10th - 13th November 2021 Fanny Cove Stoke National Park

Today was cool and cloudy so it was a good day to go for a walk to the old Moir Homestead,

It was a nice walk out there some areas of soft sand but in these areas we had fun tracking the different types of animals and birds that cross the track, the walk to get there is approximately 2.5kms.

There are quite a few ruins there, but you have to be careful around them as the bees have made hives in them, the national parks have laid old conveyor belt down as pathways so it makes it easier walking around rather through grass watching out for snakes.

There is an amazingly large beautiful Morton Bay fig there as well as another fruit tree which I wasn't sure of, I thought it may have been an old chestnut.

There are a couple of old wells and a tank as well as the buildings. At the end of one track is the grave of John Moir who was a farmer grazier, who with his brother(We believe) came out from Scotland and started the station running sheep, they also grew grain as feed for the sheep. It appears that John Moir was killed at the age of 33 by 2 men. Their wool used to be shipped from Fanny Cove.

The walk out to the homestead is lovely enough with banksias most of the way but pales into insignificance when you arrive, it is a mass of large banksias among other trees but what is most noticeable is the constant chatter and noise from all the birds, mostly wattle birds, all the birds have plenty of food, the Morton Bay fig would keep plenty of different birds and animals happy.

That afternoon the Shannon and Shane come back from their diving trip with a large harlequin  fish, they wanted to give us half but I told them I would freeze it for them to take home to the family.

When they had left that morning they checked in with us and told us what time they expected to be back just in case something happened, we watched them go out and as they rounded the point I was nearly having kittens, they looked as though they were going to cut through between a huge rock and the shore, there was big waves before this in this area Merv and I had stood and watched monster waves suddenly stand and break, thank heavens they sat and watched it for awhile then decided to go around, I know they ride huge waves and ride massive waves on jet skis but it's a bit different with a boat that can be swamped and turned over.

They told us that the weather would be more settled the following morning so Merv got the blowup boat ready, we thought we might just go out in the cove for awhile, we were told we might only catch whiting, snook, herring or salmon, not much choice but if the weather is nice it's a day on the water.

When we woke the next day it was a little windy, I  heard Shannon and Shane go out at 7 o'clock but that was a bit early for us.

By the time we got up, had breakfast and launched it was around 9 o'clock, we trolled for awhile trying for a snook using the lures and method that Shannon told us, being local lads we picked their brains. We didn't have any luck with the snook so drifted hoping for a whiting, we caught 3 nice sized whiting and 6 large wrasse, the whiting were dinner but the wrasse went back.

We went back to camp around 12.30 for some lunch, left the boat on the beach to go out again later, after Lunch Merv went out alone to try as my back was playing up too much from the mornings fishing, he came back without catching anything else.

At 5 o'clock Shannon and Shane came back pretty exhausted, 10 hours is a long time out in the cold diving even if they do take it in turns, they dive with a hooked, they had a nice black are a snapper for their dinner and didn't hang around before they headed to their camp.

Merv battered our whiting for dinner and of course if you have batter going a couple of pineapple fritters each with fresh bread.

After dinner we went for a walk on the beach, the water was so calm I said must be the calm before the storm, then we noticed the horizon amazing colours of a big storm,  it was pouring on the horizon and the sky was becoming black, purple and orange, we made it back before the rain started but it didn't rain much here.

Cool morning to start the next day so we decided to go fo a walk down another track we had seen.

Before we left Shannon and Shane turned up all packed and ready to leave they were thinking about going into Masons Bay. We gave them the fillet of harlequin fish I had frozen for them then Shannon gave Merv his details and ask us for a visit with his family in Dunsborugh at some time. When they left I thought it had been a long time since I had met such pleasant young people. Shane was a non drinker and smoker was only 26.

The track was a bit of soft sand but not too much, on the way we saw the last 60cm or more of a large goanna, Merv had seen a big one around our camp I had only seen its tracks.

When we got to the top of a hill we saw another beautiful beach and said that we must walk that one.

We walked to a car park area and then found a rough track pushed down through the bush, it didn't take long to be on the beach, then there is no words to describe it, oh my lordy lordy lord, there isn't any photos that can do an area like that justice.

We walked along a large beach, very steep with the big waves rushing in, the sand was very soft a real workout for the muscles, when we got to the far end it was more sheltered, the water is crystal clear, looked to see if we could get through to the next bay but it looked too far across and we were both starting to tire.

We rested for awhile Merv stripped and jumped in for a swim but it was a very short swim he said the water maybe crystal clear but it was icy cold.

I wandered about and could not believe the amount of shells washed up.

On the way back we tracked were it looked like a dingo had been on the beach.

We didn't take the same track back but followed the coast around which meant doing a bit of rock hopping, I am so glad Merv bought the walking sticks they are so good for balance and going up or down hills.

In the afternoon we repaired a leak in the boat then after dinner we went for another walk along the beach, it amazes us the amount of plastic strapping, plastic bottles, bits of rope and cord that is on such an isolated beach, we go back with handfuls each time.

Our walk on the new beach was only approximately 10.5kms but one of the hardest walks we have done with soft sand.