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Ocean Beach

Ocean Beach
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08/10/2022

 

Bribie Island

Australia

 

27°S
153°E

0 - 3m ASL

 

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SETTING off from Woorim at the southern end of Bribie Island's main beach at sunrise, I headed northward towards the national park. A temporary fence was set up along the beach to reduce the erosion from the sea eating into the sand. It was a peaceful walk along the beach with the waves breaking over the thin width of sand with the high tide. The occasional rain shower fell as I gradually passed the marker beacon about half a kilometre offshore marking the entrance to Moreton Bay. The grey silhouette of Moreton Island was visible under the clouds on the other side of the bay.

The beach road started at First Lagoon as I entered the national park. There was little traffic on the beach this morning with the weather not looking great and the tide being high, though now dropping. I continued hiking along the beach aiming to reach the fourth lagoon (Welsby Lagoon) and walk back from there exploring each lagoon.

It didn't take long to reach the entrance to the second lagoon (Norfork Lagoon) which I passed knowing I was making good time. Several ships were passing in the distance heading out of Moreton Bay having crossed the relative shallows of Brisbane River at high tide. Already it will be getting too shallow for them to return into the Brisbane River.

Several vehicles passed as I continued heading up the beach. Initially they were coming back the other way returning from the Ocean Beach camping ground with the tide now going out exposing some of the harder sand. The sand above the high tide mark was very soft.

The beach became increasingly easy to walk on as I followed the long leg up towards Mermaid Lagoon. Here it was all beach, with the churning water of the waves to the right and the low scrubby sand hills to the left. Numerous vehicles were now coming up the beach, mostly day trippers heading up to secure their little spot to spend the day fishing in the solitude of this long sweeping beach.

It was now completely overcast but the rain had stopped falling. I could now catch glimpses of Caloundra about twenty kilometres up the beach beyond the end of the island. I was now passing solitary fishermen on the beach about every ten minutes, stopping to talk to a couple of them.

Eventually I passed Mermaid Lagoon, so there was only a couple of kilometres to get up to Welsby Lagoon. It was not long before I could see the broad patch of sand marking the entrance to the lagoon. All four lagoons were blocked with a thick bank of sand keeping the water surface level well above high tide level. During the flooding rains earlier this year, these banks had all broken with the lagoons creating a deep channel through the sand into the sea. This had largely drained all the lagoons and created very hazardous crossings for the vehicles, with quite a few being lost in the crossings keeping the local towing companies busy.

I reached Welsby Lagoon having hiked about twelve kilometres up the beach. I stopped there having a look over the lagoon flooded with dark ochre coloured water. From here I walked back along the beach stopping at Mermaid Lagoon. It was about here when the clouds started clearing revealing quite a sunny day. I continued heading along the beach.

By the time I reached Norfork Lagoon, the entrance was quite crowded but I found a nearby track to a secluded spot beside the long channel running parallel to the beach. Here I stopped for lunch and relaxed beside the lagoon before continuing along the beach.

The beach was very busy now with the tide out and a lot of vehicles heading up uand down the sand. I reached First Lagoon and rested there for a while before heading back to the beach and crossing the signs stopping vehicles from passing. It was a relief to be back on vehicle free beach without tyre tracks in the sand to contend with. There were quite a few people walking this section of the beach on the final two kilometres into Woorim.

I passed the old military building at the point, well sandbagged to prevent erosion which had been eating away at the beach the entire length of the island I had followed today. From here the beach was very busy, so I headed to a footpath above the beach going through the forest, then walked into the nearby Woorim Village to explore it before heading home.

 
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