Robert Lewin (leader), Jane Walters (follower).

 

I have quoted a number of descriptions from http://www.epa.qld.gov.au in my report.

 

Hinchinbrook Island is a rugged, outstanding feature of the north Queensland coast between Townsville and Cairns. 8km from the Queensland coast at Cardwell. Its cloud-covered mountains, reaching 1000m, support fragile heath vegetation. Patches of lush rainforest and extensive eucalypt forest descend to a mangrove-fringed channel in the west with sweeping bays and rocky headlands along the east coast. The Thorsborne Trail explores the eastern side of the island. It is 32 km long. We walked from north to south following orange trail markers and cairns located on ridges or alongside water crossings.

 

The trail is not a graded or hardened walking track and, in some areas, is rough and difficult to traverse. A maximum of forty walkers are permitted on the trail at any one time so peace and quiet were our companions. The trail is graded as difficult however I found most of it manageable.

Day 1

 

Water taxis from Cardwell marina to the island then walk to Little Ramsey Bay 6.5 km.

 

After contacting the Rainforest and Reef information centre at Cardwell we mini-bused it around to the marina which was some distance south from our overnight stay at the town’s caravan park. Six walkers also joined the water taxi. We remained on the look out for crocodile’s en-route to the island where the boat landing was inconspicuously located amongst dense mangroves. We remained ever vigilant for crocodiles during our stay and avoided swimming except for fresh waterfall rock pools.

 

From the board walk we walked amongst shady vegetation with unusual red bark trees; paper barks etc. behind Ramsey Bay beach. We arrived at the southern end then a climbed up and over the dry rain forested ridge.

Some stunning views were enjoyed from our effort to climb Little Nina Peak but we had to cross sloping mountain rock pavements with unusual vegetation to reach the peak. Mount Bowen is extremely difficult to climb so we left that for the seriously determined climbers.

 

The trail then descended into Blacksand Beach. Fresh water flowed into a small lagoon here. We also noted the rat proof boxes and breezy long drop toilet.

The trail continues along the beach beneath three broad-leaved tea-trees. It then passed through tall open forest of mainly Gympie messmate and on to the saddle below Nina Peak.

Descending along a seasonal watercourse, the trail entered a mangrove forest where stands of red-flowered black mangrove and spotted mangrove occur. We crossed the creek at low tide. The trail then followed the edge of the mangroves before emerging near the northern end of Nina Bay. After 4 km and 2.5 hours our walk would find us at Nina beach camp.

 

We had to back track along the beach and cross the lagoon outlet to collect water about 100 -200 m upstream and wash from a creek with granite rock boulders, clear running water and a canopy of rainforest. We spent the night camped on firm sandy soil draped by rainforest and casuarinas. We enjoyed another hour of light being 8 degrees south of the equator. Robert was mystified by luminescent spots on the ground and rightly surmised them to be minute spider eyes. Yes Ray, the white tailed rats did descend on the camp ground for several hours following dusk.

Day 2

Little Ramsay Bay to Zoe Bay — 10.5km (6 hours) Grade: Difficult

At the southern end of Nina Bay, the trail crossed a rocky section and headed toward the base of a small cliff. The trail climbed the cliff and followed the headland to Boulder Bay. The trail then "rock hops" around Boulder Bay to the base of the headland at the southern end. I found the going tiring.

At the southern end of Boulder Bay, orange markers indicated the trail, which traveled south-east over the low ridge to the northern end of Little Ramsay Bay.  On our climb up the valley and onto the ridge we encountered a waterfall and series of small pools: a great spot to cool off and enjoy scroggin.

From Little Ramsay Bay the trail preceded south, crossing a tidal creek and continued to rocks at the end of the beach. The next beach is then accessed by rock hopping around the small headland. At the end of this beach, the trail leads to the upper edge of rocks above a larger sandy beach. From the southern end of this beach, the trail heads south-easterly through a small gully to the top of a ridge.

The main trail continues south and descends to the Banksia Creek crossing and onwards south-east to the saddle between Banksia and Zoe bays. At the top of the saddle the trail then descends a rocky creek into the Zoe Bay catchment.

Turning south-south-west, the trail travels to North Zoe Creek through a succession of vegetation types, from dry open forest to rainforest and mangrove swamps. The variation in rain, fire and drainage are the driving forces behind the distribution of these vegetation types. We had lunch at the creeks edge with an endangered Ulysses butterfly wandering above us.

The trail then passed through several palm swamps in tall rainforest between North Zoe Creek and Fan Palm Creek. Fan palms are stunning. The trail was poorly defined in this area and quite boggy.

We had to watch out for the hooked tendrils of the yellow lawyer cane and hairy Mary. These climbing palms use hook-studded branches to support growth towards the canopy. These tendrils can take a firm hold of our skin, packs and clothing.

Robert managed to avoid wet feet as there are several creek crossings and swampy sections. The trail entered the beach at Zoe Bay with the mouth of South Zoe Creek about 400m to the south.

Beach and forest campsites with toilets are located at the southern end of Zoe Bay. I chose the nearest campsite because I was really tired. A young man had just descended from climbing a coconut tree and startled a beach stone curlew hen and grown chick onto the beach. A large party from Sydney were camped further south near the toilet area. Zoe Bay is a good place to spend two nights as it has spectacular waterfalls and pools upstream.

Fresh water is available from South Zoe Creek where the trail crosses 100m downstream from Zoe Falls. The sand flies were well fed that evening. Our beach camp site was difficult to find after our evening stroll on the beach as the beach is dense with vegetation.

At low tide, armies of small, blue soldier crabs occupy the sand flats near the mouth of South Zoe Creek. From the southern end of the beach the trail leads through magnificent rainforest featuring the orange trunks of alligatorbark and the tall, buttressed blue quandong. Large eucalypts emerge above the rainforest canopy.

Day 3

Walk from Zoe Bay via Diamantina Creek to Mulligan Falls 7.5 km.

From the Zoe Bay camping area, the trail runs parallel with South Zoe Creek, crossing it about 100m downstream from Zoe Falls. It then continues up a steep slope onto the granite slabs with an access rope in one area. Above the falls there are spectacular views of Zoe Bay.

Continuing along South Zoe Creek, the trail occasionally crosses narrow rocky tributaries. It then follows a distinct spur to the granite rock pavement of a saddle. At 260m above the sea, this is the highest point on the trail. There is a village of rock cairns placed here by previous walkers. We could see the picturesque views of the Palm Island Group and Magnetic Island to the south.

Tall heath communities, typical of much of the mountainous parts of Hinchinbrook Island, dominate this section of the trail. There are the rare blue banksia with its blue-grey flowers and the pink flowers of the native lasiandra. Along the creeks, coral fern and sundews line the moist banks.

After crossing the saddle, the trail traverses steep forested slopes of the Sweetwater Creek catchment where Robert met a friend from Newcastle Orienteering walking the trail starting from southern end. Based on their comment we decided not to take the thirty minutes walk along a sidetrack to Sunken Reef Bay camp. We chose to watch a crayfish make off with a piece of apple instead. The trail then climbs onto coast she-oak and grasstree shrubland. The trail then descends into the Diamantina Creek catchment, passing a sidetrack to Sunken Reef Bay.

The Diamantina Creek crossing with large flat granite boulders was another restful place to cool off and watch crayfish nibble at Roberts’s legs. It is a treacherous place to cross when swollen after heavy rains and we found the sign naming the crossing a bit confusing.

We followed the markers diagonally across the creek before the trail continued up a short slope and descended a steep hillside to reach the base of Mulligan Fallls.

The vegetation in this area is typical of lowland rainforest communities found on Hinchinbrook Island. On a clear day, this section affords good views of Lucinda  with its 5 km jetty enabling sugar to be exported overseas and the Palm Island Group.

It took another 1 km to reach Mulligan Falls camp.

Day 4

Mulligan Falls

Mulligan Falls camp site was dark under its cover of tall rainforest trees. We spotted a bright noisy pitta bird hopping around the sites and chose a site near the rat box which was shared the following evening with ten other hikers. We saw several large incubator mounds made by Yellow footed birds and the occasional scrub turkey in the undergrowth. Some unidentified pigeons flew in the upper canopy from time to time.

We stayed two nights at Mulligan Falls. On the rest day we walked to the beach through upturned sand caused wild pigs. We harvested a coconut from one of the numerous trees that fringed the shore and watched two birds of prey trawling the skies above the beach. On the return to camp we spotted a healthy echidna. An afternoon walk took us back up to the Diamantina Crossing via a lookout rock above Mulligan Falls.

Day 5

Mulligan Falls to George Point — 7.5km (2.5 hours) then boat to Lucinda.

The trail followed the coast, travelling through rainforest and crossing five creeks. The last, Moth Creek, provided only seasonal fresh water and should not be relied upon. About 300m south of the Diamantina Creek inlet the track met the beach.

George Point the southern exit of the trail, is a further 5km walk along the beach. About 2km along, Mulligan Creek flows into the bay where we removed our shoes to cross at low tide. The boat was waiting for us and we were 30 minutes under the recommended walking time. The captain was eager to chat about the island and his life at Lucinda while we waited for the bus to arrive. He said crocodile sightings were rare on the eastern side of the island but the bus driver at Lucinda showed us a very recent photo of a huge four meter croc on the muddy western side of the island. One of the walkers remarked that he had sighted a dugong from the end of Cardwell jetty prior to his island walk. Lucky man!

Hinchinbrook Island has such a rich diversity of landforms, plants and birds and was well worth walking given days of 28 °C.