Day Four

We actually sleep until about 5:30 am. Miriam has her first practice and needs to meet the shuttle bus at 7:10 am. I cook Australian bacon and eggs. Australian bacon is excellent; thick and ham-like, with good flavor. Miriam goes to practice. I edit photos, do my first post to the blog and practice dobro.

Miriam gets back from practice and we catch the shuttle to our mid-day kayak trip to Bridie Island. Bridie Island is a sand island; it has no rocky substrate, and is constantly creeping about. But its about 25 miles long, and has a small city of about 12 thousand people at its South end.

We put in near downtown; the water in the sound is several beautiful shades of blue. We paddle across to the North end of the island, which is the newest part of the island and the part that changes most rapidly. It is a “preserve” and vehicles are prohibited. We tramp about a bit, get back in the kayaks, travel farther South, clamber out and have tea. We learn about “she-oaks;” short-lived trees that grow on the dunes; they provide the shelter that allows other, longer-lived trees to grow behind them. That's a she-oak in the picture, doing its job growing right at the edge of the sand. We walk across to the ocean side of the island: long, long beaches with almost no one but us, and big ships not very far offshore, making their way to and from Brisbane.

The paddle back to shore is a bit strenuous. The wind has come up, there is a fair bit of chop, and some boat wakes too. No one swamps, but several of us experience an unexpected cooling sensation as the ocean pays a surprise visit to our shorts.

Back on the mainland we watch a several of the large pelicans approach, hoping for a handout. This time Harvey gets pictures. The fellow on the left really does stand about four feet tall.

Then we shuttle back to our hotel. People from the team greet us with serious faces. The husband of one of the paddlers, who did not come with his wife on the trip, has died of a heart attack.