Category: Australia (Page 2 of 5)

Mereenie Loop, Kings and a Rock

April 28, 2021 / fiandadrian

By Fi

When we last left off, we were just about to head on to the Mereenie Loop Road – a permit only, unsealed stretch of road leading from the west side of the West MacDonnell Ranges, to Kings Canyon. It had varying reviews as to the road conditions, and we had a vehicle that we knew could do it, but the choice was – could we? Yes, is usually the answer in these situations, so off we went, west from a little town called Hermannsburg where we had stopped for a little look and our permit to drive the road.

Our “shortcut” would take us about 3 hours, and would include 200 or so kilometres of corrugations, bolting brumbies, corrugations, amazing scenery, corrugations, more brumbies, corrugations… (if you don’t know what corrugations are, then you are lucky – they are the bone jarring bumps that form in unsealed roads after a time of cars driving over it). So it was a little bone rattley, but Adrian handled ALL the driving like a trooper (I made a note to offer to drive in these situations…), and we stopped at a roadside camp on the top of the escarpment right, at the end of the loop in order to watch the sunset and get some still time, ready for some walking the following day at Kings Canyon.

It was totally fine temperature the day we chose to complete the Kings Canyon rim walk – they do close it when the temperatures get high as it is very exposed to the sun. This part of the world is just stunning and the tourist numbers certainly talk to its majesty. Its not short of beauty, or people! First off on our walk, a huge stair climb and passing people, before wandering over the top of the gorge, admiring views, plant life, bird life and the huge stony structures created by thousands of years of water and weather.

I must admit, we are on a little bit of a timetable and there is a lot to see, so once we had completed our walk, we reapplied the calories with some pizza, jumped back in the van, and drove south to Uluru. We arrived at Yulara (the Uluru “resort town”) a few hours later just in time to grab a spot in the campground, and then head out for a sunset viewing of the famous rock. No time for stopping on this trip! Here are our happy faces part way through our first adventure of the day at Kings Canyon.

Adrian had been here before, so he knew what to expect, but I didn’t! As we rounded the corner and over the small hill that revealed Uluru for my first ever view, I was gobsmacked and just said “Wow” a million times. I didn’t realise how big it really is, and what a presence it has.

Non-alcoholic sundowners were had (if you are seeing a theme of no alcohol, you’re correct – we’re off the booze for a while) and we headed on back to our allocated campsite for the night.

I’m sure you’ll excuse my unwashed, unbrushed hair in this picture – must admit, not a priority – but I’m sure you’re not looking at that.

Walking was again on the cards for the next day – EXCEPT we needed to do the sunrise at Uluru too, so after a decent sleep, we were off back to the rock for coffees, sunrise, and then to do the base walk. Again, awestruck, I walked around the base of this amazing structure, and took a lot of photos. Dreamtime stories abound as does the history and the connection of this place to the Traditional Owners.

Enjoy a few extra piccies of this world heritage listed site.

But its not all just about Uluru at the National Park, there is also Kata Tjuta (The Olgas), and keen to also see this imposing landmass, we drove over to Kata Tjuta on our third and last day in the park, walking the shorter, but no less spectacular gorge walk this time, as the tootsies were telling me they would like a little break.

As much as we could spend a lot more time here, doing all the walks and eating at the restaurants and seeing the cultural displays – our tick tocking timeframe called, and we knew we had some serious driving ahead of us on our next leg. The Mereenie Loop had not put us off driving on unsealed roads, and so we were to complete part of “Australia’s Longest Shortcut” and drive over the Great Central Road (also called the Outback Way) from Uluru, past the Docker River, through Warburton and finishing at Laverton. I’ll hand over to Adrian and his amusing prose for that blog 🙂

The MacDonnell Ranges

April 23, 2021 / fiandadrian

By Fi

We arrived into the MacDonnell Ranges after travelling from the Stuart Highway, along Binns Track, an unsealed dusty track that lead us to the Hale River Homestead, our stop for the evening. Hale River is a great place, in the bush with loads of history, bush walks, a bar, pool, great facilities and so we relished a non-alcoholic beverage, a little toe dip in the pool and enjoyed the respite from the bumpy track. Ok yes, there were about a million giant mozzies, so we didn’t fancy staying as long as we would have liked.

The next day we were off again, this time towards Arltunga where one of the first gold mines and inland towns in Australia was constructed. Unfortunately, the traditional owners had been driven off their land due to these developments, and now all that appears to remain are the ruins of the mining town, inclusive of police station, government buildings and mine hardware.

We went for a walk to the colonial cemetery and to a couple of the gold mines. The colonial people here did it hard, and apparently often the amount of gold they found, wasn’t worth the cost of living there. They had to ship in food and water and great expense just to live there in a small, square stone hut with a canvas roof.

After a little while of looking around (and a big chat with the local Ranger who was so excited to see a couple of tourists), we headed to our campsite for the night, the “Panorama” campground in the Trephina Gorge. A quick walk up the dry river bank confirmed our plans for the following day to walk the Panorama Walk on the rim of the gorge. We watched the sunset colours change on the gorge wall as we enjoyed some dinner and took ourselves off to bed.

Our morning gorge walk was spectacular with views over the ranges, finishing with a saunter down the dry river bed back to our camp. This photo was taken standing on the ridge just before we descended into the dry river bed below.

Alice Springs was to be our next stop, so we said goodbye to the relative solitude of the East MacDonnell’s and drove into “Town”. We had picked a little caravan park outside of Alice to be our stop for the evening, so we got all our jobs done, and headed there to wind down for the day and make our plans for our next steps. We’d prefer to move along from Alice, because we like the wilderness and solitude, however we did relish some great great food in town washed down with some excellent coffees. Really rivalled those of the Inner West in Sydney (yes I said it).

Here are our excited faces as we cook dinner and plan our next adventures.

The West MacDonnell Ranges were calling. This is where apparently most of the tourists go (according to the lonely Ranger at the East MacDonnell’s). The West MacDonnell’s have the big ticket items, such as Kings Canyon and Serpentine Gorge, as well as the Ochre Pits and are also on one of the roads to Uluru.

After leaving Alice, we had time to find a roadside free camp with a perfect sunset view.

Our first stop the next day was Serpentine Gorge. The dreamtime stories say there is a snake or monster that resides in the water here, and people are not allowed to swim – this is not a safe place according to local custom. We took some photos (an example included here of the shadowy gorge and pool) and enjoyed the quiet of the place, and moved along to our next stop, the Ochre Pits.

Ochre was an important resource to the Traditional Owners, using it from everything from paint, to curing ailments. These pits represent a rich source of the ochre and the colours are simply iridescent. The photos can never do it justice so I did filter this photo a little so it showed what we saw more accurately. You can see the deep red, the yellow and the lighter coloured ochres here in the vertical lines. The layers are vertical as the land was pushed up thousands upon thousands of years ago to its current vertical positioning.

Further up the road, we were hoping to complete a walk in Orminston Gorge. This gorge leads out to a “Pound” which is a large flat area surrounded by ridges. The walk was estimated at 3.5 – 4 hours, and would take us up the south side of the gorge, around the back and into the pound. Signs warned us that there was going to be swimming in cold water involved due to the unseasonal rain, however I was confident these signs were simply a left over from months before, and it wouldn’t be an issue for us. We continued through the pound, and I was so excited by the thousands of native plants, seemingly placed as if they were a specimen display in a botanical garden. Clearly here – very happy.

Towards the end of the walk, we boulder hopped through the creek bed, and eventually came upon what the signs were warning us about. The swim. We either had to swim across the river, or walk the 2.5 hours back through the gorge, arriving at the car on sunset. So swimming it was, fully clothed and fully shoed.

Making it across, with our pack and electronics dry, we were pretty pumped and headed back to the car (and a cheeky shower at the campsite here) and on to our campsite for the evening – solitude in a river bank at yet another free bush camp. Twas a rather massive day so a fire was a nice way to unwind.

And finally, I have to mention the budgies. They are so cute and we’ve seen thousands! Adrian got this epic shot of these two lovers. Also not to be outdone, my phone shot of the chatter of budgies is below.

More adventures in the west to come as we have plans to follow the Mereenie Loop Track south through to Kings Canyon and on to Uluru. That was a bumpy ride and I’ll have a few choice things to say about it next time.

Far from the ocean – the Red Centre

April 16, 2021 / fiandadrian

By Fi

When we last blogged, we had completed our sail up and down the east coast of Australia, starting in Sydney, heading to Bowen, then back to Brisbane. Since then, we spent some time in Brisbane and on the Sunshine Coast of Australia, enjoying time with family and friends, seeing a little more of QLD, before driving ourselves back to Sydney. In Sydney we had more family and friends time, as well as the huge job of packing up our belongings, putting some into storage, and the rest in big boxes to get sent to France for our upcoming sailing adventures in Europe (more news on that coming soon!!)

Before we head to France we wanted to see more of Australia outside the capital cities. So we hired a campervan and have a couple of months to see as much of central and northern Australia as we can. Here’s Fi in Darwin when we picked up the van. Both Fi and the van appear clean here – oh how much will change in the coming week…

Picking up our 4WD campervan in Darwin, we drove south to visit Litchfield National Park. Stopping at the Wangi Falls, we managed a quick walk to visit the waterfalls which were stunning, before cooking dinner in the dwindling light. We are pretty used to mosquitos and sandflies from our recent sailing adventures, but nothing prepared us for the onslaught of tiny gnats and mozzies that were attracted to our internal lighting. This would end up being a theme, given we are here at the tail end of the wet, and the bugs are keen for a feed of tourist meat. Its okay, it means we are learning to eat when the sun is still up, go to bed when the sun goes down, and get up at dawn. Oh, and that the fan we bought in Darwin is worth its weight in gold to keep the humid hot air moving.

We drove through Litchfield National Park, admiring the magnetic termite mounds, and passing landscapes. We stopped at Florence Falls for one night, and enjoyed an afternoon swim in the waterhole, complete with waterfall shower. That evening, we cooked and tidied up, and were inside listening to our favourite sailing podcast before the mozzies even realised we were there.

Our next adventure was to be Kakadu. We set out from Litchfield, driving the 6 or so hours to Jabiru where the Kakadu visitors centre is located. Alas, the big wet season this year would foil our plans again, and almost everything in Kakadu is closed. We decided Kakadu would need to wait until the end of our trip, so we found a place to kip for the evening, and then high tailed it south, putting in a big day to get to Mataranka and the thermal pools.

Floating in a thermal pool, at 34 degrees is a delight I recommend all partake in. Floating on my back, I stared at the canopy above, as the water filled my ears and drowned out the sounds of the other people. We stayed in the pool for a few hours, and the next morning also had another quick dip before heading further south.

The Devils Marbles were the next stop, a spectacular landscape, red ochre, flat, except for these giant structures. We managed a walk around the these structures, respectfully at a distance of the particularly sensitive cultural areas. The photos can never do it justice.

Happily, we stayed awake after dark enjoying each others company outside the van, watching the sun set and the masses of stars light up the skies overhead. No mozzies 🙂 and the temperature dropped to such a point we both needed the extra blanket – ahhh to be in the drier, cooler climate. We’ll revisit the top end once the dry season is a little more set in we’ve decided. At dawn, we watched the sunrise while and I sipped on my freshly ground soy latte (you can take the latte sipping, left leaning inner westies out of the innerwest, but you can take the… you get the idea) and then we packed up ready for another big day driving south to get to our next exploration area – the Macdonnell Ranges.

In the coming weeks, we plan to explore the Macdonnell Ranges, Uluru and head West into WA. Keep up to date with us on our instagram (@fiandadrian) and also our facebook.

Heading South for Xmas

December 25, 2020 / fiandadrian

Leaving Bundy was very different to our arrival. Early morning and calm seas with just few fishing boats zipping about the shipping channel. As we turned south we barely saw another boat until Fraser Island was coming into view. There were a few rain clouds that we dodged by staying away from the coast.

As Fraser came into view the wind filled out and we sped along the Fraser coast. The northern half of Fraser had been burnt out by bushfire and we soon spotted the helicopters and planes water bombing the fire front. The planes entertained us by skimming the water and then flying low overhead to douse more flames. Our first choice anchorage looked a little exposed to the northerly wind and quite close to the advancing flames. As there was still light and wind we headed further into the sandy straights to anchor for the night.

Several other boats had anchored in a similar area which was located just before the shallow section (where we had run aground on the way north). Just before high tide we joined the procession of boats through the shallow section and on to Gary’s anchorage. More tide meant no bottom scrapes this time.

Gary’s anchorage had fewer boats this time but more sand flies. The next leg of our trip through the Wide Bay Bar and down the coast required careful planning to get a safe combination of tide, wind and swell. Leaving Gary’s before dawn meant we enjoyed a spectacular sunrise as we motored to a couple of hours to the start of the Wide Bay Bar.

The coast guard provides way points through the bar, but its still a nervous experience with breaking waves close by. The tide against us flattened the waves, but slowed our progress and it was over an hour before we made it to open water.

We sailed past Double Island Point remembering the our mis-adventures there on the way north. We were again surprised as the yachts following us didn’t overtake us and some even slowly disappeared behind us as Addicitive chewed up the miles towards Mooloolaba. Bernie caught up on some zzz after the early start. The narrow entrance bar to Mooloolaba harbour was being dredged but still had plenty of depth for us even at low tide.

The marina at Mooloolaba is across the road from the beach, next to the fish shops and a short walk into town. When we thought we might stay there over xmas we discovered everyone else had the same idea and they were booked out. Some yachts are booked in up to 12 months in advance.

A suitable day arrived and we reluctantly left Mooloolaba, negotiating the early morning paddlers, and sailed south passing the shipping lane and entering Moreton Bay. The wind picked up as we crossed the bay, but our progress was slowed by a large tanker inconsiderately passing the shipping channel right in front of us. As we motored into the marina, we realised that this might be our last sail of 2020 as we plan to spend some time over Christmas and New Years in Brisbane and surrounds.

Yes, we had pancakes at Pancake

December 4, 2020 / fiandadrian

By Fi

Pancake creek, where I can only guess the name was aptly applied due to the sandbanks looking like pancakes, is a stunning part of the coast, and one I’m so happy we stopped in on now that we’re heading back south. As you may recall, we had a bit of a hairy time coming in to the anchorage after a big day, so all 3 of us were keen for some chill out time. So we spent a day enjoying the scenery and just doing some boat work. As low tide and sunset coincided, we enjoyed the vista over the massive sandbanks. Later in our stay here Bernie would enjoy running and skipping as he does on these banks and chasing the little bait fish.

However; the boat is a small space, and so we were keen to get off, and explore the area. We walked up to the Bustard Head lighthouse to enjoy the views of the coast, and were intrigued by the Bustard Head cemetery. On the way back, we couldn’t resist a trip down to the deserted surf beach to have a look – and quickly realised that the south end of the beach was a super protected bay with a little bit of swell, and all 3 of us could get in for a beautiful swim and cool off. It was like we were on our own deserted island – totally back to nature 🙂

Paddleboarding was another opportunity here that I didn’t want to miss. I spend so much time paddleboarding using my knees rather than standing because I have the Bernie on the front with me, so I decided Bernie would have to chill out on the boat and wait for me to hone my standing up skills. After a few minutes of wobbling, I got the balance point and was soon across the channel admiring the massive sting rays near the beach. I’ll try Bernie with me next time while I stand. He does move around a little which can put me off balance, so it should be interesting!

After 6 or so days of this idyllic pattern of swimming in the crystal clear waters, paddleboarding and exploring, we had hit on a day that would be excellent for a trip to Bundaberg. Apparently EVERYONE else in the anchorage agreed with us, and just after dawn, the first boats started their engines, and thus began the procession. We counted 14 boats, of which we were about number 5 coming out of the creek and setting sail south. One day we will be the first to leave!!

It would be a fair to roughish day. We had snacks at the ready, and prepared ourselves for what we knew would be a long and rolly passage. Fortunately, both Adrian and I don’t suffer from seasickness, but Bernie had a pre-emptive anti-nausea tablet that his vet prescribed precisely for days like this.

It was rolly coming out of the creek, which we navigated successfully using our in-bound track. Now at HIGH tide we had a much greater safety margin. We set up our sails, handed a coffee to the catamaran following us (about 10m off our stern if they were 1m), and ended up motor sailing for the best part of the morning. Blissfully, the wind filled in, and we could have the sails set wing on wing (our fastest sail plan) and were consistently clocking over 8 knots which is pretty fast for us.

As the day wore on, we noted the waves getting larger, and our ability to properly sail them becoming – hazardous. I suggested that we were perhaps overpowered, after a particularly nasty round up as we fell down a wave, and Adrian agreed. We decided to reef our sails, which maintained our speed, but stopped us from being just that little bit out of control. It felt more comfortable and we learned that we can do this without having to turn into the wind, which in this case was a blessing as the waves were pretty much getting uncomfortable to say the least.

Video’s and photos can never show how it really is, but this clip is us trying to show the rolly sea. The noise you hear is our autohelm working hard to keep us on track.

Not far out of Bundaberg, we noted that the wind and waves were increasing even more and even with reefed sails we were again overpowered – another reef was needed and so we did that, again our speed didn’t change too much, but the comfort and safety of our passage was much better.

Bundaberg was in our sights finally! Given the rolly sea state, we decided to keep our headsail out, drop the mainsail and motor into the Bundaberg channel (Burnett River). As we made the right hand turn to get into the river, the waves were on our beam and smashing over our bow, we were strapped in and getting very wet as each wave splashed over the boat, we were trying to steer a straight line to get through the heads – Adrian was shouting as I was steering “its only 50 more metres!” as we saw the waves crashing OVER the breakwall.

This is a little video when Adrian had a moment. I am steering from the companion way using our remote control for the autohelm. We later heard the breeze was gusting to 28 knots!

Through the breakwalls finally, the noise was still overwhelming, but we could see the marina – our destination and so we kept pushing.

Rounding the corner into the marina, we rang up and got some help to dock. The winds were pretty strong, so an extra hand on the dock is very helpful. Safely tied up, we did our usual high five on a successful passage, and watched as another yacht who came in after us limped in with a ripped headsail.

So after a passage like that, we like to chill for a while, and so planned to stay in Bundy for about a week before heading south again. Apparently Adrian pulled a muscle furling our headsail…

Great Keppel Island to Pancake Creek

November 19, 2020 / fiandadrian

By Adrian and Fi

We intended to leave Rosslyn Bay on Wednesday, but a list of boat jobs and and an outstanding long sushi lunch with a Sav Blanc delayed our departure till Thursday. We motored over to Great Keppel throwing out the lure on the way, but all the mackerel were too busy splashing around in groups to take any interest. Most yachts were anchored on the west side of the Island after several days of easterly winds. We decided to chance the southern anchorage as winds were forecast to turn northerly. A successful choice as we secured prime real estate in calm conditions and watched all the other boats follow us over subsequent days. Here you can see this gorgeous anchorage with its sparkling clear water, white sand and our neighbours anchored up around us,

We had promised ourselves some relax time on Keppel before some of the bigger passages to the south. Bernie chased fish in the shallows for hours and covered us in sand as we tried to relax on the beach. A walk over to the resort side of the island helped us appreciate our quiet white sand anchorage as we were greeted by ‘tourist busy-ness’: jet skis, sunburned tourists and live music.

Amusingly as we walked back to our anchorage from the resort side, we saw a sign that said the eastern end of Long Beach was a nudist beach. We never knew, nor ever saw, nor gave uncladding a go. We just enjoyed the few days of swimming and walking and soaking up the sun and seawater.

On the way north we had missed “The Narrows”, a shallow section of water between Curtis Island and the coast, by staying offshore amongst the coral islands of Lady Musgrave and Fitzroy Reef (you can check that out here – https://fiandadriansailing.com/losing-sight-of-land/). The Narrows are 2.1m above the water level at low tide where a cattle press, aptly named “The Cattle Crossing” (pictured here with the starboard marker), goes between the island and mainland for farmers to safely get their cattle to the different grazing areas. But with tides of up to 5m high, yachts can traverse The Narrows, although poor timing can be embarrassing. Our calculations suggested leaving Keppel at 4:30am would give us ample time to arrive at the shallow area an hour before high tide. At this time of year its light at 4:30am with a distinct absence of daylight saving in Queensland.

After tea and coffee at 4am I was about to announce we were the first boat to leave the anchorage when I spotted the all too familiar navigation lights slipping silently out of the anchorage ahead of us. One day we will be first to leave…

It was a straight line to the start of Curtis Island and The Narrows with only a few shoals to avoid. All the other yachts leaving the anchorage behind us headed out to sea and down the coastal route – did they know something we didn’t? By the time we entered The Narrows the tide was helping us along and we clocked our speed at over 9 knots which is a record for us!

The shallowest part of The Narrows looks like a wide open river, but there is only a very narrow path that is deep enough for Addictive. Using the electronic charts, guidebooks and plenty of buttock clenching we kept to the deepest line and were soon passed the lowest point which was 1m below the keel. As the river deepened again we hoisted a sail and meandered to our chosen anchorage, an empty creek mouth with an abandoned hut and just enough depth at low tide.

Our cruising guide spoke of mango trees around the abandoned hut. Approaching at low tide it was quickly apparent that 50m of shoe sucking mud was not passable. A second attempt via a rocky beach was successful. To our dismay the mangos were small and not nearly ripe, but the water tanks around the hut allowed us to fill our shower bags and wash our hair.

We might have stayed longer but there was only one day of northerly winds to get to Pancake Creek where we would sit out the forecasted southerly blow. The high tide was at 10 am the next day which was a much more civilised start time than the previous day. There was time to recover the (empty) crab traps, put away the dinghy and re-fill the showers before heading downstream to Gladstone. As we passed through the big scary port full of big scary ships and big scary sounding radio calls, the tide and wind whisked us along towards open ocean. It would be here again we would beat our speed record set the previous day, clocking 9.6 knots!

The radio announced an incoming monster, confirmed by a team of tugs lining the shipping channel ahead of us. We were sailing just outside the channel to avoid any overly scary situations. As luck would have it, we would meet this behemoth ship at a pinch point, where shallow water on our port side forced us close towards the shipping channel on our starboard. Fearing a far too close encounter that we were never destined to win, we tacked and retraced our track until the channel was clear again. Hoisting more sail we scuttled out of the shipping channels as fast as we could as the next arrival appeared over the horizon.

Once clear of the shipping channels we had a beam reach in bouncy conditions along the coast. The boat loves these conditions more than we do, speeding along at 7 knots. It takes a little time to replace all the dislodged items downstairs and re-assure Bernie after these trips. The guide books describe Pancake Creek as a deep all weather entrance, however we were rightly concerned about arriving just after low tide. We saw 30 cm under the keel at one point. We weren’t surprised to see the larger yacht following us come to a grinding halt, back off the sandbank it had hit and then anchor at the creek entrance rather than try to follow us in.

We will be here for a few days now until winds turn north again for the long jump to Bundaberg.

Whitsunday’s to Great Keppel

November 8, 2020 / fiandadrian

We had avoided the ‘hustle and bustle’ of Airlie Beach on the way up, choosing instead to anchor at the quiet wilderness bays just north. Airlie is the main Whitsunday hub full of tourists, backpackers and tour operators. Having spent a few days there, to our surprise, Airlie soon became our new favourite marina. The best marina facilities on the east coast, good coffee, and lively dog friendly restaurants quickly won us over. Throw in the Airlie markets, shops and ‘lagoon’ beach front pool recreation area, and we were sold on the place. After 5 nights we headed to the fuel dock on the way out: Addictive on one side of the fuel dock getting our 35 litres of diesel and 3.5 litres of unleaded and the f**k off massive motor cruiser on the other side with top deck looking down on our mast and requiring a bank guarantee to fill up with the high-flo diesel…that’s the Whitsundays.

Leaving Airlie, we avoided the most crowded bare boat charter areas such as Nara Inlet and CID Harbour, and headed south to Lindeman Island. Lindeman Island is part of the bare boat charter area, however oftentimes, on a weeks charter, people find it a little too far to go when there is a plethora of amazing places within only an hour or two. So we were banking on a quiet anchorage.

Once past Hamilton there were only a couple of sail boats in the distance and light sailing winds. Now that we are heading south we are looking for northerly winds and anchorages on the south side of the islands. Lindeman has a sheltered anchorage with an almost perfect beach, close to the mothballed resort. We visited the resort which looks functional from a distance but close up the degradation is obvious. There is evidence of rebuilding with work on the pier underway.

On a windy afternoon we dinghyed around to the next beach which was sheltered and empty. Bernie practised his shallow water fishing and we couldn’t resist a quick skinny dip.

After a few nights at Lindeman we decided to do a short hop South. We had stopped in at the north side of Thomas Island on the way up and loved it, and the cruising guide recommended one of the southern anchorages for protection from the north winds, describing it as having “a truly ‘South Pacific’ atmosphere” (Colfelt 2016, “100 Magic Miles”). This was absolutely true and we had a lovely time on the beach in this special place.

We have learned that wind and tide in the same direction means fast flat passages whereas the opposite is good for washing clothes. Leaving Thomas early after 2 nights, we had tide with us and quickly arrived at Goldsmith Island which looked a suspiciously rolly anchorage so we continued on to Brampton, for our second visit there. This time we were on the south east of the island away from the resort. We stayed 3 nights watching the cruising boats come and go as they headed south away from the cyclone season. A trimaran anchored over night and much to our surprise had a springer spaniel on board.

At high tide the lagoon near where we were anchored filled with water providing a beautiful calm swimming area. Each day mackerel herded the bait fish around our boat for a feed. We managed to hook a couple but they both escaped before we got them on board.

Eventually, we found some good weather, and enough motivation to leave beautiful Brampton Island for another spot further south. Keswick Island was only a couple of hours away and looked to be a good jump off point for the longer passages south. The paddle boards came out and we took Bernie into the beaches to harass the tiny fish. Afternoon storms brewed over the coast, provided a light display and fortunately declined before reaching the islands. On the last day we were there, Peter who had been living on his wooden boat for 20 years came over and offered us some tuna they had caught on the way in. Poke bowls for dinner setting us up for the next days sailing!

We came very close to being the first boat (unusual for us) to leave Keswick for the big trip south after getting up at 4:30am, but we were pipped at the post by our neighbours who were heading to Curlew Island. There was soon a procession of boats behind us heading out for the 10-13 hour trip south. At this time of year most cruising boats are using the Northerly winds to head out of cyclone territory. We motor sailed until lunch time when the wind and tide whisked us along at 7 knots. We enjoyed passing Mackay as we had enough food, water and fuel not to re-stock. When Sphinx Island came into view we were reminded of our blown water pipe on the trip north which happened in this area. Sails were dropped as we entered the channel between the Percy’s and we found a steady 3 knot current against us as we motored into the anchorage at dusk surrounded by a display of rainbow sands. We would have liked to have stayed a while, however we were mindful of our water situation, and Fi also wanted to spend a couple of nights at Island Head Creek which is the next hop south. Plus there is the inevitable blow predicted for 6 days away so we do need to move along.

The next day brought another long passage to Island Head Creek. We would pass through the washing machine area where we had miscalculated the tide against wind situation on the way North (you can read about that here: https://fiandadriansailing.com/run-to-paradise/). This time we were very careful to travel most of the day with the tide in the same direction as the waves and helping us down the coast. In the late afternoon we dropped sails and navigated the shallow entry to the creek. A catamaran that had been gradually catching us down the coast overtook us in the creek in the ‘race’ to the anchorage. But without the cruising guide book for the area, they followed the electronic charts smack onto a sandbank as we anchored safely in a deep pool in small tributary. After hitting the sandbank and fortunately reversing off, you could see the realisation in their eyes that we had better information than they did, and they headed off sheepishly around the corner to more predictable depths. It reminded us that local cruising guides are worth their weight in gold, and that the charts are not always correct.

For 2 nights we had this spectacular anchorage to ourselves. Its a military training area so there is no buildings, no phone coverage and just spectacular mountainous terrain (and maybe the odd croc). We put the crab pots down, but alas the famous “muddie” didn’t want to play with them, and we tried some fishing, but again, only little trumpeters wanted to play with us. We did find a few massive oysters which we enjoyed as entree one evening.

It was hard to leave Island Head but a combination of a looming SE winds forecast and a dwindling water supply meant it was time to leave. There was a strong tidal current coming into the creek as we left, but we were soon sailing down the coast with the tide changing and giving us a helping hand. A night out at Great Keppel Island before going to the marina was a possibility but a forecast review changed our minds and we set course for Keppel Bay Marina. The shoal areas close to the marina often create more choppy conditions, but today it was flat, with only a 1.5m Cobia. It was definitely too much fish for us and we returned it, hoping for something smaller and more tuna like, but alas…

So we will stop off here in Rosslyn Bay for a day or two, before heading back to Great Keppel Island again! We’re very happy to be back. This is a stunning part of the QLD coast.

North to Bowen and heading South

October 15, 2020 / fiandadrian

By Fi and Adrian

Two nights in Hamilton Island for some re-provisioning and shore time quickly became one night as Bernie wasn’t welcome, and the school holiday party throngs were overwhelming.

So untying our lines at Hamilton Island Marina early, after one nights sleep, the next stop was Cid Harbour one of the most popular charter boat anchorages in the Whitsunday’s. We had been there a few times previously on our first bareboat charter together, and had a fair idea of the place. We drove on in, dropped anchor and had the sunshade straight up and a cup of tea ready. Another yachty swung past and commented on our confident anchoring. Perhaps the practice is paying off, at least compared to the charter fleet who often tentatively anchor and re-anchor and re-anchor and re-anchor. We were pretty chuffed with the feedback!

We spent two nights at Cid Harbour, and even managed to catch up with our friends on their Riveria!

On departure day, leaving the 45 other boats in Cid Harbour we headed North to find a sheltered bay on the mainland. The SE trade winds pushed us up the coast to Double Bay where we were the only boat in a large bay surrounded by the Dryander National Park. Croc country here so no swimming or doggy paddling off the boat; however, some fishing was had and a few “Darts” jumped on Fi’s line, but we didn’t know what they were at the time so threw them back.

The next day we sailed north again through the tricky Gloucester Passage and into Bowen. The passage is shallow in part with several possible routes through the sand banks and reefs, so we timed our passage for high tide. The guide book described the sail into Bowen (after the treacherous passage) as some of the finest sailing on the coast with no waves and trade winds on the beam, and it turned out that way as we sped across the flat aqua water in perfect conditions.

Bowen marina was one of the cheaper ones we have stayed in and had cost appropriate facilities. We found the local shops, big mango, pub and fish shop (fisho’s). The constant SE trade winds showed no sign of abating. We get a little sick of marina’s so we headed into the rainforest again for some land time and Fi and Adrian time, and Bernie had a little holiday at the local kennels for 2 nights.

From here it would be easy to head further north as the SE trades are still blowing, but after our couple of days off the boat in our mountain hide away we decided it was time to turn around and head south. The further north we went the more we would be dependent on the SE trade winds giving way to northerlies before the cyclone season (which is forecast to live up to its name this year with a predicted La Nina system).

Starting early in the morning to take advantage of lighter (southerly) winds we motored from the Bowen Marina to Cape Gloucester resort. We missed this place on the way north, but are unlikely to miss it if we pass by again. Free moorings, white sand, pool, live music, a bar, Bernie friendly and good food… Whats not to like? We enjoyed the trips first pina coladas beside the pool. After a couple of nights here and taking our health into consideration (really good pina coladas) we left and motored south at dawn back to the deserted anchorage at Double Bay.

We hadn’t planned to visit Airlie Beach, the bustling heart of the Whitsundays, where most of the charter boats, helicopter rides, ferries etc are based, but some friends kindly offered us three of their unused nights at the marina. Leaving early again to avoid the worst of the wind, we beat into 15 knots and short steep waves. Addictive handles these conditions better than we do, keeping us mostly dry and the boat is so well balanced we barely needed to steer. It’s always interesting finding the boats internal contents in new and unusual locations after these trips.

We came into the Marina, and realised that its a fantastic place, set up perfectly for yachties and we are happily enjoying the doggy friendly restaurants, the excellent facilities and the lagoon pool!

Our plan is to continue south in the coming days, as the forecast suggests that some northerly winds are coming, so we can sail!

Hello Whitsundays

October 3, 2020 / fiandadrian

By Adrian

We enjoyed 10 days in and around Mackay and got to know a number of other cruisers who were sitting out the winds in the marina. But as soon as the winds showed signs of moderating we joined the procession of boats heading to Brampton Island a few hours away. It’s shallow water outside Mackay marina and the waves are short, steep and uncomfortable after an extended blow. We motored into the seas to get to deeper water and hopefully calmer conditions. I’m not sure how successful we were but once the sails were set it was fast but bouncy sail to Brampton.

The anchorage at Brampton was close the resort which closed about 8 years ago. A caretaker keeps unwanted people out but does little to stop the encroaching jungle and general dilapidation. It would have been a spectacular spot when it was open, with sheltered beaches, waterside pool and warm turquoise water. Here you can see part of the pools paving has been washed into the pool over years of cyclones, king tides and strong winds.

A stroll to the island’s top lookout gave a great vista north over the Whitsunday Islands. This area offers great sailing with the reef providing protection from ocean swells and short hops between hundreds of sheltered anchorages. We descended the hill through clouds of blue tiger butterflies.

Here you can see the general dilapidation of the resort: curtains, mirrors, art and some furniture all left in place.

Our next stop was Thomas Island about 4 hours to the north. The tides run north-south through this area so we spent the morning chasing tuna whilst we waited for the tide to turn in our favour. The tuna were feeding just off the island but in the end it was a case of the ‘one that got away’ with our line and lure.

We broke our Speed Over Ground record on the way to Thomas, registering 8.8 knots with more than a little help from the tide. The anchorage was sheltered from the south and fringed by white sand beaches and coral reefs. It was made even more prefect when all the other boats left and we enjoyed the island to ourselves.

Our sailing journey had started 3.5 years earlier when we had tried living on a sail boat by chartering a yacht in the Whitsundays (see Fi here helming our charter boat in 2017). The next hop would be to the iconic White Haven Beach which we first visited on our original trip, bringing us full circle. We timed our arrival at the narrow (and infamous) Solway passage for high tide and no tidal flow. Even so there were eddies and small whirlpools where the water was being pushed through the narrow passage… must be an exciting place on a big tide!

White Haven was just I remembered it: beautiful white sand and blue water peeping out from behind a hundred million tourists delivered by boats, seaplanes, and helicopters. We anchored off the the beach where were a number of white tents set up, and set about celebrating our achievement with a champagne lunch, and a little swim.

I noticed a line of large white motor boats steaming directly towards us. As they anchored all around us in their multi million dollar boats I reflected that we must look like real yachties who know the best spots to anchor. It soon transpired that they were here for a wedding in the white tents on the beach. We moved on from Whitehaven to our overnight anchorage further north at Tongue Bay, to get some respite from the sea of humanity.

Northerly winds gave us a rare opportunity at this time of year to explore the southern end of Whitsunday Island. So back through the Solway passage we went again (at high tide!) and headed west towards some beautiful spots. We spent a couple of nights in Turtle Bay catching up with friends, fishing and enjoying the antics of the charter boats. Bernie found a shallow area of water where he could chase fish in the shallows, and would likely still be there if we had not dragged him away.

From the ocean, to the (v)alley

September 27, 2020 / fiandadrian

By Fi

For any of our international readers, or anyone confused by my title, its a John Farnham lyric, except the actual lyric is “from the ocean, to the alley”. Aaaaaand, now that song is stuck in my head, so it should be in yours too – listen to the legend here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZIbpexA4g8

Once we got to Mackay, we managed to fix the issue with the hot water tank quite quickly. I’m sure you remember from last time we thought we were sinking as the fresh water spilled from the engine bay out over the floor while we were 70kms away from land. But it was an easy fix, just putting the hose back on and ensuring it was secure. We took the opportunity to check all the other hoses as well.

Unfortunately, the prediction of the wind picking up was absolutely true and we looked at the forecast, and we were in for days and days and days of strong winds – The image here is of our wind prediction system – red isn’t great. Too strong for our little boat (and many others) to venture out of the relative comfort of the marina. So to exploring it was!

Mackay is a mix of industry (coal and sugar) and a little bit of tourism given its proximity to the Whitsundays. We elected to get a car and check out the local area. We headed south, hilarious given how we always want to go north at the moment. We ended up in Sarina, and saw the “Big Cane Toad”, and the immense amount of sugar cane growing and sugar production that happens in this area. After wandering around some little shops selling local goods, we were keen to check out the Sarina Beach and have some lunch. Happened upon this lovely motel at the beach (which is almost the only thing there other than houses) which had some excellent food! I had the crab linguine which I am still thinking about and Adrian had the chicken parmi, washed down with a Great Northern (beer). Sunny but windy, we took the dog for a bit of a run on the beach, and then headed to our next stop.

Cane and coal seems to define this area. Industry is everywhere. Next to the marina is the massive dock where large tanker ships come in which we had to navigate when we entered the marina, and further down the coast is the biggest coal loader in the southern hemisphere. We were keen to check it out, as we had picked out way through over 20 tanker ships anchored off this coal loader as we came in. Very intimidating to sail around these huge things in our tiny, comparatively slow boat!

Nothing prepared me for the size of this coal loader. It was utterly massive, 3.8kms long is the northern pier, and the southern a measily 1.5. The ships we passed were anchored off the blue coast, and the black coal was in piles below us with automated fresh water spraying systems to stop the coal dust coating Mackay and surrounds. The trains that bring in the coal from over a dozen mines are 2km long and weave their way slowly into the drop off points. Huge. You can see why this industry is so powerful. It feeds and houses thousands and thousands of Australians, creates side industries in towns, such as leisure activities for the mining families, and enables Australia to be a well off country. Its just so terrible the impact is has on our environment. A very conflicting day, and I do wish for more renewables and a path to get that industry as busy for people as the coal industry. I don’t think we should be pumping this stuff into the atmosphere.

Enough of that. We wanted to see the rainforest! When we got back to the boat, we organised a trip inland and up the hill and left a couple of days later.

Bernie was to have a little holiday, so we dropped him off with a lovely couple who run a kennel in the local area, and we headed to the Eungella National Park, and more specifically Finch Hatton Gorge with our swimmers and sandwiches packed – oh and raincoats, huge first aid kit, EPIRB, hiking books and water. As we entered the park, I saw a teenager preparing to tackle the track in high heels, so I couldn’t help but feel we were overprepared. Oh well…

After a few kilometers of stunning scenery, cascades, butterflies and – SNAKE! I didn’t shout this… Instead I said to Adrian “DON’T… STOP” – to which he thought I meant for him to walk past me. I grabbed him and pulled him up before he could tread on the black snake sunning itself on the wooden walkway in front of us. “Sorry,” I said, “there’s a snake”. We’d learned that if you stomp your feet, snakes tend to want to get out of your way. “They’re more scared of you than you are of them”, I hear a multitude of old mates saying in my head. But no, this little guy was bold as brass and wouldn’t move no matter how much stomping we did. It ended up taking 6 adults and 15 minutes before it decided it should move along. I researched later and discovered it was a blue bellied black snake, and yes, poisonous.

Continuing uphill, we reached the “Wheel of Fire” swimming hole and jumped in to the FREEZING water. Its very cold, but so refreshing! There was a waterfall feedigng the swimming hole from further up the hills, and the water was so clear you could see the big boulders and rocks on the bottom. I couldn’t stay in too long as the water really was very cold, plus lunch. Sandwiches eaten, and a sense of tingly relaxation from the cold water, meant we were ready to head back down and on to our accommodation. On the way we stopped at yet another swimming hole and at this point were already cold so jumped in here as well. Here is Adrian enjoying the sensation.

Later that day we arrived at our accommodation, had some hot showers and a great sleep! Still and quiet.

The next day we were keen to explore more of the national park and the helpful team we were staying with had some good walking maps so we were off again with sandwiches and the whole “preparedness” kit in tow. Crossing the first bridge, we spotted a platypus! Very exciting for me as its my first in the wild. After a small crowd of other excited onlookers from the camping ground closeby gathered around us, we thought, “lets go” and got walking. We walked through the rainforest admiring the river and its clear cascading falls, tortises, monitor lizards and fortunately, no more snakes that we could see. At the halfway point (about 10kms), we had a quick bite, and headed back along the track aiming for a stunning cascades we’d spotted in the hope of another refreshing swim – and it was refreshing! I got my own private little freshwater spa, and Adrian floated in the pool below. Delicious!!

Back at our accommodation, we did a quick leech and tick check – PHEW none! So we enjoyed dinner from the restaurant (takeaway – COVID…) and another hot shower and sleep.

The next day we checked out and headed back down towards the marina, picked up little Bernie who was so happy to see us he ran right past us, did some provisioning and packed and cleaned the boat. We were planning to head out the next day as the winds had dropped quite a lot to a point where we were happy the sea state and the winds would drive us further north. We are planning to head to Brampton Island where we will officially be in the Whitsunday’s and then over the coming days and weeks, further north into the islands! Bye marina!