| Happy Turkey Day '09 in the Bundy Port Marina with Rikki & Bruce Going, our Kiwi friends on s/v SeaGoing but she's also a Yank from Las Cruces by way of NYC!! |
| Out for a drive to the beach, we passed a field full of grey kangaroos! |
| These younger sub adults are about 3-4 ft tall. |
| A very powerful male grey kangaroo--check out the massive pecs, shoulders and biceps! When he stood up he was over 5 ft tall ! |
| A female grey with a joey hidden in her drooping pouch |
| They are really inquisitive and prefer to keep potential danger right in their sights |
| One of the best things about staying in the Bundaberg Port Marina was seeing kangaroos every day right outside the gates! |
| We walked along the beach and the coastal promenade at Bargara, a coastal town near Bundy on the Coral Sea |
| One night we went with a guided group to Mon Repos beach where loggerhead turtles have been laying their eggs for millenia |
| First the loggerhead turtle female digs a body pit... |
| Then she excavates a deep hole to lay 139 eggs, all within the space of about an hour. Then, off she goes to mate and lay again! |
| Saw lots of birds like this Australian White Pelican |
| The tidal range around Fraser Id is quite large... |
| In Bundaberg Port Marina we were reunited with Ian and Lee from Steel Heart, more Kiwis we'd met in Vanuatu |
| We finally left Bundy and sailed south to Fraser Id, the world's largest sand island, and anchored off for a week. |
| ...and at low tide we walked the exposed sand flats looking for unusual critters |
| A stingray just a few feet from our feet! |
| The shifting sand flats create all kinds of intricate color patterns |
| A lot of these sturdy gelatinous collars had washed up--are they egg cases or tunicates or what? |
| The main entrance to the eco-resort on Fraser Id where you arrive in 4WD so you can drive on the BEACHES! |
| ♪♫ Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree ♪♫ |
| At anchor off Fraser Id |
| At anchor just outside the constantly shifting sand bars |
| On our hike in the forest around the eco-resort we were astonished to come across a perimeter dingo fence-- wouldn't want the guests to get too close to the wildlife! |
| And, making it all worthwhile-- we had a close encounter with a gorgeous goana about 30" long-- isn't she a beauty !! |