Mother's Day at Maggie and Heavenly Hinchinbrook

Magnetic Island was on of my favorite anchorages on our last sailing trip in 2007 but it has been outdone by Zoe Bay on Hinchinbrook Island.
We arrived on Magnetic Island after a week of 25 knot wind. Great for sailing, we were getting 6-7 knots with about 60% headsail only, but a bit lumpy and makes it hard to leave your coffee unattended for fear of losing it. The day after we dropped anchor the wind settled down and we have no useful wind since. For Mother's Day we thought we would have a nice leisurely walk to the next bay around. That was too easy, so Wendy thought we needed  to continue around to the bay after that following the waterfront. So we headed off over the boulders, easy at first, then a little more challenging and then towards the end Wendy was on her hands and knees and burst into tears as she was perched on top of on rock too scared to go forward or back.

Daniel giving directions before Wendy slides down on of the smaller rocks

The kids just run around like they were in a play gym and would scout out the best route for us. They had a ball.



Looking for a way around

Time for a rest

Wiping away the tears, Daniel thought it was funny

The end is near

On the way back, the only nudist was an old bloke:(

End of the walk, we were all stuffed

 After we collected our mail and topped up the fresh veggies we motored over to Palm Island and we had this bay to ourselves. The Palm Group is home to an aboriginal population and you are suppose to get permission before going ashore, this part of the island is uninhabited however.  We lit a small fire and enjoyed the solitude.

On the way to the beach



All to ourselves

This is what it's about

Dances with fire

 Next day we were off to Zoe Bay on Hinchinbrook Island. I wanted to visit here on our last trip but this anchorage is only usable in calm weather which is what we have. What a delight it is. The bay is very scenic with mist clad mountains in the background but the real attraction is a swimming hole that is feed from a waterfall. After an easy 1km or so walk on a rainforest track you are meet with a superb waterfall and perch filled swimming hole. We swam and snorkeled here for about three hours before having to retreat back to the boat for the night.

Daniels Mother's Day present, we can take photos of him for a week



Playing with the panorama feature on my camera

And again



Cool, swimming with perch



From the top

The fishing around here is pretty dam good too. our fridge is full




My efforts, can't be eaten




Friggin Daniel showoff



Even Wendy had to beat me

At the moment we are anchored off Cape Richard on Hinchinbrook Island. The wind is supposed to pick up again tomorrow so we will head towards Cairns with a few stops on the way.