WIIN - York Sound (3 – 8 August)

Next stop is the Hunter River, and we left early in company with Justapussy, while Head Office planned to sail straight to Bigge Island. We were able to get the MPS up for a while, and again saw many whales underway. We anchored at Naturalists Island - apparently named after a party of naturalists camping in 1984 - at the mouth of the Hunter River.
The next morning we anchored in the river and over the next couple of days explored, being careful of the tides to ensure we didn’t get stuck up the creek with no water! Currently 8 metre tides, and at low many exposed rocks and sandbars - many crocodiles sighted as we explored.
At the end of one creek there was a freshwater stream and waterfall, which we stood under and was very cool and refreshing. We also took the opportunity to fill some water containers and do some washing. At night the river comes alive, with noise from ‘things’ in the water and on the banks, and too dark to see the fish and crocs out there.
After leaving the Hunter River we had strong wind warnings for the next few days. We stayed at an unnamed bay, where we explored by dinghy the bays nearby. There were sandy beaches, rocks, some mangroves, and beautiful crystals in the rocks. We also explored a huge cave which can only be accessed at low tide, which was inhabited by bats and many creepy crawlies. We ate big black tipped oysters from the rocks at the beach, and also, one evening had a great bonfire on the beach.
We took the dinghies a few miles across to Rainforest Ravine, which looked so out of place with the surroundings. It was a rainforest, lush with vegetation and a fresh water stream running down over the rocks. We had taken a picnic lunch, and had a dip in the cool fresh water before heading back. When we got back to the creek where we had left the dinghies, Darryl from Justapussy was able to retrieve our dinghy as he had arrived back ahead of us. The tide had risen more than we expected, and it would have been difficult to get to the dinghy without getting in the water – with the creatures that lurk within!
The HF radio has been fantastic and is our only link with the outside world at the moment. So apart from keeping up with the weather and news (and footy scoresL), we have regular skeds with other yachties we know. Recently we have spoken with Sunseeker (Dampier), Freo Doctor (Christmas Island), Eloise and Mischief (Indonesia), and Hanuman (in Broome).
Where you end up isn't the most important thing. It's the road you take to get there. The road you take is what you'll look back on and call your life. Tim Wiley