The Great Barrier Reef and Whitsunday Islands

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system in the Coral Sea off the coast of the state of Queensland in Australia. It stretches over 2300 km and is made up of 2900 individual reefs. It is the largest living structure on earth and is visible from space. The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and is listed as a World Heritage site.

The reef runs from the Cape York Peninsula in the north right down to Fraser Island in the south off the Queensland coast. While MacKay is officially in the central Great Barrier Reef region, there are no organised tours operating from MacKay. I imagine this is because the reef is too far away from the mainland at this point. Or it could be its close proximity to Airlie Beach where many licensed tours leave from. Airlie beach is the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands and the central Great Barrier Reef region. Captain James Cook named the islands as he believed he passed the area on Whitsunday or Pentecost, apparently he got it wrong but the name stuck.

Walking toward the boat to start our Great Barrier Reef experience 

Approaching the reef and pontoon

Just two hours drive north of MacKay, Airlie is easily reachable for a weekend. Since we were literally only sleeping and keeping a bag there, we chose to stay at the cheap and very central Magnums backpackers, in a twin room mind you, not an 8 bed dorm. As so aptly put by the Lonely Planet, Airlie is a backpacker’s good-time town of the highest order. The bars lining the main street were in full swing every night and as evidenced by the vomit in the mixed shared bathroom in the morning, quite a few revellers were staying at Magnums. It was a good reminder why we don’t usually stay at backpackers, especially with a shared bathroom. For us however, the main attractions were under the water.

My new motto!!

Magnums Backpacker Accommodation at Airlie Beach

We headed off bright and early on Saturday morning for a Cruise Whitsunday tour to the Hardy Reef, one of the outer reefs of the Great Barrier Reef. The tour departs from Airlie and arrives at Reefworld, a permanently anchored floating pontoon, 3 hours later after a pick up/drop off stop at Hamilton Island. It was pretty amazing approaching the reef, the boat is in the middle of the deep wide ocean and suddenly the shallow reef area appears. It’s pretty awesome. Upon arrival, we wasted no time and got straight into the water. The cruise company also offers optional extras such as a dive course, a semi-submersible boat trip, and helicopter flips over the reef including the famous and protected heart reef, but we were happy to snorkel and do our own thing in the water. It’s also really safe, there are lifeguards on duty all the time and the allowed snorkel area is roped off and has floating rest stops along the edges.

Swimming with a Humphead Wrasse

Queensland is home to stingers incl. box jellyfish hence the very attractive stinger suits. Stinger suit in Queensland, burkini everywhere else in the world! 

The tide was relatively high when we arrived so we were able to snorkel over the top of the reef. It was the first time we had been to a deep ocean reef with a reef wall descending into the ocean and this was definitely the more interesting part to swim around. We saw loads of coral, lots of fish, giant clams of all sizes including some massive ones, and two feather star starfish, a black one and a maroon-red one. The different types of coral were amazing and huge individual ones. There were lots of fish but not that many different types but it was fun swimming in a big school of fish. Our favourite fish was the Mãori or Humphead Wrasse. They are super friendly curious fish and know the diving photographers carry food! He was happy to stick around for a while and be gently positioned for photos. This area is also known for the Queensland Giant Grouper but we didn’t see any. After a lunch break on the pontoon the tide had dropped quite a lot, it was not possible to snorkel over the top of the reef anymore, but the sunlight could penetrate deeper into the reef wall so we could see more. We had four hours at the reef but this went by super quickly and soon it was time to head back. We really wanted to see and swim with a turtle but we didn’t see any while in the water. As we walked back on to the boat from the pontoon we spotted chunky, the resident turtle named for the chunk missing from his shell, snacking on growth on the underside of the pontoon. We didn’t get to swim with him but were happy to see him.

The permanent floating pontoon.

Leaving the reef at low tide. 

Cruising through the Whitsunday Islands

Hamilton ISlands

Sunset in the Whitsundays

On the Sunday we booked an Ocean Rafting trip around the Whitsunday Islands. This company prides itself on providing the ride of your life in their semi-rigid inflatable boats and two days of exploring in one. They offer two tours which are the same except one has more beach time and the other more snorkel time, we chose the tour with more snorkel time. The day started with an exhilarating hour boat ride to Whitsunday Island, the largest of the group of 74 islands. We were dropped off at Tongue Bay and did a mini-bush walk to the top of Tongue Point for amazing views over the famous Hill Inlet and Whitehaven Beach. Whitehaven beach is 7 km long and is made up of 98% silica giving it a bright white colour. As the tide rises and falls the white sand is swirled and blends and ripples with the turquoise water to provide the most breath taking views. Because the movement of the sand is dependent on the tide, the inlet never looks the same twice. After soaking in the views there was free time to enjoy the beach and swim in the tranquil waters and enjoy a picnic lunch on the beach.

At Tongue Bay on Whitsunday Island

View of Hill Inlet from Tongue Point

View of Whitehaven Beach from Tongue Point

Our Ocean Rafting boat

Boibs at Hill Inlet

The Ocean Rafting boats

Whitehaven Beach

Justin enjoying a float

From Whitehaven Beach we were whisked away to two snorkel spots. The first snorkel spot was all about the fish and we enjoyed swimming with another large Mãori Wrasse and a Giant Trevally. The second snorkel spot was all about the coral, wow, so many different kinds and all colours concentrated in one small spot, simply amazing. Bron had a sunblock-in-eyes emergency during the second snorkel and had to go back to the boat to flush it out so she missed most of the snorkel time but did manage to get back into the water for a highlights package swim with Justin before being called back to the boat. The day ended with an hour boat ride back to Airlie Beach and then it was time to drive back to MacKay. After a long day in the sun we were glad it was only two hours!

We feel super blessed for this amazing weekend away and for the opportunity to visit the Great Barrier Reef and Whitsunday Islands. And for the opportunity to visit the Great Barrier and Ningaloo reefs within 4 months of each other. They are different from each other but both are just amazing and definitely worth the effort to visit. We found Ningaloo at Exmouth to have more fish, in number, size and variety, but the part of the central Great Barrier Reef that we visited had more amazing coral structures. Ningaloo also has the annual Whale Shark migration and it’s possible to see whales seasonally at both reefs. Airlie Beach is definitely party central whereas one can enjoy hiking and all the Australian wildlife in the Cape Range National Park at Exmouth. If you can’t choose, go to both, it’s well worth the effort.  

See you on the other side of a week in Singapore with the Finnemore Four followed by Christmas in Perth! Can’t wait!!! 

Platypus and Kangaroos

What to do when you find yourself in Northern Queensland for a few weeks? Go exploring of course!

Northern Queensland is probably the furthest in Australia you can travel from Perth. It’s a whole day of travelling by plane, but it sure is worth it. Top attractions in Queensland are the beaches, islands, rainforests, and the Great Barrier Reef. There are some special National Parks with some great wildlife too.

Justin has done a lot of travelling for work this year and this time he has been seconded to the port in MacKay (pronounced Mac-Kai) in Northern Queensland for a few weeks and since it is a longer time, Bron was able to join him. The work weeks were pretty standard but the weekends were crammed with exploring.

MacKay is located on the banks of the Pioneer River about 1000 km north of Brisbane and has a population of about 120 000 people. MacKay is the sugar capital of Australia growing more than a third of the country’s sugar cane. One doesn’t have to go far out of the city to see fields and fields of cane at every stage of growth and the farms stretched all the way to Airlie Beach and Eungella, as far north and west as we went. It gave us a very South Coast of Durban feel with the humidity and all the cane. MacKay is also the gateway to the Bowen Basin coal mining reserves with two bulk coal terminals at Hay Point just south of MacKay.

The view from our apartment at high and low tide

Highlights of things we did in MacKay itself are:

The Bluewater Trail – a ~20 km pedestrian and cycle path circling the city including paths along the river, through the botanical garden and along the ocean front. Bron enjoyed walking an 8 km stretch from the apartment on weekday afternoons.

Queen’s Gardens – Apart from the Orchid House we didn’t see much happening here, mostly seemed to be centred around a cricket oval with no game on that day.

Orchid House – Located in the Queen’s Gardens and the most beautiful and diverse collection of orchids we have seen. Every size, shape, and colour you can imagine. It helped that they were mostly all still in flower. We were pleasantly surprised by this great find in the city.

Farmer’s Market – All of 6 stalls on a Wednesday afternoon but great for fresh local produce.

Northern Beaches – Specifically the 6 km Black’s Beach we frequented on the weekends (well, the ones we were actually in town for, lol) and Town Beach, right next to the port and marina. Bron would drop Justin at the marina in the morning and then enjoy an 8 km walk (return) on Town Beach 3 to 4 times a week.

The Pioneer River at Finch Hatton

Ring of Fire Cascades at Finch Hatton Gorge

Boibs at Finch Hatton

View of the Pioneer Valley

Exploring outside of the city started in the Pioneer Valley at Finch Hatton Gorge about an hours drive west of MacKay where the swimming holes are popular with locals in the summer. A 1.6 km path through sub-tropical forest leads to the Araluen Cascades and a further 1.4 km ends at the Wheel of Fire Cascades so named for the red flowers that bloom here in the spring. A swim after the walk would have been very welcome however the water was still really cold given how hot it was outside. The rocks were also super slippery, getting in and out accident free would be a challenge.

Further down the track from Finch Hatton is Eungella National Park (pronounced young-gella). We were hoping to do some of the walking trails here as well but they seemed closed off and didn’t correlate with the map we had. Instead we settled down for some wild platypus spotting.

Walking in Eungella National Park

Australian Brush Turkey 

(with about the same amount of brain as a guinea fowl)

Real wild platypus!!

The Broken River than runs through the park is one of the most reliable places to spot wild platypus in Australia. Platypus along with 4 species of echidna are the only 5 living species of monotremes, mammals that lay eggs. Platypus may seem a little confused with a bill like a duck, a tail like a beaver and feet like an otter, but these features give them great advantage in the water. Platypus are great swimmers and we enjoyed watching one dive and swim fast to the bottom to forage and then bob back up to the surface again. Male platypus grow to around 50 cm and weigh between 1.2 and 2.4 kg while female platypus grow to around 40 cm and weigh between 0.7 and 1.6 kg. They also have a venom-injecting spur on the hind foot making them one of few venomous mammals. The platypus we saw was about 30 cm long and looked very sweet and friendly. Platypus are very shy animals and we feel privileged to have spotted one in the wild. There were also a few fresh-water turtles of various sizes swimming and floating around that were fun to watch.

Kangaroos and wallabies on the beach at Cape Hillsborough National Park

Cape Hillsborough National Park is about 45 min drive north of MacKay and is the perfect spot to snag that iconic Australian photo of kangaroos on the beach. Only catch is you have to be there at sunrise which can be somewhat of a challenge if you are not camping in the park. The first time we arrived 10 min before sunrise at 05:30 only to discover the kangaroos all left the beach at sunrise. Fail. The second time we arrived on the beach at 04:50 in complete darkness (yes, we were are crazy enough to go twice). The Roos are so quiet, you don’t know they are there at all until it starts to get light. The smaller wallabies were very skittish but the larger kangaroos were very chilled and stayed around much longer. They appear to forage in the sand looking for snacks and also eat the vegetation on the edge of the beach.

Views from the lookouts at Cape Hillsborough

Boibs at Cape Hillsborough

The incoming rain

After the roos all left we enjoyed a long walk on the beach and along a trail to lookouts over the bay where we spotted turtles in the water below. The second time the tide was low enough to walk across to the nearby island. There was also fresh turtle tracks and a turtle nest on the beach the second time, their fifth nest of the season, we were so excited to see it. It was wonderful to enjoy the beach mostly to ourselves and so early in the morning before it got too hot. After the beach it was tea and scones time at the Old Station Teahouse near the park followed by a long afternoon nap!

See you next time for more MacKay adventures! 

The beach at Cape Hillsborough National Park

Boibs at Cape Hillsborough

Box Jellyfish are a real concern here in Queensland and all the beaches have a sign like this.

Please don't get stung by a box jelly! 

Wave Rocking

It was the Queen’s Birthday long weekend recently and a great opportunity to escape the city for a few days. The destination: Wave Rock near Hyden.

Hyden is a small farming community in the wheat belt area about 300 km south-east of Perth that also benefits from the tourism of Wave Rock. There is more than one way to get there and we chose a different route for each direction of the journey to maximise sight-seeing of the area. On the way there we drove via York, Quairading, Bruce Rock, and Narambeen. It was really beautiful driving through the bushland reserve area of the Perth Hills and into the open farmlands. It is wildflower season and everything is green and lush with all the rain we have had. There are multiple rock formations in the wheat belt area and our first stop was Kokerbin Rock 40 km west of the town of Bruce Rock.

Kokerbin Rock is the third largest granite monolith in Australia with Uluru being the largest. Many of these rock formations have special significance for the Nyoongar people, the Aboriginal community of South West Australia. Many are also surrounded by preserved bushland and some have picnic and camping facilities. At Kokerbin it is possible to clamber up to the top of the rock and enjoy views out over the farmlands. It would be easy to think that these large rocks would be of a standard uniform shape and be all smooth with round edges. They are actually all very different and have many features that distinguish them apart. They can also have valleys and cracks in them and we were surprised to see so much vegetation growing on them in patches from mosses and small plants to large trees. Kokerbin Rock was a great rest stop in our journey and we loved being the only two people exploring the top of this massive rock.

Views over the farm lands from Kokerbin Rock

Boibs at Kokerbin Rock

From Kokerbin Rock we continued on to Hyden with the last stop of the day being the Rabbit Proof Fence. This State Barrier Fence was constructed between 1901 and 1907 in a desperate attempt to keep rabbits and other agricultural pests from the east spreading to Western Australia. There are 3 fences in different areas stretching over 3256 km. Gate 54 of the north to south No. 1 Fence is 50 km from Hyden so we stopped off to see it on the way into town. We’re not sure how effective the fence was but it was interesting to see it all the same.

The Number 1 Rabbit Proof Fence

Hyden is a real sleepy hollow and there wasn’t much happening or open over the long weekend apart from a music festival at the Wave Rock Caravan Park right next to Wave Rock. The festival goers seemed to stick to the camp site though so we hardly noticed it at all. However, we did get up early on Sunday morning to beat the no doubt hungover festival goers to the rock and mostly succeeded.

Wave rock forms the north side of the granite hill of Hyden Rock. The wave is 15 m high and 110 m long. Its wave-like shape is caused by weathering and water erosion resulting in an undercut base and a rounded overhang. The colourful stripes are a result of water dripping over the rock dissolving the minerals. We enjoyed a lovely fresh morning ‘surfing’ the wave, walking over the top of Hyden Rock and to nearby Hippo’s Yawn, and a 3km loop to the salt water Magic Lake. We returned at the end of the day for sunset at the top of the rock and definitely stood out amongst the festival goers. Apparently an animal pattern onesie is the current festival must-have item.

Wave Rock!

Justin surfing Wave Rock

Some of the gulleys and vegetation on top of Hyden Rock

An interesting boulder on top of Hyden Rock

Walking around the side of the rock

Cracked granite

Hippo's Yawn

Walking loop to the salt water Lake Magic

From Wave Rock we continued to The Humps and Mulka’s Cave, another rock formation in the area. The Humps is another granite rocky outcrop about 15 km from Wave Rock and Mulka’s Cave is at the base of the rock. The cave takes its name from the Aboriginal legend associated with it and is a protected area for the Aboriginal hand stencil paintings present in the cave. We enjoyed a long walk clambering up and over the rock, admiring the views and the large interesting boulders strewn over the top of the rock. The Humps was probably our favourite rock of the weekend.

Views from The Humps

Interesting boulders on top of The Humps

Aboriginal hand paintings in Mulka's Cave

View from Wave Rock at sunset with The Humps in the background

In the afternoon we spent some time admiring the Hyden Metal Street Art. The figures are creatively and cleverly made from scrap farm metal and tell the story of the town’s history from being traditional Aboriginal land, to the arrival of loggers, to the start of farming, the mechanisation and electrification of the town, and diversifying into tourism. It’s a very clever and creative display and we enjoyed perusing it.

Hyden Metal Street Art

Pot plants at the Hyden Motel

Monday was a public holiday and time to head back to Perth. We drove back a different route via Kondinin (small but proud), Kulin, Corrigin, Brookton and Armadale. Before Kulin we made a small detour to Buckley’s Breakaway, an interesting landform where white cliffs and gullies have been formed from the underlying clay by erosion of the top layer of orange laterite. Definitely worth a stop!

Buckley's Breakaway

From Buckley’s Breakaway we continued on to Kulin and the highlight of the area: The Tin Horse Highway. This clever community art project is a display of tin horses of all shapes and sizes made from scrap farm metal to highlight the Bush Races weekend every spring. Some of the horses are really creative and we enjoyed some good laughs on the 20 km stretch. A must see in the area. The rest of the trip was filled with rolling fields full of yellow wildflowers (and the occasional field of canola) as if straight from a postcard, so beautiful.

Some of our favourites from the Tin Horse Highway at Kulin

All in all it was a great long weekend away and a refreshing break from the city.

It was also a big weekend on the family front with Daniella’s first birthday on Saturday, Bron’s brother Craig’s birthday on Sunday, and young Joshua’s first day of nursery school on Monday!

Until next time xxx