Let's get our walking boots back on

After our great walking explore yesterday we were keen to get our boots back on and head in the other direction to the way we walked yesterday. We woke up earlier but the tiredness from walking kicked in and it took us a while to muster up the strength to get out of bed and make breakfast. We got ready and headed out from our accommodation in the direction of Picnic Bay. Our aim was to reach West Point where you get great views of the mainland, it is a 12km walk each way but we were determined. We soon reached a walking track that took you down the hill we'd just climbed into the Picnic Bay area. On our ascent we saw there was a view point on the top of a huge rock up a hill so decided even though the sign said it's a two hour trip we'd give it a go. It was a tough climb in parts but it was so incredibly worth it. The section of land protrudes out into the ocean so we had views of both sides of the island and the mainland. We sat and ate our sandwiches on the top before heading back down. We walked through Picnic Bay and found the road that leads to West Point. We diverted part of the way down to a small cove where the tide was out and boats sat moored in the mud/sand. We considered walking along the sand for part of the way but as we didn't know when the tide would come back in we thought it was best to not be caught off guard. After walking along the road a couple of kilometres we came to realise that the track wouldn't change. It was just a road with no view so was proving less enjoyable then yesterday. We were tired anyway so we decided that we'd head back instead to do some planning of day trips for our next two places and maybe go out in the evening. That was the plan anyway. We sat on a bus stop back in Picnic Bay and having discovered the bus wasn't for over an hour we chose to eat more of our lunch before walking. It was during this time that an elderly gentleman walked up the street and joined us on the stop. We were concerned for his welfare from the off because he was very hunched over a shaking but he struck up a conversation with us and it turned out that he has Parkinson's disease. He was wanting to find a woman who lived near where we are staying to thank he for giving himself and his wife a lift from the ferry to their accommodation. We decided it was in all our best interests to help so waited with him for an hour for the bus. We talked about his life, his gliding hobby when he was younger and our trip. His wife competes in scrabble championships and won a couple of years ago so they are here for a holiday and for her to have a few matches. It wasn't clear to us if she knew he'd left the hotel and what his plan was. We got on the bus and it was lucky we were with him as I'm not sure he would of had a clue when to get off and the driver didn't ask where he was going. We walked around looking for the woman's car and knocking on a few doors but with no luck. We only had a first name, car colour and general area to go on. We asked a couple who were outside if they knew anything and they were lovely with trying to help but sadly they knew no more than us. We did see some kookaburras which he was super happy about as an hour before we said we hadn't seen any yet. He decided he wasn't going to find her and we sat again waiting for the bus. We offered to go with him to make sure he got back okay. After 30 minutes the bus hadn't come that was meant to and with that the couple we spoke to pulled up in their car. They offered to take him around other streets to look then drop him back at the hotel. I felt a little uneasy about it and even more so when he asked us to come too but there wasn't room in the car with the baby seat. He agreed but I'm not sure he was keen. After they drove off it didn't sit right with us, we needed to know he got back okay. We got the bus back to the bay where we hid like crazy people in a bush watching and waiting for their car. It came but they parked up and spent a long time inside. In the meantime we saw the amazing east coast side of the sunset over the bay and jetty. After a while we decided to just go in even though the couple was there, after all Peter had asked us to pop by or to get the same ferry as them tomorrow because he wanted to invite us to visit them in Brisbane. He was happy to see us and thanked us for everything and from speaking to his wife the couple knew who the woman was and promised to thank her personally for helping them yesterday. We're pretty sure his wife didn't know where he'd gone and apparently he wonders off a lot so I imagine she must always worry. We took her number and left them be knowing it all ended well, we're so glad we went to check in on him. It wasn't the afternoon we planned but it felt so good helping someone. It was also scary seeing someone who is so together mentally be so withheld by their condition. Hopefully we can visit in Brisbane but if not we'll never forget our time spent listening to the amazing stories and mind of Peter.Read more