Lady Musgrave Island, Southern Great Barrier Reef (Bundaberg Trip)

 

28 September 2020 – 295 454 – Lady Musgrave Island

Lady Musgrave Experiences were our hosts today, for a trip to the only navigable lagoon and the second most southerly island of the Great Barrier Reef. https://ladymusgraveexperience.com.au/ We were allocated to the clownfish group, this meant our itinerary was snorkel, lunch, island walk, glass bottom boat and snorkel.

There were many many fish of many varieties and several turtles.  Drew took some cracking underwater photos – this is only our second trip with this camera and we are impressed.

Lady Musgrave Island is inhabited by an incredible number of birds. At this time of year White Capped Noddy Terns are there in numbers. These have a very interrelated life with the Pisonia trees on the island – neither would survive without the other.  There are also lots of burrows for the Wedge Tailed Shearwaters which nest below the surface. 

On the glass bottom boat tour we saw Green Turtles and the endangered Hawksbill Turtles.

On the way back to the mainland we talked to a family who were on their way back from six days camping on the island.  I think the noise of the birds and the constant rain of droppings would be too much for me!  For those with kayaks it would be great to explore the lagoon. 

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/capricornia-cays/camping/lady-musgrave-island

A fantastic but tiring day!

 

Mon Repos (Bundaberg Trip)

 27 September 2020 – 295 404 – Mon Repos

Mon Repos Turtle Centre was this mornings adventure.

 https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/mon-repos/attractions/mon-repos-turtle-centre 

The turtles that are tracked for research have a titanium tracker inserted in one armpit when they are fully grown, approximately thirty years of age.  The turtles that hatch here travel to South America before returning to Mon Repos to lay eggs.

Odd facts I learnt today:

• ·       The turtle centre at Mon Repos started as a four-year research program in 1968, which in the words of the founder “got out of hand”
• ·       The turtles mate near Fraser Island and the female stores the sperm and uses some at a time to produce a new clutch of eggs to lay every two weeks, about five times each season
• ·       Females fast before laying eggs as there is simply not enough room inside the shell with 100+ eggs
• ·       Some turtles are carnivores and some types are omnivores
• ·       Mon Repos is a small beach and accounts for a massive proportion of South Pacific turtle hatchings
• ·       Three different types of turtle lay eggs at Mon Repos: loggerheads, green turtles and flatbacks

Next we walked the Coastal Track and then back along the beach exploring the rockpools.  On the way back to Mon Repos we saw a long rock wall built by South Sea Islanders – these were rocks removed from the soil when creating the canefields. https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/mon-repos/journeys/mon-repos-coastal-track

Double Barred Finch

Burnett Heads Lighthouse – new and old was next.  Then a swim at Oaks Beach to test our snorkel gear ready for tomorrow.  

https://lighthouses.org.au/qld/burnett-heads-lighthouse-old/ 

https://lighthouses.org.au/qld/burnett-heads-lighthouse-new/

Old

New

Last stop this afternoon was Alexandra Park Zoo.  This is a free facility with a small number of animals, but definitely worth a look.

https://www.discoverbundaberg.com.au/alexandra-park-zoo

Arrival (Bundaberg Trip)

 

26 September 2020 - 295 121 - Arriving

Heading north on this trip.  We left mid-morning and stopped in Tiaro for lunch.  Lots of people out and about enjoying the fact that we can once again travel, at least within our own state.

We arrived in Bundaberg mid-afternoon and have set up camp at AAOK Riverdale Caravan Park. https://www.riverdalecaravanpark.com.au/ This is an inexpensive caravan park with no extras, but very clean, just across the river from Bundaberg CBD.

We then ducked across the river to the Tourist Information, only to discover they have moved to near the Rum Distillery.  By the time we got there they were just closing up, but the lady was kind enough to stay and help us out. 

https://www.bundabergregion.org/visitor-information-centres

Rainbow Beach Trail Festival

Today we participated in the Rainbow Beach Trail Festival by RunQld.
 https://www.runqld.com.au/rainbow-beach/
I did the marathon, as I think this is one of the most beautiful running courses available.  If you are not a runner, this route could be done as a two day hike from Rainbow Beach with an overnight stay at Freshwater Campground.  It is a beautiful loop.
 https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/cooloola/camping/freshwater
The map of the route can be found at https://152094c3-7a5b-44a9-b564-064affc268cd.filesusr.com/ugd/d9e3e8_c2a2019cdcc54984a5c56e40a9026bea.pdf?index=true. 

We began from the park opposite the caravan park and headed up to the Carlo sand blow, this is seriously large.
https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/cooloola/journeys/carlo-sandblow-walk  https://www.queensland.com/au/en/things-to-do/attractions/p-574793ba1a7a85bb5be02bc9-carlo-sand-blow

Then through some lovely bushland to Poona Lake.
https://www.aussiebushwalking.com/qld/carlo-sand-blow-to-poona-lake  http://www.wildswimmingaustralia.com/locations/poona-lake/

From Poona Lake we headed back into the forest toward Freshwater camping ground.
https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/cooloola/camping

From Freshwater campground the trail headed down to the beach and we ran a beautiful 8km along Teerwah Beach at lowtide.  The weather was mercurial, raining on and off, with the sun coming out briefly at times, but overall pretty good running weather.

All the way up to Double Island Point.  On turning around to look back the way I had come, there was a rainbow!
https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/cooloola/journeys/double-island-point-lighthouse-walk

Once I was up onto the top of Double Island Point, the sun came out giving a great view of the lighthouse and surrounds.

 The trail then descended onto Rainbow Beach, and the sun disappeared, limiting the view of the spectacular coloured sands.  There were still plenty of 4WD out enjoying the beach though.

 And then back into the bush on the telegraph track, heading back toward the Carlo sand blow.

 And just like that the sun popped out as I was crossing the sand blow. Hard to believe these two photos were only taken minutes apart.

Next up, the pool to ice our legs, unpleasant but makes a world of difference.  After a well deserved shower and feed we all had a good stretch.  We spent a bit of time chatting to fellow runners, from a COVID safe distance.

Late in the afternoon we headed down to the playground with some friends where our 14 year old thoroughly enjoyed helping their 1 year old use the equipment.  We finished the day with a delicious meal at the Rainbow Beach Surf Club Bistro. 

https://www.rainbowbeachsurf.com.au/bistroandbar