Waiting for the weather.
Things are fairly quiet on Shelly Beach at Caloundra on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, at least on the beach as the predicted heavy weather moves in for the week. We are not staying in Caloundra but further north. Off the beach to the right, and several miles out into the Pacific Ocean and north of Moreton Bay lie 14 large ships waiting for pilots to take them south through the channels of the Bay into the Port of Brisbane. The Pilot Station is in Mooloolaba. Another ship was just arriving off the beach and out of the Bay, ready to drop off its pilot as we stopped for this photo. The major coal and iron ore ports of Australia routinely have many ships at anchor offshore waiting for a berth and it's not unusual to see up to five ships at this location, but 14 is something of an eye opener.
This shot faces north. Once the pilot is dropped off, some ships head up north along the east coast this way, no doubt a few head east out into the Pacific and many round the tip of Moreton Island and head south towards Sydney and Melbourne.
Shelly Beach is one of a number of suburban beaches in the City of Caloundra. It's sand is a strong yellow/brown as it is primarily shell grit. The birds love it. We used to always get a few buckets for our Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Clarry years ago. Shell grit is an important mineral and calcium supplement for birds and aids digestion of seeds in their crops.
Waiting for the weather.
Things are fairly quiet on Shelly Beach at Caloundra on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, at least on the beach as the predicted heavy weather moves in for the week. We are not staying in Caloundra but further north. Off the beach to the right, and several miles out into the Pacific Ocean and north of Moreton Bay lie 14 large ships waiting for pilots to take them south through the channels of the Bay into the Port of Brisbane. The Pilot Station is in Mooloolaba. Another ship was just arriving off the beach and out of the Bay, ready to drop off its pilot as we stopped for this photo. The major coal and iron ore ports of Australia routinely have many ships at anchor offshore waiting for a berth and it's not unusual to see up to five ships at this location, but 14 is something of an eye opener.
This shot faces north. Once the pilot is dropped off, some ships head up north along the east coast this way, no doubt a few head east out into the Pacific and many round the tip of Moreton Island and head south towards Sydney and Melbourne.
Shelly Beach is one of a number of suburban beaches in the City of Caloundra. It's sand is a strong yellow/brown as it is primarily shell grit. The birds love it. We used to always get a few buckets for our Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Clarry years ago. Shell grit is an important mineral and calcium supplement for birds and aids digestion of seeds in their crops.