Monday, December 26, 2005

The first day we toured Lake Wobby (the green water lake), went back for lunch, then went to Lake Mackenzie. I had a hard time believing that our monstrous tour bus would make it on the sand roads. We almost got stuck a couple of times, but managed it. To give you an idea how big this thing was, the wheel wells came up to about 4 feet.

On the way back I encountered this guy. Gina, this one is for you:


Lake Mackenzie was nice but very busy. The white sand was the finest I'd ever seen, making a good exfolliant and was claimed to be useful for cleaning silver. I tried snorkeling but didn't see much, just sun rays. I got harrassed by a musk duck, who thought it was his lake and his only.

We made a stop along the way to the lake at one of the older trees, the Maoris said it was a spiritual place. They deemed everything spiritual in some degree or another.

We were offered another walk, it was through what I imagine Eden must have been like. We were allowed to take water into our bottles from the creek, students having tested it for purity and it was as pure as it gets. It tasted wonderful, like the expensive bottled water in the store, only better.
Along the path was an old Giant Fern, the plant spiecies dating back to dinosaurs fossil records. It takes a very special environment to grow these things. Their branches are filled with water, which is what keeps them upright somehow.




We stayed at Eurong Beach Resort in dorm-style accommodations. First I was in with three Swiss girls who barely acknowledged me when they came into the room. A staff came by and asked if I wanted to bunk with Kerry. I said yes, even though it ment a less comfortable (top) bunk. The rooms were not air conditioned. My little portable battery operated fan came in handy. One of the girls snored. Kerry woke her up and startled her and let Kerry know she didn't appreciate it. But they were on another tour and we didn't see her after the morning. Kerry was originally put in a room with three French boys that were on our tour. She joked that her christmas wish came true ;).
I thought the food was really good. It was buffet style so I had to watch it kind of. I hadn't had any sweets the whole trip except for one mars bar, but the custard and apple cumble was more than I could resist.
The second day we drove up the sand highway. There were some oyster catchers along the beach, birds with disproportionately long black beaks. The night before we saw a female Dingo. It was running around the resort. It was the only one we saw the whole trip. We drove up to a place called Indian Head, the most rocky point (an old volcano) on the island. It had a lovely view and you could see mantas and sharks swimming below. It was a long way down and unguarded, so a bit nerve wracking to sit by the edge.

After Indian Head we went to Eli Creek, a deeper freshwater creek that you can swim/wade in with a good swift current. It dumps something like 900 million liters of water a day onto the beach. And there's a draught here on the coast. There are hundreds of these creeks, spilling pure water from the aquifers beneath. Seems it could be harvested somehow. But I'm sure it's all part of the delicate ecosystem there.

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