Solo around Magnetic Island

Transcription

1 Solo around Magnetic Island September 13 dawned slowly, grey overcast skies filtering a weak sunlight onto a leaden sea. No wind and only a lone seagull for company. I was on my way. Three months earlier I met a bloke named Brad who was preparing to paddle around Magnetic Island on his own. He impressed me so much that I began training to do exactly what he had done already several times.to have a safety line I organised some friends to keep track of my progress around the island. Their map show points I estimated where I would be during the day. At hourly intervals they would come to a point and locate me visually, take photos, then return out to sea. This way if I was in trouble there was an hour time lapse. I also carried my mobile phone in a waterproof bag with their number on speed dial. My kayak was a Perception Swing a 4.5m sit-on top style. With plenty of water and energy bars I was set. Moving slowly in the dim early morning I sang to myself as the dawn sun crept into the sky. As I got closer to the Island I began to see turtles rising to breathe. They would burst through the surface take a brief look around and dive back down. As the island eased it s massive bulk closer I could make out the trees and rocks. Closer yet and the clear waters showed fish and rays going about their business and paying no attention to the brightly coloured craft above them. I think this was about the time I realized that when kayaking it is the journey that is important not reaching the other end. I was constantly amazed at how all forms of wildlife did not react to my presence until I could almost touch them. The beauty of the landscape is outstanding and I hardly noticed this when I had belted past in my powerboat. Now everything was something to be marvelled at, from the mighty sea eagle to the slow moving rays searching for food on the sea bed. At last I cruised into Horseshoe Bay. When I reached George and Corey s boat they had coffee and sandwiches ready. I took a welcome break to stretch my legs and rest. One thing about this trip is you are always close to reasonable beaches in case of emergencies or nasty seas. The east coast holds the main population unlike from West Point up to Horseshoe Bay there is NO form of population or communication. From Horseshoe Bay round to Picnic Bay has numerous powerboats plying the waters, so stay close to the shoreline. The other main feature which will help paddlers is in the afternoon the wind blows from behind you and the sea is a following sea. These combine to push you home quite quickly. The last leg of this trip is from Picnic Bay back to Pallarenda Bay. The most interesting way is to follow the coastal mangroves then cross at the closest point of land. Now that I own a sail I will actually sail directly across. We are indeed fortunate to have Magnetic Island so close as it provides many good day trips along with the possibility of taking 2 days to complete the circumnavigation. Paddle each morning and rest in the afternoon. My Club NQ Kayakers has done several day trips across to the Island. We recommend anyone who does this have at least intermediate skill level as a paddler. As a rule we try to travel in groups of three or five and stay about 5 boatlengths apart. I hope you enjoy the photos. Hans-j Preuss

2 Magnetic Island - NQ kayaking Magnetic Island lies 4 kilometres off the coast from Townsville in north Queensland. The island is about 11 kilometres across, at its widest point, and the shoreline totals about 40 kilometres, although as there are said to be 24 bays, the kayaker paddling around the island, and not entering the bays, would cover a little less than 25 kilometres. There are four small settlements on the southern and eastern side of the island, with a total permanent population of 3,000 or so. People commute to work in Townsville, as it is only just over 20 minutes away by passenger ferry. A recent trend has been the building of resorts and backpacker accommodation, but the main island attractions are its beaches, and walks in the National Park. More than half of the Island's 5,184 hectares is National Park. Mt.Cook, roughly centre, rises to 497 metres. Everywhere are outcrops of huge granite boulders, often falling steeply to the sea, forming rocky headlands, and covered with the characteristic shapes of emergent tall hoop pines, and eucalypt forest. The land is quite dry as the Townsville area is in a rain shadow, and Magnetic Island averages over 320 days of sunshine per year. The low rainfall on the mainland also means that there is no major river entering nearby, and no large estuary with mangrove and mudflat habitat. So while there may be an occasional saurian visitor in the locality, there is no large resident population of crocodiles. Good news for kayakers! This guide consists of photographs of the shoreline of Magnetic, starting at Picnic Bay on the south west corner, then moving clockwise around the coast., up to West Point, and on eastwards.

3 Picnic Bay, with its long jetty was the ferry terminal until 2003, when the Nelly Bay Marina was built. Notice the swimming enclosure, to provide stinger free swiiming during the stinger season. The Marine Stinger season generally runs from November through to May, but stingers may be present outside of these months. Stinger resistant enclosures are in place by the first week of November, but may be positioned earlier if stingers are caught in lifeguard drags of the beach. Protective clothing such as marine suits is recommended. You should not swim outside of the enclosures. Nobby Head is the corner headland visible. Cockle Bay has a mangrove environment, and extensive mudflats at low tide. At high tide the beach on the southern end looks very pleasant. The wreck of the ship, City of Adelaide lies close to the beach. West Point is the closest point to the mainland, only 4 kms across to Palleranda. The image to the left is taken looking north to the point, with its little sandy beach.

4 Rollingstone Bay is on the northern side of the island. There is no vehicle access, and the walk there is long and quite arduous. The cove is quite unspoilt, and very pretty. Five Beaches Bay contains the small coves of Huntingfield, Wilson, Joyce, Norris, Maud, Lovers, separated by rocky headlands. (yes, six) Horseshoe Bay is the preferred anchorage for yachties, as it offers some protection from the SE winds. A sizeable community and various hostel accomodation is to be found behind the long sandy beach. The view is looking north.

5 Horseshoe Bay beach, looking north Horseshoe Bay beach, kayakers view Horseshoe Bay as seen from The Forts walk. The view is looking north. photo: M. Rithalia

6 Balding Bay beach, looking north photo: C. Snell Radical Bay view photo: C. Snell Approaching Florence Bay

7 World War II lookout above Florence Bay. Cape Bowling Green on the mainland, is visible in the background. This is part of The Forts walk photo: M. Rithalia Florence Bay beach, looking north. photo: H. Pickford Florence Bay view photo: C. Snell

8 Arthur Bay. The remains of the dredge Platypus that cut the channel into Townsville is in this rocky cove at a depth of 3 to 8 metres. The wreck is encrusted with hard coral and the iron boilers are still intact. Swim with the fishes! photo: Marieke Alma Bay beach, looking west. Geoffrey Bay, looking east from Bremner Point. Sunk in 1913, the German barque Moltke now lies in 8 metres of water 100 metres off the shore in Geoffrey Bay. The Moltke is one of the most popular dive sites on the Island. Seek local knowledge regarding location and tidal flows before attempting a dive. photo: Alasdair Milne

9 Nelly Bay marina and ferry. Geoffrey Bay in the distance. view from Hawkings Point looking east. First, Rocky Beach, then Nelly Bay beach, and marina at the end. Rocky Bay, looking west to Hawkings Point. photo:. C. Snell