We’ve
been recommended not to miss this place and we were not disappointed, it is an outstanding
bay, with a nice little beach that you can’t reach at low tide as there is a
large fringing reef all along the coast. The beach has a little camping area
and a track to climb and check out the views on the other side of the island.
On the
next high tide we hoped on the dinghy and went to visit this nice little beach.
To our surprise we found the warnings not only about stingers (no surprise) but
crocs too! There are mangroves on one side of the island and that might appeal
to these salty creatures. Neither of them was on sight.
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| Be aware stingers and crocs |
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| A camping area |
Not
far, on the next bay is where James Cook University Research Station is. It’s just
a dinghy ride away and we decided to go and check it out.
The manager from the
station gave us a great welcome and a tour of their station which provides
facilities to the university students to work on their research projects. They
provide accommodation as well. We also met a girl currently working on a
project to find out more about a decease affecting some of the reef. All quite
interesting.
They told us to come back next day at low tide. With the full moon spring
tides, the low tide is indeed VERY low and you can walk around the reef to see the giant
clams out of the water, spitting water when you touch them. So we did as we were told and came back next day. Apart from the amazing clams we saw lots of rays and small sharks quietly
swimming in very shallow waters, as we stood very still for a while letting
them approach quite close to us. We were not able to do much about the ‘click’ noise of the
camera that scared them away in a big rush.
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| The very low tides and the reef |
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| Giant Clam |
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| Giant Clams are closed when out of the water |
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| Small clam opened, under water |
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| Many clams all together |
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| A small ray |
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| It'll grow bigger |
That night was a full moon night and a full moon eclipse
as well.
The night was incredible calm and clear as we witnessed the full moon
eclipse just on top of the island hills.
As the eclipse completes, the moon turns red, just a magical evening.
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| Moon eclipse starts |
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| A perfect red moon |
G.
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