On rainy days, Mad Maurie the entertainment manager peddles away on a beautifully restored pianola. He calls it the original "Karioki" and suffered Jude singing snatches from "My Fair Lady" in his ear!
"I could have danced all night............................"
A number of former dredges and working vessels have been sunk to form a reef to protect the anchorage, and provide a great snorkeling site! It was far too cold for us, so we went hiking into the interior instead, re-familiarising ourselves with the Aussie bush the flora so different from tropical Tonga and other Pacific islands, and were welcomed by a Kookaburra chorus that blew our ears off.
A weather window opened up so we bashed our way out through the ever shifting sandbanks of Moreton Bay.
The channel marker at the mouth of the North East Passage had been moved nearly a Nautical Mile, and there was white water crashing around us. It took steady nerve and a close watch of the depth scanner to safely negotiate our way out. It was a relief when we reached deeper water, and Moreton Cape Lighthouse.
The sail to Southport was brisk and cold. We arrived at dawn with Surfers Paradise rising like a ghost from the mist, and entered the Seaway without mowing down any of the numerous surfing fanatics braving the cold. Anchored in "Bums Bay" near Waterworkd we had a good stop-over.
