2017 Moreton Island Adventure

Moreton in winter!

With the year moving past us so quickly, we were not able to get to Moreton Island at our usual April time. But its Queensland right? Should be fine to go in July! Apparently July is the driest month there on average, so we packed the bags and off we went!

Unfortunately, Jack started to feel ill on the drive north, some bug he had picked up probably from friends in the first week of holidays. Not much we could do about that other than make sure we have plenty of tissues, and drugs!

Our first port of call was Coffs Harbour. We tried staying in a different place this time, a bit closer to the shops and hopefully some places to eat. We arrive just after 4:00pm and other than not being able to park our tall vehicle in the motel carpark, everything was looking good. We decided to take a walk to the ocean which was just down the road, and as the sun was starting to set we were expecting some good views. As the day was also getting late, we decided to keep walking until we got to the marina and look for some food. We found some great fish and chips and sat outside to eat - yes it was getting cold and we were grateful for the hot food!

Next day we continued on towards Brisbane. The weather was great for driving, and the traffic wasnt too bad. We arrived in Brisbane after lunch to a crazy construction site as they were rebuilding the road right outside our motel! The motel was great though and after getting our gear inside we set off for a walk again. This time Jack wanted to see if we could catch a train into the city rather than the ferry so we headed for the nearest station which was only ten minutes away. Apparently the trains werent running today - and the QLD trains communication systems were pretty ordinary! So we reverted back to the ferry and set off for the city.

Jacks illness was still getting worse, but he had enough strength to walk around for a while, dinner at our favorite Groove Train and then ferry back home.

To the island

So finally after 1000kms of driving we were ready to hit the island!

Early morning ferry took as across to the island, as always the ferry was full and we really have no idea where all these people go once on the island! Jack sat in the car on the way over watching Battlestar Galactica.

We arrived just after high tide so we knew we would have some issues getting to our campsite so we took it slowly. We were indeed blocked part way around so I sat there waiting for the ocean to move out of the way, and Jack started walking towards our camp. Eventually the ocean did retreat and I was able to pick Jack up on the way to our favorite spot!

That afternoon, Jack decided he needed a few hours of rest - thank goodness the swags are comfortable! The weather was still ok, not hot but not cold either. And of course once the sun went down and the fire got lit, we were happy campers yet again!

The next day, Jack was still not well, and we were blocked by the tide most of the day so we just went for a spin around the lower half of the island in the afternoon. It was fine, we were relaxing and Jack was trying to recover from his illness.

Finally on the third day on the island, we head north for Bulwer. And of course the reason you go to Bulwer is for the food! It was also Wednesday and the last State Of Origin was being played tonight. The cafe was holding a party, but lucky for us that the tide would not let us attend! We had our food and head back to camp for more reast and relaxation.

Day four was our last full day on the island, and after some overnight rain, the day started off a little grey again. We head north to start the day, early enough to just beat the tide on the western beach. The we crossed to the East coast and raced up to the north point to check out the lighthouse and hopefully whales. What I forgot to think about was that high tide on the Eastern beach could also be a driving hazard! We literally raced up the beach and managed to get to the lighthouse safely. However, once we got out of the car we could see a huge rain storm coming our way so we very quickly looked for whales, then headed back to Bulwer for lunch!

And alas, our final day on the island turned out to be the best weather day so far, and Jack was also feeling better! So had to be out of camp in the morning to beat the tide so we packed up and headed back to look for some whales - which we saw! Then we picked up some take away from Bulwer and drove to Tailer Bight to have lunch. This is such a great spot, beautiful long empty beaches with a gentle surf rolling in. The sun was out so we needed to put up the shade to keep cool before I went for a quick dip in the ocean! Yes I was swimming in July!

And that brought a close to our short adventure on the island. Prooving to ourselves that Moreton in Winter is a perfectly good thing to do - as long as your are not sick!