Lizard Island time.
Lizard Island
We went ashore last night for a sundowner with the other cruisers here in Watson’s Bay with many of them regular visitors to the island and some staying for months. You understand how small Australia is when you meet up with someone from our former home town in WA here on the beach at Lizard Island, incredible.
29/09/2019 Today we headed into shore to walk to the Research Centre here on the island. What a challenging walk through a very boggy track used by four wheel drives. After an hour of hiking through the wilderness we found the Research Centre but no staff working on a Sunday. There certainly must be a lot of work done here for long term protection of the reef, and read extracts from Captain Cook’s journal when he visited in 1770. Looking for an alternate route back, we headed back along the beach as the tide was low to the next bay. Then it was rock climbing to get to the next bay before finding a track to get us back towards Watson’s Bay. After two hours of trekking we made it back to the dinghy which by this time was sitting up on the beach as the tide had gone out, certainly getting our exercise.
Another night was had meeting more of the yachties on the beach last night for sundowner and what an interesting bunch of people. All have been long term travellers on their boats and regular visits to Lizard Island.
The last day of September and what a busy morning we awoke to. The barge arrived and was busy unloading cargo on the island resort beach, we were surrounded with very large fancy mother ships that accommodate guests heading out daily on the marlin boats to fish. The wind increased again today and is supposed to get stronger over the next few days so snorkelling is on hold. We went ashore and walked the Pandanus track plus a beach walk. The staff from the research centre were busy amongst the coral today. More boats departed today and some others arrived, quite a hive of activity for a remote island.
The first day of October and we were ready for the Cook’s Lookout, a challenging hike , from the beach at Watson’s Bay to the peak of the mountain some 359 metres. The walk was challenging to say the least with plenty of rock climbing. It certainly tested your fitness and proved the captain does have a heart after all. We reached the summit and took in the views over Watson’s Bay, the resort beach and Blue Lagoon. From this height you could see the line of the Barrier Reef, quite remarkable. It is amazing to learn that Captain Cook climbed this same summit in August 1770 to try and find an opening in the reef to sail the Endeavour out.
2/10/2019 The winds picked up overnight and will be strong for the next few days but we can’t let that stop us getting out. Today the Research Centre was running a guided tour so we headed into shore and trekked through the boggy sand track to the other side of the island. The tour was well worth it with a video on what the Research Station was about and a fantastic tour with the Research Director, Anne who has been here for 30 years. This time of year is quiet for Scientists but they are all due here in the next few weeks to carry on their work on the reef. Such valuable work, and makes you want to do more to keep the reef healthy and safe for the next generation to appreciate. All the scientists are volunteers and very passionate about their work. There are also volunteer geologists doing research into the first people here and how they lived on the island all those years ago. It was well worth the hard slog to get there and back to the dinghy.
The third day of October and we are still in a strong wind warning and will be for a few more days. The sun was still shining and we headed into shore for a walk on the beach and to do some snorkelling in the clam garden reef here in Watson’s Bay. You can understand where the name came from there are clams galore from small clams to the colourful giant clams. The reef is still regenerating from cyclones but the colours of the coral and fish were sensational and the clarity of the water makes the experience even better.
We have had really strong winds for several days and quite rough seas that made leaving Rhapsody quite uncomfortable so we have not done much over the past few days. Today, Sunday the winds have lightened off somewhat so we went ashore and walked across the island to Blue Lagoon. It was pretty windy and not really an inviting day for a swim but such a beautiful bay and not a soul in sight. The colour of the water is really stunning and complimented with the pure white sand and boulders it is a rather special place to enjoy.
7/10/2019 Monday morning and the winds have abated slightly and the sun is shining so time to get out and enjoy our last few days at Lizard Island. We went ashore in the dinghy and I am now used to putting on my wet weather jacket to get ashore dry, but the captain thought he would be a hero today. You guessed it not far from Rhapsody a lovely wave came over the dinghy and drenched the captain, he did not swear too much. We did the walk to Chinaman’s Ridge Lookout today. You get a great view of Watson’s Bay where we are anchored on one side of the ridge and the resort and beach on the other side. It is very picturesque with the water so clear you can see the patches of coral and the pure white sand, a very pretty view I must say. We then walked down the other side of the track to the Marlin Bar and beach before heading back up the ridge and down to the dinghy, the legs sure are getting stronger with all the trekking we are doing here.
It’s Tuesday and the winds are finally easing.
We headed across to the Marlin Bar last night in the dinghy for drinks and dinner with the other yachties. It was a really pleasant evening sitting out hearing all the adventures of these long time cruisers, and enjoyed a few drinks and a really nice meal before heading back to Rhapsody.
8/10/2019 Today we headed ashore for our final walk on Lizard Island as it looks like the wind conditions are going to be good for heading off tomorrow morning. We walked alongside the island runway and down to the most beautiful spot on the island, Blue Lagoon. We had been told there is another nice bay further along but a bit of a hike to get there so off we went. A bit of a hike was an understatement it was a mountain climb with a goat track and rocks with the odd marker of rubber thongs to keep you on track. The view from the top over Blue Lagoon on one side and Coconut Beach on the other was worth the climb. The walk back down was pretty tricky with plenty of challenges to get on to firm ground. It was a relief to get down and walk the short distance to another little lagoon and beach for a swim and a cold drink before the trek back to the dinghy.
Tonight we have been into the beach for our last sundowner with the yachties as we are heading south early tomorrow morning. They are such a great bunch of interesting people enjoying a really good life with not too much stress.