Downwardly Static: Flinders Island Adventure

Actually, maybe "adventure" is a bit of an overstatement - this was probably the most relaxed vacation of my life - just chillin' and hanging out with my non-girlfriend down there. No high adrenaline "adventure activities" to be had at all.

Oh, except maybe for the flight over - that was an experience in itself. We flew on a 19 seater Metroliner, but it only had 11 onboard, because the runway they normally use was under maintenance and wasn't long enough to take off with more weight.

The airline which serves the island uses Melbourne's old airport at Essendon, which was an experience in itself again. The place is a bit of a time warp, and hasn't really been updated since the 1970s. And on the other end, Flinders Island Airport is basically just one small building the size of a house, plus a couple of sheds and hangars. Still, everything went quite smoothly, except for a bit of turbulence coming in to land on the island. These little planes get buffeted around pretty badly in the wild Southern Ocean winds. After coming down we settled in to our pub accommodation, at the Flinders Interstate Hotel.

Flinders Island Interstate Hotel

Flinders Island Interstate Hotel - Interior

Not sure if it's a bit of a relationship anarchist failure to even be wondering about this, but I've just been thinking what I could "classify" this trip as. In many ways, it was basically what most people would call a "romantic getaway", but then, it feels odd to call it that - considering that the relationship involved is not a classic romantic relationship at all.

It's actually great how the label doesn't matter. It was what it was, and it was great! Super relaxing and easy.

Whitemark Beach

Pacific Gull

Flinders Island is really the sort of place where you can just relax and enjoy yourself doing nothing more than chilling out and hanging out and looking at stuff. The scenery is spectacular, the wildlife encounters are easy to come by, and the local produce is fresh and delicious. All the local pubs and cafes serve locally sourced food - including the likes of wallaby burgers.

One day blended into the next down there, and it was mostly sightseeing, driving around, eating food, and much good conversation and cuddles at night. It went quite fast, but now it feels like I've been gone for a pretty solid week or ten days - even though it was actually just four full days really.

The most unusual highlight of the trip was getting to play with a couple of orphaned baby wombats, which happened in the last hour before our flight back to Melbourne.