Although Ashlynn enjoyed working at Howlin’ Jay’s, they were unable to give her enough hours to meet the requirements for her to earn a second visa, so she continued to look for other options. She was excited, but didn’t have high hopes when she was invited for an interview on Fitzroy Island, which was a 45-minute ferry ride from Cairns. She was surprised when they offered her a bartender job on the spot. What incredible luck! Instead of working at a fried chicken restaurant or toiling away on a distant farm, she would be living and working on a tropical island on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef.
On November 22, Ashlynn started working at Fitzroy Resort at Foxy’s Bar, the island’s casual café, and living in the employee accommodations, basic rooms with two beds. She was paid well and charged just one hour’s wages per day for her room and board; although she could keep her belongings there, it was nice that she wasn’t charged for her room on her days off, which were always spent off the island. There weren’t any vegan options on the menus, but luckily some of the chefs would make her special meals so she didn’t have to live on salads alone.
I borrowed this photo to show the 100-room resort. Ashlynn ended up rotating between Foxy’s and Zephyr’s, the fine dining restaurant where she was also waited tables. She also did a few shifts at the pool bar. Bjarne originally had intended to do a six-month internship on a farm, but only lasted two days of picking bananas. He then found a gardening job and hoped to see Ashlynn on her days off. On her first day at Foxy’s, she referred to him as her “boyfriend” (although she didn’t consider him to be at the time) to the manager to help him get a job.
Bjarne had no restaurant experience, but they were willing to interview him; less than one week after their first kiss, he also moved to the island. Not only did he become Ashlynn’s first boyfriend, but they also started living together. Their first room had single beds, but eventually they moved into a nicer room with a double bed.
The island is covered by a rainforest and is protected as a national park with several hiking trails. It is surrounded by beautiful beaches and a coral reef. They only went shore diving once and had to wear special stinger suits to protect against the jellyfish which invade the waters every summer.
Hard to beat the view during their three-minute commute to work.
Amazingly, Ashlynn managed to avoid getting entirely sunburned during her nearly three months of living in paradise.
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