Town of 1770 - Lady Musgrave Island

Before we left the Sunshine Coast, we decided to treat our selves with a trip to Musgrave Island, one of the outer Great Barrier Reef islands. The boat left from the Town of 1770 (named after the year Captain Cook landed there). After an hour and a half boat ride we arrived at Musgrave Island which was spectacular. The sea around the island was an iridescent turquoise. Underwater, fingers of light stretched through the crystal clear water to play on the coral seabed - everywhere we looked there were colourful armadas of tiny fish which at our approach would suddenly scatter as if a squall had hit them or retreat into their coral harbours. There were also larger fish, turtles and more. The island itself was inhabited by bomb-diving Shearwaters and Terns. The female Terns require the males to collect hundreds of leaves from the trees on the island to build their nests. The leaves exude a sticky sap that eventually glues up the males wings – the result a sticky end. Males are clearly gullible!?

Before we knew it our stay in Rainbow Beach was over and it was back to Brisbane to catch our flight to Melbourne - just in time – the next week Cyclone Larry hit the Sunshine Coast and the pictures of the aftermath were all over the news!