Date First Posted: January 22, 2007
Log Entry Start Date - January 12, 2007
Log Entry End Date - January 22, 2007
Locations Covered - Brisbane, Australia Zoo and Mooloolaba, Australia
Present Location: Scarborough Marina (Brisbane, Australia)
Latitude: 27 Deg 11.6 S Longitude: 153 Deg 06.4 E
Weather: Windy, Hot and Sunny
Distance covered since last entry: 0 nautical miles (about 150 miles by rental car)
Total distance traveled since departure from Antigua: 10,174 nautical miles
Commentary:
After
being home for two months during Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, we
returned to Encore II at Scarborough Marina near Brisbane, Australia. While
it only takes two flights from Detroit, it is more tiring than our usual
overnight passages at sea. Total flight time is over 19 hours, and from
door to door (home to the marina) around 29 hours. Crossing 9 time zones
adds to the jet lag, and it took several days to work out our stiffness and
reset our body clocks.
Andy,
aboard the sailboat Jakaranda, had taken good care of Encore II in our
absence, repairing our dodger and bimini, and making a new cover for our
mainsail. Generally systems on boats don’t like sitting idle, but this
time, only a few minor issues arose. The biggest job we started when we
returned was to refinish the wood trim on the outside of the boat. We never
seemed to have a long enough outlook for dry weather last year. After two
days of sanding, Nancy began putting on coats of varnish. It takes at least
three or four coats on good areas and six or more on areas that we had to
sand to bare wood.
We rented a car when we arrived so we could do our provisioning and some sightseeing before sailing toward Sydney. Our first stop was at the Australia Zoo about 40 miles north of Scarborough. On the way, we passed the Glass House Mountains. These are unusual conical peaks that rise from a relatively flat coastal plain. Although Brisbane has had nearly drought conditions for the past year, and is on severe water rationing, naturally it rained the morning we left, and then for over an hour when we arrived at the zoo.
The
zoo was privately created and owned by the parents of Steve Irwin, the
“Crocodile Hunter” made famous on TV and who was tragically killed last
summer by a sting ray. I guess when you grow up in a zoo that features wild
animals like crocodiles; you might just develop a career around them. In
the early 90’s Steve took over the zoo, and his image is everywhere
including caricatures on signs and models. Since his death, the highway
through the Glass House Mountains and to the zoo has been named after him.
The
zoo itself is currently only about 72 acres, but is undergoing a $40 million
expansion to over 300 acres. The main attractions are naturally the
crocodiles, which are in artificial ponds and pens surrounding a stadium
called the Crocoseum. This is where there are daily wildlife shows
featuring crocs, large snakes and birds. During the show, the emphasis is
on ecology and education. In this picture you can make out several snakes
on the grass and two handlers wading in the water after a 10 foot boa
constrictor.
I
suspect that when Steve performed at the show, there may have been a bit
more showmanship, but with the current handlers, you could tell they had a
lot of respect for the crocs. You can see in this picture that three zoo
keepers are keeping an eye out while a fourth feeds a croc from a platform.
During the peak holiday seasons, the stadium is filled with over 7000 tourists for each show. Considering the $40 admission to the park, there is no doubt that this zoo brings in a lot of money to cover the cost of the animals and large staff.
It
was interesting to watch some of the groundskeepers mow the grass in the
crocodile pens behind the stadium. Even with one handler keeping the croc
distracted on one side of the pen and small pond, as they cut and trimmed
the grass, they would always keep an eye on the crocs.
Another
major attraction are the Asian elephants. The zoo has a large exhibit area
with a replica of a Cambodian temple with carved elephants spraying water
into a pond where the elephants can cool off. It was funny watching the
elephants pick up dirt from a big pile and spray it over their backs, then
being washed with a hose by their keepers to get the dirt off, then take a
dip in the pool, only to go back to the dirt pile and repeat the cycle.
Twice
a day the three elephants are taken for a walk into a central area of the
zoo where the tourists line up to feed them.
Given
the current size of the zoo, there are not a lot of different animals, and
most are those unique to Australia. One of the most popular areas is the
one with koalas. You can stroll through this area where the koalas are
living in short trees all around you.
In
the center, there are zoo keepers that hold koalas so that you can pet
them. The constantly rotate the animals so that they are only being handled
for about 30 minutes once or twice a day. They otherwise sleep over 20
hours a day.
The
are two areas you can walk through to visit with the kangaroos. Only
females and their young (joeys) are in these areas, as the males can be too
aggressive. Visitors can buy special food to give the kangaroos that come
up to be petted and fed. There are special areas set aside that the
kangaroos can go to when they feel like getting away from the visitors.
In addition to the snakes exhibited during the show, an indoor exhibit features a large collection of venomous and non-venomous species. Australia seems to have more dangerous animals than anywhere else on earth (sharks, crocs, snakes, deadly jellyfish, insects, etc.). Some of the snakes on exhibit have venom that could kill over 100 people. We learned that the first aid treatment is to compress the arm or leg not to prevent blood flow, but to restrict the venom from spreading via the lymphatic system.
Two
of the more interesting animals on display were the echidna, a porcupine
like ant eater, and the wombat, a furry badger like animal.
The
wombat grounds were large and beautifully landscaped, one of the things
about the zoo that was so impressive. With the exception of the exhibits of
crocs and tigers, most of the other areas were completely natural and park
like and filled with native trees, shrubs and flowers. Even the croc
pens looked reasonably natural and spacious with shallow ponds and manicured
lawns.
The
funniest looking animals we saw were the emus. These large ostrich like
birds roamed through a forested area, but also came to a fence to take a
look at the visitors.
One
came right up to where we were standing and stuck his head over the fence.
I’m not sure we’d want to get pecked by its big beak.
The
other birds in the zoo included colorful parrots and a huge eagle that flew
in and around the Crocoseum during the wildlife show. There was a large
screened area where the eagles and other raptors lived, and another screened
area where visitors could walk through a tropical rainforest setting with
birds free to fly at will.
In contrast to the public zoos we’ve visited, the private Australia Zoo was impressive for its limited size. Outside of two areas with restaurants and gift shops, the park was natural, and perfectly maintained, and the focus was on allowing the visitors and (safer) animals to interact directly.
From
the zoo, we continued our drive to Mooloolaba, a coastal resort area a bit
further north. Our friend Kate, who crewed aboard the sailboat Anthem,
lives in a great house with a view overlooking this area, and we arranged to
visit her and get a tour of the area. Kate is a geologist who loves to sail
and spent many months on Anthem. She has been writing a book, but admitted
that with the sailing, traveling and some house guests, she needs to get
back to it after a long break. She took us to the local beach which was
still filled with families on their “summer” school vacation which ends at
the end of January.
Similar
to Scarborough, there is a major fishing fleet at Mooloolaba, and we picked
up an assortment of prawns, oysters and a lobster like crayfish called
Moreton bay “bugs” for a picnic dinner at a park overlooking the coast. Kate
had arranged for Marty and Linda from the boat Great Expectations and
another cruising couple to join us. We hadn’t seen Marty and Linda since
Fiji, and it was interesting to catch up with them.
Prior
to returning our rental car, we made one more day trip into Brisbane. We
had to meet with an officer from Customs to get our cruising permit. If we
hadn’t had the car, we would have easily taken a bus and train into town.
The Customs office is just across the street from the train station, and the
cost into town would have been under $7/person. We had been told that
driving and parking in Brisbane would be bad and were advised not to drive.
Since we had to turn the car in anyways, we ignored this advice. Well, the
drive was fine, only one missed turn when we reached downtown, and we
arrived just in time for our appointment. But the parking was exorbitant at
over $30 USD for the day. Next time… Taking advantage of being in town, we
continued our walking tour from our last visit. We walked by the Anzac WWII
war memorial, and stopped at the General MacArthur museum where he had his
office and commanded all of the Pacific forces. Unfortunately it was closed
that day.
We
then stopped at the Brisbane City Hall, one the largest in all of Australia
and home to the Brisbane Museum. The museum features temporary exhibits,
and we were amused by the one on the history of the “Miss Australia”
pageants. The 30 story tall clock tower was open for visitors and we had
great views of the city from the top.
Surrounded
on two sides by the Brisbane River, the city’s botanical gardens provided us
with more walking exercise. Nancy loved the bamboo stands which make a very
soothing sound as they move in the wind.
The
“City Garden Café” is near the center of the garden and we had lunch
watching the tame pigeons and ibis’ snacking on leftovers on nearby tables.
The gourmet food they serve at the Cafe was a surprise compared to the usual
ice cream and sandwich stands. I hope these birds appreciate it.
The building for the Cafe was originally the home for the head groundskeeper for the botanical gardens when they were built in the 1800's. Today you can hold wedding receptions and other parties there as well as outdoors at other specially named areas of the gardens.
Back at the marina, we’re now preparing for an overnight sail down the coast toward Sydney. Before we go, we’ll enjoy the Monday night BBQ for cruisers hosted by the local chandlery. From Scarborough to Sydney is about 480 nautical miles. With a fair current and winds, we could make this non-stop in three days and two nights, but the weather window doesn’t look to be open that long. Instead we plan to stop at Coffs Harbour about 240 miles away and then wait for another window with favorable winds. For the trip south, we’re looking for north to east winds, which are generally the norm this time of year. When we return to Scarborough in April, we’ll want to take advantage of the occasional south winds that crop up every few days.
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