After a much cooler night we awake to a fresh SE breeze with plenty of whitecaps on Cleveland Bay. After all of the normal duties, washing, a bit of grocery shopping etc, we pack lunch and head over to the bus stop to get the bus to Picnic Bay. Our plan today is to do the walk up the Western Coast to West Point.
The walk takes us back past the golf course and then on to a bitumen road, which all of the tourist info told us was only suitable for 4WD vehicles. The local car hire companies also specify you must hire a 4WD for this trip. We are amazed but walk on.
Golf Club
The walk is really a walk along the road and after about 40 minutes we are getting pretty bored looking at masses of mangroves and no water. We made it as far as Ned Lee Creek before deciding to turn around and if we really wanted to go to West Point, hire a bike or a 4WD.
Not a very inspiring walk
Ned Lee Creek
On the way back we took the track to Cockle Bay, which is just around the headland from Picnic Bay, but only accessible from the track we take. Arriving at Cockle Bay is another disappointment, possibly because it is low tide. It is an unusual little settlement with a few houses which appear to be rented out to fishermen.
Cockle Bay
An interesting catamaran design
We sat down under the coconut palms and ate our lunch and explored if there was any way to walk around the headland to Picnic Bay at low tide, but there was one steep rocky area that made it impractical , so we walked back out to the road and back the way we had come.
A busload of students from Townsville arrived on an excursion studying something to do with the mangrove forest as we were leaving.
I think we will stick to the East Coast, where the scenery is stunning.
On our way back we we stopped in at the golf club for refreshments before heading back to the bus stop to catch the bus back to Nelly Bay.
The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing on board, having dinner and watching the Cowboys play South Sydney. Not a great result for the locals.
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