Monday 20th May to Sunday June 2nd

 

On the Monday things were still not looking too good weather-wise but we were determined to head off. Liz, one of the marina staff, helped us to leave the pontoon without causing any damage and we had a rather bumpy 25 mile sail north hugging the coast to avoid the stronger winds further out to sea and dodging rain squalls. I was disappointed not to visit Brampton Island which we could see some 15 miles out from the mainland and covered with dense rain clouds, but had decided it wouldn’t be much fun at the exposed anchorage there in high winds and seas.

 

Newry Island, next to the mainland, provided a very sheltered stopover to escape the winds and we had a peaceful night at anchor, heading off the next morning out to sea to stop at Thomas Island. We gazed longingly at the sandy beach from which we knew there were walks into the island, but it was too windy or choppy to even launch the dinghy from its position on the foredeck and we had a disturbed night with the anchor chain dragging in the early hours. The next day we moved 7 miles north to anchor off the more sheltered Shaw Island as the winds continued to blow at over 20 knots, with bullets of wind blasting down across the hilly island, but at least we managed to go ashore here to meet up with friends Marina and Mike from Te Mana and to walk on the beach. The beach was lovely and sandy, covered in shells and backed by a profusion of different flowering trees and plants, a small stream emptying into the sea, but no path through the dense undergrowth.

Back home voting was taking place to elect euro MPs. We had done postal votes with the kind help of my brother Rob in Bristol. I was worried that Nigel Farage’s Brexit party would do well and depressingly they did.
On then to the Whitsundays proper. They were named by Lieutenant James Cook as he passed by during his first voyage of discovery on Whit Sunday in the year 1770 (in fact it was a Monday that he passed by here but he wasn’t aware then that he’d crossed the International Date Line). Today the 74 islands of the Whitsundays are part of the Great Barrier Reef National Park.

 

A stopover for backpackers travelling up the Queensland coast with easy access by excursion boat from Airlie Beach, there are also exclusive resorts on several of the islands which cater to the more affluent holidaymakers, with the option of arriving by seaplane. The airfield on Hamilton Island is large enough to take Qantas planes flying direct from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane & Cairns and as we passed the end of its runway we had to keep far enough away from the flight path to ensure our mast didn’t obstruct approaching planes. Hamilton island is the most developed of the Whitsunday group of islands with a yacht club and smart marina, two upmarket resorts, boutique hotels and condominiums, restaurants, supermarkets and shops and an 18-hole, championship golf course on nearby Dent island, said to be one of the finest and most challenging courses in the world. Since neither of us play golf we continued on past all this and anchored in Cid Harbour to the north of Whitsunday Island.

As we approached Cid Harbour there were buoys warning not to swim and notices on the beach too. There had been three shark attacks here in late 2018 including a doctor from Melbourne who was ‘viciously mauled’ and died.

 

It was a beautiful, well sheltered anchorage although the water looked a bit murky after all the wind and I wouldn’t have been tempted to swim here anyway. The next day we took the dinghy over to Sawmill Beach and climbed up through damp rainforest in swirling mist with birds squawking loudly, as Australian birds do, to Whitsunday Peak at 415 metres. The ‘spectacular vista’ with 360 degree views of the Whitsundays that we had been promised was obscured by low lying cloud, but as we waited on the flat lemon-yellow lichen covered rocks at the top, the mist occasionally cleared to reveal the beaches and bays below.

The following day we sailed north to Hook Island and spent the night in Nara Inlet, a long fjord with high, steep, wooded sides and good shelter from the winds which were still blowing fiercely.

At the top of the inlet is a small beach with a short walk up through the forest to a cultural site with Aboriginal cave paintings. There are signs explaining the culture of the indigenous people, the Ngaro, who fished and hunted in the Whitsundays for over 8,000 years and you can listen to audio stories narrated by elders of the Ngaro tribe. They were sea-faring and their canoes were spotted by Cook and the crew of the Endeavour. Initially relationships between Europeans and the Ngaro people were mostly peaceful until large numbers of settlers arrived and by 1870 many of the Ngaro had been removed from their lands and forced to work for colonists, their traditional way of life lost. Today there are still Ngaro people living in settlements along the coast who remain as ‘traditional owners’ of this land, although I’m not clear how this benefits them, and the elders are consulted regarding developments in the National Park here.

 

Dreamtime legend in Aboriginal culture refers to their understanding of the world and of its creation. One story explains how the Whitsunday Islands came to be:
“Long ago, there were no islands, only the vast blue of the sea. One day, the Rainbow Serpent passed through the water, laying her eggs as she went. Ancient observers of rising suns and setting moons, her eggs remain – they are the islands where you stand today.”

 

The next night we picked up a mooring buoy by Border Island where we walked to the top of the island (a good spot to pick up a mobile phone signal).  Strange grass trees grow here with giant bullrush-like stems growing from the centre. There was good snorkelling on the shallow coral reef by the anchorage.

 

We then headed for Whitehaven Beach, a long expanse of fine, soft white sand that “squeaks” as you walk over it. It’s popular with day tripper catamarans carrying party people as well as bareboat charter yachts… it’s also popular with sandflies and mosquitoes. Once the backpackers’ boats had left it was a peaceful anchorage and especially now the wind had at last dropped. We went ashore and walked the track up to a viewpoint across the length of Whitsunday Island, rugged and densely wooded with craggy peaks and cairns.

Luncheon Bay is at the north of Hook Island where we met up with friends David and Susan on Enchantress and after a quick lunch we went snorkelling. Five butterfly fish, about 2 foot long, swam under Vega and as I went into the water to photograph them they came right up to me. Although they appeared quite aggressive they were probably just being curious or after food. George is a massive Maori wrasse who was so tame he must be fed regularly by the tour guides. He swam up close to a group of tourists floating in the water making them shriek and he lifted his head out of the water to look at Hugh who was in the dinghy. It is certainly rather alarming having a 4 foot fish swim within a foot of you. We were told that George has been a local celebrity for around 16 years.

We moved on to Butterfly Bay nearby and picked up a mooring buoy for the night. Snorkelling here we found giant clams of about 4 foot long with beautiful and intricate patterns and colours.

By now the wind had completely eased and the forecast was for 5 or 6 knots for the following night. We were keen to go to the outer reef, 18 miles away from Hook Island, where the guide book showed fabulous snorkelling and diving, with a profusion of huge fan corals. We headed off early and after a 3 hour motor sail were the first boat to arrive and pick up one of the mooring buoys in Bait Reef. There is a cluster of shallow reefs here named Hook, Line, Sinker and Bait Reefs based on the shape of the reef, which are all completely submerged at high tide. They are popular for excursions from Airlie Beach and there is even a platform anchored by Hook Reef where you can spend the night sleeping under the stars in a swag. A couple of other yachts arrived and then a large yellow, high speed catamaran bringing divers and snorkelers from the mainland. The coral was a massive disappointment. Most of it was dead and grey, although I saw a large parrot fish, schools of small blue and yellow fish, a few pretty soft corals. The reef had been devastated by Cyclone Debbie. An Australian from one of the other yachts told us that a few years ago the coral was amazing. He apologised to us for how poor it was now!

Despite forecasts of winds of only 5 to 6 knots overnight, the wind had come up to 15 knots by early afternoon. Worried that we might have an uncomfortable night in such an exposed spot we decided we’d prefer to find somewhere more sheltered for the night. We had a great sail back to Butterfly Bay, close hauled, and arrived there as the sun was setting.

With more fierce winds and heavy rain forecast for the next few days we headed over to the Abel Point marina by Airlie Beach, probably the most expensive marina on the Queensland coast although you do get the use of a courtesy car for a couple of hours, the facilities are extremely plush and the staff super friendly and helpful. Airlie Beach is a touristy strip of shops, cafes and restaurants with a man-made lagoon for swimming (there were signs on the beach warning about the stingers which can give very painful and potentially fatal stings, stinger season being from October to May here).

 

We had a couple of evenings out eating in restaurants on the marina and caught up on laundry and food shopping as well as walks into Airlie Beach. After three nights in Abel Point marina, the strong winds and rain never quite materialising, we headed north again for the 130 mile, overnight sail to Magnetic Island.