townsville - day 18 - HINCHINBROOK ISLAND

Day 18 – 8 Sept

This morning I woke up at 6am, earlier than the other days. No one else was awake yet, so I went and sat by the waterfall for a bit and pondered about nothing much, as it was really too early to be thinking. Peter and I had a quick brekky of crackers w. PB&J and iced tea. We packed our things, wandered about for a bit, visiting the falls one more time, and then head out towards George Point. The couple from Brizzy, Dale and Suzy, caught up with us just past one of the swampy, magical areas – this is where Suzy and I decided that the fairies and goblins hang out :) And just then I saw my very first live Cane Toad!!! It was huge, in terms of toad sizes, but ended up jumping away just before we got a picture, drats! (Note: prior to Hinchinbroook, I saw about five dead, dried up cane toads at the side of the road one day while we were walking Honor’s dogs. And Peter was telling me about how some people make change purses out of cane toad skins, blech!)

After the final 7.5km (2.5 hr) walk today, we arrived at George Point. We had to walk most of the way along a super long (5km) beach. But no complaints here! There were so many sand dollars and beautiful shells that I had to keep stopping to check them out. The shells on Hinchinbrook are more beautiful than the shells I've seen anywhere else! We also had to cross the mouth where Mulligan Creek empties out into the ocean. There can be crocs in this area so we planned to cross when the tide was low/med. We also timed it to make our ferry home from GP at 11am. So off came the boots, out went the eyeballs (looking for crocs) and across the creek mouth we went. But no crocs. There was a bird further up the creek snacking on the local fishies, so we knew we were safe. It would have flown away if there was a croc around.

Wildlife seen from MF to GP:
- CANE TOAD!
- rainforest
- 5 creeks to cross, including one full of fairies and goblins
- Pitta (Pitta versicolor)
- emptied (i.e. dead) sand dollars, cone shell, spiral shells... and more!

In GP we met up with those four Aussie adventurers and Dale and Suzy. We all sat around chatting and snacking until Phil came with the ferry. That dude charged us $50 apiece for a 20-minute ride to Port Luncinda. What a steal. Good for him I suppose!

Once in PL we waited for about an hour for Nix to pick us up. I ended up walking around the park barefoot and napping on a park bench. Thank goodness no one thought I was homeless! Maybe I should have held out a paper cup anyway. I'm sure I smelled like I was homeless after not showering for 5 days! hahaha Okay, well there was a bit of 'cleaning' in the pools below the falls, but not with soap. Eh, details...

While we waited I ate half of Peter's grilled ham-n-cheese sandwich while on the swingset in the park. He was smart enough to search for some food and a drink - no drink for me but a coffee milk for him. A BIG difference from the coffee milk in RI, much better, with real coffee! It's like iced coffee but you can buy it pre-mixed in a cardboard milk container. Nix showed up with Kevin and we went for lunch at the local hotel restaurant. I wasn't really hungry so I just stole a few chips (fries) from P's plate. Then we drove back to Townsville.

That night Nix invited us to her place for dinner and footy (rugby). So we went home to P's mum's house, soaked our stinky clothes in the laundry, showered up and went to Nix's. It was my first footy night - so exciting! The N. Queensland Cowboys vs. the Canterbury (a suburb of Sydney) Bulldogs... and the Cowboys won!!!! It was pretty exciting! I think they won for me, as it was my first game. Oh and P's mum was at the stadium watching the game live with her oldie friends, even posh Monda! They love the footy. Dinner was a pork roast with roasted veggies. It was delicious, even though I don't usually like pork!

The funny thing about the Queenslanders who support the Cowboys is that when they hang signs up or write it on their front walls (brick walls around the front yard), they write 'Go The Cowboys!' instead of just 'Go Cowboys'. It drives me nuts, but I guess that's the way they do it around here! Perhaps I'll tell them how silly it sounds, but then again, who cares as long as they're supporting their team :)

Wildlife in Hinchinbrook that I forgot to mention:
SAND BUBBLER CRAB (Scopimera inflata)
- ID: body size to 12mm, sandy colored
- Habitat: wave-exposed and estuarine sandy beaches, intertidal zone. Endemic. E. Australia.
- Notes: 'Tympanum' (broad oval patch) on largest segment of each leg absorbs water from the air - an adaptation from spending long periods of time out of the water. Distinctive patterns of small sand balls radiating away from burrows, a result of feeding and burrow maintenance.

SULFER CRESTED COCKATOO (Cacatua galerita)
- ID: white, sulfer-yellow forward curving crest. Underwing and undertail washed yellow. 45-52cm.
- Habitat: wide-ranging in temperate to tropical climates
- Notes: extremely destructive to trees and farmlands, maintaining their beak lengths and sharpness on tree branches and eating freshly planted seeds from crop beds. Extremely loud call.