The 100 Magic Miles refers to the coastline in northern Queensland between Mackay and Bowen and the islands of the Great Barrier Reef in that area. Officially called the Cumberland Islands, the area is more commonly known as the Whitsundays. And visiting the Whitsundays has been on my bucket list for years and years. And now I was finally going there! And in my own boat! Who ever would’ve thought!
Port Newry
After a quick stop at the fuel dock to fill up with diesel and petrol, we departed Mackay Harbour and set our sails to head north. We sailed pretty much due north with plenty of wind, but there was a lot of wave chop and I felt quite unwell for the first few hours. There was a short rain shower and then thankfully the seas calmed in the afternoon. We then turned and sailed south west to the Newry Islands. The Newry Islands are a group of islands known as Port Newry, just off the mainland, and we had been recommended this anchorage as one that was beautiful and isolated.
There were three other yachts lined up in the anchorage and we tucked in next to them. It was indeed a really, really lovely place and best of all, it was incredibly calm and sheltered. The boat was super still and we had a great sleep that night.
The following day we took the tinny out to explore the area. There are eight islands making up the Newry Island National Park, of which three (Newry, Rabbit and Outer Newry Islands) have walking tracks and facilities for campers. Newry Island was once home to one of the earliest resorts in the greater Whitsunday area, and as we walked around the island we could see remnants of the buildings. The short track across the island was lovely and shaded and took us to a pretty little beach on the west of the island. There was lots of birdlife on the island; kookaburras, several funny old curlews and a sea eagle swooping about.
We also walked across Outer Newry Island, but the beach on the other side was open to the weather and not so appealing. Back we went to Newry Island for a quick dip and then spent the afternoon chilling on the boat. That evening we were invited to sundowners on Leomar by Peter and Helen. Josh from Emma Mei and Peter and his son, Alex from Perseides II were also there. They were all really friendly and it was lovely to hear their stories. All three boats were on their way south for the cyclone season, although Peter and Helen also plan to head across the top of Australia next year, and so we promised to stay in touch.
We could easily have spent more time here in this calm and peaceful anchorage, but I was conscious that there was a weather window coming up that would be perfect for visiting the more exposed islands in the southern Whitsundays area. And so we headed off the next morning, and Helen sent us some photos that she snapped of us leaving the anchorage.
Wildlife at Port Newry; kookaburra, curlew, seagull, turtle, sea eagle.
Brampton Island
We motored the first little bit before raising the sails and sailing the rest of the way to Brampton Island. The seas settled as the day wore on and the day got better and better. It was sunny and warm and the ocean was an incredibly beautiful turquoise colour. The sea was calm and still as we anchored in Maryport Bay, just off Carlisle Island and above Brampton Island. We spent the afternoon just chilling on the boat, drinking it all in and spotting heaps of huge turtles swimming around the boat and popping their heads up to check us out.
The next day was one of those magical perfect weather days; no wind, flat water and sunshine. We took the tender over to Brampton Island and hiked up the track to the lookout, it was a steep walk and hot work, but the dense forest gave us lots of shade. The views from the top were worth it and we spent a while just soaking in the incredible scenery.
That afternoon Chris and Anne from Horizons arrived. Although we’d been keeping in touch via text, we hadn’t seen them since Tippler’s Passage in the Broadwater, almost three months ago. They’d gone ahead of us and we hadn’t caught up, but now they were on their way back down south. It was so lovely to see them again and share tales of our travels. We had drinks on their boat and then they came across to Cool Change just after sunset for dinner, and just a few more drinks!
Goldsmith Island
The following morning, after farewelling Chris and Anne, we continued on, motor sailing to nearby Goldsmith Island. It was another gorgeous day on the water, with a flat, flat ocean, just the way I like it! Goldmith Island was just beautiful, a picturesque anchorage with heavily wooded islands and little beaches dotting the shorelines. I took the SUP out for a paddle on the still water and saw lots of fish, a turtle, a stingray and what I think was a shark, in the shallow waters on the edge of the bay.
There is a tiny privately owned island there (Farrier Island) with a couple of houses on it, and we watched in amazement as a helicopter arrived to drop people off. What a way to commute!
Helicopter that landed on Farrier Island:
Thomas Island
We following day we sailed the short distance to Thomas Island, another anchorage that we had been promised was really beautiful. And it was, a really really pretty place. I took the SUP all over the bay, stopping at several of the little beaches. The shells on these beaches were incredible and I spent a long time wandering up and down the sand, collecting some beautiful shells of all different types.
There were also heaps of turtles in the water here, and on the paddleboard you could get fairly close before they realised you were there and took off. It was magical! I spent quite a long time out on the board and on the beaches, as it was a bit rolly in the anchorage.
This area marks the end of the southern part of the Whitsundays and is the boundary for where the bareboat charter boats are allowed to go. In most anchorages thus far we’d only shared with a few other boats, but heading up into the main part of the Whitsundays, we expected to encounter quite a few more boats. As it turned out, it didn’t seem exceptionally busy and we were always able to get a mooring when we wanted one. I think that was probably due to Covid and border closures.
Shaw Island
From Thomas Island, we sailed around to Shaw Island, where we intended to shelter from some strong winds that were forecast for the next few days. The wind was definitely increasing and with only our headsail up we made good pace. We anchored about halfway up Shaw Island, opposite Lindeman Island. The bay formed by these islands offered a lot of protection and there was no swell, thankfully, so we were relatively comfortable.
Over the next two days we were buffeted by super strong gusts of wind, constantly gusting off and on. The first night we were up about midnight resetting the anchor as we were worried about being pushed too close to shore. Not the most exciting few days, but par for the course and at least we were safe.
Hamilton Island
After two nights out in the elements, it was with quite a bit of relief that we sailed around to Hamilton Island. It was very busy here, with lots of charter boats and bareboat yachts coming and going. Motoring into the marina we were met with a ‘concierge’ to help us with our lines. How fancy, we thought, and then realised that it was probably a very practical measure, as berthing a boat is difficult and many people chartering a yacht wouldn’t have a lot of experience. And we were very grateful for the help, particularly in such strong winds.
It was good to get off the boat and stretch our legs properly. Although I’d been out paddling at some of the islands, Matt hadn’t left the boat since Brampton Island, five days earlier. A hot shower and lunch, then a wander over to Catseye Bay and a swim at the pool filled in our day. The island felt very busy to us, after having been in the relative isolation of the southern islands for the last week, however according to a local yachtie we met, it was very quiet and many shops and restaurants were still not back open. There were golf buggies everywhere, as this is the primary mode of transport around the island.
Cid Harbour, Whitsunday Island
The worst of the strong winds were over, and as the marina at Hamilton Island was very exxy, we headed off the next day. Our destination was the infamous Cid Harbour and we motored the short distance through some strong currents and blustery winds. It was quite protected and very pretty in the harbour and there were heaps of yachts sheltering in there. There were also a lot of very obvious signs warning about sharks. There would be no swimming here!
I don’t know what I expected when I saw Cid Harbour, but it wasn’t this. I guess the term harbour generally conjures up images of infrastructure and buildings but this harbour was more like a really big bay. Very pretty though! From here we landed our tinny on Sawmill Beach on Whitsunday Island and prepared to tackle the hike up to Whitsunday Peak.
It was a steep 2.5 kilometre walk up to the very top of the island. Thankfully, the track was pretty well maintained and the dense rainforest provided lots of shade. And were the views at the top worth it! Stunning! Absolutely breathtaking! We could see miles out over the Whitsundays in all directions; bumpy green islands rising up out of the turquoise and aqua waters.
We spent an hour up at the top, gazing out over the incredible views and soaking in such special scenery. We ran into Marty of the yellow trimaran, who we’d previously met on both the Clarence River and at Fraser Island. We also got chatting to a couple from Cairns, Sue and Lance on Ocean Blue, and it turns out we would bump into them again, later on in the Whitsundays.
After taking about a million photos, we started the trek back down. It took an hour to get up to the top and just under an hour to come back down again.
While we were hanging out on the boat in Cid Harbour we watched a sea eagle swooping around, and Matt took these photos of him in action:
We spent just the one night in Cid Harbour, and after our morning walk up to Whitsunday Peak we were off again. This time headed to Blue Pearl Bay on Hayman Island. We were going to be meeting up with Naomi, Bree and Bella, who were up here on holidays from Mooloolaba. I was really looking forward to seeing them again!
So that was our first week and a half in the Whitsundays. Next blog I’ll tell you about our second week and a half; drinking cocktails on Hayman Island, swimming with a giant trevally out at a reef, exfoliating in the magical white sand near Whitehaven Beach, and finally, finally catching a big fish!!
We don’t remember days, we remember moments.
Cesare Pavese
Cool Change 