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.

Hinchinbrook Island

After Cape Bowling Green, we went to the marina at Townsville. Our daughter, Emily, spent some time at the university here when she was researching her thesis. We found ourselves tied to the fuel berth, next to a seaplane! We had to be careful not to touch its wings as we berthed. I walked to the local Bilo supermarket for some supplies, while Jeremy filled up with diesel, water and cooking gas. We spoke to the crew on a yacht called "The Road" that was anchored nearby. The last time we saw them was in Panama. That night we anchored in Horseshoe Bay, Magnetic Island. Our next daysail took us to Orpheus Island where we snorkelled over the coral bommies in Little Pioneer Bay. The "stinger" season is meant to be over in May but we were wary anyway and looked out for each other in case there were any crocodiles or sharks.

The next day we arrived at the very beautiful Hinchinbrook Island. This had been the subject for Emily's thesis, for which she received a First. It really is a special place with magnificent mountains fringed by extensive mangrove forests. We passed a 3 mile long bulk sugar loading conveyor wharf as we approached Hinchinbrook Channel. Later we motored along some of the creeks and spent a calm, quiet night in Gayundah Creek, which you can see in the photo. No swimming for us in this crocodile habitat. We didn't see any but we did have to put our insect nets on early to escape the mosquitos and sandflies. We're now anchored off Kent Island in the North Barnard Isles about 70 miles south of Cairns.

Gladstone to Kent Island

After more than a week in Gladstone, either in the marina or hauled out in Mipec Boatyard, a new cutlass bearing was fitted and we were on our way again. We tried to make up for lost time by sailing non-stop for two nights. Our destination was Scawfell Island in the Cumberland Isles. We motored in with all electronics on at 4.00am and anchored. Two day sails later we were in the Whitsunday Islands. The photo shows the beautiful Cid Harbour anchorage close to Whitsunday Island. We had great sailing weather and continued north up the coast of Queensland, stopping overnight at Bowen Boat Harbour and Cape Upstart.

Here you can see the smoky sunset caused by the massive sugar cane industry near Ayr, just south of Townsville. There was not a cloud in the sky until chimneys started belching out smoke resembling a volcanic eruption. The Australian Government is keen to introduce a carbon tax but opposition to this is strong. Our next anchorage was at the well named Cape Bowling Green. Captain Cook chose well when he named this long, low strip of sand and shrub. We had to anchor twice. We'd put down 2 anchors to keep us heading into the choppy tide waves but one dragged. All was well the second time and we were more comfortable further inshore.

Australia!

Sorry to keep you all in suspense, but it was a while before we could set up a reliable internet connection. We are safe in Gladstone Marina, Queensland. Leaving NZ, it was our intention to sail to Brisbane but the winds had a different idea. After 11 days of sailing on every point of sail with too much wind and no wind, we arrived in Bundaberg on Sat 30th April. Customs and Quarantine met us and we were charged double the usual rate ($618AU) because it was the weekend. It was also a holiday weekend so we could do nothing until the following Tuesday. Straight away we set ourselves up with an Oz mobile phone SIM and a mobile broadband. The latter did not work. We booked our trip to Sydney and travelled there by Tilt train and plane - a 12 hour journey. We had 2 nights in a hotel and 2 nights with Jeremy's uncle and aunt, Peter and Judy. Here I am at Sydney Harbour with the famous bridge in the background.

We boarded an open top bus and toured the sights taking in the Opera House and Bondi Beach. We had lunch sitting in the sunshine, the Opera House behind us and the Bridge in front of us. Wow!
The next day we spent the morning in the Sydney Museum and learnt that one of the first fleet of ships carrying convicts was built in Sunderland, Jeremy's home town. Soon it was time to take the ferry across the harbour to Manly to meet Peter and Judy. Fellow sailors, Jonny and Kate sailed from the UK to Oz over a year ago. We tried to meet up with them as they also live in Manly, but sadly it was not to be. Our schedule was tight and we needed to spend time with Peter and Judy as we had not seen them for 30 years.

Here they are sitting on "The Whale" on the headland near their home. They were excellent hosts and made us feel very welcome. We were introduced to Jeremy's cousin, Louise, her husband Charles and son, Andrew. Andrew was attacked by a shark a couple of years ago, while he was out surfing with his father. He still bears the scars, but has not been put off surfing.

Once we were back in Bundaberg, we provisioned Sal Darago and set off north, day sailing along the coast. On our second day the propellor started vibrating. This had happened while we were crossing the Tasman Sea. We anchored and Jeremy braved the possibility of salt water crocodiles lurking in the water, to go over the side and check the prop. He quickly confirmed that the cutlass bearing was working loose. We decided to turn around and go back 35 miles to Gladstone Marina. We are to be lifted out on Tuesday 17th May to replace the cutlass bearing on the prop shaft. The last one was engineered in Panama. The weather has been brilliant recently, but Oz is much busier and more expensive than NZ.