Jill loves Mary

Now that I've got your attention, this post is really about the highlights of our recent trip to Queensland such as the Mary River and surrounds. I'm going to use another Bubble Slider to feature some of the places we visited.

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The first day in the Sunshine Coast hinterland was spent at Great Sandy National Park on the way to Fraser Island. We attempted to follow in the footsteps (or rather tyre tracks) of most Queenslanders with four-wheel drive vehicles and drive along the beach to Inskip. The car didn't behave well and the Victorians felt uncomfortable about the whole thing so we soon turned back and spent the rest of the day exploring the rainforest: admiring the buttressed tree species, keeping our food away from the goanna and swimming in the creek with the catfish.

Our trip to the Conandales was again characterised by verdant habitat and flowing streams (a novelty for Victorians). We bought up cheeses and other local produce from the Kenilworth Cheese factory before heading for the Bolloumba Falls to cool off.

The next day we paid our respects to the mighty Mary River, stopping first at the Information Centre, traversing the undulating hills above the proposed dam and finally pausing at a crossing downstream from the dam. The Traveston Dam would indeed be a travesty: flooding the rich dairy farming lands above it and robbing the river of water below it - both threatening the future of the local endemic species such as the lungfish and the Mary River turtle. And, sure enough, on cue we spotted a Mary river turtle in the water, which, from its profile, could be identified as a male (due to its long tail).

[Not my photo, but from the Care2 petition site - closed 31/12/08]