Day 70 – Monday 27 September 2021 –  ? Km

Up at 5.20am this morning & down to the beach to see the eastern grey kangaroos & agile rock wallabies on the beach. A ranger feeds them pellets on the beach at sunrise each morning & they are not afraid of people. A group of around 60 campers are there to see them fed, young & old & there are people coming & going all the time.  I have a chat to the ranger & he tells me the eastern grey kangaroos have been raised from orphan joeys by the caravan park people and are now roaming free. I come back to the van & have an early breakfast then we decide to walk out to the nearby Wedge Island as it will be low tide at 7.45am & the causeway to the island will be uncovered. It is a 2.0 metre low tide and when we get there the causeway is a long way out of the water. We walk along the beach & across the causeway to Wedge Island, there are quite a few others taking advantage of the tide as well.

On Wedge Island there is a nice sheltered sandy beach, when the tide is in. Now there is sand up to the vegetation & lots of rocks near the water. We walk & explore to the end of the beach & enjoy the views across the bay & the surrounding high mountains, this is another dimension to the beauty of Cape Hillsborough.  The tide turns & we make our way slowly back across the causeway & then back along the beach. It is amazing how far the tide is out, it is equally amazing that it can be another 2 metres lower at dead low tide. Back at the caravan it is morning tea time, then a rest to recover from the long walk.

After lunch we go on a drive to explore the nearby area. Our first stop is at Smalley Beach, at the end of a long dirt road with a national Park Campground as well, with only one camper. We get out of the car to have a look at the beach & come across a very large Lace Monitor (goanna), at least 2 metres long & very fat. The beach & surrounding mangroves & overlooking mountain is beautiful. We drive next to Ball Bay & drive slowly around it looking at both the beach & the houses. Next is Halliday Bay where we have a similar slow drive before making our way to Seaforth. This town is spread out a very long way in a narrow strip along the beachfront, all the way from Seaforth Creek to Finlayson Point. One thing that amazed us was the size of the massive caravan park at Seaforth, full of school holiday campers.

Back to camp & afternoon tea, a siesta then cheese & bikkies with some red wine. Dinner was simple & another early night. This sea air certainly makes us tired.