With full tide in the morning it was a great opportunity to explore the mangroves on the way to Kooringal. There were plenty of fish around including long trumpet like fish with iridescent blue stripes. What was striking were the stingray. Buried in the sand so that all you could see were their tails and
eyes, the more you looked the more you saw and it became apparent that every place was taken. They were only lying on mass where there was about a metre of water. They were not disturbed by the boats passing over and there would have been many hundred. An occasional beautiful brown baby eagle ray with its white
spots, white underbelly and long thin tail cruised by. Shovel nosed rays were common. Paddling next to the shore line revealed some secluded campsites on the cliffs just north of the little sandhills accessible by 4WD. The little sandhills were covered in a remarkable diversity of birdlife all mixed in together. The
gulls, terns, plovers, spoonbills, godwits and pied oyster catchers were on the sand while brahminy kites sat in the tree tops. The gulls and terns appeared to be using their position as
a lookout with birds regularly flying out to where fish continued to boil.
Before leaving we had had a look at the area on Google Earth. There was a suggestion of water in the midst of Crab Island. Heading across Hendersons Gutter we poked around the mangroves looking for the creek Mark had set a way point for. It
was not easy to find but worth persisting as it opened out into a
sheltered lagoon. Mark was first in and scattered thousands of fish into the protection of the mangroves. It looked like a natural nursery - no wonder they want to make this part of the bay off limits to fishing. You can only get in on a full tide as the creek is shallow and has oysters awaiting offerings of gelcoat.
Time for an icecream at Kooringal, then a quick scamper across the southern end of Crab Island. It was surreal sailing by the mothballed mullet boats looking out at isolated
mangroves up to 2Km away. In the sandy shallows they looked more
like the spartan trees on an African savannah. We avoided a 3-5Km port by 2 inches and 10 minutes. Mark and I headed out for deeper water to chase manta rays or any other large dark shape that moved in the exquisitely clear water.
After lunch at the campsite, Mark, Robyn and I walked across the other side of the island. Robyn's botanical eyes spied edible midyiam berries, native orchids and many other interesting plants. The tide line of blue bottles did not put her off having a swim. Mark and I went to find the other spear pump and the Rouse
Battery while Robyn headed back to the campsite and startled a wild pig just off the track. The Rouse Battery is derelict while the spear pump on this side of the island now fills a tank via a solar powered pump.
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