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| Redhead Beach |
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| Merewether Beach |
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| Birubi Beach |
Saturday 30 May 2015
Beaches of Newcastle
I'll let the photos speak for themselves...
Wednesday 20 May 2015
Birds of a feather
Having chickens is all part of living on a rural property. We have started with two, creatively named Brown chook and Light chook, and they are a delight to have around. They are inqusitive and like to follow me around in the garden, particularly light chook. Once brown chook realises what's going on, she races across the yard to join in. They often trot up to the front door to say hello, and look longingly through the slatted wooden fence into the kitchen garden: a no-go zone.
They also like to scratch around under the motorhome, gathering grease like true chook mechanics.
ISA Browns are popular for their good temperament; they are friendly and quiet mannered. They love being around people. They are also excellent layers, producing approximately 300 eggs each per year.
At the moment, only Light chook is laying: she was at the point of lay when she arrived, about 22 weeks. Brown chook is still a little young so we have to wait.
The chooks free range all day in the yard or in the adjacent dry-vine forest. Their diet is supplemented with a handful of protein-rich grain each morning and early evening, and some food scraps.
Once the light has faded, on cue they make tracks for their little house each night and nestle down in the mulch-filled boxes; sometimes sharing a box. They aren't into roosting as they like their comfortable bed! We lock them in overnight as we don't want pythons or Lace monitors getting too friendly.
After a fair bit of initial squabbling, the chickens are now living harmoniously with the family of Australian brush turkeys, who clean up what the chickens don't eat. The turkeys were such a nuisance; getting in the garden and scratching up all the dirt and any plants that weren't surrounded by large rocks, but now they have the chooks to distract them the garden is completely forgotten. For now anyway.
For a low maintenance, productive pet that makes you smile, you can't go past the ISA Brown chicken.
They also like to scratch around under the motorhome, gathering grease like true chook mechanics.
ISA Browns are popular for their good temperament; they are friendly and quiet mannered. They love being around people. They are also excellent layers, producing approximately 300 eggs each per year.
At the moment, only Light chook is laying: she was at the point of lay when she arrived, about 22 weeks. Brown chook is still a little young so we have to wait.
The chooks free range all day in the yard or in the adjacent dry-vine forest. Their diet is supplemented with a handful of protein-rich grain each morning and early evening, and some food scraps.
Once the light has faded, on cue they make tracks for their little house each night and nestle down in the mulch-filled boxes; sometimes sharing a box. They aren't into roosting as they like their comfortable bed! We lock them in overnight as we don't want pythons or Lace monitors getting too friendly.
After a fair bit of initial squabbling, the chickens are now living harmoniously with the family of Australian brush turkeys, who clean up what the chickens don't eat. The turkeys were such a nuisance; getting in the garden and scratching up all the dirt and any plants that weren't surrounded by large rocks, but now they have the chooks to distract them the garden is completely forgotten. For now anyway.
For a low maintenance, productive pet that makes you smile, you can't go past the ISA Brown chicken.
Saturday 9 May 2015
Mini 4WD Whitsunday adventure
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| Published in The Whitsunday Times, 7 May 2015 |
Thursday 7 May 2015
Whitsunday Sail and Snorkel
It was perfect Whitsunday dry season weather as we set out from Abell Point Marina last week: clear, blue skies, 15 knot south east breeze and 28 degrees Celsius. Perfect weather for a sail to Whitehaven Beach and The Great Barrier Reef.
With husband Gary at the helm it was a two hour sail on Emperors Wings, an 18 metre sailing catamaran, to our first snorkel at Blue Pearl Bay off Hayman Island. The late afternoon light and low tide provided good visibility of the various coral and fish close to shore. The water temperature was about 27 degrees Celsius making it very comfortable to stay in the water as the day faded away.
A sunset cruise to Hook Passage had us rounding the southern end of Hook Island, past the sheltered waters of Nara and Macona Inlets displaying several white dots of masthead lights, before dropping our own anchor for the night on the north eastern tip of Whitsunday Island.
It was dark when the alarm went off the next morning and we pulled up the anchor to head to 'the beach'. The sun rising over Border and Dumbell Islands lit the water and the tips of the majestic hoop pines that cling to the rocky edges of the islands.
The anchor was dropped in Tongue Bay for a 7am breakfast before being ferried in the dinghy by the skipper to Whitsunday Island National Park.
It's a short walk through dry vine forest, pandanus and palms across to the silica white sand of Betty's Beach, which faces the seven kilometre silica white sand stretch of Whitehaven Beach, one of the world's best beaches, and the beach that every tourist to the Whitsundays wants to visit.
After frolicking in the sand and aquamarine waters it was another short walk up a steady incline to Hill Inlet lookout. This is the postcard view, and although the high tide didn't quite have the same striking effect of wavy sweeping streaks of white interspersed among the blue, it's still a beautiful vista.
Lunch was on board as we made the three hour sail to Bait Reef, the closest outer reef in the Whitsundays area. With the wind astern and the tide ebbing in our direction (north), it was a relaxing journey as we left the islands behind us.
Again, the afternoon light enhanced the colours of both soft and hard corals, and lit up the fish as they darted all around me. The water was crystal clear; it was stunning. I could see the sandy bottom and, if you know what to look for, sting rays resting on the bottom camouflaging themselves with sand. It was low tide so I could almost touch the coral; leather coral, sea fans, plate and brain coral. There were hundreds of different fish, and lots of schools of fish, including iridescent Damselfish, blue-green Chromis, Tomato Clownfish, 7-banded Angelfish, multi coloured Parrot Fish, and yellow spotted Boxfish. There were moray eels, green sea turtles, reef sharks, blue spotted rays, blue star fish and the very small but striking nudibranchs. The list goes on, and it's time I bought myself an underwater camera to capture the wonder of The Great Barrier Reef.
Our boat was the only man-made structure for as far as the eye could see, and we were surrounded by reef and the Coral Sea with only an outline of the Whitsunday Islands in the distance off to the east. To spend a night on the reef is special: bobbing around in the lagoon, stargazing and being rocked to sleep.
An early morning snorkel of the Stepping Stones surpassed all expectations. I could have snorkelled all day but we needed to head back to shore. So, we dropped the mooring and hoisted the head sail for the three hour journey to Langford Island for the final snorkel of the trip. The tide and wind were against us this time, so it was a little rough for some of the passengers as we crossed the open water from the reef to the shelter of the Whitsunday islands.
The wind dropped as we took up a mooring alongside Langford Island, also a national park, consisting of a small timbered outcrop with fringing reef and a lengthy sand spit depending on the tide level. There are scattered coral bommies surrounded by abundant fish life that run parallel to the beach, making it an easy snorkel in the shallows.
Two hours sailing and we were back in civilisation and Abell Point Marina, bringing to a close a wonderful three day two night sailing and snorkelling adventure in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
With husband Gary at the helm it was a two hour sail on Emperors Wings, an 18 metre sailing catamaran, to our first snorkel at Blue Pearl Bay off Hayman Island. The late afternoon light and low tide provided good visibility of the various coral and fish close to shore. The water temperature was about 27 degrees Celsius making it very comfortable to stay in the water as the day faded away.
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| Dinghy lesson, Blue Pearl Bay |
It was dark when the alarm went off the next morning and we pulled up the anchor to head to 'the beach'. The sun rising over Border and Dumbell Islands lit the water and the tips of the majestic hoop pines that cling to the rocky edges of the islands.
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| Sunrise over Border and Dumbell Islands |
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| Tongue Bay, a popular anchorage for Hill Inlet Lookout walk |
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| Betty's Beach |
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| Northern tip of Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet |
Again, the afternoon light enhanced the colours of both soft and hard corals, and lit up the fish as they darted all around me. The water was crystal clear; it was stunning. I could see the sandy bottom and, if you know what to look for, sting rays resting on the bottom camouflaging themselves with sand. It was low tide so I could almost touch the coral; leather coral, sea fans, plate and brain coral. There were hundreds of different fish, and lots of schools of fish, including iridescent Damselfish, blue-green Chromis, Tomato Clownfish, 7-banded Angelfish, multi coloured Parrot Fish, and yellow spotted Boxfish. There were moray eels, green sea turtles, reef sharks, blue spotted rays, blue star fish and the very small but striking nudibranchs. The list goes on, and it's time I bought myself an underwater camera to capture the wonder of The Great Barrier Reef.
Our boat was the only man-made structure for as far as the eye could see, and we were surrounded by reef and the Coral Sea with only an outline of the Whitsunday Islands in the distance off to the east. To spend a night on the reef is special: bobbing around in the lagoon, stargazing and being rocked to sleep.
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| Bait Reef |
The wind dropped as we took up a mooring alongside Langford Island, also a national park, consisting of a small timbered outcrop with fringing reef and a lengthy sand spit depending on the tide level. There are scattered coral bommies surrounded by abundant fish life that run parallel to the beach, making it an easy snorkel in the shallows.
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| Black Island with Langford sand spit in foreground |
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| Wings II and Emperors Wings, Hook Passage |
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