Sad to leave our lovely little "Family Camp" and Rishiri Island today. Packed up and down at the ferry terminal, queued up for a ticket by 8.10am only to be told that they don't start selling them until 8.30. Shane laughing at my travel anxiety that had us waiting long before required, yet again! The crossing from Rishiri to Rebun is only 45 minutes but it was enough for me to start feeling nauseous and that hung around for an hour or so after getting off the b...

Shane conquered the mighty Rishiri mountain today. We were all up at 5.30 (not hard since it's light at 4 and everyone else seems to be up and off by 6am). He was gone by 6.30 and Elsie and I settled in for a relaxing (and long) day of play. It was hot so we played with toys and bowls of water, got ice cream and walked through the shady cool bush. Shane motored up the mountain in about 3.5 hours (half the time in the guide) and was back by 2.30pm. He hadn't ...

Today was a day of funny signs. Crying tortoises, falling bunnies (easily mistaken for an obese pink man falling over), and a girl being kicked up the backside by a hiker in a sailor suit. Quite hilarious. We started the day with a peaceful walk in the bush near our camp. Consulted Google to determine there are no bears, snakes or foxes on the island. Just the bothersome crows but also plenty of other bird life. That filled in the morning so we stopped in at a ...

Another cruisy day, not quite as warm and sunny but still lovely. Our first stop was only 100 metres down the hill at Otatomari Marsh, a very popular tourist stop with all the tour buses pulled up (engines running, diesel fumes and noise ruining the ambience). About a 1 km walk around the lake which Elsie enjoyed and then we stopped into the tourist shops and found giant roasted scallops, yum! And Hamamasu flower flavoured ice cream which was actually delicious...

What an amazing day! Took off South from Oshidomari along the purpose built, paved cycle way. Wound along through lush forest over bridges 130 metres above the forest. Views of Rishiri-Fuji and the coast along the way. Stopped off at Lake Himenuma which we walked around (about 1 km), Elsie singing "shoo snakes don't bother me" and running most of the way. Wound our way down to the main road and stopped off at a small beach for a swim to cool off. A bit of a jig...