Rain in Urangan

Virtually the whole of Australia is experiencing a severe drought. We have seen virtually no rain in the month we have been in Oz, but finally some rain was in the forecast. By the way the best radar site and app I know of is Rain Alarm.

Instead of the usual clear skies at dawn, there were some clouds.

Late in the afternoon, the rain arrived.

Since we have a great view from the unit, we can watch everything as it develops.

A second batch of rain moved in.

A full rainbow appeared.

The sun is very strong and rainbows can be very intense. The latitude in Urangan is 25.3 S. To put it into perspective, Key West in Florida is at 24.5 N. About half of Australia lies in the tropics.

The strong sun illuminates the boat.

The jetty off in the distance. 

The full moon appeared above Fraser Island.

That evening after dinner we sat out on the balcony watching the moon reflection rippling on the water. Occasionally we would see some lightning off in the distance. It's a bit like sitting in an old picture theater looking at a huge screen with incredible scenes. Sheer magic.

Finally, you have to watch the reaction of one Aussie farmer to the rain.

Morning in Urangan

It's 7:10 and we have been up since sun rise. You might as well enjoy it too.

It doesn't take long for the sun to rise.

Looking south.

Looking north.

A few minutes later.

The light coming through the sail was magical.

Marianne wondered what these were way off in the distance. We couldn't quite make them out with the binoculars and so I took a photo. I'm still none the wiser.

Urangan

We are doing a house exchange in Urangan that will last five weeks. Our hosts left for the US before dawn on the morning after we arrived.  They will stay at our house next year.

So here  is the dawn we shall experience most days.

The sun rises over Woody Island in the foreground and Fraser Island in the background.

The tide was out so the sandbars become visible. You might be able to make out the Urangan Jetty.

We went to the supermarket and booze shop. Then it was time to gaze out at the view.

There always seems to be something going on.

A boat approaches the entrance to the boat harbour.

Later we walked to the jetty.

The units are protected from the waves by a rock wall. We have heard that the wall has structural problems that need to be fixed.

The units have four levels and our unit has two floors at the top.

Path to the beach.

The sand seems to have a bit of mud mixed in this year.

I came across this rather unusual purple thing and I wondered what exotic sea creature it was.

I gave it a poke with a stick and it turned out to be a rubber ball with a crack.

Marianne continued on the soft sand while I wandered out onto the sand flats that are submerged at high tide.

This is an area of the beach that I have never seen before so I surprised to come across some exposed rocks.

A couple were fishing and periodically I would check on them. The tide can come in quickly here and if they left I figured it would be time for me to leave the sandbar as well.

I had never seen the sandbar look like this before. It was tough walking over the rather muddy sand.

The jetty in the distance.

Eventually I reached the jetty where some people were watching a flock of pelicans diving into the water.

Late afternoon shadow. It was about 4 pm and the sun sets shortly after 5 pm.

Under the jetty. 

I had never seen a bird like this before at the beach. I think it might be a Brahminy Kite. They do live in the area.

I was puzzling about the deep channels and I wondered if a series of high tides might have carved them out with the water rushing in and out. Recently the height between high and low was about 10 feet. There are two high tides each day.

Back at shore I met up with Marianne and we returned to the unit. These are the steps at Dayman Park.

Hervey Bay is a wonderful area to watch whales and there are numerous tourist boats that go out twice a day. Here is one returning late in the day.

It's about time to return to shore.

Take the few seconds to watch this video of what we will have to put up with for the next five weeks. Somebody has to do it.