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Exody - Days 199-220 : Shore leave and Barrier Reef cruise



The evening air chilled as we disembarked from Jetstar at Gold Coast Airport on Tuesday evening 28th July, met by Marian's old friend Ian, 25 years resident in Australia, now at Nobby's Creek near Murwillumbah. We stayed the rest of the week on his 87 acre rainforested estate set in mountainous surroundings near Mount Warning. In his 'retirement' he has a ten year project painstakingly recovering and replanting the rainforest trees and shrubs, mostly singlehandedly. We awoke every morning in his cool 'summer' bedroom overlooking a subtropical gardenscape , birdsong the only sound and a watching dark brown swamp wallaby. We walked the contours to all boundaries, heard, but not learned, the latin names of everything - the one that stuck was enemy number one - the Lantana weed. We drove through the sugar cane fields, visited the town art gallery and the Natural Arch at the national park at the New South Wales Queensland border.

Highlight was a surprise daytrip to Sydney, an hour's flight away where we packed in Opera House, botanic garden, bridge and a ferry trip to Watson's Bay, walking to the South Head lighthouse, bounding the entry to this magnificent natural harbour. Sydney was even cooler than Gold Coast- winter coats, woolly hats and scarves in abundance as we finished the day walking through the central business district.

Taking our turn as hosts, Ian joined us for the flight back to Mackay Friday evening and we set off for the Whitsunday Islands Saturday morning August 1st, first stop en route for Cairns. Highlights of the 10 day cruise were:

- whales breaching in the distance and mother and calf passing close by at Shaw Island,
- stunning Whitehaven beach on Whitsunday Island itself with cleanest and finest sand ever: several helicopter and seaplane visiting couples, though plenty space for all,
- cruising the colourful reefs at Butterfly Bay, Hook Island by dinghy,
- magical starlit overnight passage from Airlie Beach to Townsville,
- Australian Festival of Chamber Music at Townsville where we took in a memorable concert of mixed groups and composers at the cultural centre,
- 03.30 rise at Orpheus Island rounding the 5km long Lucinda jetty in the dark to catch the tide for the 30 mile long Hinchinbrook channel,
- the latter providing a stunning dawn between mainland and island mountains, the channel fringed with dense mangroves - many unexplored creeks where we might have seen crocs!
- cyclone hit resort island of Dunk where we enjoyed our walk along the beaches, through the forest to Muggy Muggy bay, and ice creams at the beach cafe,
- arrival at Cairns, the narrow channel busy with fast ferry cats and local pleasure boats.

At Cairns we took in the botanical gardens, a meal out and a first go at the mall before Ian left us for his flight home to the weeding of his rainforest on Monday 10th. It was great fun to have him on board as a local guide and for Marian and he to re-establish their long friendship. Three more days in port at Cairns saw visits to the chandlery, marine engineers, doctor and of course the mall and supermarket. Minor but critical things were fixed on board and we were ready to leave on schedule Friday 14th August along with Luna Quest, Ayama, Garlix and Firefly.

We have had a fantastic sail north very nearly to the top of Australia stopping at the Low Islets, Cooktown, Portland Roads, Margaret Bay and are now (Tuesday 18th August)on final approach to the Escape River just 22 miles south of Cape York and the Torres Strait.

The sea has been turquoise (though opaque), the trade winds steady between 12 and 25 knots, the skies clear day and night, the sun shining - and of course its warming up as we are now up at 11 degrees south. The stops have been agreeable and it has been good to have had company in some, now sailing the last leg north with Firefly and Garlix. One has to keep one's nerve with the depths. Very little within the barrier reef cruise area is under 40 metres, most under 20, frequently under 10 and sometimes under 5!

It is difficult to describe the sheer vastness of this place. Whilst we have got used to expanses of ocean, it is quite different to sail up hundreds of miles of virtually uninhabited coastline.

Cooktown had the feel of a frontier town out of a modern day western- wide main street - colonial style shops and bars with timber verandahs and trellis work. All vehicles are 4WD, many heavily laden for the well beaten trek north to Cape York. Here it was that Captain Cook hauled the Endeavour in 1770 to repair reef damage - we liked the succinct tribute to him 'he left nothing unattempted'. The town bearing his name was subsequently founded on the 1830's goldrush.

Progressing north, the tropical forested hills have given way to long low snow-white sand dunes and still nowhere any sign of humans. Nor of any crocs, sharks, snakes or deadly jellyfish - just benign whales, turtles and dolphins so far! We have been alone or with other World ARC boats in both the delightful anchorages at Portland Roads then Margaret Bay at Cape Weymouth.

We have travelled 800 miles south by air and 800 miles north by boat since Exody's last log following arrival in Mackay three weeks ago. Our last ten days in Australian waters will take in a further 800 miles from here, crossing the Gulf of Carpentaria, around Wessel Island and Arnhem Land to Darwin for the World ARC rendezvous on 27th August.

Peter (Skipper)





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