My Story - Part 1
The shiny 20 cent coin flickered in the sunlight as it turned through the air… heads, tails, heads, tails, heads, HEADS! And like that, destiny said that I was going to Airlie Beach to start a full-time course in resort management. Tails was the alternative and that was pearl farming in Broome WA. I still wonder what that would have been like? But alas, here I am. After a painful break-up I had had enough. I could stay here no more. I sold every possession I had to cover my debts and left with a bag of clothes. This is more profound when you consider that I had a fully furnished 3 bedroom house with a completely operational wood-work shop and pottery room. I just needed to get out of there and my life was due for a change. Boy did I underestimate how much it and I would change.
It was a grueling 28 hour bus ride spent with people that obviously thought that soap was a luxury which back-packers were not entitled to. Of course the TV didn’t work, the TV never works on these rides and trust me I had done a few bus rides. This was 1997, well before the introduction of budget airlines. In fact my bus ticket cost more back then than a current plane ticket to the same region costs now. There was plenty of time to reconsider what I had done, MY POSSESSIONS!!! That smell!!! What have I done?
I remember coming up over the rise and seeing the Whitsunday water for the first time. It was truly amazing. The shades of blue contrasted with each other from the deep waters to the shallows, the sky added dimension and the many islands that littered the horizon completed the spectacular picture that welcomed me to my new home. What break-up?
As I waited for my transfer I noticed others with the same curious look on their faces. I suspected that they also had migrated to the warm waters of the Club Crocodile Certificate 3 Resort Management Course. We were like hump backs moving north for a good summer, and you might say it was a bit of a hump-fest up there in the islands. I was a little older so I was mildly better behaved than my younger counterparts. I use the word mildly very loosely. It was to be the summer of beer. I never drank before this. I am not sure if it was the moment in time, or the bloody hot weather, but I started to drink and I liked it. Not to mention the fact it helped me forget as the days came to a lonely end. I may have made a few calls after a few beers every now and then. Thankfully I do not remember begging her to take me back, assuring her I had already changed. I was a new man! As I said, I do not remember.
First day of class……….
