Leaving the Mainland … again

Having lived on the Scottish Island of Iona in my youth I was very excited to be able to spend some time on another small island, this time on Macleay a scenic, residential island in Southern Moreton Bay.  Many of the 2,000 residents travel to the mainland daily, leaving one vehicle at the ferry terminal and the other on the mainland at Redland Bay in a secure parking area.

The vehicle ferry carried a wide assortment of vehicles—

• an articulated tipper, 
• a tractor 
• a motorbike, and 
• Highland Drover. 

The island has a very large population of Burhinus grallarius the Bush Stone Curlew an unusual large bird with an eerie cry, somewhat like a person screaming.  Instead of flying away when threatened, they freeze and hope they're invisible! The birds on Macleay are very acclimatised to humans and Skye was usually surrounded by 3 or 4 of them.

The passenger ferries are eco-jet catamarans which complete the journey to the mainland in 18 minutes and it's also possible to "island hop" to nearly Russell, Lamb or Karragarra Islands.