Lizard Island

S 14^o39’68’’, E 145^o27’16’’

LIZZY

Very nice - and accurate drawing of Kirra Kirra by Priscilla

A quick sail up to Lizard Island from Cooktown in the usual SE trade winds of 20+ Kts+– absolutely the norm for up here this time of year. 
This is as far north as we are heading up the east coast of Australia – this year.



Aboriginal burn off - to prevent huge bush fires
 in the dry season so in the long run probably limits CO2 release

Had to have a couple of goanna shots

He speaks with forked tongue

So over the past 2 years cruising we have travelled from 43⁰ South at Port Arthur  in Tasmania up to 14⁰ South here at Lizzy. That’s about 2000nM or 3600 Kms as the seagull might fly. Actual mileage travelled has been over 5000nM.

Lizard Is. is everything we had hoped – superb anchorage on clean sand in very clear water in Watson’s Bay, lots of different fish that like to hang around the boats looking for an easy feed, and plenty of reefs to snorkel. Unfortunately my underwater camera is still kaput, so no shots of the giant clams, nemo fish, painted crays, sting rays and black tipped reef sharks – which for those not sure in FNQ (Far North Queensland) are entirely harmless.

View of Watsons Bay from Cooks Look - not too crowded



Watsons Bay again - note Eagle Reef near the horizon.
About 10Kms away



Nice rock

It helps the fish numbers that most of Lizard Is. is a no-fishing zone, and I am wondering – how do fish know this – I reckon they can read. The fish that cruise the boats at anchor certainly have a memory longer than the reported 2 seconds of a gold fish.
Perhaps gold fish are the dumbos of the fish world.

Dick waving - look how big my anchor chain wash is on my 67ft Nordhavn.
Nordhavns - common as muck up here.



Blue Lagoon south of Lizzy



Flowering tree

The Lizard Island 5 star resort was wrecked in cyclone Ita in April ’14, and is currently under full refurbishment, but is not expected to be finished till 1Q ’15, so all you folks without a boat, if you want to see Lizard Is., get in and book the resort on its’ introductory specials. Sure to be less than $1000 / night.

J&J at Cooks Look

Back to basics - the pump helped eak out our water supply over 3+ weeks

Speeding to the Table of Knowledge

Kirra Kirra high and almost dry.
She received new prop anodes courtesy of the 2M tide at Lizzy

It’s a pristine island with little development other than the small resort. Apart from the local natural wonders, there is a superb night sky.

We stayed over 3 weeks, and the days were so busy!

Sailed out to the “Cod Hole” and picked up a mooring buoy and snorkelled in 10-12 metres of very very clear water with large rock cod of various types (1 metre or so, 50-80Kg) and schools of red bass (2kg) gathering under our boat plus the odd reef shark snoozing on the sand below – then a large bronzey coloured 3 metre noahs-ark came in and cruised up and down and that made me nervous enough to get out of the water till it buggered off. Was probably just curious, but I didn't want to find out that hard way.

AFL Grand Final day - a swim at every quarter break



A study in the Table of Knowledge: At the start of the session



Half time at the session



OMG- Not quite the end - but getting louder



Sunset at Watsons bay
Now I swore I would never take another bloody sunset shot
- but this one seemed special at Lizzy

Walks to :

• Cook’s Look, at 358M above sea-level, where Cpt James Cook walked to try and find a route out to the open sea past the myriad labyrinth of reefs of the Great Barrier Reef. Its such a great and historic walk I did it twice.  Cook named the island Lizard after the large numbers of “lizard” (ie goanna) – the Gould’s sand monitors still here in large numbers – they startle us as they take off right next to the walking tracks.  Now the size of the GBR as it is known up here is often talked about, but until  you see them first hand it is hard to appreciate.  Many of the individual coral reefs are well over 100 sq. kms in area. Incredible biodiversity of fish and coral.
• The Blue Lagoon, the large reef fringed sand-floored lagoon along the south side of Lizard, with colours so vivid aquamarine you reckon it must have been photo-shopped.
• Coconut Beach – reef fringed and remote and only reached after a bit of a walk by abseiling down a cliff on a rope that must be climbed back up to get back – not as hard as first thought. The hard part is the ½ Km scramble down a steep slope over big rocks to get to the rope. Disappointing was the amount of plastic stuff of all shapes and sizes washed up on this very remote beach SE facing beach. The beaches on the north side of the island are pristine without plastic flotsam.
• Lizard Island Research Station around the island for a talk and short film – this is run by The Australian Museum and is the most northerly of the GBR research stations.

And we have almost religiously attended the all-important “Table of Knowledge” on the beach most evenings. Also called the bench of bullshit.

Can get a little boisterous, with hangers on until long after sunset and night descends!
A fun social gathering with the odd bit of knowledge shared. Talk here is important local stuff - like the where and how of fishing, electrical power management on boats, best reefs to snorkel and whether or not anyone has seen the green flash just on sunset (perhaps it does happen but not at Lizard).

Q for any readers: Is the green flash just after sunset an urban myth??

   

Highlights of the past 2 weeks:

• ·       Just arriving at Lizard Is – the turning point for our cruise this year – we are now headed south – hopefully once the winds are favourable NE'ers.
• ·       Snorkelling the reefs of Lizard – Watsons Bay and Blue Lagoon especially, superb variety of fish, great corals and hundreds of giant clams  - one reef is nick-named the clam garden
• ·       Visiting the Cod Hole
•       Cliff climbing to Coconut Beach.
•       Meeting a great and diverse bunch of salties at the Table of Knowledge

So now Kirra Kirra is heading south, as the weather allows.



J&J with the Blue Lagoon




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  Yet more of the Bloody Blue lagoon

  
  

  

  And yet more of the Bloody Blue lagoon

  
  

  

  Coconut Beach - for scale check out the 2 people down there

  
  

  

  Getting down the rope to Coconut B

  
  

  

   Coconut Beach trekers
  
  

  
  

  

  Coconut Beach trekers