After getting itchy feet to get back out to the islands after only 2 days on the mainland, we left late in the afternoon where we made the most of the dying breeze to try and get to as close to Hook passage as we could. Just on dusk, we coasted into our anchorage for the night at the entrance of Nara Inlet. Anchoring in the dark in a small cosy bay with a deep sandy bottom and reef close by, taught us a valuable lesson, but thankfully without any repercussions. Checking off the stern with our head torches after anchoring we could see colourful corals and fish swimming uncomfortably close... shortening our anchor rope we managed to get through unscathed, but this was the first of our anchoring lessons for the coming week!
Heading out early from Nara Inlet (and waking the charterer boat next to us, haha) we got catapulted through Hook Passage into the whirlpools on the other side, and from here we sailed down the coast. We passed many bays and tempting spots as we moved south, and realised how much there is to see and do here. Our destination, Hill Inlet, on famous Whitehaven Beach came along up quickly, and so did the increase in wind, perfect for trying to navigate through the sandbar and waves to get into the inlet! Luckily, another small yacht was heading in at the same time. By hanging back a little, we were able to follow them in, and watch to see where they got stuck, so we could try to avoid the same area. Moving up and tucking into the lee of a sand dune, we managed to beach ourselves before going ashore to explore. Whitehaven is unique in the Whitsundays in that the beach is made up of fine silica, which makes its very soft and very very white! We had a walk on the beach with hundreds of other tourists lying on the sand like lizards (they come out in droves from helicopters, floatplanes and charter boats). As they can only come out in the middle of the day, we decided to wait until the masses left so we could have it to ourselves.
Hill Inlet dries extensively leaving a white sandy expanse, and there is also a fair bit of current as the tide races in and out with four metres of tidal variation, add the fresh wind trying to blow you in the opposite direction, you get a rather tricky situation for anchoring. After trying different spots and using the stern anchor we motored further up the channel and hid behind some mangroves.
At low tide we could explore the white tidal flats where Rob discovered the thousands of Soldier crabs which march around the sand in groups of hundreds at low tide. They are slow and easy to pick up and their only defence is to bury into the sand. It is amusing to see hundreds of them disappear all at once into the ground. There were three other boats in the inlet and we were able to meet them all. One had a couple who have spent years in the islands, and know many spots, even showing us two secret “gunk holes” (Anna informs me these are actually pleasant sheltered spots ...). They also loved fishing, and were nice enough to give us a couple of fish.
The fishing couple recommended a good sheltered spot, (although the name begs to differ) at
This was the next spot to test our anchoring skills with the stern anchor in order to keep ourselves perpendicular to the shore. After a couple of trial and error attempts (including using a different type of anchor), we managed to set it in a way that we could tighten it off easily, to align ourselves. The next morning from Windy bay, we were able to take a short walk over the hill to a massive fringing reef, which is significant in the area, in terms of coral spawning and recruitment. We went for a walk over the drying reef (where Rob got a fright from a large clam spurting water as he walked close by), and then a drift snorkel through a narrow channel. The waters of The Great Barrier Reef have been divided into zones each with a set of conditions attached to it. Thirty three percent of the waters are Green zones, (which are similar to marine reserves in NZ, in that no fishing is allowed) this snorkel was in one such place, and it showed with lots and lots of fish. In the 20 minutes we were in the water, we saw turtles, massive schools of fish, beautiful corals, a Lionfish, a Wobbiegong shark, stingrays, a reef shark and a couple of crayfish. At night we had a fire on the beach and cooked our leftover fish, beneath the crazy shapes of the native hoop pines towering over us. Anna gleefully brought out the marshmallows she has been wanting to eat for the last month... we also took the guitar ashore and had a sing along.
On our journey back to Airlie we were sailing late and the horizon was getting dark, as we approached our destination, we could see what looked like a black silhouette of a person fishing out of a white dinghy, in the middle of the ocean... surprised at what this person was doing so far out, late at night and with rising swell and winds, we kept an eye on them. Not until we saw the puff of “smoke” did we realise, the person in the dinghy was actually a Humpback whale with its tail up in the air. It was unusual to see a tail in the air for minutes on end.
We spent a quiet night at Dumbell, a small rocky island covered in native pines, on a mooring, it felt like a wild place with the whale, turtles and sea eagles patrolling over the reef.
Early the following morning, eager to get through the notorious Hook passage again with the slack tides and minimal headwinds we set out on another clear day, to get there just as the tide turned. Motoring just above 5 knots, we were only just getting by at 2.5knots through the passage as the whirlpools boiled around, veering the boat off course quite abruptly. And all this when the currents and winds were at their lightest! It must indeed chaos if you choose the wrong tide and wind.
Sailing back to Airlie with a beam wind at close to 7knots with only fair winds was brilliant, and another whale and calf sighting just added to allure of this magical place.
With another set of jobs ticked off and more added to our busy schedule, we soon plan to head north (with the wind behind us!!!) to one of the lesser visited bays around the mainland and then across to some of the best snorkel spots in the Whitsundays.