Having said that, it’s clean and neat and we didn’t see any graffiti or run down areas. The foreshore has changed out of all recognition with a big shopping mall, restaurants, designer clothing boutiques etc. The marina has big breakwaters and its facilities are modern.
We anchored across the river in an area that had many boats but plenty of space so it wasn’t a case of looking in each other’s windows. We still had a fair bit of day left so we dropped the dinghy and motored across and into the marina area.
We were amazed at how many boats there were with everything from day charters to the reef, crocodile spotting, diving, jetboat rides, para gliding, fishing... it seems like everybody has a piece of the tourist trade. Even on the trip from Fitzroy island we saw countless fast ferries going back and forth.
It didn’t take long to find a Woollies and we decided to take care of the grocery shopping. We had passed an open park area where some very good live music was coming from a bandstand. On our way back we took a closer look and found it was the “Get off Your Couch Tour”. The atmosphere was wonderful but what was really interesting was they were about to set the world record for ukulele playing. Everyone in the audience and a whole bunch on stage with the performers had ukuleles. You could buy them for about $25 but what amazed us was how many people had ukuleles with expensive hard cases. They obviously weren’t the $25 ones. They struck up and sang ‘I just want to dance the night away’, and it sounded wonderful. The tune is still going around in my head.
On the Monday we set out and did the rest of our shopping and found a huge shopping centre within easy walking distance of the marina. That took care of some things on the list but we walked for miles to get to Whitworths for some boat stuff and Dan Murphys of course. The cab ride back was $20, so it was a fair way.
We really liked Cairns, even though we could spend so little time there.
Tuesday morning we got an early start and decided to give Port Douglas a miss. It’s pure tourism and resorts and we’ve seen a fair bit of that lately. Also, we’ve got some miles to cover if we’re going to get to Darwin by the end of July. The Low Isles lie about 8 miles NE of Port Douglas and I was keen to make it one of our stops.
It’s been 33 years since 7 guys on 4 small catamarans sailed to the main island, which is a tiny coral cay with a 20 metre high lighthouse. It was the first stop after leaving Ellis beach where we’d been camped for a couple of weeks getting the expedition ready. The last stop would be in the Philippines some months later. It would be the most ambitious voyage undertaken by small beach cats, basically beach, island and river hopping all the way. Sadly it all fell apart before even getting out of Australian waters, mainly due to the leader knowing he hadn’t put all the paperwork and permissions in place and he sabotaged the whole thing.
His first effort was by sailing his cat straight onto the coral of Low Isles. My role in the expedition was keeping the boats in good repair, so we all spent a few days camped on the beach while I patched his boat and put it back together.
But there was an upside. The lighthouse had a keeper living there and we became firm friends. You can’t be a lighthouse keeper without being a colourful character, and Barry was all of that. His wife Sue, is a wonderful, longsuffering, loyal companion who was delighted to get a little red concrete mixer as an anniversary present because it meant a decent driveway for their home back on the mainland. Their 2 kids studied via school of the air, something I’d heard about but it was great to see it in action. Barry himself made magnificent leather work. Hats, shoes, belts, boots, handbags... you name it. Even then he was concerned about the influx of tourism, and if it was coming anyway he was determined to make a quid out of it.
As the lighthouse came into view, so did the masts of at least half a dozen other boats. The small anchorage area was nearly full once the 3 or 4 big cruisers were counted. Not only were there the visiting boats, but a bunch of canopied runabouts were sitting on moorings, obviously for the daily influx of tourist boats from Port Douglas, 8 miles away. In fact we saw three boats leaving for Port Douglas as we were approaching the island. Port Douglas was unknown until big money moved in and built huge resorts there in the 1990s
The island itself is still a speck of beauty with clean clear water. We could see our anchor 8 meters below us. The lighthouse has been automated since 1990 and looks freshly painted. The beach now has permanent thatch umbrellas dotted along the vegetation line, and a variety of notice boards litter the place, no doubt warning the unwary about stingers etc, and probably no fires, no dogs etc. There are Marine Parks buoys making sure boats anchor well clear of the fringing coral.
What took me totally by surprise was the reaction I felt going back there. Looking at the island I could still see us sitting on the beach, not a grey hair between the lot of us, laughing and cooking meals, working on the boats, taking on an adventure few could imagine. It all felt so recent again. Where did all the years go?
I felt no inclination to go ashore with so much changed. I prefer to remember Low Isles as they were, with Barry scooting around in his tinny with outboard showing us through the gaps in the reef, and on another occasion taking me to see where he kept his boat hidden amongst the mangroves of the other island. It was another time, another place.
We got going again fairly early and for once the forecast is correct. Right now we have 3.8 knots of wind, which is double what it was a few hours ago, and yes, we’ve been motoring all day, the sails just looking like they’re hung up to dry in the sun.
The coastline along this section is quite spectacular. The mountains are high and forested, much of it rainforest, and along the coast we can see yellow sandy beaches. We passed the entrance to the Daintree River this morning which is again suffering the pressures of tourism. We wouldn’t have been able to get in anyway, unless it was at the top of the tide. This is serious crocodile country but we haven’t seen any out here!
The two little specks of Hope Isles are fast approaching, well, at 5 knots and the anchorage is tricky with a lot of coral to avoid. I’d better start paying attention.
Until next time...