Smokin’!!

Our first trial of the smoker proved to be quite successful.  Soaking the mackerel steaks in a brine of salt, soya sauce, brown sugar and warm water for 4 or 5 hours, then drying the steaks seemed straightforward.  

The wood chips, we chose cherry wood (available at any “Daddy Day Care” near you), were soaked in water for 2 or 3 hours then put in the smoker box in a hot BBQ until they began to smoke.  

We chose to wait until we were facing into the wind, but the smoke itself was quite pleasant anyway.  Twenty minutes later, with the steaks on a rack above the smoker, Skipper Pete had created a delicious lunch, served with a Greek Salad and a glass of chardy, as you do!  YUM!

So Many Shorebirds at Inskip Point

Thousands of shorebirds were roosting/resting on the sandspit on high tide at Inskip Point, one of the few safe places for them accessible at high tide.  

We cruised in slowly for a closer look and saw Eastern Curlew, Whimbrel, Bar-tailed godwits (which means “food” in Norwegian, another story), some returned from Siberia and still in red breeding plumage, Golden Plovers, Ruddy Turnstones, Greater Sand Plovers, other small plovers we couldn’t ID without the scope, along with Pied Oystercatchers, Pied Cormorants, Little Pied Cormorants and Pelicans.  

We were careful not to disturb the birds, but when we got back to our boat a fishing boat zoomed over to the spit, dropped a dog and a child on the beach, who chased the birds, did a crap, then got back on their boat and left.   We were just gob-smacked, to say the least!

 

The Narrows to Pancake Ck to Rooney Point, Fraser Island

 

After a long day’s sail (15 hours) from Pancake Creek to Rooney Point, without seeing any whales, we dropped anchor near Tellurian and Euphoria at 8 pm, under the full moon.  Then we heard the whales singing, echoing through our hulls.

Full moon over Fraser Island

Along the way Peter caught a nice spanish mackerel, the first since last November!  Yum!!

Back in Gladstone, we took the north channel out of The Narrows, following a small barge which was checking all the channel markers.  At the last port marker there was a huge osprey nest with a chick sitting in it.  The serviceman was carefully working under the nest while the curious chick was watching him with the anxious parents circling over head.

 

St Bees and Keswick Islands

 Sailing in to St Bees with a good downwind run, we arrived just as the drizzle began.  We already had our rain-catchers out in anticipation and caught enough to do some washing.

The new moorings at St Bees now make it easy to stopover.  The Keswick Kiosk is only open Sunday to Monday 10 am to noon, despite what their old webpage states, and has basic supplies of bread, milk, beer, wine, ice creams, cold drinks and a few basics.  The boat ramp is best at full tide, but we managed to pull the dinghy up among the rocks beside the ramp.

The NP beach opposite on St Bees has a lagoon at high tide, fed by a creek lined with mangroves.  It should be called St Butterflies as there was a constant procession of Tiger Blues and Common Crows flying in.  Dinghying back to the boat a few crashed into us but then kept going.  Such intrepid little insects!

Prudhoe Island Isolation

Leaving Percy at first light, in a light Northerly, we expected a good screecher run to St Bees and Keswick Island, but the wind died off and we had to resort to the “iron sail” and made for Prudhoe Island.  In the glassy sea it was easy to spot two whales and a few dolphins.

On the way we passed Digby Island in the Beverly Group and the impressive Still Island, resembling a giant turtle head poking out of the sea.

Sick of the noise of the motors, we anchored at Prudhoe Island, a new stop for us and very pretty.  Hoop pines, pandanus and coral trees cover most of the island, but there are no real walking tracks so it is limited to the beach areas.  At least we had the whole island to ourselves, except for a million Tiger Blue butterflies coming across the water, landing on the boat and distracting us as we anchored.

July – August 2020: Hervey Bay to Port Clinton to The Percy Isles

The forecast for our sail to Bundaberg hardly resembled the conditions at sea.  Up to 38 knots SW hammered us for most of the trip, but we made into the safety of the Burnett River to rest overnight.

A brief stop at Cape Capricorn, then on to Svendson’s Beach at Great Keppel Island, where we met old and new friends: Kathamaria, Bona Fide, Skellum, Sea Legges, Sofia and Double Barrel.  Sundowners on the beach again, at last and finally saw 2 whales breaching off the eastern beach.

With storms and strong winds forecast we tucked in to Port Clinton as there was no military action at present.  We were surprised to see Fisheries launch their big rib at the ramp, but they came over for a chat and then were going out to check the Green Zones for illegal fishing.  Port Clinton is a very pretty area with great bird life and coastal heaths.

Once the weather cleared we made a stopover in Pearl Bay followed by friends on Jigsaw and Koza.  Next morning brought an unusually calm entrance into Island Head Creek, where we stayed for a week, catching up with Cat Magic and enjoying fishing and sewing.  When more strong SE winds were forecast we moved to a more sheltered area before we could set off for the Percy Isles.  Island Head Creek has a spectacular mixture of wildflowers, rugged cliffs, mangroves, wide sandy beaches and huge sandspits at low tides.

 

After an early morning start we had a great sail downwind with the current to Middle Percy, and opted to anchor in West Bay, even though it can be quite rolly on change of tide.

Our old embroidered Heatwave sign still hangs in the A-frame, aka The Percy Island Yacht Club on the beach.  At last a perfect warm, sunny day so we kayaked in to the beach and hiked over to Rescue Bay.  Two big hills to traverse through forest depleted by too many feral goats that are still pruning all the vegetation to death, but boronias were out in flower and a few birds were calling.

By the time we paddled back to the boat a pod of whales had cruised in and were lolling around Pine Islet.  By evening there were 19 boats anchored in West Bay so we opted out of sundowners for social distance purposes.

 

The old home town looks the same ... - except for more people, more traffic, more boats on the harbour.  It’s been 25 years since we lived here and it’s nice to be able to see the harbour from our own boat.  So different from the water, it can be disorientating at times.

During the week it’s fairly quiet on the water, but on weekends it’s madness!  A few boats keep to the speed limits, but most seem to be in a tearing hurry, powering though the little sailing skiffs and kayaks without even seeing them.

On Middle Harbour the 12 foot skiffs that Toni used to sail with her Dad, still look the same, though they need more support vessels to help them with the traffic.

With strong southerlies predicted, we headed up to Sugarloaf Bay, under the Spit Bridge.  Opening bridges never seem wide enough until you are through to the other side.

Sydney is also a bit different in that very few people wave or say g’day, unlike Lake Macquarie where it’s hard to walk down the street without someone having a yarn.

The old Quarantine Station is looking great, now with a restaurant and accommodation.  We took the Ghost Tour many years ago and it was brilliant.  The buildings have all been well maintained, surrounding bush full of bird calls, and there are public moorings in the bay, though you do get some wake from the Manly ferries and Fastcats.

Rain had settled in by the time we sailed up the harbour to the famous Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge, but we still sailed under the bridge, after dodging lots of ferries in all directions.

 

Before Anzac Bridge we had to pass the old 1903 Glebe Island Bridge (more memories), which is permanently open now, the timber footings all slowly collapsing into the harbour.

Meanwhile, here in Rozelle Bay the neighbours are getting bigger...

Water, Water, Everywhere ...

Rain through the night and most of the morning has the waterfalls roaring at Hallett's Beach on the Hawkesbury.

The sandstone escarpments are looking spectacular, despite the dull skies.

One very brave grass tree (xanthorea) is trying his luck growing on a large rock.  Not sure how long he will last!

Pittwater: The Basin Walk

The walk begins at the campsite and goes straight up!  Although only a 6 km round trip, it starts with a very steep long climb to the ridge top, where there are Aboriginal Etchings in the Hawkesbury sandstone.

Orange angophora trunks contrasted with the scribbly gums and sandstone cliffs.

angophora

Hawkesbury sandstone 

scribbly gum

Along the track so many plants are now flowering and the birds are very happy about that!

banksia

epacris

gompholobium

grevillea

lambertia

Honeyeaters, wattlebirds and lorikeets were enjoying the nectar, while red-tailed black cockatoos were feasting on casuarina nuts.

red-tailed black cockatoos