We ventured off to North Stradbroke Island, or Straddie for short. It’s to Brisbane what Texel is to Amsterdam, but with more whales, sharks, rays, turtles and dolphins. It’s about a 45 min drive and a 45 min ferry ride across the Moreton Bay. You book the ferries in advance, so you have to to guess how long you want to stay before you even get there. However, this also means they greet you by your first name when you arrive.
We weren’t sure what to expect, but wildlife is what we got. During the North Gorge Walk we saw big sea turtles, wallabies, a sting ray, no less than two groups of dolphins and quite possibly a shark in swift succession. Yay! All of that on a backdrop of beautiful beaches. And in winter this is the place to be to spot whales from land, so we’ll definitely be back!
We also tried our first shore snorkel session at Deadman’s beach. It was pretty strenuous to cross the surf, but we got through it. Once you get the hang of it, it’s actually not that bad. However, no flora or fauna was to be seen anywhere within a comfortable distance from the shore. Fortunately, on our way back we stumbled on a group of Jacks and Snappers (somewhat like this). Maybe we should try a guided tour next time, so we know where to look.
Our interest was piqued by UniDive with their stories about the under water flora and fauna at Moreton Bay and at Point Lookout. They ran a project called Point Lookout Ecological Assessment (PLEA), where they mapped the flora and fauna at the local reefs – we even managed to get our hands on one of the last copies of their photo report “Straddie”. They’re starting up a new project called Flinders Reef Ecological Assessment (FREA), which we hope to participate in.
Australisch voor beginners: neem de eerste lettergreep en zet er ie achter 😉
Ai, Laddie!
Of o, dat mag ook 🙂