Thursday 18 May 2017

The Great Sandy Strait



The Great Sandy Strait is a narrow strip of marginally navigable channels, mangroves swamps, shifting sand banks and forested islands that separate mainland Australia from Fraser Island.



Entering into this calm wonderful wilderness area requires crossing the Wide Bay Bar, the scariest seaway on this side of the country. 

The combination of strong tides and stronger currents and a maze of sandbanks with big swells rolling in from the Pacific can make this two mile dash quite desperate.

This is how we did not want to do it ...
YouTube video of someone else having a rough time on the Wide Bay Bar

So we waited for perfect calm weather, plotted our route carefully, checked in with the local coast guard and conscientiously monitored our way on GPS and chart plotter. And it was a doddle.

That was on Tuesday. Since then we have been in the calm protected waters of the Great Sandy Strait. This place is a superb wilderness with stunningly beautiful anchorages, peaceful secluded little beaches,
pristine forests and plenty of wildlife. 











All along we've seen dozens of turtles, fish leaping about everywhere and we been regularly visited by
dolphins.



More Dolphins ...


 






















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