Heron Island! (March 3-10)

We had a week long stay on Heron Island. This was especially special for us as bringing the girls there meant the 4th generation of my family came here. My grandparents came with my parents, sister and me in the late-80s and G and I have been thinking of bringing the girls for many years. We definitely were aware of the spirits of those departed. My dad would have loved this part of the trip and we have no doubt he would have come.

The girls had a fantastic time. We snorkeled (and S and Ii even snorkeled with a LEMON SHARK!!), played in the sand, went on walks through the lush forest filled with HUNDREDS of birds. The island is about 40 hectacres and there are millions of birds who nest there ... so do the math: there were hundreds of birds absolutely everywhere we looked! I got popped on no less than 9 times!

Snorkeling with S and Ii was such a special thing to do, especially on Heron. Seeing their joy in and under the water ... well, it was perfect. C, on the other hand, has been on a semi-snorkeling boycott since Exmouth. Here's to hoping she decides to snorkel again soon!

Our “favorite” bird is the shearwater, aka the mutton bird. They are excellent sea birds but absolutely suck on land. First of all, their long necks (for scooping fish) mean they suck at landing. They literally crash land every time. And one even crash landed right into S! And they can’t walk well on land due to huge webbed feet. And they dig burrows up to 6 feet in depth where their chicks live. And, best part: they spend all night screaming and moaning. It is how the chick and mom bond. It is sooo loud and sounds very ghost like (early adventurers to the island called them ghost birds). They are so weird!!

I got to go scuba diving on my own, which was fantastic. And G took a snorkel trip all by himself. We also did the semi-submersible (aka glass bottom boat that is actually half underwater so we were sitting fully below water) two times. The girls loved it!

I also took two reef walks on my own (and one with the girls). On my final walk, I finally found the epaulette shark. These small sharks have adapted so they can hunt above water at low tide. They hold their breath and then walk on the coral. So cool!

Pics coming soon! Next stop: Cairns (pronounced “cans”) for a night and then Fitzroy Island!