thunder lightning and interesting wildlife

so i camped at straddie (stradbroke island) and my book says it is 6 bucks to camp. in reality it is 26, but oh actually it is 29 bc it is school holidays. blah.

but i did camp next to the beach and had access to hot water and showers and things and some fabulous walks. i slept on the beach, hiked some trails, watched some surfers, and took it easy. i saw sea turtles (at least 4 at one time) feeding, pods of dolphins, and finally this morning (only bc people were filming from their balcony) some humpback whales. i walked a lot... and some construction guy commented on my pink hip back with two water bottles and said i looked like a professional - i told him i had walked many miles and learned it was better to be prepared.

i also hid in my tent from the rain. the night i got there was the MOST FABULOUS thunderstorm with lightning like crazy coming from five different directions and streaking across the sky. thunder crackling like it was right in your ear. fabulous. i huddled in my tent and hoped that it wouldn't stike my face peeking through the zipper of the rainfly. the next morning it rained. the next evening i got out of the shower at 5 and heard the rain on the roof and dashed to my tent and stayed there. all the more reason to be in bed early. in the morning it rained a bit... i went for a walk to let my tent dry and to get coffee and when i came back to pack up and check out it was raining again. all day today it couldn't decide whether it was going to be a cloudy day or a gloomy one.


another crazy thing today - i took the wrong bus on purpose to the ferry but didn't realize there were two ferry terminals so i had to walk to the correct one and the bus driver recommended the scenic way along the beach which i did. i picked up some gorgeous pearly oyster shells and then on the second beach there were these black dots on the beach - i thought they were snails... then i walked towards them and they backed away making clicking noises - so i thought they were hermit crabs. they were crabs but i have no idea what kind and there were millions of them. millions!!!
and maybe they were sand bubblers (marine eco kids - and blue planet watchers you will know) but they started moving away from you before you got even close... it was totally bizarre and i spent a lot of time trying to get an up close view which involved me dashing at them and pointing my super zoomed in camera at them. :) i am sure it was hilarious for any passers by.

so i am gregg and debbie's (mom's friends) for the evening and going to steve irwin's zoo tomorrow.