Curlew Beach - Paddle Bay
Last night the high tide water mark came pretty close to our tents as we woke up to yet another lovely sunrise. Our daily ritual of listening to the weather forecast on the VHF radio at 8am and 4pm, warned of strong south easterly winds up to 30 knots today. Of all the days we didn't want to get caught in the wind, today was it as we had a 10km open channel paddle ahead of us. Setting off early at 8am, we took our bearing for the northern tip of South Molle Island and did our best to not drift too far off course. As we paddled out of the shelter of Whitsunday Island and into the passage, it was a great feeling to be so far from shore. In the end, the 2.5 hour non-stop paddle wasn't too bad as the winds weren't as strong as expected.
Arriving at South Molle Island by 10.30am we had the whole day free to explore some of the many walking tracks this island has to offer. We chose to take the 6km return walk up to Spion Kop for a great view of South Molle, Whitsunday Channel and Hamilton Island. Walking past Green Tree Ant nests and many birds, we thought we deserved a cocktail for all our amazing efforts on the way back to camp. Walking into the South Molle Resort, we soon realised that the resort staff were having a 'staff day' which meant no-one was around until 5.30pm. We decided that our half a cup of red wine would just have to do.
Our last night camping on this amazing kayaking trip did not disappoint. The sunset over Daydream island was simply stunning. Our last nights meal of cous cous with a few remaining veges made us grateful that tomorrow we would be able to feast on non-dehydrated foods.
Total Paddle Distance Today = 10 km /2.5 hrs
Tips for climbing into this adventure:
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Last night the high tide water mark came pretty close to our tents as we woke up to yet another lovely sunrise. Our daily ritual of listening to the weather forecast on the VHF radio at 8am and 4pm, warned of strong south easterly winds up to 30 knots today. Of all the days we didn't want to get caught in the wind, today was it as we had a 10km open channel paddle ahead of us. Setting off early at 8am, we took our bearing for the northern tip of South Molle Island and did our best to not drift too far off course. As we paddled out of the shelter of Whitsunday Island and into the passage, it was a great feeling to be so far from shore. In the end, the 2.5 hour non-stop paddle wasn't too bad as the winds weren't as strong as expected.
Arriving at South Molle Island by 10.30am we had the whole day free to explore some of the many walking tracks this island has to offer. We chose to take the 6km return walk up to Spion Kop for a great view of South Molle, Whitsunday Channel and Hamilton Island. Walking past Green Tree Ant nests and many birds, we thought we deserved a cocktail for all our amazing efforts on the way back to camp. Walking into the South Molle Resort, we soon realised that the resort staff were having a 'staff day' which meant no-one was around until 5.30pm. We decided that our half a cup of red wine would just have to do.
Our last night camping on this amazing kayaking trip did not disappoint. The sunset over Daydream island was simply stunning. Our last nights meal of cous cous with a few remaining veges made us grateful that tomorrow we would be able to feast on non-dehydrated foods.Total Paddle Distance Today = 10 km /2.5 hrs
Tips for climbing into this adventure:
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- you should have a radio as part of your emergency kit - use it to listen to the local weather channel
- when doing a crossing, you may have to point the front of your boat away from where you actually want to go to accommodate for the tidal flow and/or winds. Take a bearing and try to stick to that as much as possible
- definitely do one of the walks on South Molle Island - they range in distance, but its nice to use the legs a bit after sitting in a kayak for so long
