Middle Percy Island - Our return...

We arrived back at Middle Percy Island on the 7th of August and had our pick of the anchorage. The conditions had improved considerably and we jumped at the chance to explore the island again.

We split our time between domestic duties, bush walks, swimming and fishing. We also hung our new memento - crafted from a piece of driftwood found on South Percy - in the A-Frame to mark our return.

On our second day we walked up to the homestead. We saw so many beautiful things, including loads of Blue Tiger Butterflies and native orchids in flower on grand old fig trees. 

The island leaseholders (Cate and John) were not home on our first visit, but we found Steve and his dog Diamond at the Round House. We discussed the last few years since our previous visit and what life was like during the category five cyclone that hit the island in early 2015. 

Steve lost most of his vege patch, but he survived the 200km hour winds inside the Round House - a circular structure clad entirely in old house windows and tin roofing. We were glad to see that most of the cyclone damage was limited to isolated patchs down the hill perhaps due to topography effects and some good luck.

Sam, Emily and Ryan returned to the homestead the next morning to watch the honey harvest and enjoyed several hours in the company of the islanders. Ryan loved helping to clean out the honeycomb and all avoided being stung by unhappy bees. They also found some interesting coconut trail markers. Best of all they managed to stock up on some of the local produce - eggs and passionfruit etc.

Each evening more yachts arrived to enjoy the island and within a day or so there were over fifteen other vessels in West Bay - including a 120-foot powerboat on it's way to Cairns. But there was never an issue with space enough for all to share...