A Lazy Week On Magnetic Island 8th June

Old oyster lease, Horseshoe Bay
 

It is only ten Days until I head back to WA to meet the Geraldton girls for our annual get together, this time at Cervantes. Looking forward to that. I will also be able to catch up with Greg, Leisha, Karin and Paul and the grandies, and Mum and Dad in Albany. After flying back we will be spending the next two and a half months sailing north to Lizard Island again. Meanwhile a lazy ten days at Magnetic Island in Horseshoe Bay has to be one of the best ways of using up some spare time. The weather has been perfect. With the east coast low down south the winds here have been variable anywhere from north to south west at no more that 0-5kns. The days have been crystal clear and we have been able to see Hinchinbrook Island clearly from the bay. I read in Lucas's cruising guide that when there is an east coast low down south it is usually a good chance to put many miles behind you on a trip south as the SE trades disappear for a while. It appears that this is correct and we will keep this in mind for future reference.

We have spent mornings walking and boosting our fitness levels on our way to coffee over the range at Arcadia. Now that we have spotted koalas it seems that they are everywhere. Today we saw three dozing up in the forks of gum trees. Two of them were quite close this time. Also came across a legless lizard on the track - Peter informs me that it has a different shaped head to that of a snake. Anyway it wriggled off into the bush without much ado when we stopped to take a closer look. 

Finding them everywhere now

Today I purchased a painting of Picnic Bay by Peter Lawson. The view is looking across the jetty towards Townsville, with a couple of people examining the beach at low tide. I loved it. We had been to his gallery a couple of weeks ago and spoke to him about what we wanted. He informed us that he would do the painting and let us know when it was done, with no obligation to buy. I could tell he was pleased with it when he phoned to tell me it was finished and it is beautiful. He is very clever and I love the way he paints the puddles on the sand when the tide goes out. Unfortunately we forgot to take a photo of it so I can't show it here. It is being posted to WA. Peter is a descendant of Henry Lawson, the poet, and he has painted some wonderful illustrations of poems such as 'The Loaded Dog' and others. He told us how he had set up the scenes to paint and we thoroughly enjoyed the visit to his gallery on the beach front at Arcadia.

The best way to get down rocks. Like a crab!!

Yesterday, while we had glassy conditions in Horseshoe Bay, we decided to take Lily to a beach that had previously been out of bounds due to it being an oyster lease and the oyster farm taking up the majority of the bay. The man who owned the lease used to keep the public at a distance by shouting and yelling wildly at anyone who ventured near. He has gone now as has his house and shed. Apparently the James Cook Uni has taken over the lease and has cleaned the place up. There is still many ugly, iron stakes in the northern part of the bay, left over from the structures that held the oyster racks in place. The best landing area for the dinghy is to be found in the southern end of the bay near the rocks. Access here is clear of obstacles. There are some interesting rock formations there and the view across Horseshoe Bay to the island, taking in the boats anchored in the bay, is delightful.




Horseshoe Bay from the old oyster lease
That's the range we walk over for coffee - the low part, but still gets the heart rate up!

 



View from one of our coffee walks over the range, towards Horseshoe Bay anchorage.
Puff Puff! Pant Pant! Sweat! Sweat!
This had better be doing me some good!



We have met up with Tom and Vivien on their Beautiful yacht, an Adams 40, in the Breakwater Marina. Last year they helped us acquire the berth for Rene over the summer. They have been in Horseshoe Bay with us and asked us over for a roast dinner. Yum! Yum! Thanks Tom and Vivien for the lovely meal and good company. Vivien came walking and swimming at Radical Bay on a perfect winters day in paradise.

 

Liz and Vivien take a cool dip at Radical Bay



Back to Townsville 26th May to 5th June

Finally after the deluge of rain at Dunk, (it seemed like a week - but in reality was only two days and nights) we were able to get ashore and explore a bit. I reneged on the mountain walk as the mozzies honed in on my soft southern skin and drove me out of there. After a pleasant couple of days we decided to begin the trip south back to Townsville. Our fresh fruit and veges were running short and as the day was fine and the wind light we anchored off Cardwell in order to dinghy ashore for some more supplies. Lunch at the café with the big crab turned out to be a partial success. My egg and bacon burger was very tasty, but Audrie and Peter had fish and chips and the fish was terrible. One customer walked out with the comment that it was, 'the worst fish he'd ever eaten.' It looked tough and appeared to have been heated up half a dozen times. We can't recommend that café.

The big crab Cardwell

Motoring down the northern end of the Hinchinbrook Cannel took us past Scraggy Point and it looked so lovely that we anchored there for the night with three other boats. Mozzie coils were essential for a good nights sleep, but as it was absolutely still we had a very quiet night. Next morning we motored south down the channel, admiring the magnificent mountain scenery and out along the seemingly endless sugar jetty at Lucinda. A short trip  across to Orpheous Island in the Palm Island group saw us moored on one of the courtesy moorings in Little Pioneer Bay for the night.



Peter and Audrie at Scraggy Point

Day two in the Palms began with light winds, but before long a NW wind sprang up and became strong enough to cause uncomfortable choppy seas in the anchorages on the western side of the island. A quick peruse of Lucas's 'Cruising the Coral Coast' informed us that in these conditions good anchorage could be found in Juno Bay, between Orpheous Island and Fantome Island. Three other boats were already there so we found a spot and dropped the anchor and ate lunch. Our reading lead us to believe there was some interesting ruins of an old lepers hospital on the island, so we set out to explore. We did not realise just how shallow the water between us and the island was. It also didn't really dawn on us that there would be even less water when we came to dinghy back to Rene. Duhh!! The bottom was littered with mossy stones and muddyish areas and all I could think of was coming across a nasty little stone fish.

A long slow trip back to Rene. Next time we'll check the tide tables.

We spent a couple of hours wandering around the ruins checking out the foundations of the old buildings and guessing what they had been used for. Some like the power shed still had the old generator there and others like the laundry and bathrooms contained cement troughs and old iron baths. Hundreds of clam shells had been collected and used to outline the edges of paths and gardens. Frangipanis, oleanders an old mango tree and other imported trees and shrubs still grew at the site and are a testament to the toughness of these plants. The whole site is littered with asbestos waste from the smashed buildings - no warning signs here.



Peter takes a bath at the old leper hospital on Fantome Island

 

KOALAS

We have at last found our first koala in it's natural habitat. Audrie's holiday was coming to an end so we sailed back to Magnetic Island and spent a few days in Horseshoe Bay. During this time we walked to Arcadia, Picnic Bay (12kms) and the Forts. All these walks wind their way up and over the rocky hills  and bush of Magnetic Island and as we decended down the hill into Arcadia we found a koala high up in a tree. Hurrah!! Our first one!! The next day while walking around the forts area Audrie found two more. I suppose we will see them everywhere now.

A quick trip took us back to the Breakwater Marina where for $275 you can stay for seven days. They have  a special at the moment as this is usually the price for five days. Audrie had one day left so a decision was made to take a sight seeing trip to Mt Spec with Peter's dad Andrew. The drive is very scenic and Mt Spec is beautiful. We were disappointed to find that both of the cafes up there were only open on the weekend now so we had to drive back down the mountain and find lunch elsewhere. Audrie bought a stack of tropical jams at the Frosty Mango - a great spot for coffee, mango ice-cream, fruity treats, etc. She spent the next morning trying to pack her purchases into a very full bag for her trip back to Perth. We had a great time and it was good to spend time sailing with Audrie again after many years since our trips to the Abrolhos Islands together at Easter.

Crystal Creek Mt Spec