Yay for Telstra! We still have internet!! This may be the last post for a while as the internet quality at Lizard Island and beyond is more than questionable…
We had a wonderful day sailing yesterday with a good solid breeze on a beam reach. Great to feel Roobi come alive under our feet. Our track took us past Cape Bedford, with its surprising flat top mountain and escarpment – totally unexpected but quite beautiful. The colour of the water’s being changing to turquoise as we pushed further north. No sign of whales, though… They must have already started their journey south.
We did sailed through large streams of coral spawn with its distinctive smell. Great to see the reef in this area is breeding. The resilience of Mother Nature is always surprising and very welcome.
Cape Flattery’s loading jetty appeared out of the haze, looking totally out of place on the wild coast. The silica mine is one of the largest in the world – you may even be reading this post on a screen which has been made with North Queensland sand – and accessible by air or sea or a very rough ride over corrugated roads. A ship was loading on the very exposed jetty as we sailed past. It must be a challenge docking it in the stiff south easterly wind. The mine was damaged a few years ago by a cyclone and there still seemed to be sandbags in place across the front of the terminal area.
We’re now moored in the lee of Cape Flattery and will make the short hop across to Lizard Island this morning. The lovely long beach is used by fishermen with several feral looking camps tucked up in the trees. An amazing amount of flotsam has also been washed up which has been turned into hanging ornaments – must have been a slow fishing season 🙂
Dolphins and sharks were hunting in the shallows but sadly I didn’t manage to snap any good photos of them. And at least Graham managed to safely retrieve the dinghy from the rising tide without encountering any wild life!
Enjoy the photos 🙂
Cape Bedford and its flat top.
Looking back at the ship to give you a perspective of the isolation.
Silica being loaded onto a ship at Cape Flattery
Coral spawn floating on the surface.
Colours in the sand.
A float tree!
Cheeky little crab 🙂
Art installation at Cape Flattery
Roobinesque and Temptress resting after their boisterous sail.
Hi Helene, As i am currently sailing Darwin to Sydney, and have made it to Mackay so far, your log has a fascination for me. How far north have you gone and when did you start the trip south back home?
Regards Neil
Hi Neil, We went as far as Flinders Island this year and we’re now back in Townsville, heading south to the Whitsundays in a week or two. Enjoy Mackay. Further south the Great Keppel group is well worth a visit. It’s a wonderful coastline for cruising.
Great blogs allowing us to follow you about. Happy sailing. Isn’t retirement the best!!
Lovely seeing these places again! Enjoy the sailing – and the anchorages. Looking forward to lots more photos xx
It’s magical up here! So glad we’re made the trip and looking forward to more exploring over the next couple of weeks, Jo 🙂
It’s magical up here! So glad we’re made the trip and looking forward to more exploring over the next couple of weeks, Jo 🙂
Beautiful photos once again
Thanks, Carolyn 🙂 So lovely to be able to share!
Once again thanks for the photos. I really like the colours in the sand.
Such wonderful designs, Sarah 🙂