The Fraser Coast

Emily and I headed south from Agnes Water and stopped in for tea at a little cafe in Rosedale.

From 2012-06-14

Later, we took a dip at Moore Park Beach, just north of Bundaberg. The surf was pretty calm here. Later we took some lunch in town and continued heading south.

From 2012-06-14

We stayed overnight in Rainbow Beach and headed out the next day, Friday, to explore the actual beach. We met up with a couple who were taking samples of the sand at different points along the beach in order to capture all of the colours of the rainbow.

From 2012-06-19

There were a few vehicles travelling along the beach here. (It's okay to drive on the sand in parts of the Fraser coast.) However, you  must be aware of the tides! We saw one vehicle that seemed cut off by the tide and may have had to wait for it to recede again. At the local pub, there's a tally kept of the number of vehicles that are lost to the sand and the waves each year.

From 2012-06-19

This view is looking south across the bay at Rainbow beach. Sometimes people hike all of the way down to the southern headland.

From 2012-06-19

That Friday afternoon, we returned to Brisbane. Emily found that picking fresh oranges was a novelty! After indulging in this, and an icecream too, we found ourselves back in Brissy.

From 2012-06-19

Over the second weekend of Em's trip, we visited South Bank and the markets and rode into the mountains again. I have some more photos from these forays to post next time.

Snorkelling around Lady Musgrave Island

Here's a few different types of coral that Em and I swam by in the southern section of the Great Barrier Reef, near Lady Musgrave Island.

From Lockett

A nice bloke called Allan took a photo of Emily and I with my old-school camera (which was taking on water).

From Lockett

And here we are next to the boat between dives and probably talking about the lack of clownfish.

From Lockett

Alan snapped this guy but somehow we missed him.

From Lockett

We did see a few of these bright starfish amongst the coral. Look at how brightly it's coloured!

From Lockett

After an afternoon diving on the reef, we took dined out but retired before the Origin started! The next day, Thursday, we headed south again en route to Rainbow Beach on the Fraser coast and I will start my next post on that topic.

Lady Musgrave Island

Lady Musgrave Island is in the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef and surrounded by coral. The island itself is now listed as a National Park. Miss Pure Awesomeness and I reached the island on the second Wednesday in June by boat and hiked through the light forest and along the white sand.

From 2012-06-14

This is on the north-eastern side of the island. The forest behind me is fairly new; years ago, introduced goats lived here and devoured all they could. (They were intended as emergency rations for stranded sailors.)

From 2012-06-14

A friendly (but dangerously pasty) Brit' kindly snapped the pair of us on our loop around the island.

From 2012-06-14

These birds visit the island for a feed and to make their nests in the trees. However, as the island is short on nitrogen, the trees have evolved a macabre tendency to ensnare the birds with sticky seeds in order to stop that precious nitrogen source from escaping.

From 2012-06-14

We boarded our little tinny and headed back out to the moored boat for lunch prior to our afternoon of snorkelling on the reef.

From 2012-06-14

Em and I prepared to go looking for starfish, turtles and sharks. I'll post a few photos from under the waves next time.

From 2012-06-14

Agnes Water Surfing

Emily and I joined in for a lesson in surfing with about half-a-dozen other people. The lesson was led by a really chilled out surfer-dude. We started off sort-of gliding along on the little waves like this.

From Agnes Water Surfing

And then we try to leap up on to the board.

From Agnes Water Surfing

Sometimes I would break the surfer's code of etiquette; I would get jump on someone else's wave and cause a bit of a pile-up.

From Agnes Water Surfing

Eventually, though for only short bursts, I was able to get up and ride the waves!

From Agnes Water Surfing

After all of this time in the surf, which turns out to be surprisingly salty to a mid-west girl more used to fresh water lakes, we diluted the salt with a few well-earned beers on the deck at the Agnes Water Tavern.

From Agnes Water Surfing