Sailing diary week 8: Orpheus Island and the Hinchinbrook Channel

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Von: wom87

After such an epic week on Magnetic Island we knew that it would be difficult where we would go next.

After we spent our first whale and spent an incredible week with sailing to Orpheus Island and the Hinchinbrook Canal, we were pretty sure that we had the best week so far.
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Segen Segel for the Palm Island Group

We continued where we stopped last week, the sails set at the day of the day and drove to the northwest towards the Palm Island Group in a light wind.

A popular stop is Great Palm Island, also known as his much older indigenous name "Bwgcolman". This is primarily an indigenous community, so we decided that it would be better to leave the islanders in peace and sail instead to the island of Orpheus.
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Wal ahoi!

Finally! We got our first insight into the famous whale hike on the Australian east coast. Unfortunately I didn't see a snapshot of her breakthrough, but it strengthened my belief in seeing more whales on the trip.

Exploration of the island of Orpheus

When we sailed to Orpheus Island, it felt like we were to explore remote, unexplored miracles in the middle of the ocean. In reality, Orpheus is just a stone's throw away from the coast, but that did not prevent the imagination from becoming a little wild.

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Orpheus-Insel-Anchorage

on Orpheus Island are available to the sailors several buoys available for guests on which they can sit for 24 hours. All of these are located in the northern bay, known as Pioneer Bay.

There is a buoy on the south side of this bay and another four at the northern end. These buoys offer excellent protection for light south wind, but even better protection for those who sail in the summer season when north winds predominate.

Although we had a few quiet days ahead, it is clear that the northern buoys are exposed to some southern daring.
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snorkeling and mantarochen

Immediately after we had secured the buoy lines, we discovered a huge mantaroche, which gently slitted next to Malaika. We watched awaited how it swam back and forth on the surface.

As we found out, Orpheus Island is regularly visited by dozens of crossing mantas. Sightings are therefore very common.

The rest of our short visit to Orpheus Island we either spent on the bush paths or in the water.

We found that the best snorkeling spaces in the bay are in the south, where a permanent research institution is stationed. Unfortunately we didn't see any mantas in the water, but we could see many from the drone.

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Read the full blog post: Discover Orpheus Island: Hiking and snorkeling

Hiking on the Bush Trails

A good hike on Orpheus Island begins on the beach of Pioneer Bay. We followed the path to an old, abandoned hut that are the only signs of original British settlers on Orpheus Island.

The path meanders through the dense bush and onto a ledge that overlooks both sides of the island.

From above we could see turtles and mantas who swam in the crystal -clear coral water at the bottom.
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Continue to Hinchinbrook

We were stretched onto the Hinchinbrook channel from the start, because of the fascination of its fjord-like peaks and grapevine-like streams.

It was difficult not to think of Jurassic Park when we entered the channel. Huge peaks on both sides surround a wide river that seems to be divided into an endless network of streams and streams.

Haycock Island

Our first anchorage in the Hinchinbrook Canal was on Hayckock Island. The anchor was initially a bit difficult because the tidal current moved sludge deposits and large parts of the canal were exposed to a rocky sea floor.

When we found the best place to anchor, we enjoyed one of the quietest nights of the trip so far.
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Sailing in the Hinchinbrook channel

We didn't have much opportunity to explore Hinchinbrook Island ashore because most hikes start on the ocean side of the island.

Nevertheless, it was a few epic sailing days through one of the last untouched wilderness of Australia.

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