We left Bargara for Gladstone, three hours north, where we
caught the ferry, a 34-m (112-ft) catamaran, for Heron Island on the Great
Barrier Reef. We were going to spend a week at the Delaware North resort (link). Heron Island is in the Capricorn-Bunker Group of islands in the southern
part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. They form the Capricornia Cay
National Park, so named because the 15 islands straddle the Tropic of Capricorn
where temperate and tropical waters meet. From a distance, Heron Island is a
small (0.29 square kilometers, 0.11 square miles), undistinguished, sand cay (key)
covered with vegetation, but it sits on the leeward edge of a thriving 27
square kilometers (10 square miles) coral reef platform.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Friday, September 2, 2016
Beyond Brisbane
From Brisbane we drove north to Rainbow Beach, which is named for the
brightly-colored cliffs rising behind the narrow beach. This small, busy town
on the Coral Sea caters to campers, fishermen, kayakers, surfers and beachgoers.
Before 1969, it could only be reached by boat. After the road was built, the name
was changed from Black Beach to Rainbow Beach (link).
Rainbow Beach |
Labels:
Australia,
Bargara,
Barolin Rock,
beach,
birds,
Captain James Cook,
coral reef,
diving,
eucalyptus,
fish,
hiking,
Inskip Point,
parks,
Queensland,
Rainbow Beach,
sand blow,
sea snake,
Town of 1770
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