How to Infiltrate Daydream island in 23 easy steps.

Step 1. Go to a Sam’s Warehouse and pick up an inflatable kayak for $200 bucks, comes with free oars!

Step 2. Get up early and head down to Shute harbour. Water is calm and wind mild, perfect. Check supplies, snorkel gear, wet bag, camera, sunscreen, water, lunch. Need more food? Nah we’ll be back for dinner…..

Step 3. Paddle over to Low rock reef, climb the lookout tower, feel like a pirate in a crows-nest.

Step 4. Paddle over to South Molle island. Have a snorkel round the reefs until girlfriend spots something that might be an Irukandji jellyfish and freaks out. Have lunch.

Step 5. Take a guess at which island shape on the horizon is Daydream. Fight easterly wind which tries to blow us off course. Spot turtles swimming and take beautiful photo of blurry water.

Step 6. Head for southern point of the island, drag the kayak up stony beach and sit it on a retaining wall. Realise that it’s 3PM and that we’ll have to head back in a few hours before it gets too dark.

Step 7. climb up retaining wall and stagger into shitty looking block of flats, dressed in wetsuit and snorkel gear approach guy having a smoke; manically ask him wide eyed “WHAT ISLAND IS THIS?”

Step 8. Get confirmation of islands identity and happily wander off. Pass sign that says “Employee residence, access denied”. Realise that the guy we just met was staff, that it was staff quarters and that’s why it looked so shitty.

Step 9. Marvel at the the island’s features, Mini-golf! A bakery! giant pool full of fish! Resort Manager approaches on golf-cart. Asks where we came from. Explain that we kayaked over from South Molle Island. He laughs and casually mentions that he was going to kayak over there but that a 6 metre crocodile was spotted there yesterday.

Step 10. Manager gets us to hop in the cart and head to reception to check in, have friendly chat while still high on kayak endorphin’s. He doesn’t charge us for a day pass but makes us move our kayak from the staff area over to a beach near the mini-golf.

Step 11. Walk through the tiny bit of rain-forest in the centre of the island to the summit and admire the view. Realize that the island is more artificial than Disneyland.

Step 12. Head down to Lover’s cove and snorkel, see lots of fish and while exiting spot a kangaroo hopping around the beach.

Step 13. Head back to the kayak, spot lots of semi-tame kangaroo’s hopping around. Realize that it’s 5PM and we better get moving.

Step 14. Paddle south aiming for the mainland, realize that south-easterly wind is blowing us off course. Girlfriend starts freaking out and is convinced that giant crocodile is going to get us. Silently curse resort manager for mentioning croc.

Step 15. Wind and waves have picked up, getting water in the kayak. Girlfriend is hysterical, I speak soothing words of reassurance while secretly shitting myself.

Step 16. Get blown to the right of peninsula and land on deserted beach. Study map and realize that we’re got to get around the peninsula to get home.

Step 17. Struggle round rocky peninsula, girlfriend is convinced that we’ll be dashed against rocks and that Mr croc is just behind us. Make it around and spot a beach with what look like bungalows. Girlfriend demands we head for it. Once we land we discover that they are just old boat sheds.

Step 18. It’s getting dark now, girlfriend refuses to paddle any further. We decide that there must be a path somewhere leading to civilization. Finding no path off the beach we bush bash up a hill and spot houses in the distance, we realize that the sheds must be built with supplies boated in and decide not to bush bash through any more spider webs.

Step 19. In darkness we head back down to the beach and scavenge for supplies. Find 2 odd thongs, a hat and a dried up coconut, score! Try to crack coconut on rock with no success. Realize that we don’t have a lighter and can’t make a fire. Share half a can of tuna left from lunch for dinner.

Step 20. Discover that we have mobile coverage and debate calling for help. Ring the police and let them know where we are and not to worry if they get any missing person reports. Drag kayak up into a shed and have wet uncomfortable sleep inside it.

Step 21. Wake up at 5AM to totally flat seas, paddle off and reach Shute harbour in only half an hour. Wash equipment and pack campervan. I might of kissed the car-park bitumen.

Step 22. Order giant breakfast at cafe and marvel at the comforts of modern civilization.

Step 23. Casually mention that Magnetic island is only 7 km off the mainland. Receive thousand yard death stare from girlfriend and a resounding “NO”.

Conclusion

We did this in November 2012. Would I do it again? definitely. While the inflatable wasn’t as fast or as seaworthy as a regular hard hull kayak it held up pretty good. I wouldn’t land in the staff area and would try to head to Daydream straight from the Harbour with no breaks. It’s hard to judge distance and speed on the open ocean and it can seem like you’re not really moving. It helps to focus on a piece of land and notice as the different details come into view. The weather can change suddenly and even though we checked reports for the day nothing is certain. Of course you can always take a ferry over, but where’s the fun in that! My girlfriend might disagree.