We arrived in Debute, (Tual is normal port of entry, but the rally we are participating in arranged for the authorities to come to us in Debute) early morning on the 16th of July. We had hardly announced our presence to the Indonesian authorities before we had 7 people in the cockpit. They were very thorough, professional and friendly. We went ashore late afternoon to finish off the check in process.
We met some of the locals and they are also very friendly.
Its’s a very different place from Australia this is only a peek.
We’re having a little down time after a very busy, entertaining and interesting 4 days in Debut and are in the Banda Islands.
I am now going back to Australia so I can then focus on Indonesia guilt free. :)
Cairns is on the Barron River.
The tide is out, but the reflections of the rising sun makes the mudflats look quite beautiful. There is some lovely movement from the rivulet to the sweeping clouds. The lumps in the foreground are rocks. The lumps in the middle ground, if you zoom in and follow the rivulet on the left toward open water, are pelicans.
As swimming in the bay is out of the question they have designed a fantastic freshwater paddling/swimming pool next to the bay.
Even if the tide was in, saltwater crocodiles are a BIG issue the northern Australia. The farther north you go, the more likely you are to encounter a crocodile.
We did a lot of provisioning in Cairns. There are certain items that we bulk buy in case they aren’t available where we are headed. Cairns is the last city and the last supermarkets (as we known them ) for he see foreseeable future. I vacuum seal anything that might need to last a long time in a humid environment. We have been know to vacuum seal electrical spares against the chance of them getting saltwater on them.
Staples like wholewheat flour (for muffins and bread), walnuts and raisins (for muffins), rolled oats and quick cook oats (the first for granola/porridge and second for muffins and emergency cookies), butter (for emergency cookies and maybe scones), ‘peanut only’ peanut butter (for sate sauce for tofu and my breakfast with apple slices. Yum. I came to peanut butter late in life), whole grain rice and pasta (unlikely to find and if you do it is probably riddled with weevils so best not), Whittaker NZ 72% dark chocolate that is occasionally on special at the two major supermarkets Woolworth’s (up market) and Cole’s (down market) (I favoured Cole’s as they sold the Veef plant protein range. We loved their burgers, truly excellent but I don’t think you can get them outside Australia. Sad.), Skim milk powder (finding fresh milk will be unlikely and we like skim, which would be even less likely) and last but not least, Weetbix, the antipodian version of the UK’s Wheatabix, because if one had to choose one food to eat for the rest of your life, Tim would choose that. I would choose Rhubarb Crisp, but have little hope of seeing any rhubarb until we are back in Europe/UK/Canada.
It was not all work and as we there for less than a week, we chose big for our one sightseeing opportunity and booked at trip on the Kuranda Scenic Railway and Rainforest Village.
We start in Cairns with modern engines and old fashioned car.
The views were quite spectacular.
We were seated in the caboose, which was very convenient for the halfway stop where we walked to platforms overlooking the Barron River.
It’s was awe inspiring even in the dry season.
The next and final stop was the Kuranda Station, a pleasing mix of tropical and Victorian details.
There were many things to see, but only so many that were free. Like the remnants of this Douglas C-47 Skytrain.
Enlarge to read Geronimo’s history.
I mentioned earlier that this was the dry season. In the wet season, there is much rain as well as the possibility cyclones from Bundaberg and further north. The highest water is marked by flotsam in the trees.
As we walked along the river there were a few other people doing the same. Several had dogs with them. One couple was watching as their small dog frolicked in the river. Another couple walked by us with a dog on a lead and I asked if there might be crocodiles in the river. ‘Yeah,’ came an Aussie drawl, ‘Could be a freshie.’ There is a big difference between freshie/freshwater and saltie/saltwater crocodiles.
There were lots of walks along the Barron River but our time there was short and we soon headed back down to Cairns.
The return trip was via the Skyrail Rainforest Cable Car. There were 2 scenic stops.
We followed along wheelchair friendly walkways through rainforests…
…and great views of the falls we had first seen from the far side of the valley.
Back on the cable car we were treated to spectacular views. This reminds me of Tolkien’s drawings of the Misty Mountains in The Hobbit.
Further along we had views of Cairns laid out before us.
There was also a small water sport lake where we watched water skiers and wake boarders being pulled round and round by underwater cables. Round and round they went like hamsters on a wheel.
The next day we left Cairns for the Low Isles.
There were no crocs on Low Isle and many tourists. Many smaller and tastier looking too (in case ‘no crocs’ turned out to be wrong), all snorkelling happily so we snorkelled too. The Low Isles are made up of two islands - Low Isle and Woody Isle. After one swim and one night we moved on.
Our next one night stop was MacKay Reef where Graham on Barracuda took this terrific photo of the four boats. From left to right - Larus, Into the Blue, Estehr and Barracuda. This photo makes me want a drone though I have no idea where we would put it.
Our next stop was Hope Island where we were invited onto Estehr to celebrated National Sweden Day, June 6.
We arrived at Hope Island before Estehr and Into The Blue. While we waited for them we were approached by a Queensland Fisheries boat.
There are a lot of rules regarding Recreational Fishing. Each state issues its own fishing licenses. If you do not have a license, you must not fish. You may not even have fishing gear on deck unless you have a license.
They came along side and a nice young woman came aboard to check that we were in compliance. No gear on deck - check. No fish in fridge or freezer - check. The Australian are a fishing crazy people and I always feel a little embarrassed that we don’t feel the same. By way of excuse, I mentioned to the young woman, that we often eat vegetarian meals, and she smiled and said, ‘I saw your tofu in the fridge. I’m vegetarian too.’ Hahahaha. If you don’t bond one way, there might well be another.
June 6th. Happy National Sweden Day.
Ann-Sofie and Johan put on a marvellous spread and we non-Swedes pulled out all the stops to show our support.
The ladies - Ann-Sofie, Zoe and me.
The gentlemen - Bill, Tim and Johan.
Barracuda missed out on these celebrations to head to Cooktown, which was the last provisioning stop until Horn and Thursday Islands. We followed in their footsteps the next day and saw them leaving as we approached Cooktown.
One of the jobs that needed to be finished sooner than later was to replace a zip in the insert between the spray hood and the bimini.
Alison from Venture Lady talked me through the process and it was far easier than I expected. Only having one zipper added a little tension. If I messed it, we wouldn’t be in trouble, but we might well get salty. The insert is important to keeping us dry when it’s windy and the seas are rough. I only replaced the bimini side of the zip as the zip that attached to the spray hood was still okay. When it did fail a week later, the remaining half of zipper had the right end to marry up with the half on the spray hood that was still good. Phew!
The zips fail due to sun damage. The fabric of the zip fails and the teeth start to fall out. We have flaps that should cover the zips but there are places where the protection isn’t consistent or the flap put on the bimini gets blown back and has never provided any protection. I noticed the latter issue soon after the bimini was made in Trinidad, but we were on the moved by then and we hadn’t yet had the insert made. With the insert in place you don’t always see the unprotected zip and I completely forgot about.
So! When I did the second repair I added a jazzy new flap to the insert so any wind would blow it toward the bimini this covering the zipper.
New zip under jazzy new flap.
You can also see the old flap behaving badly. We could physically tuck the old under the new but it zips/unzips from underneath and I suspect it would make the unzipping impossible.
This is the sprayhood-side that was the second repair.
The bit of flap covers the zip if you smooth it down, but it works its way back up. I tried a little sticky-back velcro but it barely adheres to the canvas and you need to continually press it closed. Maybe a flap extension with a dart to help it go round the curve? However any work on the flap sprayhood meaning taking the sprayhood off and that off is a much bigger job. Maybe we’ll just wait till we need a whole new sprayhood, insert and bimini and we finally know what to lookout for.
We really enjoyed looking around Cooktown.
First to see were the wonderful tiles that decorate Reconciliation Park. We came ashore via the Cooktown Wharf.
‘The Cooktown Wharf; Fun for all generations; Sponsored by the Palmer Family’
I would not be surprised if the Palmer Family were related to Arthur Hunter Palmer, who the Palmer River was named after. The Palmer River provided transportation to the Palmer River Goldmines.
The Milbi Wall and Cooktown Public Art puts them into context.
The first thing was saw on a Sunday afternoon was a rehearsal for The Reconciliation between Captain Cook and the indigenous people.
The next Sunday was the actual performance and I would have loved to see it.
For the dirt on why they needed to reconcile this Wikipedia article tells that story and much more very well indeed - Cooktown, Queensland.
Captain James Cook
Not the first nor the last Crocodile warning sign we’ve seen.
Somewhere we saw a ‘what to do if you encounter a crocodile’ sign. In a nutshell, if you see one walk away, if it run towards you run, run in away in straight line, do not zigzag, and a last helpful bit of info - crocodiles do not like to climb rocks or steep banks. And always report a crocodile sighting as they can come and go anywhere they like.
We visited the Botanical Gardens. It was lovely to walk in the cool of the trees.
There was more artwork to be seen here too. That is one big gecko!
The Persephone Mungaroo Python was carved from ironwood over 30 years ago a local told us and it hasn’t deteriorated despite years of sun and rain.
I like the support of the Community Gambling Benefit Fund. We saw quite a lot of things supported by this or that community fund.
The Soldiers Memorial Hall, Bar and Bistro.
The main street.
The building in the middle has rooms to let an above and a bar downstairs with big windows and wooden shutters that open onto the sidewalk/pavement. We walked past it often and never stopped for a beer. It looked cool inside and I wish we had taken the time. It probably would have been the most authentic Australian thing we could have ever done.
Back to Larus and on the move again.
We spent a couple nights at Lizard Island which had a resort and a runway. While walking we met a couple from Melbourne. They were visiting various islands along the coast by helicopter.
We had great sailing much of the time with consistent winds from the southeast.
We often stopped on a island that was mostly sand spit just to anchor for the night and moving on the next morning in.
Southern end of Ingram Island beach.
Northern end of Ingram Island Beach. Tim spotted this croc on the beach. It probably was probably eyeing up its dinner.
Another sliver of sand to anchor behind; this one was accented by fresh crocs tracks. These were wiped away as the tide rose.
The croc tracks are about halfway along the sand spit. Just before dusk the sand had disappeared.
This was the welcome party at Portland Road for another one night stop. I suspect fishing boats anchor here and the sharks come for a free meal.
We think they are Nurse Sharks. They were lithe and whippy and frolicked around the boat like puppies. They are reputed to be friendly, but even if they are, any crocs in the area wouldn’t be.
One thing that most of our anchorages had in common was that at some state of the tide, they would get uncomfortable/rolly/lumpy, however you want to describe it. There was one exception and it was such a big dull bay that I didn’t take any photos, but we stayed there for 3 days enjoying 3 uninterrupted nights sleep. The wind blew from the shore and we were far enough into the bay that any swell that did make into the bay was flattened out by the strong offshore wind. It was bliss.
The Escape River, last stop before rounding the tip of Queensland, was another night stop and was most notable for our rough passage out of there.
The mouth is wide but quite shallow and as the tide rushed out it makes for a lively ride.
Albany Pass, a short cut to the western side of Queensland.
Albany Pass is on the top right between the mainland and Albany Island. You need the tide with you, which we had, and we flew through the pass.
It was a dull day and as we rounded Cape York, the tip of which is this point of rock, those ashore took photos of us as we took photos of them. I think they got the better deal. :D
Behind Larus you can just make out two buoys, a green on the left and a red right.
We passed through buoys and made a 45 degree turn west to follow the beach, past the dock and to the anchorage.
There was only us and the power boat permanently anchored there in the bay. The current was quite strong thought the between the island and the mainland. There were many sandbars that appeared at low water.
It is such a long drive by land that most of the of the stores, fuel and food are brought by ferry from Cairns.
We visited the little shop and found very little fresh food, but we knew a deliveries came on a Friday. We asked about bread as well and the lady in shop told us to watch for the ferry and come a couple hours after. The ferry arrived in the night and we wait till noon it give them a little time to get things onto the shelves.
We were happy to find frozen loaves of bread in the freezer but surprised to find no fresh produce at all. We asked when the produce would arrive and were told,’It’s here in the back and it will come out once it been audited. The audit would be finished by Monday, the day we were leaving. So we bought our bread and some green pears from the previously delivery and left it at that.
Other than a camp ground, a gas station and a shop, this is Seisia.
We ventured into the camp ground office to ask about about the area, and were astonished to be greeted with by a couple with broad Irish accents. It transpired that they were managing the campground for 3 months as part of their one year visa requirement. As we chatted they explained how the visa worked. They could stay for a year if they were prepared to work for 3 months in a rural area. If you wanted to stay in Australia for 3 years, the work requirement was 6 months in a rural area. I ask if they planned to stay for 6 months and they said, erm, no.
Unless you are a keen fisherman there really wasn’t a heck of a lot to do there. There was a town inland about an hours drive away. There was no public transport. We were told that hitchhiking in the day was okay, but they did not recommend it at night. And it was dusty. There was a strong wind blowing from the south and the orange dust was everywhere. It might well have seemed a little bleak to someone expecting the bright lights of Brisbane or Sydney.
Our final stop in Australia was Horn Island.
We’d gotten used to rather dull blue water so it was quite a nice change to see stunningly turquoise seas.
I couldn’t find which type of ant built do with type of hill, though I’m quite sure the tricycle incorporated into the design was not in the original.
I did find a site about natural navigation and ant hills were featured. Natural Navigation. I found it interesting.
A Weaver Ant nest.
We’ve seen the nests and the weaver ants all over the place in Australia. The ants are and they light brown/golden with a green abdomen. Honeydew is part of their diet and we were told by a local they taste like lemons or limes. Yum.
The main anchorage was on Horn Island was a wide strip of water between the shore and a reef. It was well protected from swell, but the tide ran hard either east or west with a short slack time between. While we were there the wind blew hard from the south/southeast. We were often pinned over on one side or the other between the changes of the tide.
The ferries from Cairns arrived frequently. This one was a drive on, pick up the containers and drive off. That burst of smoke is it lining up to the ramp just ahead of it.
Thursday Island, where we cleared out is on the far side of the bay. It was a small town with one of every shop one would normally need. It had two churches.
The Anglican Church and School…
… and the Catholic Church and School.
Both churches and schools on the same block, side by side, which I think is nice.
We clear out at HM Customs House by Border Force Australia
This was the first time I’d seen the King in an official photo next to the Australia Coat of Arms, which was a charming watercolour print.
Rachel, our Border Force Agent, was absolutely charming and I was rather sad when the interview and paper signing ended. She was a big town girl who had relocated to a small town and loved it. Would have like to hear more of her life at the top of Queensland.
We had a bright breezy day to leave Australia. Bruno’s Girl is reefed down and we were sailing under only gib and mizzen.
Next stop Indonesia!
