Flat out like a lizard drinking

 

We completed the 18nm to Lizard Island in a little over 4 hrs, finally anchoring in Mrs Watsons Bay around 1630. Winds were fairly kind at 15-20kts. Lots of yachts (at times) in the anchorage, some on their yearly pilgrimage to this yachting mecca, others part of the Island Cruising Associations' rally to Indonesia (around 36 chose to come to Lizard from Cairns from the 51 taking part). Unless yachts are going across to Darwin or taking part in the yearly rally they turn around here and beat back into seas after September. 

 

For Manatee's crew it was 2 weeks of relaxing.

 

 

The Dingaal Aboriginal owners called Lizard Island Jiigurru and it is a sacred place. The island was not only used as an initiation site but it was a place of plenty. Dingaal paddled across from the mainland to harvest turtles, shellfish, dugongs and fish. Lots of middens here!

 

Gould's sand monitor (goanna)

 

 Lizard Island was given its name by Captain Cook when he climbed the island's summit to sight a pass through the maze of the Great Barrier Reef in 1770.  He had his crew row him over in a pinnace from the mainland- they must have been fit! He commented, "The only land Animals we saw here were Lizards, and these seem'd to be pretty Plenty, which occasioned my naming the Island Lizard Island". These lizards were Gould's sand monitors and the island still has a colony, although the only lizards we saw were around the research station where they scavenge for food.

 

the island's summit "Cook's Look"

We spent a day climbing the summit and the views were fantastic!

 

 

 

Half way up the summit there was a grand view of the anchorage. Just near the group of three yachts (Manatee is the red yacht), is a patch of reef called the "clam garden" - magnificent snorkelling!

We climbed to this spot more than once as it also had phone reception.

 

The bay just past the anchorage is where the Lizard Island Resort sits. Damaged two years running in cyclones, it is being re-built and re-landscaped. Despite this the tariff is still over $1600 per person!

 

view of the lagoon from Cook's Look

 

 

Marg at Cook's cairn

In 1880 the Watson family settled on the island to harvest beche-de-mer and while her husband and his partner were off the island the settlement was "attacked" by Dingaals. A Chinese servant was killed, Mary, her baby and another Chinese servant escaped in a beche-de-mer tub to a nearby island where they perished. Mary and her baby are buried in Cooktown cemetery.

Perhaps the attack occurred because this was a sacred site! 

Beche-de-mer harvesting was abandoned.

The bay bears the name Mrs Watson's in memory of Mary.

 

Mrs Watson's Bay

 

We also took daily dinghy rides to nearby beaches where we snorkelled the reef while Ruby regained the use of her land legs! She has become a surfer on board Manatee.

 

Ruby being sensible on her outing to either....

 

Mermaid Cove or

 

Turtle Beach

 

We also walked the island. The southern aspect was glorious- the lagoon magical.

 

The Lizard Island Research Station , in the next bay along from the lagoon, was welcoming (thanks Lyle!). It was established in 1973 and is owned by the Australian Museum, although funded privately by a foundation. Their library was amazing - always nervous around sharks I found the photos of the species of "nervous shark" intriguing. Lyle gave a group of us a tour of the facility and confirmed that crocs and bull sharks visited the island - obviously not publicised widely due to the resort. A post-grad student explained that his research entailed studying two controlled tanks (one with humbugs and one without) to establish whether fish poop slowed coral bleaching which is due to global warming. Oh I wish I'd studied to be a marine biologist! Students were seen regularly in the facilities tenders visiting parts of the reef.

Walking around the island to the research station

 

 

 

 

 

beach in front of research station

We also, with the assistance from the crew of Samantha (thanks Andrena and Shawn), fixed our halyard problem and, we hoped, the furler. The HF antenna was unrepairable, thankfully the radio is still operational. 

We also joined other yachties for evening sundowners most nights on the beach.

We WERE flat out like lizards drinking!