Things you find on a Queensland Beach

Michele: The sand on South Mission Beach is a fine silty-sand. This makes for firm footing for soccer games but sandcastles require some effort. I was at first surprised there isn't more mud since we are very close to the mouth of the Hull river. There is a rocky promontory between us and the Hull River, so the mud is probably directed elsewhere. Because estuaries are prime crocodile territory, I like that there is a rocky promontory between us and the river. I'm told that crocs don't usually come onto the beaches in the winter.

We haven't yet found a crocodile on the beach but we have found sand dollars, crab holes and coconuts. Robin collected the sand dollars. They are somewhat fragile but she found quite a few intact ones. As the crabs dig into the sand they roll it past their legs leaving piles of sand balls. We speculated that the size of the crab is evidenced by the diameter of the sand balls.

It turns out that coconuts are a challenge to juggle... and to open.

After we bought a hammer in Tully we were able to open this coconut that Will found on the beach. It turned out to have fresh juice inside. mmm!