The ships log:
Whitsunday Island July 2005.
Arriving at shute harbour on the morning of July 6th the forecast for the crossing on the 7th was not favorable. Forecast was 20+knot winds and seas up to 2 meters. With the wind against tide factor we decided it would be better to go by barge to Henning Island. It was that now having sighted the expanse of blue water we just had to leave the mainland one way or another. We "negotiated" the lift with Scamper (the barge that does a regular run throughout the Islands) and organised a water drop to Hook Island resort by the 9th.
July 7th - Four of us David, Paul,
Norm and myself arrived at 8:30 set up our Kayaks and our gear on the boat ramp
ready for the 9:30 crossing to Henning Island. After loading the barge the Kayaks
were strapped down and we were off. The boat first went to South Molle Island
to drop off some passengers and campers, then continued to Henning Island. It
was difficult to either sit or stand up on this craft as it pounded through
the heavy seas, not made any easier when the Kayaks came adrift and had to be
held as well.
Having just missed some very heavy rain during the crossing, when we arrived
the tents were set up quickly along with the tarp. It was then off for a short
paddle to the top of Dent Island and return. The evening was spent in some wind
that came and went all evening. At least it kept the sandflys away.
July 8th - We departed Henning in
10 - 15 knot ESE winds, with the tide flowing in many strange directions as
we approached Fitzalan Island. Cautiously approaching the rocky crags and avoiding
the narrow channel to the North of the island, we slid over the rocks with inches
to spare. We could now see a good part of the Southern end of Whitsunday Island.
The coastline was rugged with Hoop pines scattered amongst the rocky cliffs
reminded me a little of photos I have seen of Vancouver Island. Our sails were
down, heading into the tide we stayed close to the shoreline hoping for some
eddy assistance. The GPS showed at times our speed to 7 km/h and other times
as slow as 4 km/h. The seas were sloppy and varied between 1 - 1.5 meters on
the Starboard side occasionally making the paddle somewhat interesting. To the
South we could see Pentecost Island with its mountainous cliffs on the eastern
shore occasionally obscured by heavy rain that fortunately missed us and moved
to the West.
With the weather clearing as we rounded the last headland before double bay.
Our heading now enabled us to put up sail to our destination Chance bay. The
beach is an all tide sandy beach and a short 100 meter walk to the campsite.
A great evening with a little wind but no clouds.
July 9th - Our departure was late
around 10:30 we set off to our next destination, Peter Bay.
Solway passage (a narrow passage between Whitsunday and Hazelbrook Island was
an unknown quantity but mentioned in many books as a place not to be with any
craft when you have wind against tide. The tides in this area are huge.. around
3 - 5 meters. We were fortunate on the day with light winds and arrived at Solway
passage on the top of the tide. The renowned Whitehaven beach came into view,
a spectacular long white sandy beach but over run with tourists.
We continued on our journey arriving at Tongue Bay for a short lunch break in
a shady spot on the Northern side of the bay. Soon it was time to head off as
we had to arrive at Peter bay as early as possible due to the rocky foreshore
at low tide. With the wind picking up and in our backs, we made good time. We
stopped on the Southern side of the beach as this was the sandy bit where as
the Northern end was already showing exposed rocks. Paul walked up the beach
and indicated the campsite was around the middle of the beach. A quick decision
was to paddle to the Northern end to avoid the long haul to the campsite. The
tide was dropping as fast as you could paddle.
Peter Bay is one of the most spectacular bays we had seen with great views to
Dumbell and Border Islands. The campsite is set in a bushy area just up from
the beach. This is where Norm gave some of his food to either a rat or bandicoot.
It ate its way through his dry bag. Needless to say Norm was not impressed.
It was also one of the best places for a great feed of very large black lipped
oysters.
July 10th - Our departure was somewhat
laborious with the tide still way out we carried our gear further to the Northern
end of the bay as it appeared the tide was coming in quicker at this location.
By the time we had loaded up, the kayaks were already floating and we were off
at around 10:45 heading for Hook Island resort to pick up our water drop.
Arriving at the resort, I asked if our water was here to which the young lady
replied, 'Yes... you are staying the night?"
Well, we did have 2 lay days up our sleeve so we decided to stay one night,
this would give us time to pack the water in the morning.
We set up camp and I sat down for a cold beer, while Norm was "thinking"
and David went for a snorkel. The clarity of the water was low and as much as
I felt like a dive it has to be clear to be enjoyed. Dinner at 7:00 saw us talking
to a Norwegian couple during the evening.
July 11th - The morning forecast
was not good with 20+ knot winds and 2 - 3 meter seas. I scanned the horizon
with David's Binoculars and saw nothing but mountains off shore. We sat and
discussed our options. It was now 11:00 and with the weather not looking to
get any better, we decided to paddle to Nara inlet and come back to camp at
Cerlew Beach (in Macona inlet) later in the afternoon.
After a wild ride with moderate to strong SE winds and waves washing over the
Kayaks. I clocked the speed at Nara inlet at 16 km/h riding the seas under full
sail. We entered Nara inlet and stopped for Lunch on a nice beach just inside
the Eastern shore. It was now too late to explore Nara inlet so we decided to
go back to Curlew Beach and set up camp and revisit Nara inlet on the 12th.
This would give us all day to explore the waterfall and aboriginal paintings.
We arrived back at Curlew mid afternoon to set up camp. Curlew is a sandy beach
best approached at High to Mid tide.
July 12th - The weather was overcast
but did not do anything to deter our trip to Nara inlet. We paddled up the eastern
shore and into a few small bays where we spotted a couple of Black goats. Made
me wonder how safe our food was back at the campsite. We stopped at a small
beach with very little room and possibly underwater at high tide and followed
the track to the aboriginal carvings continuing on to the waterfall. With great
views from the caves the colour of the water below was a stunning aqua blue,
even though it was overcast. Mid afternoon we paddled back to Curlew for a coffee
and snack. We were ready to paddle up Macona inlet when the group of five from
NSWSKC arrived, after having left a few days before us they had just came down
the west side of Hook Island. We were offered fresh plunger coffee which was
greatly appreciated as I had lost half my coffee in my pack on day one! Thanks
Dee.
It started to rain so we rugged and covered up to paddle Macona inlet. Dave
stopped close to the end of the inlet to change into his spring suit, it was
now getting cold. Norm reminded me of the time.... it was only around one hour
before sunset and with the thick rain clouds it was getting dark, a quick paddle
back was in order. A cold evening sitting behind the tarp led to an early night.
July 13th - It was a little disapointing not having gone around Hook Island as first planned. The sun was out and the waters calm for our next leg had picked up our spirits. We followed much of the West coast of Whitsunday on this leg, spotting the occasional turtle and admiring the deep blue colour of the waters surrounding this tropical paradise. I had remembered a diving spot marked in David's 100 Magic mile book to be somewhere between Cid Island and Whitsunday Island. David asked a chap on a private boat if he knew of any good diving spots. He pointed to a small coral Island less than 100 meters away. It was off for a snorkel in very clear water. The current was strong and difficult without flippers so Paul dragged me behind his Kayak through the worst of it. Two paddlers arrived from Shute Harbour to say hello, they were also staying at Dugong beach camp. After the dive we headed to Dungong, about a kilometer from Dugong beach we could see a group of 5 Kayakers aiming for the beach and paddling very fast? It was the NSWSKC group also staying the night. The sunset was great and inviting after the few days of rain. The last of the red was consumed.
July 14th - Another fine day. We
aimed to camp on South Molle Island but had a good look at Cid Island, this
campsite was closed to campers. The Kayaks were hitched together and anchored
off the beach due to the rocky nature below the sand line. The oysters were
huge so a good feed was had for morning tea.
With the tide beginning to turn we departed, probably a little late as we headed
NW aiming for the top of South Molle Island. A change in mind half way across
had us beating up into a stiff current and continuing to find it harder to push
up against the fast flowing current. The tide difference was only just over
a meter on the day, but gave us some insight to the strength of these currents
when crossing the Whitsunday Passage. (go with the flow). It was also interesting
to note a number of eddy lines that offered some assistance, around 500 meters
from the Island and around 2 km from the top of South Molle. These were shaped
a bit like curved lines one below the other. When one ran out it was a hard
slog to reach the next one. Rounding South Molle the rebound on the headland
was amazing after which the reverse eddy could be felt pushing us past South
Molle Island resort to the top of the Island.
We took a break on western side of South Molle, when Norm indicated he would
like to purchase some red wine for the evening. The only option was to walk
back across the spit for about a 1.5 kilometers and ask at the resort. So Norm
heads off still with his PFD and sprayskirt and his "rather unique"
hat.. to purchase a cask of red.
As he arrived, the tourist could not believe what they saw... unshaven, wearing
full Kayaking gear. Not a nice sight. He approached the bottle shop and asked if he could purchase a cask,
to which she replied we only have bottles at the asking price of $28.00 each!
"I can't pay that much" Norm replied.. "Do you give pensioner discounts?" After some persistent haggling
and asking to see the manager! she said "ok then 3 for $18.00 each!" It
was then a request for a bag to carry them.. "We don't have bags"
was the reply.... you could try the souvenir shop. So it was off to the souvenir
shop where he managed to leave without souvenirs but two empty bags. Curiosity
became too much for one of the guests when he asked Norm where his boat was.
(I somehow think that he thought that norm had drifted in on a log).
I might add that things could have
been different if Norm had his pensioner card with him.
A good evening was had on South Molle Island, reminiscing about the paddle and how quick it went.
July 15th - A short paddle/sail across to Shute Harbour saw us packed up and ready to go in no time. Paul headed off home that afternoon and Norm David and myself spent another evening near Airlie beach before heading off.
This paddle was a paddle that was
far different than Frazer Island in 2004 where on Frazer Island we completed
the trip as planned we had excellent weather from start to end. Where as Whitsunday
Island we saw it at its best and at its worst. For me it was another learning
phase, where plans need to be flexible on appropriate occasions. The nine days
went far too quickly as did Frazer in 2004.
The distance paddle was 138 km.