Australia 15 - Magnetic island, Whitsundays, Eungella and Harvey bay with the whales

This week is mostly about animals. As I had stayed in Cassowarry country in mission beach but did not see any of them, I looked at them in the zoo.

On Magnetic islands you can see Koalas, most of high up in the trees but my guide Siggi knew a place, where we came a bit closer. 

A nice sunset closed that day.

Next stop Airlie Beach to get on the sailboat. Due to a last minute change I ended up on the Eureka II, whose skipper Mal is also sailing races with her. We had great fun, as the wind was good. We made up to 11 knots and the wind on our way back had 20 to 25 knots with gusts up to 30. We had to sneak into the harbor between two storms but we made it almost dry. The beaches were fabulous. 

Due to the change I was a bit late to drive to Eungella. It was already dark, when I was climbing up the hill. I suddenly was foggy and the street was quite narrow. Hhmm, but I made it. It was cold up there, so I made use of the firewood, they provided.

On the next morning I got up early to watch the Platypuses (Schnabeltiere). They are difficult to catch on photos. You can't get close and they are really small.

The area has some really nice hiking and waterfalls 

and some more animals

 

(Well, this one is a bit older and got caught in stone)

From Eungella to Harvey bay it is a long drive with not so much to see in between. Highway 1 has a lot of signs to wake you up, remind you to take breaks and more. I understand, why.

Harvey bay is a great place for whale watching. You can see them quite close. We watched a Pod of four with a very active calf, that jumped all over the place. Again difficult to take pictures

Australia 15 - Kayaking around Hinchinbrook island

MKayaking is something, I started while I lived in the USA and whenever I have a chance, I try to go on the water. So I definitely wanted to do this on this trip as well and maybe a bit more. My research brought up a nice 3 day trip, which looked good, not too long, in case the camping on beaches would not fit me. But this trip was not secured. So the alternative was a 7 day trip with one 15 km leg over the open water. Quite a challenge but hey, that's a once in a lifetime chance. 

In the preparation meeting the first surprise was: I would be the only woman, going with 11 men. This turned out to be a great plus, always someone there to help, also with paddling.

The first day was hard but in the first night I slept soooo good. I did not know that a thermarest on sand can be so comfortable. 

The weather was great, the beaches just gorgeous, the paddling just right and the food, our guides cooked, was delicious. 

Camp

Lunch

Great sunsets

View from my tent

Getting ready for the last paddle from Dunk island back to mission beach

On the way we saw a whale with her calf. She was so close to our kayaks!

Australia 15 - 1st days - Great Barrier Reef, Cairns, Tablelands

The next part of my big adventure started on August 25th with a flight to Cairns. Arrival time next morning 4:30. Early enough to get on a tour to the Reef right away. A transfer boat with day trip snorchlers brought us to the boat on which I would stay for the night. As its low season, I had a kabin to myself. A real bed, a hot shower and great food, what more do you need? The option for four water sessions on both days (I used two each) a lot of colorful fish, Turtles, beautiful corals in all shapes and colors off course. What a great start.

After a night in Cairns I took over my rental car for the next three weeks. It should have been a Yaris size but they did not have such small cars, so the first try was a Corola. As the 24V did not work (an absolute must for charging) they switched me to an even bigger monster.

Luckily it has a backwards camera, so it's still OK.

From Cairns I drove to the tablelands, a nice and cool mountain area with rain forest, a lot of waterfalls even in the dry season and cows all over the place. An interesting mixture.

A nice place to stay (B&B Aussie style: you prepare your breakfast yourself) and nice company (a couple from Munich).