On the 10th of July we left to catch our plane from the Tullamarine Airport of Melbourne. We were flying with a small Australian company called Tigerair, the Aussie equivalent of Ryanair or Wizzair. The first surprise came when we had to self check-in for the luggage. With our tickets the luggage stickers were also printed that we had to put on the bags, then send them off. The take off wasn’t smooth because someone’s bags were put on the wrong plane and it took an hour until they got them back, but after some waiting we were on our way to Queensland.

We landed in Cairns, the “capital” of north Queensland, at night and went to Coles to shop for food to take to the island. James and I took the role of chefs, as we were doing self-catering. The stuffy night air of Cairns was a big change compared to the 12 degree down south. The morning came with dazzling sunshine and 24 degree warmth. We ubered to the harbour to catch the ferry going to Fitzroy Island. The boat was packed since many people were only going for a day trip.

The ferry left the continent extremely quickly, like if it was chasing him. And as we left the harbour of busy Cairns, the greyish water turned into amazing bright blue. In half an hour we could see Fitzroy Island. It looked like some kind of post card. A green hill with white trim, laying on top of sapphire coloured water. As we walked on the jetty we arrived to a resort that reminded me of popular rom-com movies, with a pool right next to us and paths leading down to the beach.

The first big surprise was waiting for me on the beach. It was covered with dead coral. Of course, you could see the sand peaking through, but where the ocean and land met it was covered with white coral. It looked scary and magnificent at the same time. We were so close to the reef that the coral that died naturally washed up on shore, but at the same time it felt like bones lying under your feet.

As soon as we occupied our apartment, which had a fully equipped kitchen, we headed down to the beach to snorkel. I was as excited as a kid, because the one and only time I snorkelled was in Italy as a kid and I did not see anything. James helped me to get the fins on and we backed into the almost warm ocean. You had to start swimming after a couple of metres because the reef was really close the shore. The coral is a living organism and by standing on it you can kill it, which was what many signs around the island said.

I was not expecting what was waiting for me under water. It was like a colourful wonderland with more and more and more coral. We swam in and between as the coral life was bubbling. All kinds of fish surrounded us. They varied from small to as big as my forearm in every colour imaginable. We were swimming holding each others hands, signalling with a squeeze of the hand if we saw something. James and Ian did say that there are sea turtles around the island, but I couldn’t believe that. James started to squeezing my hand like a madman. Right in front of us was a green sea turtle swimming 2-3 metres in the distance. As we were following the turtle we bumped into a second one. We could not believe our luck. They were spectacular, swimming gracefully, almost levitating, and peacefully eating seaweed. After following the smaller one which had a shell of 50-60 cm, we headed out. Swimming to shore came another surprise. In the sand under us was lying a blue spotted stingray. The vivid blue on its back and the huge yellow eyes fascinated me too much to be afraid of it.

To finish off the eventful day me and James cooked rakott krumpli, a traditional Hungarian dish. It was quite surreal to eat it on a tropical island on the other side of the planet.

Next day we booked a glass bottom boat to Shark Fin Bay, which got its name from the rock on the shore shaped like a fin. The wildlife was even crazier then the other beach. The coral was radiant with yellow and blue and you could see it right underneath you. We saw so many fish, starting from bright yellow butterfly fish to huge angelfish swimming in pairs. Then rainbow parrot fish that you could hear underwater as they were clicking their mouths. We wanted to rest a bit on the beach, where the guide said we could safely get out. But I chose the wrong route and quickly found myself stuck between coral and sharp rocks fighting the waves. I was proper scared by the time I got out so we had a good rest on the tiny beach. The way back to the boat was also a bit tricky, with the water being so shallow we swam with everything sucked in.

The second half of the day, me and James spent hanging around the pool. We had a nice cocktail in the pool bar sat on stools that were standing in the water. Our second night ended with trivia, a big favourite of the Robertson family. It was a special treat for me though, since it was Disney themed. Walking back to our apartment, we had a look from the illuminated jetty down to the crystal clear water. After a few minutes James’s father spotted a reef shark. It was truly the best ending for a fantastic day.