It was a long trip, but uneventful. Very small plane Seattle to Vancouver (I hate small planes), then 14 hours Vancouver to Brisbane, then 5 hour layover (smartest thing I did for this leg is book time in the Qantas Lounge – I took a shower, had a nice breakfast, and hung out there until the flight), then 40 minute flight to the beach town of Hervey Bay to meet Sheila at the airport.
We stayed at a very inexpensive hostel (Colonial Village Resort), and it was lovely – two bedrooms and a kitchen/living room area, surrounded by greenery.
And unexpected, expectant birds. Someone in our room previously had been feeding them.
We walked from there a few blocks to the ocean and then along a seaside path to an almost kilometer long jetty. There were long sandy beaches, and lots of birds that we didn’t recognize. We scoped out some places for breakfast the next day.
The next day, we explored Hervey Bay. We walked along the Esplanade, which runs about 17 Kilometers along the seaside of Hervey Bay (no, we didn’t walk the whole thing). We first visited the Reef Aquarium – the second aquarium in the world (the woman at the front desk assured us) to have live coral in the exhibits. The water was filtered It was small, but she was happy to show us around and answer the “what’s that?” questions we had.
Then we went outside and scratched the back of the two resident sea turtles. A little later, we got to feed them lettuce, and watch the kids break all the rules as they fed them.
We continued our walk, had lunch, then walked onto the beach – tide was high. We waded in a little, but the water was pretty cold. Lots of shells on the beach, though.
We then walked inland to the botanical gardens, and mainly checked out the birds. (Orchid exhibit was closed.)
Finally found the mall and bought some food and snacks, and walked back to the hostel. Cooked dinner in.
These visitors seemed very expectant, but Sheila convinced me not to feed the birds!
Peacocks aren’t native, but — like the Anna’s hummingbird — have cultivated humans to provide food for them and spread them throughout the world. Including to Hervey Bay.
Next day we took an organized tour of Frazier Island (AKA K’gari) – world’s largest sand island.
