Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Great Barrier Reef
As soon as we arrived at the reef James and I grabbed wetsuits and jumped in with our snorkeling gear. Our underwater cameras worked better than I thought they would.
Great Barrier Reef
Today, May 11, 2008, is mother's day. Happy (belated) Mother's Day mom! Since I have officially been around the world I can truthfully say that I have the best mom in the whole entire world :) We celebrated the day by taking a trip out to the Great Barrier Reef for an afternoon of snorkeling and scuba diving.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Daydream Island
The kangaroos were drawn to the light on James' camera. It was hilarious how they would sniff at it and then there would be this big thundering flash right in their faces as he snapped a shot.
Daydream Island
We played on the playground, rented Katamarans and "sailed" around for a while, then we used the sea kayaks to look for sea turtles (no luck). We saw roos on the beach!
Daydream Island
We started the day watching the Barramundi and shark feeding. The first video shows a volunteer feeding the Barramundi. They eat fish by sucking in 2 liters of water and capturing the fish in the process. The second video is of the stingray/manta ray feeding. We got to pet them! The last video is the wild fish feed. There were so many fish in the water that James tried to catch one in his hands. The brightly colored fish is a parrot fish.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Airlie Beach
Our first morning in Airlie Beach. We're enjoying breakfast on the patio with a view of the ocean. We woke up early to get one of the first ferry boats across to Daydream Island.
Airlie Beach
After work (James) and after my visit to parks on Friday May 9th, James and I headed up to Airlie Beach. It is a 2-2.5 hour drive north of Mackay. We took a stroll through the small, but cute seaside town and stayed at a nice bed and breakfast before heading out on our Whitsundays adventure (Great Barrier Reef here we come!!!!) The photo on the left is from Shute Harbour. You can see some of the closer islands in the Whitsundays. On the right is a photo from our lovely "mexican" dinner.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Pinnacle
On the drive back to Mackay/Dolphin Heads I stopped in Pinnacle at the Pinnacle Hotel for one of the "famous" Pinnacle meat pies. It was just ok.
Finch Hatton Gorge
More stolen text: Finch Hatton Gorge is located within the Eungella National Park and is a spectacular piece of tropical rainforest, interspersed by pristine rock pools and waterfalls. The Gorge is one of the most popular fresh water swimming holes in the region with locals and visitors alike. Imagine swimming in a clear rock pool as water cascades down from tall boulders and large rainforest trees tower above. Finch Hatton Gorge is also home to some very rare and unique flora and fauna such as the rare gastric brooding frog and the orange sided skink.
Eungella National Park
I stole this information from their website b/c I'm a lazy blogger: Eungella National Park is recognised as Australia's longest continual stretch of sub tropical rainforest. Eungella is leisurely hours drive west of Mackay, passing through the scenic Pioneer Valley, carpeted by lush cane fields and dotted with quaint country townships. A must visit for anyone to the region, it makes for a perfect day trip or longer. It's supposed to be a good place to see the "shy" platypus, but I got there too late. They're only visible in the early morning or early evening. Sniff sniff.
Mackay--Thursday May 8th
There's really not a whole lot to see in Mackay (hence the lack of photos). I saw the entire "city" in maybe an hour. I did visit their art museum and they had an exhibition on handmade artist books, in which I am very interested. Here are some images from the show.
Dolphin Heads--Mackay
On Wednesday May7thI flew up to Macay and met James and his father in Dolphin Heads (they were in town for work). These are photos from the resort where we stayed.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Fraser Island
The top row of photos was taken at Lake Boomanjin. It's the biggest Lake on the island. The next photo is of a car that obviously got bogged in the sand, left behind overnight and was engulfed by the high tide. You can only drive on the beach 2 hours before and after low tide or else the beach is too narrow for a vehicle and you risk the chance of getting carried out to sea. We made our way back to the ferry meaning it was the end of our Fraser Island experience. It was sad to go but I was looking forward to driving on pavement, not sandy, bumpy beaches and inland trails. Oh wait, we still have to drive 2 hours on the beach back to Noosa...
Fraser Island
Lake Birrabeen was another stunning swimming hole. The soft white sand is absolutely amazing.
Fraser Island
We stopped in at the Kingfisher Bay Resort and saw lots of fish along the pier. There were a few walking trails near the resort. We hiked up to the Northern lookout to see a breathtaking view of Hervey Bay.
Fraser Island
First stop Monday morning was my favorite Lake McKenzie. The water was so clean and clear and the sand so white and fine. Very peaceful.
Fraser Island
Lake Wabby was our last stop of the day before setting up camp for the second night. We had to climb 1.8k up a sand dune to get to the lake. The sun was intense and the lake was a welcome sight. We took a nice swim in the fresh water and then headed to Central Campsite.
Fraser Island
First stop today was at the Champage Pools. They looked so much different with the low tide. There were little pools of crystal clear water in the rocks. It felt as if I was at Sea World looking in small touch pools filled with little living creatures.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Fraser Island
On our voyage up the beach we stopped at Eli Creek and waded in the crystal clear water before stopping at the Maheno Shipwreck. Next stop was the Champagne pools which looked out onto Indian Head. The bottom two photos were taken near our campsite right as the sun was setting. We had to set up camp in the dark, but it was worth it b/c we saw so much earlier in the day.
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