back-updated from day 54 to day 61 – day 62-64 tomorrow!!!
17.40 146.10 Hutchinson Island
55 km only, as there are only 3 days left to Cairns and this island is beautifully inviting. Making 2 days out of the three is simply too much. Although it’s the best paddling weather, low to moderate wind, low seas, warm, tide pushing or not…
18.08 146.16 North Brooks Island 75km it’s simply paradise here once the anchorhng prawn trawler went off for the nightshift…
After I left Falcon Island, I couldn’t help but stopping after an hour on Orpheus Island on that inviting tourist jetty. I thought it leads to a resort inland or so…no, it was simply for the beautiful beach and to please a boatload of tourists for a picnic…
18.45 146.31 Falcon Island 65 km
Quite amazing, sitting on a remote island with internet access and pushing myself to update the blog…see how far back I’m making it before falling asleep. The rest will be done in Cairns…
Leaving the highly civilzed Magnetic Island/ Nelly Bay at dawn, but traces in the sand reveal that already quite a few dogwalker must have passed my tentsite earlier…the beach I was camping on wasn’t that far away from the harbour and the holiday houses.
19.09 146.50 Magnetic Island 70km boring paddle with few wind, waves and tide. I like action!
sanddunes from the night’s wind
As I expected, the surf off Cape Bowling Green eased almost completely over night. But it took a while until the wind went down that night! My tent and kayak got quite a sandblast, and around both was next morning a deep gap in the sand blown by the wind.
9.21 147.26 Cape Bowling Green. 70km. Lovely surf along the long sandy shallow spit
Coconut Bay was a lovely place. There was a bay 2 km northwards, but it had not such a nice name and more steep walls shown on the map – actually no name at all on the map or the GPS chart.
19.45 147.50 Coconut Bay. 70km. Lovely small, hidden bay set in a rocky shore
Leaving Gloucester Island, I had to pass Middle Island pretty close. It looked like a lovely spot with a nice reef to camp…but I can’t camp everywhere!!!
So I kept on heading towards Abbot Point, with following winds against tide starting, as usual the last days.
Abbot Point had a long jetty sticking out into the sea, it said “International Coal Terminal”.
20.03 148.27. Gloucester Island. 80km, 7 am to 5 pm. I listened to my first coral beach. It sounds like glass in a gentle lapping sea…
Paddling out of Genesta Bay was a bit of an effort against the wind and tide, but eventually I made it around the rocky headland of Round Head.
I headed to the left, leaving Long Island to the right and passing through the narrows. The tide would be just turning when arriving at the entrance around 10 am, perfect!
20.28 148.53 Genesta Bay. 75km, 10am to 10pm. Hit by a nasty breaker on the open sea, I had to roll. I use a lifeline* now.
*tether to keep kayaker and kayak from being separated.
Aussie size? Banana from Victor and Alyth’s backyard…
I woke at 4am, to be ready to leave the Rainforest house at 5.45am…I could have stayed some more days!
