A lot of the Southern Moreton Bay islands are low lying and covered with mangroves. Climbing through mangrove roots can be fun but it's very tiring. But sometimes there are places to land and have a look around.
This island was about 2kms off the coast and had a small sandy beach.
Not certain why the trees all died off here though.
Mangrove wood weathers into some quite beautiful shapes and textures, particularly the grain patterns. The effects of the sea on the wood result in forms you just don't see anywhere else.
We do chuck a lot of stuff into the sea that shouldn't be there. Amongst the flotsam on this little beach I found this abandoned crab pot with the remains of a Hawksbill turtle. I don't think the turtle could have gotten into the trap by itself and died. Most likely a dead carcass was used as bait.
Some of the islands are more than mangroves, mud and sand. This one was made of red dirt and was about 20 meters above sea level with a large plateau on top. It's probably the weathered remains of a hill before ocean levels rose several thousand years ago. Looks nice doesn't it? Not so. I stopped to put my shoes on here and was almost eaten alive by sandflies.
These larger islands sometimes have inhabitants like this billy, and signs of previous human habitation. Judging by his behaviour I think he was used to people. He didn't go me. He looks like he's been shampooed. I don't know much about goats but this one is probably farmed for his fur.
Didn't notice this dude at my elbow until he moved. I'm glad he was a python rather than one of the other varieties. He was sunning himself on the tyre of an old abandoned tractor. Beautiful scales, like overlapping triangles.
