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Day 11: Sailing to Lizard Island
October 2, 2005

After leaving Cooktown, we continued heading north again over the Great Barrier Reef, towards our next destination, Lizard Island. There is great anchorage there, and a lovely resort. There are also 11 species of lizards living on this island, including a few large monitor lizards (close cousins to the Komodo Dragon) so I'm really psyched about this stop. This love for reptiles was given to me by my Uncle Ian - on my mother's side - who used to take me and my brother snake-hunting in my formative years. It stuck. Well, it's a long story, but anyone who knows me knows that I'll dive on any scaled critter I come upon in the wild.

We sailed along the Queensland coastline, with the rugged and desolate mountains rising and falling along the way. Seas were gentle and the wind was at our backs most of the way. But we had to keep our eyes wide open and constantly plot or course because of all the reefs along the way. Our path was generally guided by markers for the shipping channel, but you never know...

 

Click to watch video: Leaving Cooktown

Click to watch video: Sailing to Lizard

 

Left: Makulu under way to Lizard Island

Below: Todd keeps watch for coral heads off the bow of the Makulu as we approach Lizard Island

 
 

 
 
   
 

Lizard Island's anchorage seen from a hike along one of it's nature trails.

  
 

 
 
 

The island is a national park with a magrove forrest nestled between 2 small mountains. There was a raised wooden trail through the mangrove forest, and then the trail became a sandy road on the other side.

As the captain and I hiked along, I could see the signs that there were big monitor lizards on the island. There were tracks everywhere. But unfortunately, I didn't see any actual lizards along the way to the other side of the island (Below). I figured I'd try again in the morning on a hike with Amie.

 

On the way back through the Mangrove Forrest to the Makulu, as the sun was setting, the island's Flying Foxes took wing for the night. There must have been hundreds of them, all rising to the sky at once. The video I took doesn't show that many bats, but trust me. They were BIG, and they were everywhere.

Click to watch video: Flying Foxes

NEXT DAY