Whitehaven Beach - Peter Bay
We woke up to an overcast morning, but it didn't stop Fe jumping in for a 6.30am swim. After a bit of yoga and breakfast on the beach, we packed up camp, apprehensive to see if all our gear would actually fit in the kayaks. Ensuring most of the weight was central to the boat, with the water bladders in the cockpits with us, we were glad that we didn't have to leave anything behind.
After the 1.5 hour paddle up the 8km stretch of Whitehaven Beach, we arrived at the famous Hill Inlet exactly at high tide. This is the perfect time to discover Hill Inlet as it fills with water and you can paddle quite a way up. As we slowly kayaked pasted the mangroves, we were surrounded by schools of up to 15 sting rays gliding in front of the boat.
The now outgoing tide quickly began exposing the shallow sand banks. We landed the kayaks and did the 20 minute walk up to Tongue Point for the amazing view over the area. We couldn't stay here too long as we saw our kayaks becoming surround by more and more sand and we needed to use the water to get the kayaks out of the inlet (rather than carrying loaded boats).
Stopping around the corner for lunch at Betty's Beach, unfortunately we didn't realise the tide was going out so fast and found ourselves in very shallow waters on a coral beach. Not a good experience.
As we continued to use the outgoing tide to push us north, we saw some more flatback turtles and took in views of the amazing coast line. It was highly recommended that we arrive at Peter Bay at mid-high tide due to the 100m rocky 'beach' that surrounds the area, but there was no real way we could experience Hill Inlet like we wanted to and arrive here at the right time. We were expecting it to be bad.......and it was. Landing the kayaks all the way down the beach, we did many trips up and down with all our gear and food. As the tide started coming back in on a very flat beach, we had to closely monitor the boats to ensure they didn't float away.
This was a lovely small campground, complete with a 3-walled drop toilet which gave you a view of the hillside whilst doing your business. Tonight, we were all on our own which made us feel like we were on a secluded island. We all learnt something important that night - dehydrated tofu doesn't really work.
Total Paddle Distance Today = 15 km /4 hrs
Tips on climbing into this adventure:
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We woke up to an overcast morning, but it didn't stop Fe jumping in for a 6.30am swim. After a bit of yoga and breakfast on the beach, we packed up camp, apprehensive to see if all our gear would actually fit in the kayaks. Ensuring most of the weight was central to the boat, with the water bladders in the cockpits with us, we were glad that we didn't have to leave anything behind.
After the 1.5 hour paddle up the 8km stretch of Whitehaven Beach, we arrived at the famous Hill Inlet exactly at high tide. This is the perfect time to discover Hill Inlet as it fills with water and you can paddle quite a way up. As we slowly kayaked pasted the mangroves, we were surrounded by schools of up to 15 sting rays gliding in front of the boat.
The now outgoing tide quickly began exposing the shallow sand banks. We landed the kayaks and did the 20 minute walk up to Tongue Point for the amazing view over the area. We couldn't stay here too long as we saw our kayaks becoming surround by more and more sand and we needed to use the water to get the kayaks out of the inlet (rather than carrying loaded boats).Stopping around the corner for lunch at Betty's Beach, unfortunately we didn't realise the tide was going out so fast and found ourselves in very shallow waters on a coral beach. Not a good experience.
As we continued to use the outgoing tide to push us north, we saw some more flatback turtles and took in views of the amazing coast line. It was highly recommended that we arrive at Peter Bay at mid-high tide due to the 100m rocky 'beach' that surrounds the area, but there was no real way we could experience Hill Inlet like we wanted to and arrive here at the right time. We were expecting it to be bad.......and it was. Landing the kayaks all the way down the beach, we did many trips up and down with all our gear and food. As the tide started coming back in on a very flat beach, we had to closely monitor the boats to ensure they didn't float away.
This was a lovely small campground, complete with a 3-walled drop toilet which gave you a view of the hillside whilst doing your business. Tonight, we were all on our own which made us feel like we were on a secluded island. We all learnt something important that night - dehydrated tofu doesn't really work.Total Paddle Distance Today = 15 km /4 hrs
Tips on climbing into this adventure:
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- you can only camp at designated campsites on Whitsunday Island which need to be prebooked. Contact EPA Queensland for more details
- during the new or full moon, tides are very large (can be a difference of 4 vertical meters). Whilst enjoying the stress-free kayaking life, make sure one of your group is always watching the time
- when unpacking your gear, especially things for your tent, get in the habit of putting things in the same place so you aren't wasting time looking for them in the morning
- oysters open pretty easy when you just smash them with a rock. All you need is a squirt of water and maybe a bit of lemon and bon apetite
