Moreton Island

Finally, the last post about my adventure in Australia which ended about a month ago. After this one I can get on to talking about life in Penang again. So during one of my final days in Brisbane I visited Moreton Island, which proved to be every bit as beautiful as Rottnest Island, but in a different way. Rottnest has limestone reefs. Moreton has an ocean with 3 distinct shades of blue. Rottnest has Quokkas. Moreton has dolphins.

This is Moreton Island.

There is a full-fledged resort/hotel operating there.

Remember me saying that the ocean had 3 shades of blue?

Iced coffee with cream. Shingun's favourite.

We decided to take a boat ride out to feed some wild fish. There is a man-made shipwreck near the coast of the island. I was told that 16 old ships and barges were deliberately sunk to create a habitat for fish to breed.

Our ride to feed the fish.

Our "pilot".

This is the man-made shipwreck.

Visitors are also allowed to snorkel near to these wrecks to get a closer look at the wildlife.

Looks like a staircase.

And here are the wild fishies!

You won't believe how many of them there were.

And they are smart enough to know it's feeding time.

This bird actually dived underwater and tried to grab the fish as they circled our boat.

It is interesting to note that Moreton Island has its own desert. Yes desert. If I am not mistaken Moreton is the 3rd largest island on the planet made up entirely of sand. So well, where you get lots of sand, you get a desert. And the desert was freaking hot.

You've got to take a bus or 4WD to get to the desert.

You might be wondering what there is to do in the desert, but this is where the real fun starts.

Sandboarding, folks! Soar like an eagle or crash like a turkey!

You climb all the way up that slope, then ride a wooden plank down. Wheeee!!!

I look like an idiot. But ah well who cares.

I did not snap any photos of the real sandboarding action, obviously because I was busy having fun. The sandboarding itself was worth the trip to the island.

After getting my pockets filled with sand, I went back to the greener part of the island for Kookaburra feeding. Kookaburras are carnivores. They kill their prey (rodents of whatever) by snatching them up with their beaks and then banging them against hard surfaces like tree trunks. Ouch.

These smart wild birds flew onto the sign by themselves. They look like they're listening intently.

Nice shot. The one on the right was swallowing its piece of meat.

When the sun sets, the dolphins go to shallow waters to get fed. So it's never wise to leave the island too early. You'll miss out on the dolphin feeding.

Sunset.

 These wild dolphins are unafraid of humans.

You are allowed to feed them, but not touch them.

 Dolphin feeding involves a lot of coordination and shouting, because the waves are too loud.

The people in blue will take you into and out of the water safely.

The only downside to the trip is that the boat ride back to Brisbane is bound to make you seasick. The water is choppy at night, and that night was the very first time I ever got seasick. Not a pleasant experience. But all in all a nice trip and certainly worth the go if you haven't been there.