Isabelle Rose Mitchell
Karin and Isabelle
Peter and I flew to Perth on 3rd July to check out our new granddaughter, Isabelle Rose Mitchell. She is of course gorgeous and we both enjoyed a week with Paul, Karin and baby. Greg came for a quick visit from Sydney to see his new niece, so we all caught up with the latest Scott family news. Peter then flew back to Airlie Beach and spent two weeks there before I joined him after a quick visit to Albany. My flight from Brisbane to Proserpine flew over many of the places we had recently visited on our way up the coast. Having a window seat afforded a fantastic view until clouds blotted out the landscape near Cape Townsend. I wondered how anyone crosses the Wide Bay Bar as breakers appeared to stretch across the whole entrance to the Great Sandy Strait.
For $18 (no Seniors discount) I secured a seat on the bus to Airlie Beach, about a 40 min trip through the cane fields and mountains to Abell Point Marina where Rene was berthed for 3 nights. Having joined the Shag Island Cruising Yacht Club we are entitled to 10 nights there at half price, $30 a night for Rene. We cleaned up, refuelled, restocked the galley and made ready for a trip to South Molle Is and Cid Harbour.
We motored to South Molle Island passing through Unsafe Passage, which is safe enough for yachts, following the leads on Daydream Island. We anchored in Bauer Bay on the Lamond Hill side of the bay and spent a peaceful night there. Coral bommies line the shore for some distance out so care is needed when choosing a spot to drop the anchor. No sooner had we dropped the anchor than a huge batfish swam by obviously looking for a feed. It invited two friends to join in and we soon had three large, grey, striped, restaurant dinner plate sized fish swimming around the boat. They hoovered up the 9 grains bread Peter threw to them and hung about for more. Later in the evening we found they love mushroom peelings, but show no interest in onion skins or broccoli.
In the late afternoon we went ashore, walked through the resort and found the path that wound up the bushy slopes to the eastern end of the island. Here clinging to the side of a steep hill known as Spion Kop, a scenic lookout gave us a great view of the surrounding islands. The National Park walk tracks are well maintained here and made walking pleasant and easy. We noticed that some burning had been done recently along the track.
We had decided to stay a second night and enjoy this lovely anchorage and island for another day so on Thursday we set off on the 4.5km walk down the island to Sandy Bay. Again the track is well maintained and the walk lovely. On the way back we diverted towards Paddle Bay on the northern end of the island and came across some National Park workers who were preparing to begin a controlled burn to complete what had been started a few days before. They warned us that we might like to move as Bauer Bay would soon be filled with smoke and ash. We had a quick lunch and sure enough just as we were finishing our sandwiches dense smoke began billowing down towards us from the hillside. Time to make a hasty retreat to Cid Harbour.
Time to leave
Just over an hour later we arrived in Cid Harbour and spotted Arkaydes anchored close to the shore not far away. Ric came and invited us for sundowners so we caught up on the last three weeks activities. The next day Peter and I decided to tackle Whitsunday Peak for the second time. It seemed much harder this time as there was no breeze and the humidity was high, but once again we were able to appreciate the wonderful views from the rocky platform at the summit. Later in the afternoon, in glassy conditions, we motored in to Airlie Beach and dropped the anchor in front of the yacht club where we plan to stay for a few days. The Festival of the Sea is on and we would like to see some of the events. Also strong winds are predicted for 4/5 days and we will shelter there from the south easterly until kinder winds prevail.
Friday night found us on Arkaydes with two other couples enjoying Ric's amazing enchiladas for dinner. Afterwards we sat on the front of Arkaydes and watched the fireworks across the water. Tiger has become very 'woolly' and has been promised a haircut asap.
Whitsunday Peak
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