My third week living and working on Heron began as ten new staff members arrived on the island. There's a reasonably high turn-around rate at the resort, with a lot of people only staying for a few months, but it's unusual for so many new people to come all at once. Amongst the new faces were Nikki and Simone, who applied for their jobs through the Work and Travel Company in exactly the same way that I did. It was somewhat comforting to have people around who were doing exactly the same as me.
Monday also saw the return of Internet access for staff on the island, with our computer in the canteen brought back to live, even if it's only a dial-up connection. I worked the 3.30pm shift that day, a split shift (11-3, 6-midnight) on Tuesday and then 3.30 again the following day.
Thursday was the first of two days off and I got up early to go fishing for the third time since I've been on the island. I didn't catch much due to the strong current which kept our lines from staying on the bottom - where all the fish are - but I got a Red Throat Emperor, a worthy and moreover tasty catch. That afternoon I got the ferry back to Gladstone, where I went shopping and got my hair cut, as well as updating this diary.
The next day I returned to Heron Island on the ferry, arriving as usual at about 2:30pm. After turtle-watching at the beach, I went down the main bar (as opposed to our staff bar, the "Wobbly") in the evening. Like many of the island facilities, we can use the bar along with the guests, except we have to abide by a dress code and are restricted to certain seating areas.
Over the weekend, I worked on my first 7.30-4 morning shifts, which added a bit of variety to my roster, although I'm not sure I like getting up so early every day. On the Saturday I finally finished the book which I bought five weeks previously in Napier, New Zealand, "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell". It's probably one of the best books I've read in the last few years and although it's around 1000 pages long, it sure is worth the effort.
I finished my third week on Heron by phoning Rebekka and home, keeping in touch with the rest of the world out there. Sometimes it feels a little isolated, so it's nice to hear what's going outside of your own little bubble.
