As well as whales, we were able to see plenty of other wildlife including turtles, dolphins and kangaroos.
This week was a real adventure for me - my first visit to North Stradbroke Island and my first time joining my walking group for their annual whale watching pilgrimage to Straddie. We caught an early morning ferry for a smooth crossing, then drove from Dunwich to Point Lookout on the east coast. We parked the cars and carried our day's supplies of tables, chairs, food and drink for quite some distance along a wooden board walk and down a large set of stairs to a rocky outcrop, which proved to be a perfect viewing platform for whale watching. North and South Stradbroke Islands were initially joined together but separated in 1895 after a violent storm created the passage between known as Jumpinpin. North Stradbroke Island covers an area of 275.2 square km. It is the world’s second largest sand island and forms part of the Moreton Bay Marine Park. Minjerribah is the traditional Aboriginal name for the island. At this time of year humpback whales are migrating north to more tropical waters and we were treated to a steady parade of these spectacular creatures close to the coast of the island. Some were swimming lazily, others were in a frolicking mood, putting on some wonderful displays of tail slapping and leaping and breaching. A few were even swimming with babies, having already given birth before reaching the northern warmer waters. As well as whales, we were able to see plenty of other wildlife including turtles, dolphins and kangaroos.
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Gold Creek Reservoir is located in Upper Brookfield in Brisbane’s western suburbs and this week we hiked around it, excited to have found a new trail close to the city. The dam is Queensland's second oldest, constructed in 1886 to supplement Enoggera Dam It was extensively refurbished in 2005 and is the world’s first un-reinforced concrete stepped spillway. The lake is quite small with a catchment area of just 10.5km2 and holds 801 megalitres of water at full supply. At the foot of the dam is a picnic area, a public toilet and an information board. After morning tea and a quick walk up the top of the dam earth wall, we set off to follow the walking track circuit. The bushland surrounding Gold Creek is part of the D'Aguilar National Park and contains plants and wildlife of regional biodiversity significance. We decided to follow the track in an anti-clockwise direction to complete the steepest sections first. The track was fairly narrow and quite steep at times, but the spectacular lake views were quite something. We passed through tall eucalypt forests with pickets of rainforest plants in the more protected gullies. After completing the 5 kilometre circuit we had a picnic lunch, then decided to clock up another 5 kilometres by following the nearby Moggill Creek Bikeway along the river. All in all, another great hiking day in perfect Qld. winter weather. Who could ask for more?
Most of us were present this week, so a lot of catching up chatter went on as we walked a 12 kilometre bike path around Ashgrove. After a delicious morning tea picnic in the winter sunshine at the park off Simpsons Road in Bardon, we cheerily set off. We mostly stuck to the path, but got a little bit lost and went bushbashing at times. We even had a few pleasant surprises such as finding interesting artworks, a fridge full of books, and an invitation to sit in a lovely area created by David Engwicht of Creative Communities Intl. He has been making a neighbourhood space at his property for a over a decade. The latest addition is ‘Civosity Park’ which overlooks the Ithaca Creek and cycleway. For some great videos about David and his ideas, click here. The TEDX talk is particularly interesting. I wish he would come to Beenleigh and work his magic on the soulless town square. After completing our walk we eventually found a cafe in Paddington where we enjoyed a lovely lunch and glass of wine. Still delighted to be finding such interesting walks around Brisbane.
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