Heading out to sea...in the rain
We sat on the dock to watch the sunset.
June 2, 1010
Location: Stradebroke Island
The first thing we did today was go out searching for dugongs. I have been looking forward to today since Sunday (when I found out Wed was going to be the perfect day for spotting). Dugongs (Dugong dugon) are a marine mammal related to the popular Manatees. They are a brown to light grey color with a trunk like upper lip and a forked tail (very similar to the dolphin tail). They feed off of the sea grass Halophia halodule. It is very hard to spot these wonderful creatures because they are very timid and shy away from any human activity (i.e. boats). They also only feed as the tide turns from low to high. The best way to spot dugongs is to go to their typical sea grass feeding area and wait patiently to spot a snout surfacing for air. Then you can follow them in with the tide (typically once you spot one, you will find more). I was very excited to go out to see dugongs. They are an increasingly rare species so getting the opportunity to spot one in the wild is really a chance not many get. The Moreton Bay dugong populations is also one of the largest in the world, with 400+ already accounted for and over a thousand believed to be in total. I was disappointed this morning when I woke to a steady drizzle and a less then calm breeze. I was worried that the rain would make the trip a little less enjoyable however I think it just added an element of excitement. We headed out of Dunwich and up toward the south passage. There we hit a few sand bars (we had to get out of the boat and push it along for a while because it got too shallow, an experience I never thought I would have…walking in the middle of the ocean). After about a half hour of rain needles and sea water spraying in our faces…also an extremely bumpy ride but again it just added to the excitement, we arrived on the sea grass bed where the dugongs normally feed. As we were searching for little brown snouts we saw Estuary Stingrays (Dasyatis fluviorum) and Eagle Rays (Aetobatus narinari). There were heaps of them. Then Glen spotted another dark figure moving through the water, at first it looked like a giant ray then we got closer and saw that it was a Logger head Sea Turtles. We saw maybe four or five turtles when we decided to go towards the deep water to increase our chances of finding the dugongs. We searched and searched but just couldn’t find any. Then suddenly out of no where we saw this dark patch in the water. At first we just thought it was an algae patch and then the figure started getting clearer… it was a mommy and baby dugong!!! Yay, we actually got to see some. I was talking to Glen before we left and it felt as though he was preparing us for not seeing any. I naturally started believing that it was next to impossible for us to see any so that I wouldn’t be disappointed. After seeing them I am overwhelmingly relieved we got to see them. Sadly, I did not get any pictures of them. I couldn’t get a good picture is all the rain. We followed them around for a while then started to head back for land. As we were heading back Glen saw two more!! We followed them around for a couple of minutes then lost sight of them. Our dugong trip was a success. On the way back Glen let me drive the boat into the dock. I was so nervous and at first didn’t take him seriously when he told me to take over the wheel. Luckily, I didn’t crash the boat and everyone made it back to shore alive and well…haha. The trip was so much fun but the weather was less then favorable. I have wind burn and I was freezing for a good 3 hours after we got off the boat and into dry clothes. I also scraped up my knuckles from trying to hold on to the boat as we were crashing through the waves. The rest of the day was a lot less eventful then this morning. It was raining and cold so we all stayed inside (blah) and worked on our projects. In the afternoon the skies cleared up a little so a couple of us walked around town and made it back to the beach in time to watch the sun set. Another great day. Tomorrow is the last day on the island so I’m hoping after we finish up our presentations I could get the chance to walk around more, maybe go to the historic museums and some of the art galleries up the road. It seems like today will be hard to top but somehow everyday just seems to be that much better.
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