I went to Fitzroy Island which is famous for its beautiful and unspoilt beaches where people usually enjoy playing in water, swimming, SUP (stand up paddle), snorkelling and so on. Of course, these activities are so enjoyable and I can totally recommend that you do them.  I would like to give you another recommendation that is hiking to the summit. Some people think that hiking is not exciting or even boring because they consider it as “just walking up a mountain”. Yes, I had thought that, too.

When I arrived at Fitzroy Island, I hired the snorkelling equipment and tried to snorkel. It was good but the waves were so rough that I couldn’t see anything in the sea. I looked for another activity which wouldn’t involve being in the water. I got the map from the instructor and found there is a lighthouse and the summit to see. Actually, I hadn’t been interested in hiking but I couldn’t come up with better ideas so I decided to give it a go.

The brochure indicated that the distance between the resort near the beach and the summit was 4.2 km so it was supposed to take about 2.5 hours to go there and back. To be honest, I underestimated the distance. The flat area is much different from hiking a mountain. As you know, there are slopes on mountains, which can be hard to climb. It was so steep that I felt as if I was continuously going upstairs to the 50^th floor. While I was hiking, I found several reptiles and one of them was the biggest I had ever seen. It was about 30 cm long so I’d thought it was a snake at first! Also, I found many kinds of birds and two of them were digging leaves on the ground using their feet for seeking for food! It was a very funny movement and the birds were so smart that they knew there was food for them. (You can see it in my video! Please click on it!)

After about an hour, I finally reached the summit! Actually, I’d been exhausted but at the moment I looked around to admire the scenery from there, my tiredness disappeared quickly! It was the most beautiful landscape I’d ever seen. Blue ocean, green nature, white lighthouse, It was like art! And I couldn’t forget the taste of a banana on the summit with the beautiful scenery. It was the most delicious banana in my life.

Some tips for you:

-You can hike to the summit wearing your thongs (flip-flops, beach sandals) but I recommend you wear joggers (sneakers) as the slope might be steeper than you think. The space between my big toes still hurts because I wore my thongs.

-You should take a full bottle of water because you can’t get it on the mountain and it’s very hot.

-You might as well depart for the summit until noon because almost all the ferries to Cairns leave around 3pm.

-Don’t forget to take your lunch to the summit! It will be unforgettable to have lunch there.

Kiyoto Kobayashi, Upper-Intermediate