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We had our first early morning in ages. We woke at 5am and left Daphne and Trevor's at 5:30 to drive 289K to Gladstone to catch our boat out to Heron Island. Heron Island is a tiny island 89K off the East Coast. The Island is a 42 acre coral cay within the Capricorn Island group and sits just south of the Tropic of Capricorn. It is located in the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef. The waters surrounding the island support around 900 of the 1,500 fish species and 72% of the coral species found on the Great Barrier Reef.
On the way to the ferry dock we encountered a lot of road construction. Thankfully we gave ourselves five and a half hours to do a four hour drive so we were able to relax about the multiple delays. We saw some kangaroo at one of the construction stops so that was pretty cool. We also passed The Big Crab and, you guessed it, took a photo.
We arrived at the Gladstone marina with time to spare and relaxed while we waited for the rest of the passengers to show up. There were only 13 of us going out to the resort so the boat was pretty empty. Eric and I drank champagne and really enjoyed the two hour boat ride over to the Island.
When we arrived on the island we were sent straight to a briefing about turtles and birds and the national park we will be staying in for the next few nights. There are 100,000 birds living on the island which is 800 meters long and 300 meters wide. Let me tell you that is a lot of birds. The bird population consists of Rails, Gulls, Egrets, Doves, Kingfishers, Terns, Shearwaters, Plovers, Boobies and Muttuns.
We had lunch at the restaurant and decided to relax by the pool for a few hours and then go to dinner. The resort is all inclusive. We read mixed reviews online about the food so we had no idea what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised by the quality and choices on the menu. We had mussels, oysters and prawns for appetizers and kangaroo and barramundi for dinner. All of which were delicious. The best part was the lime tart, fresh fruit, Chantilly cream and caramelized oranges they brought us for dessert.
After dinner Eric and I took a walk to the beach to look for nesting turtles. We did not see any but we did enjoy an amazing lightning display off in the distance out over the ocean. There is a lot of phosphorescence in the water here. It was quite the show with the lightning in the background. There were hundreds of little crabs on the beach that were not shy about running over our feet. We are not allowed to use flash lights at the beach at night because it disturbs the turtles so we are standing out there in the dark and the crabs are running over our feet. It was a little creepy, especially with a 100,000 birds yammering in the trees behind us.
The Heron Island resort is campy and a little loud, due to the bird population, but super fun so far. We can’t wait to take advantage of all this Island has to offer. I cannot wait to get in the water tomorrow and see what the reef has to offer. I’ve heard rumors of a big reef in these parts.
On the way to the ferry dock we encountered a lot of road construction. Thankfully we gave ourselves five and a half hours to do a four hour drive so we were able to relax about the multiple delays. We saw some kangaroo at one of the construction stops so that was pretty cool. We also passed The Big Crab and, you guessed it, took a photo.
We arrived at the Gladstone marina with time to spare and relaxed while we waited for the rest of the passengers to show up. There were only 13 of us going out to the resort so the boat was pretty empty. Eric and I drank champagne and really enjoyed the two hour boat ride over to the Island.
When we arrived on the island we were sent straight to a briefing about turtles and birds and the national park we will be staying in for the next few nights. There are 100,000 birds living on the island which is 800 meters long and 300 meters wide. Let me tell you that is a lot of birds. The bird population consists of Rails, Gulls, Egrets, Doves, Kingfishers, Terns, Shearwaters, Plovers, Boobies and Muttuns.
We had lunch at the restaurant and decided to relax by the pool for a few hours and then go to dinner. The resort is all inclusive. We read mixed reviews online about the food so we had no idea what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised by the quality and choices on the menu. We had mussels, oysters and prawns for appetizers and kangaroo and barramundi for dinner. All of which were delicious. The best part was the lime tart, fresh fruit, Chantilly cream and caramelized oranges they brought us for dessert.
After dinner Eric and I took a walk to the beach to look for nesting turtles. We did not see any but we did enjoy an amazing lightning display off in the distance out over the ocean. There is a lot of phosphorescence in the water here. It was quite the show with the lightning in the background. There were hundreds of little crabs on the beach that were not shy about running over our feet. We are not allowed to use flash lights at the beach at night because it disturbs the turtles so we are standing out there in the dark and the crabs are running over our feet. It was a little creepy, especially with a 100,000 birds yammering in the trees behind us.
The Heron Island resort is campy and a little loud, due to the bird population, but super fun so far. We can’t wait to take advantage of all this Island has to offer. I cannot wait to get in the water tomorrow and see what the reef has to offer. I’ve heard rumors of a big reef in these parts.
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