Swamp Bay and Mt Rooper, Conway National Park

Sunday 30 June 2019 – 266 275

This morning we explored Swamp Bay and climbed Mt Rooper in Conway National Park.
https://www.tourismwhitsundays.com.au/mount-rooper-circuit-and-swamp-bay-track https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/conway/about.html
This took us through a diverse variety of vegetation types – swampy mangroves, gum trees, grass trees and rainforest.  There is a lot of dead wood on the ground.  The gum trees on the Shute Harbour side of Mt Rooper have mainly survived, though with an unusual appearance.  It looks as if all the leaves and smaller branches were removed in the cyclone and now the leaves are sprouting directly from the larger branches and trunks that remained.

One of the things I have been surprised by is the variety of beach surfaces, sometimes multiple types all on one beach.  Swamp Bay beach has bands of rounded fist sized rocks, sand, coarse sand and coral all along the one beach.

After exploring Swamp Bay, we headed up Mt Rooper, to be treated with stunning views over the Whitsunday Islands.  Here, we stopped for morning tea and chatted to two lovely ladies we met yesterday at parkrun.  One of them had been working on Daydream Island when it was hit by Cyclone Debbie and talked to us about the seeming randomness of the pattern of damage, as we have observed in exploring the area.  The morning after the cyclone one of the signs from Whitsunday Island washed ashore on Daydream Island – what a powerful ocean!  There is still much damage visible around the area.

Leaf regrowth after the destruction of Cyclone Debbie

After a long lazy lunch and an afternoon nap I returned to the Honeyeater Lookout as a trail run.  This time there were no clouds enclosing the lookout and I could see Abell Point Marina, some of the Whitsunday Islands and well out to sea.  Hayden and I enjoyed an evening swim before dinner.

Dingo Beach, Hydeaway Bay and Cape Gloucester - Wow!

Saturday 29 June 2019 – 266 175

Airlie Beach Parkrun was our tourist run this morning – quite hilly but along the waterfront and pretty. https://www.parkrun.com.au/airliebeach/ After showers and breakfast, we drove to the Whitsunday Airlie Beach Markets.  I purchased some lovely soaps as gifts.  Hayden and I also bought new hats – Hayden’s really suits him.  We then went back to the van to get a slow cook meal on for dinner.

Dingo Beach was our lunchtime picnic spot.  It was low tide and we were able to comb the beach for interesting shells and coral pieces.  Once again, beautiful vistas.  There are large seagrass beds and apparently there are dugong, although we were not lucky enough to spot on of these shy creatures.  We did see a small group of kangaroos enjoying the shade and cool grass behind the dunes. https://www.queensland.com/en-au/destination-information/dingo-beach

Next stop was Hydeaway Bay, also beautiful, but with more housing.
https://www.tourismwhitsundays.com.au/destinations/hydeaway-bay
We finished the day at Cape Gloucester with our own private beach. I explored and took photographs, then sat down to update my journal while looking out over the ocean.  At sunset we enjoyed a hot meal from the thermal cooker, while watching the sunset over the ocean (a rarity in Queensland).  On our way home, we saw two wallabies crossing the road.

https://www.queensland.com/en-us/journey/airlie-beach-to-cape-gloucester

Exploring Airlie Beach

Friday 28 June 2019 – 266 150

It was a wild night with winds of 60km/h and rain.  Everything that was outside was wet, regardless of where under the awning it was positioned.  This morning we all enjoyed a sleep in.  We explored the township of Airlie Beach.  In the centre of town, they have a lookout, that also looks down on a garden designed to look like a coral reef, complete with Dory and Nemo.  The roundabout is designed as a tile mosaic of a starfish.  We browsed the shops and found a great book exchange.  https://www.facebook.com/pg/beachbookboutique/about/

Hanging with his Bestie!

The lowest and flattest rainbow I have ever seen!

 

We went for an explore around sheltered Boathaven Beach and took Hayden to a terrific playground to let off some steam. 
https://www.tourismwhitsundays.com.au/accommodation/boathaven-beach It appears that the Foreshore is reopening tomorrow.

We drove to Mandalay Point, which has some extremely expensive looking homes.  There is a lovely park for picnic, with rope swings and a small outdoor chapel which looks out over the ocean.  As it was low tide, I was able to see into the mangroves by walking down the boat ramps.

This afternoon we went for a swim at Airlie Beach Lagoon – a great free facility on the Foreshore with a number of interconnected pools of varying depth with picnic tables and barbeques. https://www.queensland.com/en-au/attraction/airlie-beach-lagoon