Heron Island

It's non-stop rain here on the Capricorn Coast for the past couple of days, which has given me time indoors to get caught up on some of my blogging.
We've had quite a few more adventures than I've written about, so I'd better get to writing.

In February of this year we visited Heron Island.
From our house, just a two hour drive south lands you at Gladstone.  We hopped on a ferry there and rode the two hour trip out to Heron Island, one of the islands in the Southern Great Barrier Reef.
Now, the island itself is quite unique.  It's a coral cay, meaning the entire island is made of thousands of years of compressed, heaped up coral.  When the mound grew tall enough, vegetation started sprouting and now it has grass, trees, etc.  Because the sand is really tiny bits of coral, it makes for nice white clean sand, and soft beaches.

Crab walk

Over the years since it's discovery in 1843 it has been developed into what it is now, which is part tourist resort, part scientific research station.

From the beach at Heron.  The dark bits in the water are coral.

It is quite a nice little resort, with condo-type accommodations, a gathering area/bar where Will became a billiards expert, a restaurant, scientific classroom, and swimming pool.
There are plenty of activities on the island, and here's how we spent our time:

Of course, there's the snorkeling.  Just walk off the beach into the water, swim out a couple of meters and you're floating over the great barrier reef.  We spent countless hours with our heads in the water watching the fish and other sea-life, as well as the ever-impressive coral.

 At low tide, we went on a coral walk.  We put on the provided water-shoes and walked out in and amongst the coral (being careful to step only on sand), whilst the guide told us about what we were seeing.  We even spied an eel swimming in the shallow water.

Will with a sea cucumber

Eel in the coral

In the evenings we found ourselves sitting up on the deck by the pool, watching the sharks and turtles swim in the shallows.

Shark

Pool time

Relaxing

There were birds galore on the island!  It's a breeding home to the Noddy Tern, and permanent home to many other birds.  There were thousands of birds on the island, and they didn't know to be quiet at night, because there was one kind that would screech in the night like a baby.  Sleep didn't come easily thanks to that special bird.  My favorite was the Buff-banded Rail.  Maggie called them "rat birds" because they were the ever-present scavengers on the island.  Leave your chips (fries) behind, and you could be sure a rail would find them.

Noddy tern

Buff banded rail

Grace loved going on hikes across the island, and it was so small and safe that she could easily go by
herself any time she wanted.
 
We toured the research station there and learned about how bad micro-beads are (check your body wash), and how climate change is being monitored for its effect on the reef.


Of all that we did on the island, I do think that the most memorable will be our turtle experience.
Heron island is a nesting spot for many of the turtles that roam the Northeastern coast of Australia, most commonly the Green Sea Turtle.  As such, we could see them coming in on the high tide, walking up the beach to the sand banks, and laying their eggs.  Better than that, though, was watching the turtles hatch.
So, as advised, we set off onto the beach near sunset time, walking until we found some activity.  Initially we saw a few babies scampering for the water, but as we walked on, we happened upon a nest where turtles were actually emerging.  Now, baby turtles hatch deep under the sand in their nests, and then they wait until the temperature drops, signaling dusk, and then emerge to make their run to the water.  Two things to note:
1.  They run towards light.  So, if you're ever around hatching sea turtles, turn all lights off so you don't confuse them.  No flashes, torches, headlights, etc.
2.  When they emerge, be ready for a show.
When we found the turtles, there were just a few with their heads up out of the sand.  We sat by them and waited, and waited, and waited.

Turtles emerging at the bottom left of screen

Baby turtles

And then, they emerged!  It seemed like the starting gun had fired, because waves of baby sea turtles began to be pushed up out of the sand where they took off running to the water.  We learned that they need that run to the water to raise their body temperature, so that when they hit the water they are ready to swim.  (Which means no carrying them to the water)

We also learned that once they get to the water, it's best to look away, because waiting for them were reef sharks and seagulls.  So we cheered for them, walked with them, took pictures, and after they began to swim away, just assumed that they had escaped to live a long happy turtle life.  Never mind that seagull flying away with a baby turtle in its beak.  No pictures of that, because it didn't happen, right?  The nature guide on the island told us about how from the moment the turtles hit the water until they are breeding adults, nobody knows what happens to them or where they go.  They are called the "lost years" and scientists on the island are working to track them during this time, which can be up to 30 years.

Of all the natural phenomena I have seen in this lovely land, the hatching of sea turtles could be my favorite.  What a beautiful experience.

So thanks Heron Island for a wonderful time!  I hope we can make it back soon!

 -Peter

Horizontal Falls?

On the Friday we were in Broome we had planned to leave on a road trip tour to the Windjana Gorge.  Being the end of the rainy season, the road was closed, which left a day free without plans.  After doing our research, we decided on a plane trip to the Horizontal Falls.  It was quite pricey, and we weren't sure it would be worth the cost, but decided we'd give it a go anyways.  Boy are we glad we did!

You may be wondering "Just what are the Horizontal Falls?".
Nobody explains it better than Sir David Attenborough:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJ9kdhVJT0U

So we got up before the sun, arrived at the airport for our safety briefing, and boarded a sea-plane for a truly memorable trip.

The flight north to the falls was unremarkable until we crossed over the main body of the Dampier Peninsula, across King Sound into the area of the falls. 

We dropped down low, turned the corner, and there they were.

After a few passes by the falls for photo ops, we dropped down into Talbot bay and landed near our base camp for the day... a floating barge/houseboat.

We hopped off the plane and were greeted with a fresh cooked breakfast, fed the local sharks, and the kids even jumped in the water with the sharks.  (Of course the kids were in a cage!)

We then boarded a speed-boat to take a close up look at the falls.  We rode up to the falls and then plunged through each one several times.  The water flow through the narrow gaps is massive, and it was a bit harrowing speeding through in a boat, but it really was great fun.

Then it was back to base-camp where we loaded into the plane and headed back to Broome.
This time we flew low and skirted the coast for some amazing aerial views of the Buccaneer archipelago, Cape Leveque, Willie Creek and the pearl farm, and finally on into Broome.

Cape Leveque

For most of us, this was the highlight of our two week adventure.  And for Grace, her favorite Australian site so far.  Amazing!