Moreton Island sand adventure

K: What an adventure on the third largest sand island in the world! Moreton Island is about an hour ferry ride from Brisbane, and once you are on the island, there are no sealed or paved roads so 4WD is the only transport option.

The island is amazing with huge sand dunes, fresh and salt water lakes, and diverse wildlife -- killer sharks, whales, sea turtles, dolphins, jelly fish of all types. We had a great tour guide who zipped us right along (and sometimes into) the ocean in his 4WD. We traversed the island's two "roads", and I have to say that I was glad Viggo wasn't driving! I think that prior experience driving the sand tracks is a prerequisite, for sure.

Our first stop was at the sand dunes for some sand boarding. We used small boards to hurtle down rather large sand dunes. It was a blast. I especially liked sitting on top of Viggo for the ride to the bottom. Too bad there wasn't a chair lift to take us back to the top.



Starfish









Here we go!

Jellyfish	Typical terrain of sand dunes
Our 4WD vehicle and driver
Lighthouse	Typical rugged sand road
Dunes	The Sand Duneboarding spot
Woo hoo!	What a ride!
A little nap, well deserved

V: "Woo hoo," and the occasional mild profane utterance, said by first-time sandboarders, echoed around the Desert, our sand duneboarding spot. Who knew that a piece of plywood paneling, waxed on the smooth side with a candle, could be so much fun, and so fast, zooming down a steep sand dune?! An absolute blast it was, and I couldn't get up the dunehill fast enough to go down again. The best ride downhill may well have been when Karen get on the board on top of me, and we flew down the dune!

We hiked to the old lighthouse on Moreton Island, cooled down in a wonderfully refreshing freshwater lake, and discovered quite a few creatures, as the pictures show, along the shore as we explored the island. This was a great day's outing, indeed!