"A THIRTIETH TO REMEMBER"

MORETON ISLAND (TANGALOOMA RESORT), AUSTRALIA

Temperature: 34 Degrees Celsius (and H-O-T)

Track of the day: Forever Young, New Zealand Ad Campaign (click here to watch the ad - trust me you'll want to book a flight there by the end.)

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday Alecs, happy birthday to you," I sing bright and early in the morning as we wait for our taxi. Today is Alecs' 30th birthday - or as he likes to call it - his second 29th birthday. We are heading to Tangalooma Island resort for the day - some 75 minutes from Brisbane. Our taxi arrives promptly at 6:25a.m. and we're quickly on our way to the Holt Street Wharf. Within fifteen minutes we're at the wharf and waiting to board the cruise ship to the island in the distance. "I'm really looking forward to today," Alecs says smiling, backpacked filled with snorkeling gear in hand. We patiently wait our turn to board the vessel, taking a comfy seat up front watching the morning show as we depart. We cruise through the mouth of the Brisbane river and before we know it we are in the Pacific Ocean, passing fisherman and outrigger boats along the way. Before long the boat is docking and with a spring in our step we make our way down the dock (known as a Jetty in Australia) to the beach. We pass the 'pelican feeding area' along the way where several impossibly large pelicans crowd an area on the beach waiting for their breakfast. Looming palm trees line the shore next to quaint nipa huts and a variety of manicured foliage creates a tropical paradise. The expansive beach stretching as far as the eye can see is made of the most powdery sand imaginable. "I can't wait to get in the water and use our snorkels again," Alecs says removing his sandals and wading into the water. Although it's considerably more cool than the Asia seas we've become accustomed to - water is water and we're happy to be back.

In hopes to book a desert safari tour we head to the tour desk but soon decide to forgo the safari and book a tandem parasailing tour. "We're actually going to go parasailing," Alecs says excitedly, "that's on my bucket list," he adds. Since our tour doesn't leave for a couple hours we decide to grab some milkshakes and sit on the beach - soaking up the sun which continues to get hotter and hotter by the minute. Watching the waves lap against the shore, our toes squiggling in the sand, sun beating down on us we can't help but think of our fellow coworkers back in Brisbane stuck in the office! Time flies by and before long we find ourselves on a speedboat picking up pace and being debriefed on safety tips. Tethered to a hand tied rope we sit on the stern of the boat and moments later are sailing upwards into the sky. The exhilaration of the flight has the biggest of smiles spread across our faces. As we reach the maximum height high above the ocean we try and spot sharks and dolphins but to no prevail. The view from above is incredible - the colours magnified and it puts everything in perspective. "This," Alecs says smiling, "is a thirtieth to remember." Our flight takes us over the three sunken shipwrecks just offshore from the resort and the aeriel view offers the best of sites. Soon the speedboat pulling us slows down and we drop quickly from the sky. Knowing what's about to happen we both brace for the shock of hitting the water. The driver allows us to plunge into the water for only a moment before jolting us back up into the air. We are now ice cold as we zoom full speed ahead soaking wet. A few minutes later we are pulled back into the boat landing with both feet on the stern. "See anything up there?" the Captain asks as we carefully maneuver our way back into the boat. "We saw thousands and thousands of people," Alecs says mimicking my grandfather in another one of his many 'Glenisms', "there must have been at least five hundred." A few minutes later has us dopily skipping down the beach to our locker. Stopping in at the beach cafe we pick up a quick order of fish and chips and down it quickly before heading to the shipwrecks. We walk some 20 minutes down the beach to the site of three purposely sunken ships. The wrecks consist of 15 hulks, which were scuttled by the Department of Harbours and Marine to provide an anchorage haven. The first vessel was sunk in 1963 and the scuttling of dredges and barges continued until 1984. Today, the wrecks provide a great habitat for a diversity of marine life, making the Tangalooma Wrecks a great spot for snorkeling, which of course makes us happy. The sun is now at it's highest point and having decided to forgo sunscreen in hopes of getting some colour I am starting to feel the burn. "Told you so," Alecs says with a sly smile, "but let's get into the water." The wrecks are a seemingly short swim from the shore but as we soon find out the current is working against us making for a long and very tiring swim. The visibility is quite low but as we get closer to the ship we start seeing a myriad of fish. A resident and harmless wobbegong shark takes residence in these wrecks but we aren't fortunate enough to spot him. We spend some time exploring the old iron ships before making our way back across the waters. Exhausted from both the heat, difficult swim and long walk along the beach we walk the 2KM back to the resort, change into some dry clothes and grab a delicious dinner. "You know what's missing," Alecs says as we sit on a wooden table alongside the ocean, delicious food in front of us and a setting sun in the distance. "Beer," he says, "we need a XXXX Gold to make this moment complete." Picking up a couple cans of the Brisbane brew we dig into our meals as the sky turns a brilliant shade of orange and red. We laugh and reminisce about the day and about the year and about the upcoming trip to Asia.

After the sun has set we head to the jetty (port) where a pod of wild dolphins will swim up allowing us the opportunity to hand-feed one. The wind has picked up and the waves beat hard against the shore. "This is a dolphins playground," says one of the marine biologists who will be guiding us, "dolphins love the waves". Just as he says this a beautiful grey bottlenose dolphins appears below the dock - her dorsal fin peeking above the water. There are 600-800 hundred dolphins around Moreton Bay but only a single pod comes to the feeding here at Tangalooma and not all of them show up everyday. Once the sun has fully set 4 more adult dolphins and 2 calf's swim in from the ocean (they base the arrival time on the sunset). As the dolphins wait for us to arrange ourselves they surf the waves, socialize with one another and entertain us all immensely. Being wild dolphins these guys still hunt and we watch one of the dolphins chase a fish underwater, flipping onto her back pushing them out of the water and then jumping after them to catch it in mid air. Alecs and I stand mesmerized by the elegant intelligent creatures seamlessly flying through the water before us. We gather on the beach and wash our hands (being wild mammals the dolphins can catch diseases from us like the common cold) and we then take a single fish (the food received from everyone accounts for only 20% of the dolphins daily diet ensuring they continue to hunt in the wild) and wade into the water with one of the dolphin workers jumping with every wave to keep our heads above water. Once instructed Alecs dips his hand below the water and a sleek dolphin swims up close and gently takes the fish right from his hand. Next it's my turn and the gorgeous girl swims carefully up and sweetly pulls the fish from my hand. We are told her name is Shadow and her calf who is still nursing and therefore does not participate in the feeding is waiting just behind her. "Shadow," I say to Alecs, "what a perfect coincidence," referencing to the fact our dog's name is also Shadow. Shadow swims past us before we head back lying on her side to have a look at us - truly magical! Since dolphins are sensitive to light only resort staff (standing behind the dolphins not in front) could take photos and since the waves were so high the one we received wasn't the best as you can see - but it's the memories that matter. When the lights on the dock go out the dolphins take their cue and return to the open ocean. With the perfect end to a perfect day we board the boat back to Brisbane where a birthday cake and presents await an unknowing Alecs.

Until next time so long,
Alecs and Meg on Moreton Island

Ps. The first video is us parasailing, the second at the wrecks and the third is some of the wild dolphins. The video of the dolphins demonstrates the hunting technique I was referring to where the dolphins flips onto her back and forces the fish in the air - although it was at night and therefore the video isn't very clear.