On Top of Australia

We left Lizard Island and the Barrier Reef closed with the coast of Australia. Big ships shared a narrow passage and this led to some uncomfortable squeezes in the tight spots between the reefs. Sal Darago rounded Cape Melville which was composed of massive boulders. The whole mountainous area was also made up of these huge boulders. We stopped at the delightfully deserted Morris Island, but did not have time for a walk as it is dark by 6.30 pm and we were up at 5 am nearly every day to cram in 60 to 70 nautical miles.

We got in with a bad crowd of yachts. They were all bigger than us and despite us leaving early, they just sailed right through us and we were last into the anchoage at night. Rounding Cape Grenville (last again) we snuck through a dodgy passage betwixt the Home Islands and nearly beat the British 43 foot Oyster called Trenelly. "SAN - E - T", an Australian catamaran called up on the radio and as we turned our eyes in the direction indicated we saw a living, moving, hungry CROCODILE! Kathy and decided not to swim that evening or any other evening since. They don't half look mean. (The yachts were very friendly and helpful really;)

Onwards and upwards, to Escape River where on our escape (groan!) the kickstrut ripped out of the bottom of the mast. A quick repair and we were okay to approach and round Cape York. Goodbye Pacific, hello the Gulf of Carpentaria. After a couple of nights at Seisia, where we ate a huge pasta dish at a camp site; filled up with diesel, water and nosh, we set off on the 360nm trip to Gove. It was quite rough with 20 to 30 knots of wind all the way. We arrived in the morning on Sunday 260611, and were amazed at the size of the Bauxite Processing Plant. Still, it is the only reason Gove exists.

Lizard Island

James Cook and Joseph Banks climbed this hill to try to find a way out to sea through the maze of reefs. The cairn at the top is called Cook's Look. We gazed at the same view and, thanks to a handy plaque, we identified Cook Passage in the haze below us. The climb was quite arduous at times but worth the effort. Cook named the island Lizard Island because he saw a variety of lizards while he was there. We saw a tiny one and that was all.


At the bottom of the hill Jeremy found hidden treasure. Here he is leafing through an old accounts book which also served as a visitors' book. You'll have to guess what else is in the barrel. We left it for others to find.

We did some snorkelling in the bay later and saw giant clams with shells as wide as my outstretched arms. Fantastic. Later still, at a beach party for all the yotties organised by the yotties, we learned that there was a crocodile on Lizard Island, but it was timid. PHEW!

Cooktown

We had waited for a week in Cairns for a package from the UK. We decided to leave and on a Wednesday morning we walked (again) to the Post Office to have our package redirected. Fortunately it was waiting for us. We had enjoyed our 6.6km walk in the Botantical Garden's Rain Forest, despite its proximity to the LOUD airport. Three days later we arrived in Cooktown to join in with the annual re enactment of Cook's landing there.

This re enactment took place over three days and was most colourful. It included the landing from both English and Aboriginal perspectives. It marked the first meeting of the Aboriginal people with whites (Well the first recorded one where no one was eaten).
Jeremy was fortunate enough to join in some of the Aboriginal Dances. (And they wonder where Simon got it from?) We met quite a few boaties and had a meal out where we were entertained by belly dancers. There were fire eaters, a military band and we attended a talk about Reconciliation given by Willie Gordon, a Guugu Yimithirr story teller. The whole show had a fabulous firework display over the water and we were most impressed. The next day we set sail for Lizard Island.

Cairns

There were only 2 stops from Hinchinbrook Island to Cairns: Kent Island, which is part of the North Barnard Group, and Fitzroy Island. As we approached Fitzroy Island we heard a VHF message from an Australian warship to "All Ships": "Live weapons practice will begin at 12oo hours..." It wasn't long before we saw the ships. We noticed a ship guarding the entrance channel to Fitzroy and another one guarding the exit channel, so we thought it best to anchor immediately. That night 6 warships anchored behind us.


The next morning at 6.00am, 5 of the ships were on the move. We decided to escape to Cairns. An amazing coincidence occurred next. We heard the British yacht, Gryphon II, call the marina. We had left NZ on the same day but had taken different routes to Oz. Gryphon had been to Fiji and Vanuatu, and here we were arriving at Cairns within half an hour of each other! Incredible! It was good to catch up with Chris and Lorraine again. We also met a number of yachts taking part in the Sail Indonesia Rally at a Pot Luck supper the next evening. Cairns is busy and bustling with many tourists arriving to take boat trips out to the Great Barrier Reef. We are waiting for a parcel to arrive from England but two nights in the most expensive marina so far in Oz, was enough. We motored down the creeks and anchored for 2 nights in Garrison Creek, only 2.5 miles upstream from Cairns, but it might have been in another country, so quiet was it in comparison. No crocodiles were seen but we didn't swim - just in case.