Catching Up

Sorry the blog has been so sparse lately. As I said, there is only one machine for Internet access here and it is usually in use and has a line of people waiting.

Here is Heron Island, one of the Capricorn Islands. It's about 30 miles off shore and contains a resort, a research station, and a national park. The resort is an interesting mix of rustic comfort, summer camp atmosphere, and incredible service. My room looks out over the reef and the sounds of the waves and the nobby terns are the only ones I hear. The guests run the gamut from singles to newlyweds to young families to older couples. They come from pretty much all over the world. Food is of mixed quality. Breakfast is lousy. Lunch is pretty good. Both are done buffet style. Dinner is good and dessert better. The chef has a way with chocolate. The first night there was a rich chocolate creme brulee and yesterday's lunch had a chocolate mousse worthy of Julia Child.

Accommodations are in small buildings. The lowest level rooms are in small one story buildings with two units per building. These are about 200 yards from the beach. My room is on the second floor of a two story building. It's fairly comfortable, but far from luxurious. The only TV on the island is in the bar. The bar does some really good alcohol-free drinks. Yesterday I had a mintlip: crushed mint, lime juice, gingerale, and soda water. Probably the most refreshing drink I've ever had.

The main attraction of the island is the reef. On Thursday, I went on a snorkel trip. Mask trouble made it less than spectacular. I did see many kinds of fish I'd never seen before. Yesterday morning, I took the semi-submersible and it was great. We saw a turtle, a couple of manta rays and uncountable eagle rays. Tons of fish and coral as well. In the afternoon, I went on the very informative reef walk.

My new obsession is clams. The ones here are nothing like the ones in the US. These look more like giant scallops. Each one is different and the range of colors is amazing. I've been taking tons of photos of them so someday you'll see what I mean.

A couple of side notes. The drive up from Hervey Bay was a long non-scenic trip. The bright spot was a general store that had a very sweet Siamese kitten. Last night, I had a chat with an Aussie couple celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. We came to the inevitable topic of toilets. Yes, they do twirl clockwise here. These folks had been to the US and said that the first few days they were there, they thought the toilets were all broken. When Australian toilets have that much water in them, it means there's a problem. These folks didn't know what to do. Should they stand on the seat? Should they call housekeeping?

Last night's star gazing was cut a bit short by the brightness of the full moon making it impossible to see most of the constellations. We did see Scorpio, Libra, Chiron, and, of course, the southern cross. The woman who did the talk was very knowlegeable and lots of fun. The highlight was seeing a star that seemed to go by forever. It was almost like a comet dragging a long tail.

Today, I'll go for a beach snorkel and an afternoon boat snorkel. The water's cold enough that I'll be wearing a wetsuit. Rather uncomfortable and very unflattering, but the only way to stay in for any length of time.

Tomorrow will be taken up with moving on to Cairns. I'll try to write the day after when I get back from my trip out to the outer northern reef.