The Whitsundays

An odd thing happened to me in Townsville, 2 days before we left.  I had somehow picked up a tick while in  town.  It must have come off an overhanging branch from one of the trees along the road.  It had attached itself to my head just above the hairline. 

Ian managed to remove it and found that it hadn’t been there too long as it wasn’t bloated yet.  That was lucky.

The morning we were leaving, bright and early, I woke with a very swollen face and a closed up eye.  We decided I should go to the doctor before leaving, just to make sure I wasn’t going to die. 

A couple of hours later, armed with Cortizone and antihistamines, we left for Magnetic Island.  Half way there, the wind picked up for favourable southward sailing, so off we went, towards Gloucester Island instead.

All was good till that evening, when the wind changed direction and the weather turned nasty.  We had bought more bananas, were we getting too complacent with them? 

We quickly found an anchorage off Rita Island, which isn’t to be found in our anchorage bible.  Ian is getting good at this.  I think he should write a book on alternative anchorages

The next afternoon saw us anchored at a better known anchorage off Gloucester Island with a friendly name of Breakfast Bay.

We did a little fishing, as usual and before long, I caught an interesting looking fish with blue teeth.  After putting him in a bucket of seawater to keep him alive, we looked him up in Grant’s Fish Guide to see if he was edible.  Grant’s tells us that it was a Blue Tusk Fish – “ a well textured food fish with bright blue-green bones.”   He was delicious!   

The next day we went ashore to do some exploring.  We found some sunscreen left on the beach which was handy, as the last one I found a few weeks ago had nearly run out. 

There were quite a few Mistletoebirds on the island.  I made some silly little noises that seem to attract birds.  It worked and this female Mistletoebird came and had a curious look.  The males have a bright crimson breast, similar to a Robin Redbreast.

A Young Sea Eagle lands nearby.  He calls continuously to his parents for more food.

Our next island was Grassy Island.  The unsettled weather continued and produced some heavy rain.  We took advantage of it and washed our clothes, hair and anything else that looked a bit grubby. 

We noticed a Sea Eagle sitting on a tree branch on the island, looking very wet and miserable.  Later that day, after it cleared we went ashore and found that he had move to a sunnier spot to dry and rearrange his messed up feathers.

Next on the list was Hook Island, one of the larger islands of the Whitsunday group.  We stayed at Nara Inlet, which provides protection from most weather directions.  It is an outstandingly beautiful spot to anchor, somewhat reminiscent of the New Zealand  fiords.













Large tides swirl around the foreshore boulders, creating natures sculptures.



Apparently, Nara Inlet is a breeding area for Hammerhead Sharks.  I decided not to go snorkelling today and thought I might do some fishing instead.  Ian said if I dropped a nail overboard, I might catch a Hammerhead.
From here, we went to Whitsunday Island  where we snorkelled and saw squid. 
At Shaw Island we found a freshwater stream which flowed down the hillside in a series of rock pools.  Heaven is laying in one of these pools, looking through the overhanging palm fronds at the white fluffy clouds in an azure sky.  Memories like these stay fresh forever.

Another stroke of luck at Shaw Island was that evening when we heard a thump in the cockpit.  We went in search of the source of the thump and found a squid of edible size which had committed a kamikaze act.  How convenient.

Next stop was Goldsmith Island.  This was part of the Sir James Smith group of islands which all had wonderful names to do with forging and smithing, such as, Ingot Island, Solder Island, Farrier Island, Blacksmith, Silversmith and Lynne Island which threw a spanner in the works.  Thinking Linne must be some smithing term that we hadn’t heard of before, Ian looked it up.  Linne turns out to be the man that formulated the system of botanical classification using Latin names for genus and species.  We’re not sure if he ever even came to Australia.

 




We found a really unusual tree which is Hoop Pine on the bottom and Golden Orchid at the top.  I doubt that it has a  name, either Latin or common.






By now our fresh food supplies had almost run out, so our next destination was Mackay. 
On our return bus trip from shopping, we met a woman who had sailed around Australia with her husband on a 21 foot yacht.  It took them 6 years.  They were living on that boat in the marina, so Ian and I went for a walk later that evening to have a look at it. 
It was tiny and had been built in 1893.  This was a reality check for me, who had been secretly thinking lately that maybe we should have a bigger boat with a watermaker and a hot shower on board.  The truth is, Winkali (36 foot, built 1990) is palatial in comparison.
I’ve had a couple of computer problems lately which is why I haven’t blogged lately.  I managed to Google up the problem just before we left Mackay and I’m back in business. 
Right now we’re at Curlew Island which is just south of the Whitsundays. 

 

Although we have sailed through countless schools of fish, they are impervious to our fishing lure and the closest we come to catching one, is on our camera.

The above photo is a collage of 7 photos I took going through these schools.  I'd like to get all this in one photo but I don't think it will ever happen.

The Last Crab

Brisk winds got us from Dunk Island to Goold Island in only 2 hours.  Ian was hoping it didn't turn nasty because he had bought bananas during our last shop.  

Bananas are meant to be bad luck on boats so I thought I might like to buy one and eat it before we got back to the boat. Ian had the same idea but he had bought a bunch of them and was ignoring his superstitions. 

  

We had a relaxing afternoon after anchoring off Goold Island and did a bit of fishing, deciding to go over to the island the next day.  Ian had better luck than I did by not catching anything.  I caught a small fish (hooked in the gills), which I released,  Unfortunately, it had been mortally wounded and slowly sank, belly up.  I felt lousy!

Cameron and Colin had also anchored at Goold and had gone over to the island in their dinghy.  On their way back, they dropped in to warn us about a particularly nasty stretch on the beach, and whatever we did, don't go there.

Horrified, we said "Crocodiles?'

No, it was Paper Wasps.  Colin explained that one minute they were walking along the beach, minding their own business, the next thing he was being stung all over.  They even got up his board shorts.

We tried unsuccessfully not to laugh.

The following day, Ian goes to the danger zone to track down and photograph the culprits.  

I stayed well away.

That afternoon, we sailed to Hinchinbrook Island via the Hinchinbrook Channel and anchored in Gayundah Creek a beautiful mangrove lined estuary set against the magnificent backdrop of Mount Bowen.

It was a perfect habitat for mud crabs

THE MUD CRAB SAGA

About 14 months ago, while in Darwin, we decided we should buy a crab pot as there were millions of Mud Crabs out there in the mangroves waiting to be eaten.

Although we almost set it once (see A Conundrum), it has just been one of those items which adorn our boat - until now.

This was the perfect opportunity in the heart of Mud Crab territory.  Off we went in the dinghy to set the pot in a likely place.  Then it was off to do a bit of trolling while we waited for the Mud crab to get in the pot.  With Coral Trout heads as bait, how could he resist.

A while later, we returned to inspect the pot. Nothing!

We relocated it just around the corner, maybe it was too secluded where we had it and the crabs didn't even know about that little estuary.

So far, no fish and no crabs.  We had curried vegies for dinner.  

Ian wanted to check the crab pot before we went to bed. I was worried about him getting eaten by a croc, so I went with him, that way he had only a 50% chance if there was a croc about.

We pulled up the pot. Bingo!  A beautiful fat mud crab.

Now a Mud Crab has powerful claws and can be the cause of lost fingers, so it took a bit of maneuvering to get him from the pot to a bucket.  From there it was over to Winkali where Ian had to truss him up with string before putting him into the freezer which would put him to sleep before going into the pot.  By now I was feeling sorry for the Mud Crab.

An hour later it was into the cooking pot.  I looked sideways at the pot as its legs were waving about.  Ian explained that it was only nerves left.  The crab had been killed instantly with the boiling water.

The following day, we sat down to a fine lunch of Mud Crab.

We cracked open the huge claws and found . . . . . a small amount of meat in them. 

Does anyone want to buy a used crab pot?

Dunk Island

We left Fitzroy at the crack of dawn, believing the weather reports that the south-easterly wind would ease.  Some of us are gullible!

At least we weren't the only ones.  Cam and Collin on 'First Contact', who had been waiting at Fitzroy as long as we had, headed south as well.

Two days later, we met up at Dunk Island.  

Hot showers and picnic tables were waiting for us.  After our first real shower for over a week (during which time personal hygiene consisted of snorkelling), we decided we smelt presentable enough to make social contact once again and had 'sundowners' with Cam and Collin.

The next day, some of us had a headache.

That day, after doing a quick run over to Wongaling Beach (near Mission Beach) for fresh food supplies, Ian had the bright idea to do a walk.

It was a hot day and Ian's bright idea took place around midday.  As I didn't want to use the excuse of self-inflicted afflictions, I was forced to go.  Besides, the view from the top of Mt Kootaloo was spectacular.

Well, I found my thongs which I purchased this morning to be very comfortable, so at least one end of me was feeling well.

Alas, it wasn't to last.  The path was steep, Ian was fast, I was slow.  I had lots of time to think about 'mad dogs and Englishmen'.

Finally, we got to the top.  Ian looks at a nice picture of the view.

Lucky, by now Ian had abandoned the idea of the long walk around the island. 

Not far down the track I am dismayed to learn that Ian had forgotten to get a GPS fix from the top.  He had brought the GPS all the way up and now hadn't got the reading.  I suggested he go back up and get the reading while I kept going.  Good plan.

I secretly stepped up a gear as soon as he was gone to get a bit of headway on him, after all, it was all downhill now for me.

Just as I was getting worried about him getting bitten by a snake, or falling down the steep hill to his death, he showed up again.  

He informed me that Mt Kootaloo was 256m high.  Another useful bit of information was that he ran at 5kn.

The view looking west from Mt Kootaloo over the jetty which leads to the campground and picnic area.

The jetty is being renovated by 'Oompa Loompas' who wear hard hats at all times in case something falls out of the sky.

The resort is still in tatters after Cyclone Yasi wreaked havoc in 2010, however the grounds are kept immaculate.

A Metallic Starling feeds nearby, giving me a bird to aim my camera at.  There are a few birds here but nowhere as many as I expected.  

That evening we enjoyed the BBq facilities with Cam and Collin.  Tomorrow we would head off a little further south and visit some islands on our way to Hinchinbrook.

Ian was doing a bit of fishing, when I said to him to come and look at a short movie Cam had given us to watch.  Not wanting to abandon his fishing, he passed the rod through the hatch so he could continue fishing while watching the movie.

:(   no, he didn't catch anything

Heading South

Sunrise at Low Isles

I'm writing this blog on day 12 of our big trip south.  We are anchored off Normanby Island after finally leaving Fitzroy Island this morning.  

I can hear some of you think "Geez, they haven't got too far".  Well, we have good excuses.  

The Great White Hunter had to put his fishing reel in for repairs before we left, so we decided to sail to Fitzroy Island while the northerly winds were blowing and wait there for a few days till it was ready.

We should have known that things in for repair are never ready by the date they tell you. 

 Five days later, we sailed back to Cairns to collect the repaired reel, have a shower and return to the boat which we anchored in Cairns for the day.  

It was then back to Fitzroy Is to wait for the next northerly wind (or less strong south-easterly).  We had missed our good weather window while waiting for the reel.  

That evening, Ian decided to try out the repaired reel.  He remarked on how easy it was to pull in a fish while we were at anchor, rather than under sail.  I remarked it was much easier since he had no fish to pull in.  He went quiet for a while.  I stuck my head up to see what he was doing.

A CORAL TROUT!

It was beautiful.  Almost too beautiful to eat.  

Lucky it looked just as good on the plate.

It tasted every bit as good as it looked.

Just to prove that it wasn't just luck, Ian caught another one the following evening.


During this time, my brother, Perrie, was visiting from Tasmania.  He decided to pay us a visit and jumped on the Fitzroy Island Ferry.

Perrie looking for Coral Trout

By now, we had been at Fitzroy for over a week.

Being quiet people, we tend to keep to ourselves mostly.  

Perrie isn't a quiet person. Extrovert is not a strong enough word to describe him.  By the end of the day, he had talked to most of the population of Fitzroy Island and introduced us to our anchoring neighbours.

The days drew on.  We walked to the summit of Fitzroy again.

Photo by Ian

Ian managed to get an action shot of this skink catching a March Fly.  Good on you Skink.

Photo by Ian

Among the many lizards on this island is the Yellow-spotted monitor.  We found this rotund fellow several times scrounging around the camping area.

Photo by Ian

Me getting interesting photos

We had covered all the accessible parts of the island by now.  The wind hadn't changed yet so we had to be inventive.  Ian photographed me taking photos of froth and pumice floating through this tidal rock pool.  (He had some very similar photos to mine)

froth

pumice

Some of the island residents came out to see what on earth I was doing.

A trawler heads off to work while we sit and enjoy the sunset                             photo by Ian

Finally, the weather report gave us the good news that the strong south-easterlies would ease off.  We left early the next morning to find they hadn't.

Well, we're at Normanby Island now.  The Frankland Islands tour boat has left with its weary but happy passengers. 

It's time for me to finish my beer, chips and this blog.

Cheers