Hinchinbrook Island QLD – Day 2 | Dave and Fiona's Travels

DELAYED POST – DAY 2

TRACK NOTES
Little Ramsay Bay to Zoe Bay (Grade: difficult)
Distance: 10.5 km Time: allow about 6 hrs hiking time

Wednesday 2nd August 2023
Well after a so, so sleep with torrential rain from midnight, we were very grateful for our garbage bags that were covering our packs hanging on the bag racks in the open. We had a night of broken sleep but fared ok in the rain. A little splash back from the rain drops got in the tent, but it wasn’t too bad. We were up early 5.45am, so we could pack up and cross Little Ramsay Creek before high tide. It was tricky, we shouldn’t walk on the beach in the dark but needed to cross the creek about 6.30am. Sunrise was 6.40am. We left camp at 6.47am for the short walk along the beach to the creek. A quick walk along the beach and it was time to remove our shoes and cross the creek. It was about mid calf to knee depth and about 4m wide. With no crocs in sight we crossed safely to the other side. We then walked further along the creek to Little Ramsay Springs to enjoy a relaxed breakfast at the most beautiful location.

After breakfast it was time to head off again. We walked over rocks and up the cliff a little and continued along the ridge with beautiful views of the coast line. We walked across another beach and then up through bush like at home. We also crossed many creeks, many sections of swamp land and more creeks, had some rainy moments through the rainforest for about an hour. We saw many beautiful and varied types of trees, plus lots of fungi. We had our shoes on and off so many times. We passed a couple of Croc signs in the same spot as last time we were here. This time without the 7 day sighting. The girls were very quick through this section and quite uncomfortable like I was last time. We enjoyed a lovely swim in the blue lagoon at lunch time and then headed on our way again through more swamp, crossing more creeks and walking through more rainforest, then along the beach to camp.

There were a couple of camps that get cut off by the water at high tide and then the main camp. We chose our spot at the back of the main camp and setup camp. David found a good spot 100m further up the track which he would have preferred but we decided to stay where we were. Then after setting up, we headed to Lower Zoe Falls. The most spectacular falls, so beautiful even David had a swim this time. Jaci, David and I swam over to the falls and as always marvelled at their power. We then walked the trail and up a rope to Upper Zoe Falls. Here we enjoyed another swim with the most amazing view. We thought it best to enjoy the falls today even though the weather was inclement as you never know what tomorrow’s weather will bring. The forecast was for not so good, therefore we enjoyed the moment as it was, even though it was pretty overcast. We did a water collection and then headed back down to camp in the fading light. We enjoyed a nice dinner with a few laughs. The night became interesting as the tide started to come in. It got closer and closer to a few of the other campers tents. They even had to dig trenches. One guy even emptied his tent, so it only wet the bottom if the water came under it. Which it did. The waves were breaking in to the camp and we were wishing we had moved up the track where David had suggested. We hummed and ha’ed and hummed again. Trying to decided whether to move or not. More than the water problem, as we were ok where we were, it was the distance from shore that was bothering us and potential croc activity. We sat up until an hour after high tide when the water had started to recede and everyone else went to bed.

We had an amazing day hiking, with the most variety of any trail we have ever hiked. We had a few showers of rain but nothing too heavy and we didn’t get too wet as we were in the rainforest. David loved his new umbrella and will be adding this to his pack all the time now. It has been a big day since we started so early and walked 10.5km and Croc watch kept us up a lot later than we were expecting. Night night. 🌙

: We were up before the sun rose this morning, packed up early for the 2nd day of our Hinchinbrook Island adventure..

: ..a quick walk along the beach to our first creek crossing which had to be done around 6.30am due to tide and crocodiles..

: ..so off with the shoes within the first 10mins of our hike..

: ..as always David finds a way to cross without removing his shoes and then is lookout for reptiles as we cross..

: ..as Ange heads across in about knee depth water..

: ..then shoes back on, as the sun breaches the horizon..

: ..a clambered up some rocks with Jaci leading the team..

: ..and then down the other side..

: ..and along the beach..

: ..to a beautiful spring..

: ..where we enjoy a leisurely breakfast and cup of tea..

: ..what a beautiful place in the wild to enjoy time with friends..

: ..looking back up the springs, the trees and little waterfall are truly beautiful..

: ..as we look out to sea in search of dolphins or dugongs, no luck today..

: ..then we are on our way again, over more rocks..

: ..then down again, thank goodness for our hands that we used sometimes for extra balance..

: ..back down to the beach..

: ..once again Broady avoids removing his shoes..

: ..up we go again, testing our balance some more..

: ..rock hopping through the forest..

: ..the fungi was an amazing colour..

: ..as we reach the swamp land and beautiful trees..

: ..and continue the walk on the edge to avoid the black sludge..

: ..as Alice enjoys a momentary rest and a smile on a very big horizontal tree..

: ..onwards we go..

: ..through more difficult deeper swamp..

: ..sometimes assisted or hindered by the trees..

: ..lying along our path, keeping us busy with high concentration to stay on our feet..

: ..we come to our 2nd crocodile creek crossing, this time with a warning sign. Eek!

: ..passed the rocks is where we would expect it could be if we were unlucky..

: ..so we had our eyes peeled as each of us crossed..

: ..feeling ok here, as it would be difficult for a crocodile to hide and ambush us here, we rock hopped through the middle section..

: ..before removing our shoes as we kept ever watchful eyes towards the deeper water..

: ..ready to cross the 2nd section, with eyes alert..

: ..then it was David’s turn..

: ..this time removing his shoes..

: for a speedier crossing..

: ..sometimes even DB needs to use his hands for balance..

: ..An unusual tree on the other side of the creek, as we all make it safely across..

: ..as we head back in to the rainforest, it starts raining a little..

: ..with more swamp to cross, a little deeper this time, footwork is paramount..

: ..an amazing tree trunk..

: ..a few moments later, another one..

: ..as we continue along passed another moss covered tree in the rainforest..

: ..an amazing green leaf..

: .as we stop at the next creek crossing for some lunch..

: ..and a little dip and then a 2nd dip at Blue Lagoon, (no photo) but it was a beautiful green/blue pond..

: ..another beautiful tree trunk..

: ..and another..

: ..as the challenges continue in the beautiful rainforest – the trees and reflections so beautiful..

: ..a little challenge – shoes on or off – always the question – we manage to leave them on with the help of a few sticks to assist with balance..

: ..what incredible beauty..

: ..and we make it to the other side for a bit of an easier walk..

: ..then out to the beach..

: ..the rain has thankfully stopped as we walk along the open beach stretch..

: ..the tidal wave marks on the sand so beautiful with the clouds in the sky making for an awesome view..

: ..some sand creature at work – would love some suggestions as to what it is..

: ..we are an amazing advertisement for Hyperlite Backpacks – the 5 of us enjoying the benefit of the 800g weight before we add our stuff..

: ..as we arrive a Zoe Bay camp – once again with a warning about the crocs..

: ..amazingly we are still seeing some beautiful birds – the Great-billed Heron..

: ..a Rainbow Bee-eater..

: ..and a Striated Heron..

: ..as we sit by Zoe Creek which is known for having a resident croc. (This is to the left of the croc sign, for later when you see the night time tide)

: ..after setting up camp, we enjoy a lovely swim at the beautiful Lower Zoe Falls, David even has a dip here today..

: ..then head to Upper Zoe Falls to enjoy a beautiful view and another swim..

: ..this is the most magnificent waterfall..

: ..as Jaci and I enjoy it, even though the weather is still inclement..

: ..looking back up the falls, the weather still looking unfriendly..

: ..a little housework – water for all..

: ..such beauty – hopefully the weather is better tomorrow..

: ..the happy adventurers on the rock at Upper Zoe Falls..

: ..then back down the rope, we head to camp..

: ..as we enjoy one more look at Lower Zoe Falls in the fading light..

: ..tonight was one of a little excitement – the tide was 3.8m with strong NE winds to push the tide in further..

: ..we watch the tide as it can block the front camps off from the main camp..

: ..where the waves are at the top of the picture is the sand that we were taking bird photos from in the afternoon, under water now and getting close to camp..

: ..it is now 10.30pm – high tide – and the campers close to the entrance of camp have dug trenches all around their tents and are watching the tide breach the camp..

: ..and our neighbours have unpacked their tents on to a table and are sitting on top of it as the water spills in to camp and under their tent, heading towards us, stopping about 3m from one of our tents. We wait another hour and then head off to bed, operation “Move camp” averted.

: Today’s hike was 10.5km from Little Ramsay Bay to Zoe Bay. The orange trail. Such amazing beauty, some tricky challenges and the excitement/fear of crocodiles. Another great day!