Hook Island Inlets

Sunday September 2^nd – Happy Fathers day to our dad’s.  We are thinking of you.

We head back into Airlie and have a coffee and read of the Sunday newspaper then back to Mingo and as it seems a little calmer this morning and we have seen all there really is around Airlie.  So we head out towards Hook Island.  After about 15 minutes of motoring out, the winds seem to be getting worse and the waves are crashing over the front of Mingo and we are getting absolutely drenched sitting in the fly bridge.  We speed her up to try and get over to the island a bit quicker but it’s just too rough and once again we are being rocked side to side a lot.  As we are sitting higher in the water up on the fly bridge and the boat is suppose to skim over the top of the water more than a sail boat that glides through it, so we really do feel the brunt of these seas when it’s a bit rough and Christie hates the feeling that we are going to capsize… .  Anyway as usual Andrew handles the boat with such confidence in these situations and motors us the hour and a half across from Airlie to Hook, where we finally see the opening to the Nara Inlet which is always a nice feeling to know we will be out of this roughness soon.  We check the weather that says the winds are 20 knots around the islands – what where we thinking. 

Entrance of Nara Inlet

As soon as we get into the inlet the seas calm and we can relax as we motor the kilometre towards the end and find a new spot to drop anchor.  There are a number of boats in here when we come in, obviously aware how rough it is outside.

Names on Rocks in Nara Inlet

Names on rocks

We get up the next morning, Mon 3^rd Sept and have a motor around in the tinny. 

Andrew walking up to the Ngaro cultural sight

Amongst the rocks in here people over the years have written their names and dates, most date back to the 70’s and it’s quite interesting to see.

  We head throughout the inlet and tie up at a little rocky beach area at the bottom of Ngaro Cultural sight. We head up the hill to the site.   This is a rock shelter that contains Ngaro motifs within the cave area.  There is a rock staircase up the hill and at the top a boardwalk with a viewing area and interpretive displays.  It is only small but has been done well; especially considering it is in the middle of an island. 

Andrew in the Ngaro cave

Andrew at the Ngaro site boardwalk

There is a bit of history of the Ngaro people and about the different formations over the last 9000 years.  An interesting place to visit.  The Ngaro People are the original inhabitants of the Whitsundays.  They did not live permanently on Hook Island but moved seasonally through the islands in search of food.  The Ngaro people were known as a fine race, well build and well fed and carrying themselves confidently and proudly.  They were also highly skilled in the use of their spears.

Chris at outlook over Nara Inlet

Andrew fishing off back of Mingo

After motoring around for another 20 minutes, the winds seem to have blown up a lot even in the inlet and we are now getting soaked from the waves crashing on the tinny  - we cant win!!  So we head back to Mingo and put the rods out.  A couple of hours later no catch and the waters seem slightly calmer, we head out again to investigate the rest of the inlet and find another little area where there are another 5 boats anchored.  

Rock formations from water and wind

Its great to see all the different rock formations that have been formed around these islands from the wind and seas.  You can actually see in places where the island has broken up or where in years to come another island will be formed because of breakages in the rocks.

Rock formations

Not much to report today, as the winds are bad and we are probably going to be in here for a few days now until it calms down. 

Macona Inlet

Tues 4^th Sept, we are up an about quite early and get the binoculars out to have a look outside the inlet and don’t see to many white caps.  The weather forecast says 20 knot winds today but our next stop is only about 4km south so as we see a number of other yachts motor out we decide that 4km isn’t to far to go if it is a little rough.  So anchor up and we decide to pull the tinny behind Mingo the short distance.  It is slightly wavy out here, but nothing like coming over from Airlie so we are happy to motor into Macona Inlet, which is also in Hook Island.  

Compadre2

There are about 5 other boats in here and finally we see another motorboat, alas it is a lot bigger again than us being 48 foot.  We find a spot in amongst the other boats and drop anchor.  Then as we are letting the anchor go down a little tinny motors up beside us to have a chat, they have a large mud crab in their bucket that they caught just walking amongst the mud flaps.  They are the owners of the other motorboat “Compadre 2”.

We have not noticed a lot of other motorboats on this trip, mainly catamarans and yachts and people are quite surprised when we tell them we have motored Mingo up from Brisbane.  They are surprised because Mingo is only 30 foot and this type of boat would usually be used as a weekender doing trips here and there to islands but nothing like a trip from Brisbane to Townsville.

Mingo at Macona Inlet

As soon as we are set up we have a ride around in the tinny and explore the inlet.  There are about 6 little beaches in here, which is quite nice, and down the end mangroves.  We have a walk around a couple of beaches and have no luck at catching any fish with the lures.  So we put just one crab pot out and will check on it tomorrow. 

Later in the afternoon Mal and his wife with their little Jack Russell dog Jess motor up and ask us over for a few drinks.  So we head over to their boat and up onto the fly bridge.  This boat is only 4 years old and very very nice.  Very spacious inside and well-decked out.  Good to see again how someone else is set up.  They have been living on this boat for the last 4 years, but base themselves in Mackay for when they want to spend time on land.  We have a very pleasant evening chatting away.

The following morning Wed 5^th Sept we had a restless night. The weather was not bad, but there were these sudden wind gusts every 10 minutes or so for a good couple of hours.  You could actually hear the wind howling through the boat (we sleep with the hatch open in the cabin for fresh air).  It was such an almighty roar and even though the breeze that came through was lovely, it was noisy.  We could also hear this banging throughout the night but could not work out what it was.  Up this morning and as Andrew goes for a quick dip he notices that the banger rope had come loose during the night and was banging right against the front of the cabin………

Crab given to us by Mal

We put the lures out again this morning but still no luck, we see a number of what looks like sea mullet swimming around and a heap of garfish but nothing that wants to bite on our hooks.  It’s overcast this morning and looks like rain out over Airlie. 

Mal and his wife motor over in their tinny just before midday and are heading off to their next stop.  They very kindly give us one of their many mud crabs they had caught.  (Do they think we are as hopeless at catching crabs as what we are fish?)  It was very nice of them and they also offered to take our bag of rubbish as they were heading back to Airlie tomorrow.  You meet some really lovely people out here.  Its funny you can live in a house in a street for years and never know or have anything to do with your neighbors, but out here on the water is such a different life.  You anchor next to another boat and people are so friendly and welcoming.  We love the socialness of this life.

Our crab catch

We go and check our crab pot later in the day and are happy to find we have two good size crabs in there.  So a nice dinner of three mud crabs is to be had. 

3 buck crabs for dinner

Fisheries patrol boat

We are sitting inside the boat in the afternoon and suddenly see a zodiac pull up beside Mingo, we are both wondering whats going on as we haven't met anyone else here.  Anyway we hop up to have a look and notice that its Qld Fisheries and Wildlife.  They are checking up on boats in the area and ask us a few questions on where we have come from and where we are going, then they want to see all our safety equipment.  So out come the lifejackets, flares, Epirb and they want to see the details of all.  We had only brought the lifejackets 10 months ago and didn't realise that they had to be serviced every year.  This could be a $220 fine apparently.  The other lifejackets we have on the boat apparently do not comply with regulations anymore.  (We are sitting there thinking, isn't a life jacket a life jacket - we have 6 on board in total!!!!)  Then we get a bit of a stern lecture because we have not written on the tinny  - "Tender to Mingo".  If the tinny is a tender you don't have to pay registration for it,  if its not a tender than you have to pay fees.  We had a bit of a chat with the two fisheries guys and they told us it was a $450 fine.  Oh jeez - just what we want when not working!!!!.  We were lucky that they just gave us a warning and told us we had to sort the issues out by writing "TT (Mingos ergo number) on the side of the tinny and we had to go out and buy two new life jackets.... Beats a $700 fine.   They then ask to look at the three crabs we had sitting on the back of the boat.  Lucky they were all bucks and all the correct size - They can actually take your boat if you are caught catching female or undersize crabs.  Good thing we do the right thing.  We were going to cook the crabs on the beach on a little bonfire.  Good thing we ended up deciding not to as it is also illegal and would have definatley ended in a fine.

Crab balls for dinner

Chris getting the meat out of crab shell.

 We cook the crabs in a large pot and then spend an hour cracking the shells and taking the meat out, we get about half a kilo of meat from these crabs, so not a bad catch and end up making baked crab balls and they were delish.