Around the Top of Hook Island to Tongue Bay

Saturday 5^th September 2015

After a very calm night at Stonehaven, we decided to go around the top of Hook Island, heading for Tongue Bay for lunch and possibly overnight. The sun is shining and there is a SSE breeze of around 10 knots.

As we pass Butterfly Bay most of the moorings appear to be occupied, but there is the odd vacant one in some of the little bays east of there. The tourist dive boats start arriving as we motor past, with Manta Ray Bay  by far the most popular.

Dive Boats gathering at Manta Ray Bay

Pinnacle Bay at the Eastern tip of Hook Island

When we turned South around the tip of Hook Island, we put up the headsail and motor sailed as far as the Hook Passage, before the breeze had dropped and we were straight into it. So it was motoring the rest of the way to Tongue Bay, which was remarkably quiet with 2 of the 3 moorings vacant. We picked up the closest one to the beach.

We were greeted at Tongue Bay by the usual Turtles

It was now midday, the trip taking 3 hrs from Stonehaven. Whist we were having lunch the boats started arriving, mainly day tour boats, and all of a sudden the bas way busy. It didn’t seem to worry the turtles that reside here, who just went about their daily routine, often surfacing for air quite near our boat.

The tour boats rushed people ashore in dinghies to take them on the walk up to see Hill Inlet and go for a swim at Lookout Beach. We waited before some of them started coming back before going ashore ourselves. Even though we have been to Hill Inlet Lookout many times, the view is still stunning and depending on the state of the tide is always a little different.

Nicole at the lookout

On the way back down the path we diverted down to Lookout Beach to go for a walk along the beach and have a swim.

A Catamaran anchored off Lookout beach

Nicole walking along the shoreline

Carole and Nic enjoying a swim off lookout beach

We have decided to spend the night here, even though there is a bit of swell penetrating the bay. It turned out to be a pretty rolly night, making getting a good nights sleep challenging. As soon as the sun went down it got quite cold and we all had jumpers on.