FOUR
ISLANDS RIDE
KARRAGARRA,
MACLEAY, LAMB, RUSSELL
26/27
APRIL 2012
Present:
Peter
(leader) and Ute Crawford
Harry
Fielding
Bob
and Joyce Newell
Laurel
and Keith Tucker
Mary
and Tom Fryer
Tommy
Tomiyama
Dave
Judd and a friend joined us for Thursday
Posted
by Joyce Newell
The
ferry was Bay Islands Transit (www.transitsystems.com.au)
(passenger ferry, not the barge) and the fare for five trips over two
days is the Island Hopper Fare for $23 (or $11.50 if you have a
seniors card). Car parking was available at the commuter car
park, alternative parking is the police station at Hamilton Street.
The ferry terminal is in the Weinam Creek Marina, BANANA STREET,
Redland Bay. UBD ref Map 226 P17. (1 ½ hours from Bribie).
The
weather was perfect Thursday – sunny, calm and warm. We took the
10.30 am ferry (it runs about hourly clockwise around the islands,
and counterclockwise half an hour after, so you have to be careful to
get the ferry going in the right direction). We spent an hour on
Karragarra Island in which we easily cycled to both ends of the
island, then caught the ferry for the 3 min ride to Macleay Island
where Tommy's daughter Midori lives with her family. We rented two
houses at the north end of the island, about 4 km ride with moderate
hills. The Boathouse at 39 Attunga Street has four bedrooms with en
suites (set up as bed and breakfast) and Sirenia Retreat about 1 km
further north at 51 Coondooroolpa Drive also has 4 bedrooms, 2 with
double beds and 2 with single beds, and a larger kitchen and living
area. Linen was included.
For
meals, we bought bread and toppings for lunch and bacon and eggs for
breakfast from the local supermarket and ate together at The
Boathouse (Adele was chief cook for breakfast, assisted by Keith).
In
the afternoon most people enjoyed the sun, went for walks, cycled the
kilometer or so to the very north of the island to consider a swim
(the tide was too far out, and the water too cold) – Joyce took
advantage of the kayaks available at the Boathouse and kayaked around
the northern end of the Island – you need shoes that can get wet
for this, as the bottom is often rocky, and you may have to drag the
boat some distance over the mudflats/seagrass if the tide is out. We
saw a few mosquitoes, but not enough to be annoying - fortunately, as
at times they can be a real problem on the islands.
In
the evening we took the Bowls Club courtesy bus to the Bowls Club for
a very pleasant dinner, followed by Trivia - which overwhelmed the
non-Australians in the group and only partly overwhelmed the others,
except for the questions on German and Japanese words. Despite
Peter’s desire that return to Sirena Retreat to party on, we
returned to our houses for a (not all that) early night.
On
Friday 27 April, we woke to a overcast morning, and had some very
light rain at times. We had breakfast at the Boathouse from about 7
to 8 am, then caught the ferry to Lamb Island about 9am and then to
Russell about 10am. We easily cycled to the NE end of Lamb Island in
that time – it was not as hilly as Macleay. On Russell Island we
had coffee near the ferry, then cycled to the NE point of, and
stopped at the Yacht Club (since Peter is a member of the Bribie
Club) and talked to the friendly caretaker on this attractive spot
overlooking North Stradbroke Island. Again, there were some hills,
but nothing too challenging. We returned by 12 pm, lunched at the
bakery or a café on Russell and most left on the 1 pm ferry to be
back at Redland Bay about 1.30pm, and Bribie before 3:30.
A
great weekend, with a chance to explore some very interesting
islands, cycle some mostly gentle hills, and enjoy being together.
Total cost was $380 for the houses, plus the food bought for the
group – we all contributed $60 for couples and $40 for singles,
plus our boat fares, and the BUG covered the extra amount. We didn't
have any problem getting our 12 bicycles on one ferry, though there
might be a problem with such a large group at busier times - the
ferry has the right to limit the number of bikes per ferry if
necessary.
Posted
by Laurel Tucker
I
would like to add that everything ran like clockwork. Thanks to all
the organising done by Peter.
As
the newspaper article reported, we were also warned by the locals
about Angina Hill (a steep hill) we encountered as we left the ferry
on Macleay Island. We marvelled at the large number of curlews
feeding on the ground as we rode around sightseeing.
Posted
by Tommy Tomiyama (Our Visitor from Penang)
I
wish to express our thanks to Peter who arranged this fantastic trip
and
Laurel who picked up the article of this trip in the newspaper. In
addition, thanks to Adele and Keith who arranged a beautiful and
delicious breakfast "Hole in Toast" which impressed me a
lot with its taste.
We
all enjoyed the ride and this trip.
