Magnetic Island - koalas and wallabies and reptiles, oh my!

koala cuddles

We spent four lovely days at Magnetic Island, off the coast of Townsville. A beautiful small island with Horseshoe Bay on the north side, it was a great place to anchor for a little protection from the SE prevailing winds and swells. We arrived at 5AM following an overnight passage from the Whitsundays and after napping a few hours we set out for the Bungalow Bay Koala Village, 10 minutes from where we brought Joy (our dinghy) ashore. Needless to say, cuddling a koala was top of the list. However the other local residents, including Shadow the red-tailed black cockatoo, Harry the southern hairy-nosed wombat, Eddie the Echidna, and an assortment of lizards, crocs and snakes, were fun to learn about, hold and interact with.

The following day we took a hike to the old Fort, with splendid views in every direction. THE highlight of the walk wasn't the fort itself, but seeing a wild koala. Magnetic Island has the largest and healthiest population of wild koalas in all of Australia, with 900 on the island.

We met some new cruising friends and were invited to join them at their bungalow for a barbecue and to do laundry... always a challenge for live-aboard cruisers.

All in all we had a wonderful stay here and would recommend a visit to Magnetic Island for anyone coming to the central Queensland coast.

Roger and the snake. The snake and Roger.

A fashionable hat is always in good taste!

Wild koala on Forts Walk!

View of Horseshoe Bay from Forts Walk

with Equanimity and Joy

The Whitsunday Islands

We've been making good steady progress, including our first overnight, and we are now at the Whitsunday Island group. We haven't stopped at Hamilton Island marina, preferring to anchor out at Whitehaven Beach and then on the south side of Hook Island, protected from a bit of weather today. It is simply beautiful here, lovely small islands that we could take weeks to explore if we didn't have to make it to Darwin by early July to join the "Sail Indonesia" rally.

We've seen lots of small dolphins around the islands and turtle heads popping up here and there. We even saw a small little white-tip reef shark speeding through the water in pursuit of something. While anchored at Whitehaven Beach, a gigantic (we're talking huge and ancient) turtle surfaced. We were captivated by his proximity, size and beauty... and simply couldn't take our eyes off of him to go grab for the camera.



Great Keppel Island Beach Walk

 



Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island

 

 

Over the Bar

We left Double Island Point mid-afternoon yesterday and headed for the bar, a tricky entrance to the estuaries behind Fraser Island. Equanimity and her crew handled the turbulence with, well, equanimity... of course. We anchored in Pelican Bay just as the last light of day disappeared and were glad to be in calmer waters for a nice dinner and a hot shower. Today we meander up through the estuaries at high tide and navigate through quite shallow waters.

With Equanimity and Joy

The Journey Begins up the Queensland Coast

Day 1 - We finally made it out of Moreton Bay, with a few squally showers and several of the most beautiful rainbows. Grandma and Grandpa must be smiling down on us. It got a bit blustry with a wild sea at the top of the bay, as we exited into blue water.... cruising and surfing at 9.5 knots on an ebbing tide and broad-reaching at 25-30 knots of wind. We were rewarded shortly after that with a dolphin escort. One playful fellow sprang completely out of the water only about 5 feet away from the boat, then belly-flopped back in after waving a welcoming flipper at us. We pulled into Mooloolaba late in the afternoon in time to anchor and enjoy a lovely sunset. All in all a very happy first day in cruise mode.

With Equanimity and Joy

P.S. we celebrate this wonderful day with a homemade yummy pizza for the very hungry crew!

Bye Bye to Moreton Bay

We're finally ready. We're heading out to explore the world beyond Moreton Bay! We sail out at first light tomorrow morning headed north up the east coast of Australia.



The view to Moreton Bay from the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron