We
certainly got our timing right by getting into the Port of Bundaberg Marina
just before a strong South Easterly weather system moved up the Queensland
coast. The wind built through the night and by morning our gauge was bouncing
up well up into the 30s as it gusted rarely dropping below 20 knots at any
stage. While Our Dreamtime was snug
and relatively peaceful on her blow off marina berth inside the river, the view
out to sea from Burnett Heads was anything but. It looked ugly. The forecast
was indicating we’d have anywhere up to a week of these conditions so we
resolved to make the most of our stay to show Marc around Bundaberg.
First
up though we performed our customary complete clean up of the boat below decks
and freshwater wash down of everything topside we do on the first day whenever
we come into a marina. It’s amazing what you discover when you clean your boat.
We’ve often found split pins missing out of rigging, chaffed lines, damaged
blocks etc during this process but on this particular morning we discovered
something a bit scary. Laying on the foredeck against the port toe rail was a
stainless steel locknut. Clearly it had come undone from something but what. We’d
been sailing in 20 knots the previous day so the thought that something had
become unbolted in those conditions was a little unsettling to say the least. So too was the knowledge that if the nut had
bounced a few centimetres further and fallen overboard we wouldn’t even know
anything was wrong now.
Just what you don't want to find laying on the deck after a passage. |
We began
scouring the rigging including peering through binoculars at every bolt on the
spreaders and all mast fittings but when this didn’t reveal the source of our
wayward lock nut Rob decided a trip up the mast in the bosun’s chair was going
to be required. Just as he was preparing
to go aloft, the source of our angst revealed itself at the base of the mast.
The nut had come off the boom housing’s gooseneck
fitting. Fortunately the bolt had stayed in place but we hate to think of
the result if it had worked its way out while we’d been bouncing around in 20+
knots and three metre seas. It was soon back in place nice and tight and now
included on the list of things to be checked regularly.
After much searching we found the offending bolt right in front of our eyes. |
With
that and our list of other boat chores done, we kicked back to have a relaxing afternoon on the boat catching up on some blogging and the like. On the other hand, Marc decided to do a bit of exploring of the local Burnett Heads area on foot. That's when it finally happened. After all our English mate's paranoia about Australia's wildlife and the possibility of him coming to harm on his trip down under by being eaten by sharks or crocodiles, bitten by venomous snakes, spiders or blue ringed octopus, stung by stonefish, box jellyfish or stingrays, now he was actually threatened by an Aussie species we hadn't warned (or was it teased) him about. We'd forgotten it was nesting season and Marc found himself under persistent aerial attack from a pair of swooping magpies determined to defend their nest from any pedestrian or cyclist who dared cross the field nearby. On his return later in the afternoon he greeted us with, 'Chaps, I was right. Australia is a dangerous place. Even your birds are bastards that want to hurt me.' We're not sure our raucous laughter was the sympathy he was expecting. A magnificent dinner that night in the form of the marina's special $30 seafood platter quickly reminded Marc why it was worth risking life and limb to be in Australia and all was forgiven.
Ocean Pacific Seafood at the Port of Bundaberg do these awesome platters for just $30 for marina clients. |
Marc getting photographic evidence to remember another Aussie seafood feast |
We then had a very sociable
time over our five day stay in Bundaberg enjoying the company of cruisers from places as
far afield as Malta, Sweden, the United States and many points along Australia’s
East coast.
Marc and Karen about to sample the product at the conclusion of our tour of the famous Bundaberg Rum Distillery. |
We also took a very interesting tour of the Bundaberg Rum Distillery,
and finally managed to tick off one of Karen’s bucket list boxes by getting to
experience sea turtles coming ashore to lay their eggs.
Mon
Repos Conservation Park is a national park containing an important turtle
rookery located just a few kilometres from the Port of Bundaberg Marina. It
hosts the largest concentration of nesting marine turtles on the eastern
Australian mainland and supports the most significant nesting population of the
endangered loggerhead turtle in the South Pacific Ocean. In far smaller numbers
the Flatback and Green turtles and, intermittently, the Leatherback turtle also
nest along the Bundaberg coast.Rob on Mon Repos Beach during our previous visit in August before the turtle breeding season |
The Mon Repos Conservation Park's visitor information centre is excellent. |
We
had visited the excellent information centre at Mon Repos back in August on our way north but were too early in the year to see turtles nesting. Their breeding season
runs from November to March. The adult female turtles come ashore at night to their
lay eggs in the sand dunes and about eight weeks later young turtles emerge
from the eggs and begin their journey to the sea.
One of the nesting Loggerhead Turtles we were able to get very close to at Mon Repos Beach |
We
joined one of the turtle encounter tours operated by Queensland Parks and
Wildlife Service rangers during the breeding season. Beach access is managed to
ensure that the impact of humans on the nesting sea turtles is minimal with only
tour participants are allowed on Mon Repos after 6pm to witness this incredible
natural journey.
Nesting
turtles are easily disturbed by artificial light and movement especially when
leaving the water, crossing the beach and digging their nests. Hatching turtles
emerging from their nests are also disorientated by lights so people are divided
into small groups and escorted everywhere by rangers. When it was our groups turn, we were guided
down to the beach in darkness once a turtle had been spotted making her way up
the beach. We were asked to keep close together, move only where and when
instructed, make as little noise as possible and not display any light at all,
including phone screens.
Through
the long night we were rewarded with the opportunity to get very up close and
personal with three different loggerhead turtles and witnessed the whole
process of dragging themselves across the sand up into the dunes where they dig
a deep hole with their rear flippers and lay their clutch of eggs. They then
fill the hole back in and make the long, slow trip back to the water. Females nest up to three times in a season. Being so close to these beautiful creatures
as they layed their eggs was an incredibly moving experience we will never
forget.
Despite
getting to back to the boat around 2.00am, we managed to be up early the
following day to catch the free shuttle bus the marina provides for a trip into
the Farmers Market where we were able to stock with awesome fresh fruit and
vegetables straight out of the fields. Held every Sunday morning at Bundaberg’s
Shalom College this really is one of the best produce markets we’ve encountered
in Australia.
Yet more seafood, this time lunch in the marina with new American friends Tom and Lilly off the ketch Tigerlilly. |
The
rest of our stay included sundowners hosted by a Swedish couple on their very nice Swan
they’d sailed from Europe that we had met on the markets trip and a yachties get
together over more seafood platters in the marina’s cruisers cove. As good a
time as we were having, we were still very pleased when the weather began to
ease and we could make preparations to continue on our way South. Fraser Island
and the Great Sandy Straights were calling.
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