Gypsy Cruising

15 July

Cid Harbour

Cid Harbour has a lot going for it.  On top of being a very large and extremely well protected anchorage, it is really quite beautiful.  It's also the starting point for a walk up to the highest point in the entire island group – Whitsunday Peak on Whitsunday Island, at a height of 437 meters.  The other crews did this walk yesterday and David and I will tackle it today, the first time for both of us.  Anne will stay aboard and bake fresh scones, which we don’t object to in any way.

While I’m mentioning Whitsunday Island, it’s worth noting a little piece of historical detail.  Cook sailed HM Bark Endeavour through this area on Whitsunday in 1770.  He named only one island – Pentecost Island - but he named the entire island chain (extending from the present day Mackay to north of Hayman Island) the Cumberland Isles after the Duke of Cumberland, brother to King George III.  He also named the Whitsunday Passage through which he sailed on that day, bound on one side by what we now know as Whitsunday and Hook Islands and on the other by the mainland.  All the other islands were named during the 19^th century.  Modern references to “the Whitsundays” are more recent and I suspect are as much a product of tourism marketers as anything else.  I still like the sound of “the Whitsunday Passage” because of the romantic notions it conjures up in my mind, although it doesn’t get much mention anymore.  I heard it referred to many times when I was very young.  Back then it took on quite a magical connotation, years before I had any real understanding of what it was really like, but it still retains that same sense to me now.

But back to today and the walk to Whitsunday Peak.  I was surprised at how easy the walk proved to be.  To be sure, it was a consistent upwards hike with only a few stretches of level walking.  But the incline was steady without being gruelling.  We covered the distance from the beach to the peak in a little over an hour.  It truly is the roof of the Whitsundays and the views were magnificent.  The northern side of the Peak remained warm and sunny, being protected from the still strong, and cold, southerly wind.  The southern side was sunny, cold and very windy.

The name is a reminder of the timber industry that once existed here

Part of the response to three shark attacks in Cid Harbour last year, including the sad death of a bareboater

David crossing the creek on a lower section of the track

Me, climbing some of the many steps on the way up, kitted out with camera and handheld VHF

Me again, and an example of this very well maintained track

The Whitsunday Passage from its roof - an awe inspiring sight

Cid Harbour in the foreground, with part of Sawmill Beach showing to the left
Hook Island is furthest away

The two of us

Looking south, with Gulnare Inlet immediately below and Hammo resort very distinct

Obviously I have a thing for Pentecost Island

This is the sort of place where you want to just sit and soak up the experience.

The descent was relatively quick.  For good measure we tackled another short walk once we reached the bottom, around to the beach in the adjoining bay.  I remember having done that walk back in the 1980s.  At that time there was a lovely palm grotto along the track.  That grotto has now grown up and is much thicker with vegetation.  Like all the other bush we’ve seen so far, the extensive damage from Cyclone Debbie is plain to see.  Huge trees have simply been snapped mid trunk, or ripped out of the ground.  National Parks staff have done a remarkable clean up by cutting fallen trees to keep the tracks accessible.

Dugong Beach is the other main beach in Cid Harbour