Karragarra island

We caught the ferry over to Karragarra Island, a small island across from Russell Island in Moreton Bay that we intended to walk around. On one side was a narrow strip of sandy beach and on the opposite side, mangroves.

Walking over family ground

In my family, our grandfather was a mystery. He has been talked of, speculated about, but no one could pin down his elusive past. One period we were certain of, was when he owned a large stretch of land.

Pulau ubin’s sensory trail

The afternoon reached thirty degrees. The humidity was 80%. I walked the three plus kilometres back to the Main Village for an oyster omelette and a much needed coconut water. With shaded paths and a slight breeze, the island may have been a degree cooler than mainland Singapore, but it was still steamy.

Pulau ubin island’s chek jawa wetlands’ mangrove boardwalk

From the lushness of the sea grass around the mangrove roots, the walk changed into a quagmire of mud and what appeared to be anthills. I soon discovered that these muddy mounds which could sometimes be as high as three metres, were the work of mud lobsters that burrowed through the slush to extract rich organic matter. They acted like earthworms by mixing up and aerating the soil. Additionally, the mounds provided habitats for other animals such as crabs, spiders and snakes. 

taijiang national park’s sicao green tunnel

If you’ve never been surrounded by mangroves, Green Tunnel is the place to visit. I crossed the car park where litter lined the walkway. In fact, I’d walked all the way from Anshun Salt Flats, and loads of garbage had fluttered by the side of the road — and this was a national park.

A reserve that should have been preserved

When I caught a train to Tamsui, my eyes followed a trail running parallel to the tracks that continued all the way to the last MRT station. On the journey I spotted so many pieces of garbage it seemed like someone had tipped a box of never-ending litter along the route.

By the Bay

Only a couple of streets away from where I stayed during my last Brisbane visit was Moreton Bay. I headed to Waterloo Bay’s foreshore where a giant pandanus stood at one end of a small park, and sparkling water off shore.

Wellington Point’s hidden trail

Around the other side of Wellington Point’s long spit, was a cement pathway that most people ignored, including me. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve visited this thin strip of land stretching out into Moreton Bay. But on my last visit, I wanted to see part of the bay from a different location and noticed the trail.

Return to a childhood haunt

Personally King Island had a completely different history from the one I wrote in my last Auz post. To me it was a fascinating island because it could be reached on foot at low tide. Originally called Yerra-bin by the Aboriginal people of Quandamooka (Moreton Bay), the name was later changed to King.

Return to Sandy Beach

Over a year later, I returned to the same Russell Island beach where North Stradbroke Island stretched like a giant crocodile across the channel. Last visit, the tide was high and the beach appeared no more than a metre wide, but on my next trip, the tide was out, and the rippled sand stretched for one hundred metres to the sea.