otbcr member showed slides 0 

 coastal Plan«- 



T „ />,, l*B*J. ->° December 



v i 0S ( of our bird enthusiasts wea- 

 kly risers, and IMS morning, a 

 croup went off aJ 6 o'cock with a 

 limber worker to see u lyre-ford's 

 3 ,n Urul Nauonal Park. On 

 various mornings they eumc back 

 will] news of their eatly rumbles. One 

 member rcfOTtod heAting peculiar 

 noise anfl totfld 11 was coming I rum 

 u young Kookaburra. Perched alone 

 on a bough, the youngster was try- 

 ,ng to Uugli- From a tree nearby 

 ml- parent b.rd showed the proper 

 * a y to do ii and junior tried ag.un. 

 fhe result wa.s soil very odd— and 

 VCH laUgh-provoking io our observer. 



On this pleasantly cool morning wc 

 followed the road towards Imhaao 

 Inlet and, after about ten miles, look 

 ,| l0 left baud turning towards Pi. 

 flicks. We had an appointment «<jflj 

 the lighthouse officer* for 10,3(3 so 

 tt c crossed the Thurr.i River with- 

 out pausing but promised to stop 

 i here on our re I urn. 



We crossed the lhuttu again at its 

 estuary where there were several 

 campers. About midway between the 

 cstuurv and the lighthouse is the 

 KnimtrAS C* the Caplain Cook 

 National Park — only about H miles 

 m depth. Why more tft Ibis natural 

 forest is not included in the Park is 

 H invsterv. 



At the gate to the lighthouse 

 enclosure wc were met by a light- 

 house officer in his jeep. Wc followed 

 him along the narrow road to the 

 gtoup of houses clustered near the 

 itehthouse at Pt. Hicks. 



On setting out of the has at I't. 

 Hick*. we discovered il «W W]j 

 .Mnd\ and quite chilly lackets and 

 corns, were h-ssl'l* donned and 

 securely bummed We all nooped 



May, 1971 



down the slope to the extensive flat 

 rocks to see the monuments that 

 commemorated the sighting and nam- 

 ing of Pi Hicks by Captain Cook 

 on 20 April. 1770. 



We returned up the slope to the 

 lighthouse, ahoul HI0 yards inland 

 from Ihc monument. In groups of 

 ten. WC climbed the 150 steps to the 

 light where another pleasant officer 

 met us. supplied loads of informa- 

 tion and answered innumerable ques- 

 tions. One of our members came 

 away with a souvenir— a 1000 watt 

 lamp that had seen only three- 

 quarters of its lift*. At that stage the 

 lamp is replaced by a new one so 

 as to minimise the chance of light 

 failure anil hasty emergency action. 

 'Ihe prisms around the light magnify 

 the power 1000 times. 



One of the ollieers very kindly 

 led us to a good beach within the 

 liehthouse enclosure where we 

 lunched and remained a couple of 

 hours Another returned at 3 p.m. 

 ,,nd unlocked the gate. Our president 

 spoke for us all when he expressed 

 appreciation of the friendly, gener- 

 ous attention these officers had 

 given us. 



The broad expanse of flat rocks at 

 Pt. Hicks where the monumcnis 

 slalid is well above sea level and 

 these graililic rocks continue down 

 lo the v.a in boulders of various 

 sizes. One member followed them 

 fjul as Ut as Ihe tide permitted but 

 was disappointed lo find so little 

 marine life. There were no pools 

 among the rocks und limpets seemed 

 to he almost the only tbuigs lhat 

 could stand Ihe perpetual pounding. 



The stretch of Hat rocks earned 

 spreading patches of plants thai one 

 mit'hi opect to sec such as Angular 

 Noot.nower". Sea Celery", and | plant 

 wc did no, expect to see-.. m.uH 

 Lobelia. These plants formed low- 



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