Day 128 - 133 Hinchinbrook Island Marina

Although unexpected we have spent the past few days in at the marina. There is a tennis court and swimming pool but 3 kilometres from Cardwell shops. (which are a mini supermarket and a fruit shop only) Jim has been quite ill with influenza and Maxie very ill with a tic. (both are well on the road to recovery) So we are having a rest to make sure all the crew is ready for the last stages of our trip. So some pictures of the marina and surrounds.

Zoe Bay, Hinchinbrook Island

A special mention of Zoe Bay. Through tropical jungle rainforest, skirts around mangrove forests and swamps before breaking out of the jungle onto the magnificent Zoe Bay beach. It is then just a short walk up to the famous Zoe Waterfall. South Zoe creek cascades over the falls into the crystal clear pool that has made Zoe Bay famous. You may have to share this pool with visitors from cruising yachts but we were very lucky the day we went and had the waterfall all to ourselves.

The only issue we had was the thought there were crodiles. Signs such as these were everywhere. But we were lucky not to see any that day!

Day 126 - 127 Hinchbrook Island

One of the highlights of our last trip was the beautiful Hinchinbrook island and it didn't disappoint this time. It is Australia's largest island National Park and is separated from the mainland by the deep, narrow, mangrove-fringed Hinchinbrook Channel, scoured from sand and mud by strong tidal currents. Rising to 1121 metres in the centre of the island are the jagged battlements of Mt Bowen, largest in the chain of rugged granite crags forming the backbone of the island's southern half. The island is approximately 37.4km. long and 10km. wide. The National Park covers 39,300 hectares.

Day 124 - 125 Magnetic to Orpheus Island

Great weather and headed off north now that Jim has rejoined the trip. He had a great time at the Hamilton Island Race but was exhausted. We headed to a wonderful place.. Orpheus Island part of the Palm Island Group. The water is very clear and great snorkelling and the walks wonderful. There is a Research Station on the island which we were fortunate to visit. The following are some pictures:

Day 120 - 123 Magentic Island Peppers Resort Nelly Bay

On our travels around Magentic Island we had a look at the marina at Nelly Bay. It is a part of the Blue on Blue Peppers Resort and we decided this was the place for us while we waited for Jim to join us from race week in Hamilton Island. We spent time around the pools (one of which is the second largest in the southern hemisphere) Everything is very easy with the supermarket in walking distance and the parks are great for the dog walks. Here are some pictures:

This is pool side:

Day 118-120 Magnetic Island

Magnetic Island is located just 8 kilometres off Townsville, Queensland's northern capital. The Island has a relaxed tropical lifestyle, quiet secluded beaches, natural unspoilt beauty, abundant wildlife and the weather lets you know you are in Australia's Tropics. The days range between 25-28 degrees and the nights are balmy at around 20 degrees. (definitely only need the sheet at night) We arrived at Horshoe Bay and were surprsied to find over 30 boats. The esplanade had many take away shops, shopping mart, art gallery and of course the pub. The sand stretch for 3 kilometres and there are many water sports such as jet ski and kayaking as well as horse riding.

We spent time exploring the island by bus (excellent service) and did some of the many bushwalks. These are some of the snapshots from around the island.


All in all the island is very interesting and one we were glad we had stopped to have a look.

Day 116 -118 Travelling to Magnetic Island

We moved further north and stayed overnight at a few different anchorages on our way to Magnetic Ilsand just off Townsville. The weather has been very good for travelling north with s/sw winds up to 30 knots and unfortunately the swell that comes with it. (Up to 3 metres) Our first day was a bit of a shock after having such a relxing time at Airlie Beach. We were skimming down waves and averaged about 8 knots. We ended up at a place called Cape Upstart. This is a fishing village and can only be reached by boat. Here are some pictures. The landscape is changing now we are further north with huge moutains and very large boulders.

The next day we went to Cape Bowling Green but unfortunately we could not stop the wind was very strong and the short sharp chop made anchoring impossible so we headed off to Cape Cleveland. We could see the lights of Townsville and we were very relieved to anchor as we had 40 miles to do before sunset. The boat went very well and the ancorage wasn't too bad although there were some worrying time with the tide. Think we only had about 1 metre under us at low tide which made sleeping a little uncomfortable.The next day we went to Magnetic Island and had a very easy sail and will have a rest for the next couple of days.