Where are the dinosaurs

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11/12/06 - 14/12/06

One of the standard tourist stops on Australia’s east coast is Fraser Island. It’s the largest sand island in the world and heritage listed. We stayed in Hervey Bay and took the early ferry over for a day tour, managing to spot a couple of dolphins off the back of the boat as crossed Platypus Bay. Seat belts on the 4WD bus were essential as the bus bounced along on the sandy tracks, crossing the island.

The 75-mile beach on the east coast of the island is a national highway as well as an airstrip. We passed Eli creek where 4 million liters of fresh water an hour rushes out into the sea. Supposedly the aquifer fresh water system within the island holds 20 times more water than Sydney Harbour! Ironically, Cook passed the island without landing, assuming that no fresh water would be available there.

We took a short 30 minute scenic flight gave us a view of some of the fresh water lakes from above and then headed back to the ground to go swimming in one of them - Lake Mackenzie, marveling at the clear water and perfect sand. There are no rocks on Fraser island, although it appears there are - coffee rock, which is the hardened debris of plant matter - years later it will eventually turn to coal.

Back on the mainland, we scooted past the interestingly named, Tin Can Bay to stay at Rainbow Beach, where we pic-nicced for breakfast on strawberries, and then headed for the Glasshouse Mountains. The Glasshouse Mountains are described in the Lonely Planet guide as a Jurassic park like landscape

Named, after Cook (being from Yorkshire) wrote in his journal;

“These hills lie but a little way inland, and not far from each other: they are remarkable for the singular form of their elevation, which very much resembles a glass house, and for this reason I called them Glass Houses”

They were formed of rhylite and trachtyte, lavas which hardened inside the vents of volcanoes that have been greatly reduced by about 25 million years of erosion. Of course there is a completely different Aboriginal story for their creation, which is too long to recount here. Either way, they are beautifully scenic.

The Australia zoo in Beerwah is the original home of the late Steve Irwin. We walked a long line of memorial poems, signed khaki shirts and inflatable crocodiles underneath his stomping ground - the Crocseum. It was a bit strange to see staff dressed with giant Steve-o heads on for the kids only 3 months after he passed away but I guess that the family have decided that they want to carry on his work as much as possible.

The zoo is also planning a memorial to Harriet, the Giant Galapagos Land Tortoise, who was taken from the Galapagos islands in the 1830s by Charles Darwin, and after a spell in England, was taken to Australia. She only died in June this year, making her over 175.

I managed to sneak a small glimpse of a Tasmanian Devil and the animal I really wanted to see, the modern day dinosaur, a Komodo Dragon. The highlights of our visit though were a porn-star kangaroo (see photos) and the amazingly colourful birds.

At last, after 2 months in Australia, Jen managed to cuddle a koala (the main purpose for our trip to the zoo). The staff declined her request to take it home.

Finally, we headed off from the zoo - we would have loved more time with the zoo, but we had an evening appointment in Brisbane Suncourt Stadium with a Mr. Robbie Williams.

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Photos

The wreck of the Maheno
Fraser Island

Crystal clear waters
Lake MacKenzie, Fraser Island

Common Wombat
at the Australia Zoo

Ducks
at the Australia Zoo

Jen and Roo
at the Australia Zoo

Robbie
in the Suncourt Stadium, Brisbane