It was perfect Spring weather for the weekend away to Moreton Island in August. And what better way to start than over lunch at Morgans at Scarborough. Superb fish and chips were enjoyed as the group gathered. Second servings of fresh seafood treats were tucked away, appetites stirred by bay breezes in anticipation of the weekend ahead.

The barge trip gave us the time and atmosphere to forget the disturbed ecology of the mainland. Stepping onto the soft, warm sand and taking in the shorelines flowering Banksias distracted us from the necessary transport and accommodation formalities. Bulwer fishing village sits fairly comfortably among the low dunes and complex beach vegetation, and many of us immediately took off on foot to explore.

One member led an orchid hunt, successfully. The climbing orchid, Erythrorchis cassythoides, was well represented, and several more species were found on the helipad. Nearer the village, Cryptostylis subulata was seen in a swampy area. We were very glad that Sue chose to join us this weekend. A dedicated Wallumer, she contributed her extensive knowledge and the infectious enthusiasm that makes expert SGAPers greatly treasured on excursions. Sue will know. Where's Sue?. And if Sue didn't know, out came her Stanley and Ross volumes that evening.

Moreton Island provides a feast of plant communities to study, with groups within groups of forest, heath, swamp, cliff and shore. Thanks to the special abilities of our Excursions Officer, we had a carefully planned tour of the island by four-wheel-drive and manageable walks. Our guide, a former teacher who takes school biology camps, shared with us his extensive knowledge of the Islands flora and fauna.

The northern part of Moreton has the most varied topography and vegetation, and we explored this on Day One. It is important to remember that these vast islands are entirely built of sand, except for rocky headlands which stabilised the sand deposits in the Quaternary period. Subsequent cumulation of plant material provided humus-rich soils, peaty swamps, and the consolidated organic material exposed on the ocean side. It is a practical learning experience to find some of our garden specimens, which we grow in clay, shale and volcanic rock, in a natural habitat of sand. And the message is that here are a lot more species to try, and maybe save.

Banksias were in flower everywhere - B. integrifolia was dominant, and the smaller but habitat distinct B. aemula and B. serrata. Many of the plants in the exposed or low open forest are compact through wind-pruning. The beautiful Wedding Bush, Ricinocarpos pinifolius, was quite stunted here, compared to specimens a few metres high in the protected forests further south. Austromyrtus dulcis was widespread, so too Lomandras, and many grasses and sedges. I loved the soft grey Casuarina equisetifolia, especially where it nestled along protected foredunes and there lived up to its name of Ponytail Sheoak.

By lunchtime we had reached Yellow Patch and North Point, walked around sedge swamps and marvelled at armies of soldier crabs forming expert retreats from this human invasion. After lunch we climbed by bus and foot to the Lighthouse. Here, we had our attention drawn to the Points significant geology, and we lamented the damage to flora by feral animals. While most of us took time out to watch the whales, Sue wandered off and found a few gems in the grass - a decent patch of Pink Fingers Orchids (Caladenia carnea), as well as Hibbertias and Pimeleas rendered prostrate by wind-pruning.

Lunch stops inevitably led to more detailed exploration, and our bus driver led us to little bush snacks. At blustery North Point some of us enjoyed Oxalis corniculata (Creeping Oxalis) with a sandwich for the first time, and I learnt that it is not a weed at home. Next day, on the beach to the south, we discovered the sweet taste sensation of the fruit of Carpobrotus glaucescens.

If we thought we had seen flowers on Day One, especially if we hadnt been to Moreton in Spring before, we were to see a wonderland on Day Two. The Island dune vegetation was quite overwhelming - mile after mile of green, white and gold either side of the bus. Shaded by tall gums, the Wedding Bush seemed almost luminous, and drew the eye to very many other species in flower. We spent some time walking carefully through Baeckea, Pimelea, Leucopogon, Epacris, Dodonaea, Hibbertia, Aotus, Persoonia and Lomatia - set off against the foliage of Lomandras, Xanthorrhoeas and many herbs and grasses.

Day Two also saw us driving up the ocean beach beyond Reeders Point, stopping here and there. Many birds were identified along the way. And more plants Ö.. Remarkable was a generous patch of Stackhousia spathulata in flower. It is usually excessively plucked, especially near picnic facilities.

Our final stop for the tour was to take in a field of swamp vegetation dominated by Xanthorrhoea fulva, with its grey-green divided stems in full flower, in a dense carpet of associated species.