Wednesday 21 January 2015

A Palm Cove Afternoon

It was a hard afternoon at work I tell you.


Imagine having to put up with this.


See, very hard afternoon.


We headed to the beach, Palm Cove to be exact, for our Wednesday afternoon activity at Nova. Our student was pretty excited to say the least.


I think she was bouncing with excitement and happily joined us in our no shoes exploration which lead to wet toes of cause. It is stinger season so she got to see the stinger nets in action and learn about swimming between the flags.


The lifeguards had headed out, suited up, to find some stingers for beach goers to see as the plan is you don't see them if swimming in the nets.


The signs were up and with the 'king' tides and recent rain there is a high stinger risk so it is even advised that swimmers wear stinger suits inside the nets.


The water temp was 29 degrees C, which is warm enough to bath in, but with a top of 35 today and humidity turned on it was refreshing to dip our feet into it.


There were a few around enjoying the water, sand and sun.


Knowing there are stingers in there makes the water look not quite so 'nice' but it looks pretty all the same.


We spotted some noisy beach goers hanging out. Our student loved seeing a bird she had heard about and then seen in a zoo in the wild.


The rainbow lorikeets weren't the best of posers though.


This photo below almost gives the impression of a deserted beach but it was far from that with people lazing in the shade, swimming, walking and having BBQs up on the grass.


See what I mean below our school coordinator and student lazing working hard in the shade.


I wander u the beach meant the student got to see the crocodile sign in a real location. Did you know an attack by a crocodile my cause harm or injury. Much of an understatement? Now that water is looking even less appealing, isn't it.


We headed along the wharf/ pier.


There were a few people fishing but no matter how hard we looked we didn't see a fish in sight.


What we did see however was my school marmish hat floating away after it blew off my head. See above references to marine life as to why I wasn't going after it. Belated birthday present idea from a relative down south maybe.


At Palm Cove you can see Double Island and Scout Hat Island.


My new tale for Scout Hat Island is ... that is what happened to the last hat that was taken by the ocean.


It was a really nice walk but I can tell you hatless was not wise as unintentional as it was.


The good thing about taking our Japanese students places is that I fit in on the photo taking front.


Plus it is fun pointing out the normal and the interesting to them and seeing the area through the eyes of someone else.


On the walk back we saw more, discussed more and caught up with those noisy beach goers again.


They were still just as willing to sit still.


Before heading back into town we let the student lead us to the shops and enjoyed having a bit of a browse. We were also possibly strategically standing in front of air conditioner vents which might not have been the smartest idea when having to step back outside.


I tell you, my afternoon at work was such hard work.




http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/wild-bird-wednesday-132-willie-wagtail.html

26 comments:

  1. I can see you really are overworked, perhaps you should take a break!! Loved all the beach shots, and the birds.

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    1. Yes, that job is a hard one :) It can be challenging at times but that adds to the enjoyment. Thanks, it was a lovely afternoon.

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  2. Great photos - beautiful scenery - fun birds to watch - but what a nuisance that you couldn't get into the water because of the stingers - and the crocs too of course!

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    1. Thanks. You can swim inside the stinger nets, they check them daily. If crocs are spotted, beaches are closed and if the water is rough it is too because the nets have to come out of the water. It is a beautiful place still though and the bird life is crazy.

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  3. the beach sure is beautiful, even if a few 'unfriendlies' are around. loved the lorikeets. glad you had a good show-around! sorry about the lost hat. :)

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    1. It is a beautiful place. I was very happy to see lorikeets plus it meant I could finally show our student a bird we had heard and seen in the distance so often.

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  4. The beach is gorgeous and I love the colourful lorikeets.

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  5. Beautiful photos (if "unappealing!" :-) ) and I love the lorikeets. They are so colorful.

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    1. Thanks. I will admit I have swum a few times at various beaches in the north this time of year. I love lorikeets too, so noisy and happy.

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  6. loved your story and pics. So nice even with stingers :)

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    1. Thanks and yes it still is nice. It was interesting to see the stingers up close as the ones I am familiar with (have been sting by) are different.

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  7. Hi! Nice series of beautiful seashore and bird photos. I enjoyed them very much. Thank for sharing.

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    1. Thanks and I am glad you enjoyed them. It was a nice afternoon at the beach.

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  8. Except for the stingers and the crocodile scare, sign me up!!

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    1. I know mind you the nets work okay on the stingers and beaches are closed if there are crocs.

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  9. 10 years I've been in Australia - and like most folks live near the coast. Unlike most folks I've never dipped so much as a toe in the water. Too many things waiting to either hurt me or eat me.

    The artificial beach at South Bank Brisbane does me just fine :)

    Rory

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    1. Oh really, that is a shame. I love the beaches down there and have only managed to get stung by a blue bottle once in the over 20yrs I've been swimming there. Only heard one shark warning too and it ended up being a false alarm. I do love the beach but can understand wanting the safety of the artificial one at south bank.

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  10. Nice post - I remember the first time I saw the stinger notices when I was in FNQ.

    I managed to donate my 'fining hat' to the marine environment this week, so it must be some form of trend!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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    1. I think the north is the only place with those notices? Mind you I've seen signs up for stingers in SE QLD as well. It must have been the hat loss week :(

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  11. Now that is one hard day at the office.

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  12. it looks like a beautiful beach to visit - but crocodiles and stingers! I wouldn't want to go anywhere near the water. We have stingers down Busselton Dunsborough way as well (I didn't mention THEM in my recent beach post!)
    Have a great week and thank you for stopping by my blog.

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    1. I know the hurty things are a bit of a turn off. Well I guess everyone gets stingers and I'm glad we aren't the only ones. It must be all in the kind though and what they can do. Thanks for coming by.

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  13. Interesting, the beautiful beaches and hidden dangers. We had Portuguese Man-of-war jellyfish in the water when I was a kid, and sometimes lots of jellyfish, so I know the feeling. The crocodiles would give one pause about retrieving hats, for sure. But the sky seems to be a lovely purple tint, and the rainbow lorikeets look fun to photograph. Fun day!

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    1. I saw on the notice these jelly fish are also sometimes called men of war too, I think it said that. I recall swimming with large harmless 'men-of-war' that were brown. Different kinds maybe.I recall blue bottles from when I was a kid. I also recall what their sting is like. It was a great afternoon. Thanks for coming by.

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