Tiger Butterflies by Bear

On an island in Australia, I saw a Tiger Butterfly, not just one, but ZILLIONS! Swarming together into thick clouds of butterflies. So thick that you could reach up and grab one! It was amazing!!

The Tigers are light blue and black. The males are lighter blue than the females (the females are prettier!). They migrate from North Queensland to Brisbane.

Posted by Bear

Soldier Crabs by Bear

Have you ever seen a soldier crab? I have! They are round and light blue, and about the size of a quarter. They swarm together in huge armies of hundreds of crabs. But when you come near, they all dig into the sand, turning like a corkscrew. When they scurry, they go fast. Real fast! When they move, they pick up sand and suck the food out of it. Then the crabs poop it out in sand pellets.


Soldier crabs live on beaches of Australia and other South Pacific islands. I feel very lucky to have seen them. They are amazing!

There is a cool youtube video showing a "battle of the soldier crabs". Check it out! www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWM8K4YShc0

Back in the saddle ......

It's 1/2 hr before sundown and we are doing a 170 nm run north bound along the Queensland coast.   A bit of dejavu with our sistership Mystery Ship a mile ahead of us.  

 

Oso was in great shape when returned from Utah on April 3 and it didn't take much to get her ready for our next adventures.   She had recently had a professional polishing and looked like new.   The usual tuning up of all the systems, changing of filters, and provisioning and we were ready to go.   

 

We left Brisbane on Saturday morning and retraced our tracks from last November.    A stop Saturday night in Mooloolaba, Sunday and Monday nights in the Sandy Straights, and we are now watching the sun set for our first overnight passage since our trip to Australia from New Caledonia 5 months ago.

 

Over the next two weeks we will be working our way toward the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef where we plan on spending 2-3 months.    Most hops will be relatively short day trips, so this overnight run in mild conditions, is a special time.

 

E

An Eye for the Camera

All Easter photos are courtesy of Behan Gifford on s/v Totem who has a gift for capturing the moment  as witnessed in this spectacular shot of her daughter Mairen finding Easter eggs in the trees.

Easter in the Sand Dunes

How well do chocolate Easter eggs and sand dunes mix in the autumn sun of Australia? As it turns out, not so well......

In Queensland in April (mid to north, eastern part of Australia), temperatures hover in the upper 70's and the bright sun shines in the clear skies. At least it's been that way since we returned about a week ago and we're told it will pretty much stay this way through September. So when we anchored in Moreton Bay for the weekend with two other kid boats (Totem and Ceilydh), we easily shifted into cruiser mode complete with sundowners, picnic food, Chicago rummy card games and swimsuits. Ahhh...it's good to be back!

Behan on Totem, exerted great thought and effort into coloring eggs with natural dyes - made from cabbage, beets, and the like. They were very unique and impressive! (Maya liked the "lucky black one"!) Diane from Ceilydh and I took the easier route - grocery store chocolate bunnies and eggs.

The moms headed ashore a half hour before the tribe to strategically "hide" said goods in an outcropping of trees within the sand dunes of Moreton Island. It was around 10am and the sun peaked through clouds containing infrequent rain sprinkles. However, by the time the kids arrived to scavenge for the bootie, the warm rays had done their damage. Cries of woe came from the children as their hands were sticky with inedible chocolate. But the dyed eggs fared very well!

But the thrill of the hunt will be remembered and the sliding on the sand dunes even more so. Donned on boogie boards, we climbed the black diamond slopes of the dunes and slid or surfed down.