Lizard to Townsville

Sadly there is such a thing as too much fish when you don't have a freezer. We had five feeds of mackerel in a row which, while very tasty, can get a little OTT after a while.

Getting ready to anchor at Bowden Island

We're now back at Magnetic Island off Townsville after almost continuous day-sailing from Lizard Island. We did spend time in Port Douglas where we went crocodile hunting, unsuccessfully unfortunately, and Cairns where we took care of Christmas shopping and some maintenance tasks.

From Cairns we made the 90nm (160km) trek to Bowden Island via Fitzroy Island and Mourilyan Harbour. Shane's Bowden Island log uses delightful euphemisms like "Last night was not the best one we have had" and "it wasn't a fun night." We actually endured ridiculous amounts of rain and hideous side-to-side rolling overnight - Bowden Island was the worst overnight anchorage so far, including Thomas Island (see 5 Sep post). I got up, and poor Shane followed, at 11pm or so and we pondered moving but decided not to as nothing nearby offered guaranteed shelter in the weather we were having. I think it was 3am-ish that I nodded off although it was far from a restful night.

Back to Zoe Bay

From Bowden we moved to Hinchinbrook's Zoe Bay where we trekked once again to the waterfall for a swim. There was a lot of rain in the area in the few days before we got there so the creek and waterfall had a lot of water in them but it was still absolutely beautiful. If the bay itself was a calmer anchorage it would definitely be in my Top 10. Similarly, Little Pioneer Bay on Orpheus Island would also be in my Top 10 if the beach was better as it was a fantastic anchorage both times we've been there.

Overall we've done a lot of miles in the last week or so heading south. The weather has been mostly on our side with a few notable exceptions requiring us to make use of the engine - and diesel - more than we might like but we're on track to be back in Brisbane by mid-January as planned. Noooooo............!!!!!!