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