Gloucester Passage

Heading past Woodwark Bay

We head north now to start our final stretch of water, which is approx. 300km until we reach Townsville.

Northern Islands leaving Airlie

After leaving Airlie we head around Grimston Point and past Woodwark Bay, Double Bay, through Grassy island, around Armit and Gumbrell island and over to Saddleback island (which really does look like a saddle on a horses back).  

Saddleback Island

We head towards Gloucester Island and through Gloucester Passage, which is a favoured route to Bowen from the Whitsundays.    Its been a really easy trip here, and although overcast and slightly drizzly out it has made the seas calm and we have an enjoyable trip to the Gloucester Passage.

Coming through Gloucester passage on a cloudy day

We anchor up outside one of two resorts here and have a look around and drink in The Oar outside bar, all of which is very nice with superb views.

Andrew at The Oar Bar, Cape Gloucester

We have an abundance of Garfish swimming out the back of Mingo tonight.  You shine the torch on them and they go crazy, jumping in every possible direction.  Andrew grabs the net and holds it close to the water and for the next 30 minutes he manages to catch about 6 Garfish just from them jumping straight into the net on their own accord.  

Andrew out the back waiting for Garfish

Very funny to watch.  Andrew also manages to catch a little baitfish doing the same thing.  So does this mean because we are surrounded by little fish there are big fish deeper down.  Out come the rods, including the hand line and only a few minutes later the hand line is just about to be pulled off the floor of the boat.  Andrew grabs it and heavily pulls in a decent size grey nurse shark, just as he was pulling it out of the water it bites through the line and whoosh its gone back to the deep blue.  Not long after and again another shark is on Andrews’s line, this one we manage to pull onto the duckboard.  Wooh, he’s a good size and would take a good bite of our hands if it were given half a chance.    We spend the rest of the evening sitting out the back watching all sorts of fish jumping and swimming below, but unfortunaly no more bites.  Its odd, it seems as though you can have a good hour where you are getting nibbles on your line, then all of a sudden they just disappear and you get nothing.

A Kamikaze garfish

A very restless night for us both, the water was so calm when we went to bed but during the night the swell has picked up and even though it was small it was constant for the rest of the night and was swaying us side to side, very hard to sleep in.

We get up in the morning and motor Mingo around to the other side of Gloucester to where it seems a bit calmer, drop anchor again just missing a large bommie… Phew that was close.

Chris on beach opposite Gloucester Island

We go for a nice long walk along the beach this morning it really was so peaceful out and warm, its nice walking along the beach with your feet just in the water splashing about. 

Andrew with his rock and oyster shell

Andrew collecting Oysters

We come to an area of rocks that are covered in oysters, most seem too small to eat but we do notice a few larger ones, so mister hunter and gatherer finds a caveman tool lying on the beach and uses this to hit against the larger oysters, knocking them off the rocks and then opening them up.  They are a really decent size.

A small oyster on the rocks

Sea slug

Looking amongst the rocks we also notice a black sea slug – eeew..

Golf time on the beach at Cape Gloucester

Chris having a hit of golf on the beach

We then decide to have a hit of golf on the beach.  Before we left we packed three golf clubs and bought a large bag of cheap second hand golf balls from a driving range we went to.  So we spent the afternoon, hitting balls into the ocean, trying to hit buoys that are scattered around the water, but not being very successful.  Neither of us being very good at golf, we also have a few that land just in the waters edge, oh good we think that means they can be hit again.  We have a really fun afternoon hitting the balls, its great having the ocean to hit into and it’s a lovely day.  We wonder how all the people on the boats in the distance of where we are hitting the balls are feeling – Worried maybe that their boat may be our next target!!!!! 

Gloucester Island

Andrew at The Original Montes.

In the evening we head back down to Oars Bar at Cape Gloucester Eco-Resort for a drink and have a chat to another couple that have sailed up from Brisbane.

Chris at Montes

  

Sunset drinks at Cape Gloucester

We then walk the 500 meters down the beach and have a few drinks at Montes bar and 
restaurant.  We are on the outside patio looking out to sea and watching the sun go down over the hills in the distance.   It’s a gorgeous evening and we feel very content and relaxed being here.  It’s a really nice spot with a great outlook.  We spend most of the early evening in here and have a serve of stuffed mushrooms for Christie and Calamari for Andrew. Great way to finish off another superb day.