goodbye, heron island :(

for our last day on heron island, sarah-mae got up early to watch the sun rise, and she was rewarded with a sight that was unbelievably beautiful (or so i assume, based on the photos - i was enjoying my last morning on heron island sleeping in!).

after sarah returned, we had our last breakfast (yum!) and settled our account, and i made an appointment for a deluxe pedicure, which was pretty much right away, so i headed over to the spa. although i was just having a leg/foot treatment and pedicure, i got to put on a spa robe, and relax in the meditation room - a small rectangular open area with three walls of windows and chaise lounges. it was wonderful. then, i was escorted into the treatment room, where i relaxed on the heated table while joan gave me a luxurious leg and foot scrub, moisture mask, and then a fantastic pedicure. after my treatment, i got to relax in the meditation room for a few more minutes, and eventually had to make my way back to meet sarah-mae.

while i was being doted on at the spa, sarah-mae got to take a guided bird walk around the island. when we met up, she walked me back to where the island's resident greater frigate had landed in a tree. apparently, these are very rarely seen birds, as they spend so much time out on the ocean. (this is where sarah-mae should have been writing the entry!).

we decided to spend a little bit more time on the beach (one last hour!), and then just before it was time to head to the ferry, we sat on the patio, played scrabble, and had a snack. it was the perfect way to spend our last time on heron island!

eventually, we had to head to the ferry :(  it was time to leave the island. unfortunately, the ferry was about 40 minutes late, which made our timing to catch our 4:30 flight a bit closer than we would have preferred. on the ferry, we were about half way back, when the captain suddenly stopped the engine. he got on the loudspeaker and announced that there were some whales and dolphins just off the front of the boat! we grabbed our cameras and ran out on to the bow. and we were rewarded with a few dolphins (one of which jumped out of the water right next to the boat!), and a baby humpback with its mother. it was incredible!

dolphin!

you can't really tell, but this is a baby humpback breaching!

unfortunately, the whale stop, combined with the already delayed ferry, meant that we were going to be very late for our flight. very late. we were supposed to arrive at the marina at 3pm, and hop in the shuttle for a 10 minute drive to the airport, with plenty of time for our 4:30 flight. well, we arrived at the marina at about 4pm. there was nothing for us to do, but to head to the airport and see what our options were.

we arrived at tiny gladstone airport at 4:15 (for our 4:30 flight), grabbed our luggage, and headed to the check-in counter. we explained our situation, and the woman took a deep breath, and said, "well, your flight is delayed, so you are fine." we were in shock! it was another miracle!