After our night of fitful sleep we had a clearer picture of the storm, and learned we were unable to go to Fraser at all. So we went to Eumundi, per the suggestion of the Info Centre lady and toured their fantastic market. It was enormous and we had a nice time walking around and sampling some of the delicacies... ginger beer, kettle corn, fresh bread, crepes, wine.
After an hour or so at the markets we drove south to the Ginger Factory where they process ginger into food products/candies. The place was ideal for elderly tourists, but we enjoyed ourselves! The grounds were covered in lovely plants (which all tourned out to be difference species of ornamental ginger), and as the rain came and went we didn't get too wet. We toured the factory and learned about the harvesting and processing process. The roots they pull up can be as large as a shoe box! Soon after picking the ginger they stick it in brine to harden the outer skin (can be 1-7 days). The whiter and softer the ginger, the fresher it is. Good to know!
They use a crazy laser sorting machine that detects the fiber content of each piece and sends it to the right pot. Then they soak it in syrup for up to 12 days. That syrup is later used for ginger beer. Anyway, we tasted a few products at the end of the tour - which made it worth it.
After the Ginger Factory we sorted ourselves out and decided to head to Moreton Island and stay at the Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort. Shortly after this we learned of a massive oil spill that hit moreton island!! What Luck! But as it would happen, the spill is on the Eastern side and we were staying on the Western side. The only major downside (besides the ecological disaster of coruse!) was that most of the island was closed off as a result, and we had to stay within the resort property boundary. So no exotic sand island lakes for us to see.
So on 12 March we took the ferry over... we were lucky to make it! We drove like crazy people from the post office (from where we had shipped some luggage home) to teh ferry and made it just in time.
As we road the ferry out of the Brisbane River, we saw the oil tanker that had caused the spill (and the next day it was to spill more into the river!).
We arrived at the island and everything was lovely... tropical island feel. The first thing we did was to go sand toboganning down a massive sand dune! Quite fun... We went down 3 times, each time re-waxing the piece of particle board we rode on. I (Kersti) wore swim goggles they provided, but billy braved it in his sunnies. I can tell you from the photo the tour guide took, I looked pretty ridiculous! Imagine someone trying to keep sound out of their mouth while going down a sand dune face first, but also trying to keep their eyes open, wearing green rimmed swim goggles.
After an hour or so at the markets we drove south to the Ginger Factory where they process ginger into food products/candies. The place was ideal for elderly tourists, but we enjoyed ourselves! The grounds were covered in lovely plants (which all tourned out to be difference species of ornamental ginger), and as the rain came and went we didn't get too wet. We toured the factory and learned about the harvesting and processing process. The roots they pull up can be as large as a shoe box! Soon after picking the ginger they stick it in brine to harden the outer skin (can be 1-7 days). The whiter and softer the ginger, the fresher it is. Good to know!
They use a crazy laser sorting machine that detects the fiber content of each piece and sends it to the right pot. Then they soak it in syrup for up to 12 days. That syrup is later used for ginger beer. Anyway, we tasted a few products at the end of the tour - which made it worth it.
After the Ginger Factory we sorted ourselves out and decided to head to Moreton Island and stay at the Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort. Shortly after this we learned of a massive oil spill that hit moreton island!! What Luck! But as it would happen, the spill is on the Eastern side and we were staying on the Western side. The only major downside (besides the ecological disaster of coruse!) was that most of the island was closed off as a result, and we had to stay within the resort property boundary. So no exotic sand island lakes for us to see.
So on 12 March we took the ferry over... we were lucky to make it! We drove like crazy people from the post office (from where we had shipped some luggage home) to teh ferry and made it just in time.
As we road the ferry out of the Brisbane River, we saw the oil tanker that had caused the spill (and the next day it was to spill more into the river!).
We arrived at the island and everything was lovely... tropical island feel. The first thing we did was to go sand toboganning down a massive sand dune! Quite fun... We went down 3 times, each time re-waxing the piece of particle board we rode on. I (Kersti) wore swim goggles they provided, but billy braved it in his sunnies. I can tell you from the photo the tour guide took, I looked pretty ridiculous! Imagine someone trying to keep sound out of their mouth while going down a sand dune face first, but also trying to keep their eyes open, wearing green rimmed swim goggles.
A few hours later we watched a ranger feed a kookaburra... and then that evening we fed dolphins by hand. Obviously feeding wild animals is never a good idea, so we shouldn't have done that. But it was so hard to resist and the rangers were very informative (and took measures to make sure we didn't pass on disease).
See all our pictures! http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/200903SunshineCoastMoretonIslandQLD?authkey=Gv1sRgCPrdm-7N9KzIkQE&feat=directlink
1 comment:
Bill and his sand ball.... classic. I miss you both and thanks for the updates!! I'm glad you are having fun!!
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