We farewelled Arn and our coach this morning, he will meet us when we arrive back in Cairns, so he has a long drive back on his own. Poor Michelle is left to control us by herself, but we have promised to be good!
It was an eighty minute trip, and bliss, oh bliss, they had a cappuccino machine on board.
Thursday Island from the air.
Immediately we arrived we were taken on a bus trip around the island. It is the administrative and commercial centre of the Torres Strait islands, just 3.5 square km small with a population of 3000.
We went to Grass Hill, which was the site of the old fort built in 1891, and now used as a museum.
The cemetery was another stop, there are 700 Japanese pearl diver buried there, and is the monument to them.
We were dropped back at our hotel to freshen up, and walk back to the wharf for our trip to Friday Island, where we were to visit the Pearl Farm. We were treated to a delicious Japanese lunch on the deck, the sea wind blowing gently through.
A demonstration of harvesting and seeding the pearls followed, and following that was some retail therapy in the gift shop. I think our group unloaded over $2000, the pearls were just beautiful. Mum very generously shouted Kath and myself a new necklace each.
These are our three oldest gentlemen, described by one of them as Huey, Dewey and Louie! They had sort of been nodding off, but closed their eyes for me to take a picture of them. The are 74, 75 and 76!
Back on Thursday Island, we had some free time for a little more retail therapy, it was hot and humid though, so we were glad to come back to our air conditioned room, and prepare for another yummy dinner. Barramundi was on the menu again, it just gets better all the time.
Location:Cairns,Australia
What a lovely gift from your mum! You are seeing so much on this trip. I'm enjoying the stories and photos.
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