Lady Elliot Island - Sea Turtles

We have skipped spring this year in Queensland and gone from a mild Winter into Summer.  The water temps in our local waters are fantastic!  My wet suit is packed away for another year; I spent a couple of hours in the water this morning surfing on the Sunshine Coast in a rashie and boardies.

Apparently the warmer weather and subsequent warmer water temps is messing with our Turtle population. According to an article about the turtle population on Lady Elliot Island, the turtles have arrived there in numbers and are mating earlier this year than normal.

I paddled out that way in 2010 and love the place.  Apart from the turtles, you have seasonal visits from Manta Rays and Whales as well as a myriad of different types of birds - though the smell is a bit overpowering in the breeding season.

The photos are from some of the turtles I came across snorkeling around Lady Elliot Island on that trip.

The smaller turtles were a lot more interactive than the larger turtles and would come over and swim around you, allowing for some close up underwater shots.

The following shot was taken of one stranded on a reef platform at low tide. It got itself off the reef on the next high tide so all was okay!

One of the unique things I came across was whilst snorkeling was turtle cleaning stations.  The following picture is a turtle parking on a bommie, letting some of the local fish come out and give it a clean - a symbiotic relationship of sorts where the turtles get a clean and the fish get a feed.

Just one of the amazing animals that we share the planet with!

Sea Kayaking to North Moreton Island - Trip Report

Moreton Bay is always full of surprises - this time was no different coming across a pod of whales including this very large specimen (you are looking at the tail end) that decided to swim under my kayak. This was one of a number of pods we came across over the weekend.

The trip plan was to paddle from Bribie Island up to North Point, a trip of around 26kms where we would camp and explore around the northern end of Moreton Island.  The first hiccup came when we found that we couldn't fit everybody in at North Point due to its popularity this weekend, so we booked the next campsite down at Yellow Patch.

The second hiccup was paddling up to North Point to find that Yellow Patch would have to be the worst campsite on Moreton Island.  After packing a cut lunch and a water bag to walk from the beach to the campsite across sand fly infested swamps, we decided to paddle back to Comboyuro Point to setup camp where it was less populated and a more laid back camping crowd.

We all slept well that night after the 37km paddle and the 10kms we paddled against the 3.5 knot current and head wind.  I slept extra well as I was chasing Taran's all day in my Nordy, or maybe that was the wine!

Day 2 came and we discussed a plan for the day.  After 3 hours of deep discussion where we perfected the art of doing nothing (very comfortably in our new Helinox camping chairs).  Eventually a plan developed where we surfed the tidal race down to Cowan Cowan to look at the battlements before some of the more energetic Taran paddlers decided on a race home.  An afternoon spent chillin' led to more of the same in the evening.

Day 3 saw the wind come up from the North bringing 1-2 meters of waves, so with a beam wind we surfed our way back to Bribie getting some great runs.

Camping at Comboyuro Point gives you access to running water, toilets and cold showers, albeit with a bit of a walk, as well as access to the shops at Bulwer which is around a kilometer south of the camp grounds.  There are bins near the amenities so you don't need to carry your rubbish back to the mainland.

The 16 km crossing itself can be a little daunting for the novice.  At max tidal flow, the shipping channel runs at around 4 knots and I like to do the crossing around the top of an incoming tide as the banks will start to have breaking waves depending on the swell size on a low tide.  I do the crossing back at the start of the ebb tide, heading for the southern tip of Bribie and using the current to carry you northwards to Woorim. I recommend crossing at the M4 channel markers as it gives a clearly defined channel and you can wait for any ships to pass before crossing.  Timing for the crossing will depend on the average paddling speed of the group.

There is always the barge of shame if you want to paddle around the inside of Moreton without the risk of the crossing.  Paddle with the tide as the tidal flow near the island can flow at around 3.5 knots according to the charts but local knowledge would set the figure higher at various points.

201310 Moreton Is from Paul Wilton on Vimeo.

Fraser Island East Coast

Just did the family camping holiday up to Fraser Island for the second week of the school holidays.  Didn't go exactly to plan, but it was a nice get away!

It has been a number of years since we had been to Fraser Island, last time being about 14 years ago with a V8 Range Rover and trailer.  This time we took a low clearance 4 cylinder Suzuki loaded to the brim with camping gear, fishing gear, kayaking gear, food, etc...

After 10 weeks without any rain I was certainly nervous about the inland tracks and the ground clearance given the amount of traffic on the island with school holidays and perfect weather. I went through the worst case scenario with the family before setting off on the track to Central Station after getting some 'erroneous' advice from other 4WD enthusiasts.

Enough to say that sinking feeling occurred when we got stuck behind a slow moving 4WD and we lost momentum and the worst case scenario became a reality.  Note to self - trust to your own experience!  With a little help from some friends I got off the track and got a tow out through a couple of spots which left the suzuki sitting high and dry with wheels spinning.

A new plan was hatched and we "camped" at the Eurong resort and spent time exploring the Eastern side of the island.  There was a lot a whale traffic heading south and they didn't seem to be in a hurry to get back to the cold waters of the southern ocean.  It was nice to do the fishing thing again with the family after many years away from Fraser.

The main differences in the last 14 years were; less sharks so assumably less fish to bring them close to shore, less dingos, less pippies, and more people - lots more people.

2013 Fraser Island from Paul Wilton on Vimeo.