In the past week we have come a long way from the last entry at Pancake Creek. We left Pancake to travel through the” Narrows” which is a body of water between the main land and Curtis Island. They call it the narrows because that’s exactly what it is. The sailing and motoring up these waterways is lovely – calm water no rocking or rolling but one must be careful of the tide as it does dry out completely in some spots and you can easily get stuck. We had no problems, timed it perfectly with the tide. Our first stop was Graham Creek for the night then through the really shallow part of the narrows with the tide the next day. Our destination was Pacific Creek but unfortunately we didn’t make it there in time to get into the creek so had to stay out for the night. The next morning we moved into Pacific Creek to get out of the strong winds that came up. Now some of you are probably thinking CREEK?? yes it is but it is a very big creek and about 40feet deep in some places. We anchored out of the wind a little up from the mouth of the creek and had a fabulous anchorage.
The wind hung around for 5 days so we filled our time in Pacific Creek with fishing and there were big fish to be caught, although all I did was feed them for someone else to catch. We did get several small ones but released them for another day. Our friends caught fish and crabs from the first day. It’s all about position. We had to wait until our second last day before catching our first mud crab, then got our second crab on our last day in the creek. We went exploring the creek in the dinghy as it goes for miles. Talked to a couple that have been living there for the last 5 years on a boat. He works for a Dutch company that have bought up freehold land there thinking they would put an ECO Resort but they have been stopped by the government. Now they are splitting it up into blocks and selling them off. This old fellow drives earthmoving equipment to do the roads on the island while his wife sits around all day on the boat in the middle of the creek with no way of getting off. Now that is love. The walks on the island are good and I have just about walked the entire island. John would take me ashore and I would call him on my twoway to come and get me when I was finished. Keeping fit.
From Pacific Creek we came up to Great Kepple Island, one of the most under rated islands of the Great Barrier Reef. The beaches are beautiful and there are plenty of them, so if you are looking for a secluded beach for a romantic holiday, get up here now. There are plenty of walking tracks on the island and the water here is so clear you can see the anchor chain sitting on the bottom. We went for a long hike Sunday and afterwards had our first swim of this trip. The water was a little chilly at first but with a bit of swimming it soon was just wonderful. The resort here has closed down but there are a few businesses still on the island and the camping Eco village is still in operation there are several freehold house here for lease as well. So guy’s, no night life here only the night life you make yourself. The anchorages can get a bit rolly here so sometimes you have move more than once. I went to Yeppoon yesterday with our friends on Emma Jane for some supplies and left John on board to his own devices. Warren and Laureen on Emma Jane have left us today as they are off to Island Head Creek and we hope to meet up with them again in about two weeks.
I must fly back to Brisbane for some work that needs attention so we will take Ariel into Rossyln Bay marina for the week. John will do some general maintenance while I enjoy a few days with April (my daughter). When I get back from Brisbane I hope to show John around Rossyln Bay and Yeppoon and Emu Park as I lived here for 18months some time ago and I love the area.
Curtis Island
Sitting on the bow watching the turtles and dolphins as we motor up the narrows
Lunch
Rocks on the way to Kepple
Anchorage in Middle Bay this is a picture of Cooee a very famous boat skipper Jill Knight
A view of Ariel from one of the hiking tracks
Just one of the many beaches on Kepple
One of the locals
Great Kepple Island