Spectacular Sandy Cape
On our way out of the Burnett River yesterday, we tied up at the fuel wharf to fill a couple of jerry cans and buy our new macerator. And, you guessed it, coffees. Headed out into a lumpy easterly swell all the way across to Fraser Island. It was definitely a movie-on-the-laptop kinda trip. The white sands of Rooney's Point looked beautiful as we neared, topped off by a lovely sunset once we anchored.
This morning was very calm, so we motored around to the Sandy Cape Light and dropped anchor.
Walked the 1.2km up to the lighthouse, some of the track being just sand and some on old timber sleepers. There was a tin shed which was set up as a museum and had some interesting pieces in it. The lighthouse and the buildings all looked to be well maintained, considering the lighthouse was commissioned in 1870. It is powered by an impressive array of solar panels that would make any yachtie jealous. It is amazing to think that the light was originally fuelled by oil lamps, then later kerosene, before being converted to solar in 1995. We wandered around and enjoyed the view before heading back down.
Once at the bottom, we took the track to the remains of a bunker, which is all that is left of the buildings which housed up to thirty men from RAAF No 25 Radar Station during WWII. Further up the sandy trail, there are numerous steps that lead uphill to the graves of the first lighthouse keeper and his daughter. This was 1.3km long and seemed to run up towards the lighthouse from a different angle. By the time we got there, we could see that it was just down from the light, but there was obviously no direct access.
By the time we dragged our weary way down to the beach again, our only thought was to rip off our shoes and leap into the beautiful cool water. Bliss! After a while, we started to notice the abundance of fish swimming around us. Wallowing in the shallows, we suddenly came alert at the sight of a sea snake nearby. Watched it for a while (from the beach) and then spotted another, shortly followed by a shovel nose shark cruising past. We were a little more watchful while in the water after that. The highlight was watching three manta rays swim past. I tried to grab some footage on the GoPro but they were a bit too far out.
Next we contemplated the giant sand hill and felt almost obliged to climb it because, well, it was there..... As it was around noon, our attempt was quickly scuppered by the boiling hot sand. An adventure for another day maybe. Heading back to the dinghy, Nathan was stung by a bluebottle. We had been quite mindful while having a swim, so it was really bad luck to cop one just walking in the shallows. Headed back to Windana quite quickly and got the vinegar out, followed by the good old "Itch Eze" which has Lignocaine in it and seemed to work well.
Headed back to Rooney's Point to shelter for the night from a stiff 20-30 SE, but ended up continuing across Platypus Bay and anchored near Wathumba Creek.
Here's a short clip of our beautiful day:
