Australia – Frankland Islands

What a fantastic day. Up early again and picked up by Frankland Island Reef Cruises. We boarded a boat on an esturine river. This was a really well organised trip, the crew quickly tailored the tour as best they could for each person and there were about 15 people on this tour. Dad was whisked away up to a deck that said ‘crew only’ and was viewing the river for birds. I was down stairs having a briefing for snorkeling.

I joined Dad on deck with a cup of tea. It was fantastic moving on the river with tall mangrove on either side and then heading out into the sea and across to the Frankland islands, which are a mixture of islands and Cays (I’ll explain in a bit) on the Great Barrier Reef about 10k off shore.
We landed at Normamby Island. its a beautiful Wooded Coral Cay.

We had it exclusively to our tour. Dad stayed in the shade and I went with a group, snorkeling with the marine biologist Alex. I snorkeled for an hour looking at the amazing corals and the masses of fish and although I can tell a wrass and parrot fish, I had to ask about everything else and only remember the coral trout and damselfish. The corals were hard corals so have a hard structure. There were so many different types, they looked like bright coloured cactus to me. ( I will get pictures up but they are on a data stick at present and not compatible with my phone). There were giant clams, that are huge and can live up to 50 years of age. The corals weren’t that high on this side of the island as it was quite shallow. Alex explained about the bleaching of the coral and there was a little evidenced of this but, she went on to say this reef was healthy for now. When I got back to shore Dad had been birdwatching and chatting to people. After a short rest I went with a small group and Alex to the other side of the island in a boat. The water is deeper here and with more current and it was just spectacular! Finding Nemo came to life. The reefs here were towering, colossal structures. I saw white tipped reef shark, a huge spotted catfish, and three green turtles, shoals of barracuda and of course, Nemo the clown fish. The corals had grown around and engulfed some of the clams and there were anemones everywhere. It was a wonderful experience.
After a lunch of roast vegetables, salads, pasta, meats, prawns and fresh fruit (all yummy), a crew member came and took dad to see a huge turkey nest. There is one turkey on this island and it has made a four foot high mound of sticks, with an indent to sit on. The turkey was nowhere to be seen and with a nest that size I wondered how big the bird was.
Alex took us on a guided walk around the island and explained how the islands were created, I’ll put that in a separate blog.
Dad and I saw Sooty Oystercatcher, Osprey, Varied Honey Eater (that was a pain to identify as there are about 28 types in this part of Australia).

Apparently I’m travelling with David Attenborough! I had no idea, perhaps I should curtsey! Dad got the nick name from chap who spent a good deal of time talking to us and showing us footage of platypus he had seen in Yungaburra, where we are off to soon.
On the way back we saw a saltwater crocodile sat log-like on the bank looking sinister and brooding

After such a full-on day Dad and I ambled into town for dinner and found a Bush Stone Curlew wandering down the street! It was on our wanted list but never imagined it would be in the city. We saw it again in the way back dodging the traffic.