Moreton Bay Research Station

G'day! Well, St Patrick's Day weekend was a fun one in the sun for me. Friday morning about half of my Australia's Marine Environment class loaded up on a coach(a bus) and rode to Cleveland on the coast and then took the vehicular ferry to North Stradbroke Island, aka Straddie. Once on the island we rode to the Moreton Bay Research Station, owned by UQ, where we would eat, sleep, and base our research projects out of. I stayed in a room with a girl from Massachusetts and 2 girls from the DC area. We had lunch and then walked along the rocky shore looking at the marine creatures and the different areas and impacts. We then walked to a beach area and looked at the sand dunes and the sandy shore. Lots of cool stuff to see. Went back to the station for afternoon tea and then when the tide was coming in took the big net out and learned about the various fish species in the area. Showers, a beautiful sunset, dinner, and planning out projects was the rest of the evening until I climbed into bed exhausted. Saturday, St Pats Day, was spent gathering supplies for our project, researching what we might find, and then we set out around noon for our first netting as the tide was going out. The catch wasn't as big as we hoped but still got some good results. We then worked in the computer labs starting our reports and relaxing until the incoming tide was at about the same level when we headed out again. This catch was much larger than the first which proved our theory about feeding times and patterns. The catch included 4 stingrays, another squid bringing the total to 2, another flounder and other cool stuff. We watched the sunset from the beach, then dinner, showers, and to the local pub for some green beers. Sunday was spent walking along the North Gorge Trail at Point Lookout. Point Lookout is the eastern most point in all of Queensland. 22 Mile Beach starts just below the trail. We went by the hill where a US Radar site was and along to the Blow Hole or Whale Rock, where the rocks form and area that at high tide the waves make a sound like a whale's blow hole. We spotted several pods of dolphins an the first of two manta rays. Further along the trail we stopped to talk about the high energy shore and when we did saw several turtles coming up for air, more dolphins, and the second manta ray. We stopped for ice cream and lunch at the point that Capt James Cook first saw on his exploration and then continued on to Cylinder Beach. We compared the beaches again and then to learn about what we couldn't see we used dead fish to lure worms out of the sand. The worms feed on the dead fish that wash ashore and when we held the fish in the swash(small waves where the water meets the sand) the little worms eventually came out. Lots of patience needed, but still really neat. We then walked along the beach further and got to go swimming and play in the waves before heading back to the ferry and to campus. Overall an excellent weekend! I hope you all enjoy.The two albums are divided up by the days. Good on ya!

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