to stay in the water not standing around dripping wet ,,,, So we went looking for Turtles
At first we thught there were no turtles there .
Then there they were ,,, with in touching distance ,,,,,, Close enough to get a photo with the iphone ... THey were totally unafraid ,,, just wanted a feed .

Now it was really getting crowded ,,, Two more people had heard about the Turtles

The Turtle poked his head out of the water and gave a look like " Hey we are eating here , enough of of all you tourist Already "
So The Girls got the Message and decided thy had seen enough ,,,, and there was a cooler breeze blowing now ,,,,, time to go .
So we left the Turtles to feed and relax in there secret spot ..... Not so secret now .

I Think Ros was inspired by something she saw under the water

YES Ros the two Hats thing does look like a Double Header Fish .


While I was Laughing to my self the Girls Rode off Home ,,
WHat is he Laughing at ?.........
We rode past the Point where is is a great Lookout of the Lagoon ,,, Back to the unit for a relax and Dinner ... At Humpty Micks I suppose

END Of DAY 5 . Monique was all used up .. And Just started disappearing at Dinner at Humpty Micks.The Kingfish was Good & it was disappearing as well

Monique was almost used up by the busy day ,,,,,,,, Almost Not there at all ...... By the end of Dinner she was just a couple of Feet in her shoes ,,,, so we wrapped them in a napkin and took her home ,,,,,,,, The Fish Cakes were there and they were Good with a little chilli sauce . She left hers so I wrapped them up and took them home for a late night snack ,,,,,, Another Great Day on Lord Howe Island .

Hey its DAY 4 ,,,,,,,,, A late start after a home breakfast and a Bit of book and Newspaper reading ,,, the Plan was to Go for a swim at Neds Beach

It is an easy Ride up the Hill towards the East ,,, Then a coast down the other side to Neds Beach ,,,,, It is Quite a View when you come down ,,,,,,,,,,,,, a Fast View .

So Here we were after a Late start back at Neds Beach ,,,, It was Crowded ,,, as crowded as it gets

Very Crowded ,,,,,,, Gee Who would want to come here with so many people ,,,,,, There was a party of Work People having a Morning Picnic with their Families ,,, they were mostly gone by mid day ,,,, Working the Night shift I suppose .
This is what they call a very crowded Beach on Lord Howe Island
Is that a shark or a King Fish ,,,,,,,, Does it know Kingfish is on the Menu at Humpty Micks , and tastes wonderful .
Monique loves to make friends and have fun with them ,,,,,
Monique and her friend have most of the beach to themselves
I still cant get over the Fins , snorkels , boards all sitting there on an honour system ,,, wouldnt work on a Sydney beach .
I Think it was ISLAND Lunch time when we were leaving ,,,,,,, Hardly anyone on the beach

Here we were Halfway through DAY 4

After Leaving Neds Beach we went for a Bit of a Ride before Lunch over to Old Settlement Beach near where the Catalina Plane had crashed ,,,,

There are some beautiful Fig trees all around the Island and some Stunning one here near the walk to the Catalina Crash site .

One Of the Props of the Catalina is used as a Memorial to the Airmen who died


Coming Back across the Little bridge you can Look through towards Old Settlement Beach ... We hadnt intended to go to this beach until we found out its secret .
The Pathway goes right under an Giant Fig tree

I had Lost My Worlds Fastest Indian T shirt on the walk up to the crash site ,,, So I went back ,, It was Long Gone

So as My Ride back was not wasted I thought I would check out a few of the OTHER accommodations ,,, ' Wisperings Hill ' was a short way up a little side street ( not a steep grade for bikes ) on the way back from Old Settlement Beach ,,, But all of these places were a little bit of a ride from the centre of Town ( the Post Office & Humpty Micks ) ,,, I didnt go into 'Wispering Hills ,,, But I am sure that they are all about the same quality except for the Resort Lodge with its Golf Course down the Southern Part of the Island

' Ocean View ' Sits on a hill up a steep road ( remember you are riding Bikes ) of the main road down to Old Settlement Beach . The Units looked clean and comfortable

And yes if you have to get off your Bike riding up that hill ,,, Take a Look back ,,, That is the Ocean View of Ocean View ... Maybe before the trees grew you could see it from the Top ,,, but not now .

They have a grass tennis court that looks ok ,,, if you dont look at the wire fence surrounding it .
The Pool is the only proper in ground pool on the Island ,,, Or was .

Didnt look to steep but great exercise for the Legs

So After Lunch the Girls headed back to Neds Beach while I turned off to the left up a trail heading to a lookout that showed promise of excellent views
I arrived at the Platform Lookout ,,, with a bit of Leg work up a grassy slope ... It was Nice but a bit to low for a view South ,,, So on wards and upwards .
I could look down on Neds beach but couldnt see the Girls there ... Left the binoculars back at the unit ..
The Trees were Pretty windsweept . Telling a Tale of a Lot of Extreme weather here abouts ,,,
On the way up there was some interesting foreground to give some depth to the scenery ,,, It always beats me why people cut down trees to get a so called better view ,,,,,,, With no Foreground it is just like a big flat canvas ,,,, a nice canvas but better with trees to look through .
Great exercise up this way ,,,,, No bikes up here .

When I got to the TOP it was pretty spectacular ,, Well there was Another TOP further up ,,, But this Looked like a GOOD top to ME

Looking South towards the Mountains ,,,,,, Pretty good .,,,, I had to talk to myself about how good it looked ,,,,,,,,, Its a bit like drinking alone . Or talking to Dogs .

Never had so much trouble getting the camera to sit on a rock ,,,,, I am sure it was easier with a Film camera ... But then wait a week to see you didnt get the shoot .This is the View down to Neds Beach ,,,,,, still couldnt see the girls down there .

The Light was looking Great and I would have liked to stay until sunset ,,, But we had a Dinner Booking up the Hill at an Italian Restaurant ,,, SO

WOW I over did the warm chroma on this one ,,,,,,, Maybe because I wanted to stay until sunset and didn't ,,,,,,,,, It looks a bit like a sunset ,,,, Maybe ,,,