Our trip to Frasers Island nearly over, we waited by the docks for the ferry to take us back to
the mainland. After crossing back to Hervey Bay, we drove on up to
Rockhampton,
where we crossed over the Tropic of Capricorn, putting us officially in the Tropics.
Everyone gathered around for a big group shot
and then relaxed a bit with shopping and/or ice cream. Funny, I don't feel any
temperature difference...
Continuing on our journey, we came to the village of
Yeppoon, where we
would spend the night. *Great* location: just by the beach, and when I looked out
our window, there were wild kangaroos just jumping
around in the gardens! I ran down to take a close-up
look of these visitors too, AFTER I took a shower and got a change of clothes:
after two days of the same shorts and shirt I was feeling pretty gamey.
The beach at Yeppoon was amazing: TOTALLY
deserted and seemed to simply run on and on. That afternoon I took a long walk
down the beach to do a little beachcombing: I found some sand dollars, some interesting
purple clam shells, even a scallop or two. No jewelry or hidden treasure: too bad!
On the way to dinner, I found a few cane toads, which were HUGE
toads that had originally been introduced to Australia to help get rid of an insect pest
problem. However, the cured proved worse than the disease: cane toads thrived in the
tropical environment, and are now considered to be a pest themselves. Nicci said
that Greg the driver got free beers for every cane toad he ran over! I wanted to get
a picture of a cane toad, but I never found one again...
For dinner that night a bunch of us went to the Koorana Crocodile Farm, were we had our first taste of
crocodile meat! They served a crocodile chowder for an appetizer, along with strips
of crocodile meat on a stick. While we were waiting for our main meal, we got
a tour of the farm while our guide described the lifestyle of the crocodile.
Boring Trivia Bit:
- When crocodiles are nesting, if you approach the nest of eggs you will
be attacked: but just run away and they will stop a short distance away from the nest.
- Crocodile dorsal scales contain bone, so they are effectively a secondary skeleton
- Crocodiles grow all their lives, and can be up to 5 feet high at the shoulder and weigh
over 500 pounds
End of Boring Trivia Bit |
For the record, crocodile tastes a bit like a cross between seafood and chicken, and
also slightly rubbery. After dinner they passed around a young crocodile for all of us to hold and enjoy.
It got a little pissed off towards the end of it, though: that tail was pretty sharp!
After dinner, we went to the bar at the hotel, where Nicci bought Greg his beers for
smashing toads and the rest of us sat and listened to the lounge singer (who was a LOT
better than the one at Frasers Island). Later I called home to say "hi" to
everyone (using one of bloody credit card phones: had a devil of a time trying to get
through).
Tomorrow we hit the Great Barrier Reef!
Frasers Island to
Yeppoon
Dinner with (and of) Crocodiles