MAY 16 , 2007
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
MAY 16 , 2007 |
|||||
| FRASER ISLAND TOUR |
April 19, 2007 Just before we left Mooloolaba, an event happened that is another example of the bountiful assistance that we have received from people all during our travels aboard Bella Via. Paul was in a business on shore looking for somewhere where he could have battery cables crimped but was not having success at that particular store. He was told that he would probably be able to obtain what he wanted at another store, but it was quite a ways away. Another customer overheard Paul asking for directions and offered to take Paul to the store. Not only did he offer a ride but he called the other store on his mobile and made sure that the cables could be fabricated, and completed while they waited. So Paul spent an enjoyable few hours with Graham, who asked many questions about the boat and our life aboard. Paul ended up asking Graham to bring his wife Liz to the boat later that afternoon for sundowners. This they did and we so enjoyed their visit. Graham and Liz are retired and they own a caravan and have travelled extensively throughout Australia. For the past several years they have been vacationing all around the world through an organization called “Home Link” which is a home exchange program for vacationers. They were just about to leave for another great vacation in Europe. We ended the evening with a promise to contact them the next time that we are in Mooloolaba. April 22, 2007 We left Mooloolaba at first light and travelled the 55 miles to the Wide Bay Bar. Five miles from the bar, at Double Island Point, we caught and landed the biggest wahoo (54 inches long) that we have ever caught. Paul quickly bled the fish and hung it up at the stern of the boat so that we could concentrate on crossing the notorious bar. We had already decided that if we saw any breaking waves as we approached the bar we would turn back and spend the night at Double Island Point. The bar looked fine and in a radio conversation with the coast guard we learned that boats had been traversing the bar without difficulty that day. We decided to cross and had no problems. Immediately after we made final radio contact with the coast guard to let them know that we were through the bar, we were hailed on the radio by our friends Dave and Fran from Melric II. They were going south through the Great Sandy Straits and were only 30 minutes from the anchorage to which we were heading. We told them about our wahoo catch and asked them to come for dinner as we had loads of fish. Dave and Paul cut up the fish into steaks using a hacksaw and we gave a few packages to Dave and Fran for their freezer. Dave and Fran left the next morning to cross the bar and continue their way south. April 23, 2007 We met up with our friends Julia and Bob from Kinta the next day in Tin Can Bay. They live at the marina but we anchored just outside of the channel on the way in to the marina. There were several other boats nearby and at change of tide when the boats started swinging, Mary felt that we were too close to the catamaran nearby. So, just before sunset we quickly raised anchor and went out into Tin Can Bay Inlet where there was lots of room to anchor. Unfortunately, in our haste to settle before dark, we went too close to a sand spit and ran aground in the sand. Paul was able to get us off and we settled at anchor in 18 feet of water with good holding. We spent several days in Tin Can Bay Inlet, enjoying our time with Bob and Julia and getting “town stuff” done, i.e. shopping, internet, etc. We also spent an enjoyable afternoon at the home of Brian and Anne, two friends of Bob and Julia, who spent last winter in the Louisiades. They reviewed with us their favourite anchorages and told us all about their experiences.
|
|
 |
We said goodbye to Bob and Julia for a few days as we would be reconnecting in another week or so farther up in the Great Sandy Straits. We travelled less than 20 miles north in the Great Sandy Straits to Ungowa at the South White Cliffs and had a comfortable night at anchor. The key to travelling the Great Sandy Straits is to work the tides, as there are several very shallow spots. We left the next morning at the start of falling tide so that we could have the current with us. We didn’t have to travel very far as we were spending the next few days at Kingfisher Bay. We anchored and went ashore immediately to the Kingfisher Resort, which is very kind to yachties. They have an outdoor pool, showers, toilets, and a bar and cafe in their day visitor area – and no charge to get into the area. We had lunch at the outdoor restaurant and shot two games of pool (Paul won!). We then went to the main reception desk to ask about the day-long tours of Fraser Island which we had been encouraged by other yachties to consider taking. We signed up for the next day’s tour. May 1, 2007 We left the boat just after 7 a.m. and went ashore because we had made an 8 a.m. booking for the day-long 4 wheel drive bus tour of the island. The tour cost $155.00 per person - so we hoped that we would get our money's worth. Our first challenge of the day was to decide where to place the dinghy so that after 8 hours, when we returned, it would not be high and dry on soft sand. Paul had scoped it out the day before and picked a spot that he thought would suit - alas, when we got to that spot in the morning at close to high tide, he realized that he would have to swim to shore if he anchored the dinghy in that spot. So we left the dinghy in closer and left the anchor line on a long tether and gave it a good shove. We joined 19 other people for the tour and had a great tour guide named Chris. He was very knowledgeable and spoke very clearly. We learned so many facts about how this large sand island (the largest sand island in the world) was formed that our heads were spinning. The bus was large and very comfortable. Good thing it had seat belts because we really needed them. The tracks were quite lumpy; in fact the first part is called the "rollercoaster". Chris had warned us that if anyone suffers from motion sickness, they may have a bit of a hard time with the ride. We went to several stops during the day. The first was a large freshwater lake that was absolutely beautiful, and of course reminded us of Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada. The sand around the lake though was nothing like back home - it was the whitest sand we have ever seen; even whiter than Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays. We stayed there for about an hour and had morning tea before we left for the next stop. We then went to a rain forest, which we really enjoyed. We have been in other rain forests before but this was the first time with a guide and we learned a lot. |
 |
Paul “exfoliating” with the fine sand in the fresh water of Lake Mackenzie on Fraser Island. |
|
 |
A view of Fraser Island from the air. Note the beautiful shoreline with the surf and the sand. At the top of the picture, amongst the trees, is a sandblow. |
|
 |
The last part of the tour was over an hour ride back to the resort with lots of information given about the trees that we saw and the lumber industry that ended in 1991 when the island was deemed a world heritage site. Again, a very bumpy ride. We left the tour with good feelings about the day. We got back to the dinghy at 4:30 p.m. and were dismayed to see that it was high and dry on the soft sand - our earlier plan didn't work. Just as we were about to start dragging the dinghy, two people who were walking on the beach asked if they could help. Great timing because it was an effortless task with more than two people. The funny part of this story is when they asked us what boat we were from and we said "Bella Via". We thought that they were going to fall over in shock as they said "we listen to a boat called Bella Via on the Comedy Net (the ham radio net that we participate in) every morning". We said "that's us" - it turns out that they don't have a ham licence so can only listen and they listen every day! We had a good laugh and asked them, Bruce and Lee, back to the boat for a drink, which they accepted. They are great people and we will hook up with them again when we are next in Kingfisher Bay as they live in a villa on the beach. May 2, 2007 We left Kingfisher Bay at first light to travel the 20 miles on a rising tide into Maryborough. This included the 14 mile trip up the muddy Mary River. We had last been at Maryborough two years ago. We were heading there this time so that we could haul the boat out at the Maryborough Slipways for annual maintenance. Our friends Dave and Fran on Melric II had hauled their boat there and were quite pleased with the service. We arrived in Maryborough at mid-day and tied up to the mooring owned by the slipways as we awaited our haulout on May 4. In the meantime, we reconnected with Bob and Faye, who live in Maryborough and are members of the ham radio net, the Comedy Net. May 3, 2007 Bob and Faye took us on a driving tour of several towns outside of Maryborough and along the coast of the Great Sandy Straits. We very much enjoyed the visit to the summer home of Faye’s family – an almost 100 year old Queenslander-type home on the waterfront. The home is surrounded by highrise buildings and is a much sought after property by developers. Bob and Faye spend at least one day a week at the old home and when their children come to Maryborough to see their parents, they stay at the old homestead. May 4, 2007 At the mid-day high tide, we left the mooring and positioned ourselves at the slipway so as to be hauled out. Paul manoeuvred the boat very well onto the rails, however, as the boat was being pulled out of the water, Graeme, the manager of the slipways was not happy about where the boat was sitting on the boards that were under the keels. We were backed out into the water, and as the tide was already falling and we needed high water, it was decided that we would try again the next day. We went back to the mooring. Shortly after that, Graeme came out to Bella Via by tinny and informed us that the night high tide was an even higher tide and we could come out at midnight if we wished. We decided to go for it. At 2330h, after only a few hours of sleep, we again positioned ourselves at the slipways and this time we were hauled out successfully. We immediately started power-spraying the bottom of the boat. There were very few barnacles (unlike last year!) but we needed to spray before everything (mud and green growth) dried. Mary went to bed at 0130h as only one person could use the sprayer and Paul worked until 0430h. Of course, the noise of the generator and the power sprayer kept Mary and all of the people around who were living on their boats awake! We stayed on the hard for four days and managed to get the annual maintenance done. We thoroughly enjoyed the friendliness and the service of the people at the Maryborough Slipways and would come back again. On the Saturday night, Graeme, the owner of the slipway invited us and everyone who lives on their boats at the slipway to a barbecue. Graeme provided the sausages, tomatoes, onions and mushrooms, and beer and a rum drink, free of charge. We had a good time meeting everyone, although it was off to bed early for us as we had been up most of the night before. Here are a few pictures of Bella Via on the hard for annual maintenance: |
Here is Bella Via out of the water and Paul getting in position with the power sprayer. The Mary River is the muddiest river we have ever seen and there was mud everywhere!
|
 |
 |
Who said that we lead an idyllic life! Here is Mary painting the port keel. Sorry Tom Soulliere, Mary’s still trying to get the black paint speckles off of her new glasses. |
Here is Bella Via all painted, cleaned and waxed just before going back into the water at 0300h .
|
 |
At slack tide at 0300h we had a very successful launch back into the water and continued on down the Mary River in the dark for three hours with falling tide. Once at the mouth of the river we continued on to Kingfisher Bay and were anchored at the resort by 0700h. Paul immediately went to bed and slept until noon. Mary can’t sleep during the day but managed to rest quite a bit. At 1400h, we were joined in the anchorage by Bob and Julia on Kinta. We were planning on spending the next week together as they helped us explore the northwest coast of Fraser Island. Here are our pictorial memories of our five days in Platypus Bay on Fraser Island:
|
 |
Julia and Bob exploring the shallows at Coongul Creek. As we walked further up the creek, we found two small monohull sailboats (called trailer sailors) anchored and tied to the trees. They go in and come out of the creek on high tide, and in between enjoy the solitude. |
Julia and Paul couldn’t resist running and scaring away a flock of pelicans.
|
 |
 |
A beautiful 81 centimetre Golden Trevally caught by Paul from the dinghy with much assistance provided by Bob. |
This picture was captured from Kinta by Bob and Julia as they caught Paul watching for tuna. His rod and reel were at the ready but none were to be seen that afternoon.
|
 |
|