A Beautiful Day at Hunter Island

Wednesday  17^th June 2015

This is such a beautiful place we decided to stay another day and enjoy the good weather while it lasts.

After breakfast we head ashore to stretch our legs and explore the surroundings.  The other owners from Soleil and Eureka come ashore at around the same time,  and we all head off to find the best high vantage point to appreciate  this stunning group of islands.

Whilst originally established for cattle grazing, there is still evidence that some livestock might still exist on the island. As we walk through the high grass, with no marked trails, there are some patches where  it looks like animals have laid down and crushed the grass. We later saw wild deer up on the top of the ridge which explained this.

Looking back in the direction of Marble Island

It was a bit of a climb up from the beach but the view was well worth it

Four Hanses Anchored off Hunter Island

Looking down at the beach from the hilltop

So captivated with the lovely beach and scenery, we organised with the other  Hanse owners to have a late BBQ lunch on the beach with a wood fire. Much organizing went into the logistics of this, which resulted in a late lunch at around 3pm. We took our portable butane burner and hotplate which proved useful in handling the amount of food for 8 people. The girls produced some great salads.

Mark tending the fire

Everyone enjoying their lunch

A couple of guys (who were brothers), ended up joining us for a few drinks. The were from a catamaran “Charm”. Two very nice guys, Ken and Robert Hollingworth. Ken is an old salt who really knows his sailing, and Robert is an author and artist. Apparently Robert has a book at the moment up for an award.

Our new mate Ken Hollingworth from "Charm"

It was a very enjoyable lunch, but no-one was watching the tide, and whilst we were enjoying ourselves, the tide had gone out a long way, exposing and rocky, coral reef that was impossible to get a dinghy across.

Oops, the tide has gone out a long way

There was no choice but to continue to enjoy each others company on shore, put some more wood on the fire, ands wait for sufficient tide, which will be well after dark. Unfortunately , beverage planning hadn’t taken this into account, and there was some compromise and sharing of what was available to get us through. We managed to get back to our boats by around 7 pm, having had a great afternoon, despite the miscalculations.

Tomorrow it seems everyone is heading to Curlew Island.