Friday 14 September - Mission Beach/ Wheeler Island

Kayaks at sunset, Wheeler Island, Family Group of Islands

On Monday afternoon we arrived in Mission Beach after another long journey on the Greyhound. This time we spent 9 hours on the bus to get from Airlie Beach to Mission Beach. We are very glad we only have a 2 hour journey left before we reach Cairns. We had booked a 3 day kayak tour with Coral Sea Kayaking. David, our guide, came around to our hotel on Monday night to give us a pre-departure briefing. He showed us a map of the Family Group of Islands, which is a small collection of islands about 20km off shore from Mission Beach. He also gave us dry bags that are rubber bags used for clothing and anything else that needs to stay dry while you are paddling.

The next morning we headed to the beach to get ready for our paddle trip to Wheeler Island, where we would be staying for the next 2 nights. David gave us a quick lesson in how to paddle and we packed our kayaks with our clothes, water and food, camping equipment and anything else we would need whilst away from civilisation for 3 days and 2 nights. Most of the gear went in Stephen and my kayak which was a double, extra wide and long for the stability needed by novices like us.

Getting the kayaks ready

Although the kayak was heavy it was easy to paddle and glided well through the water. For once we were very lucky with the weather in Australia. We had perfect paddling conditions for all 3 days, hardly any wind and sunshine from clear blue sky and no swell. It took us 4 hours to paddle to Wheeler. It would probably have been quicker (less zigzagging) if Mette had managed to work out the steering mechanism, which was not exactly complicated.

Soon after we started paddling we saw a dugong. Dugongs are large, grey marine mammals related to manatees. Dugongs feed on seagrass and are the only fully aquatic herbivorous mammal. A dugong can best be described as a sealion with a flattened nose. They are extremely rare so we were quite privileged to see one up close, it came within a couple of metres of the kayak. We also saw lots of green sea turtles and even a shark that came out of the water right in front of the kayak. It wasn't quite jaws size and it didn't have its mouth open, still we were glad to see it disappear into the depths.

When we reached Wheeler Island we set up camp and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in tropical sunshine after our tough morning of kayaking. David cooked us lunch and dinner and entertained us with great conversation. It was camping, but with a private chef. Great! We should mention that the trip we went on was meant to be a group trip, but we were the only ones that signed up.

Our campsite for 2 nights

Wheeler Island along with the other islands in the Family Group of Islands is a national park and therefore a special camping permit has to be obtained. We were the only people staying on the island. The island can best be described as a small mountain that has risen steeply out of the sea. It is mostly covered in dense, impenetrable rainforest, there is a small beach on the north western side of the island and the remainder of the shore line are rockfaces dropping vertically into the sea.

Mette and our kayaks, looking back towards Mission Beach to the far right

Our camp was on the beach. After dark the wildlife on the island made itself heard. There were nocturnal pigeons coo-ing through the night, wild hens rummaging through the undergrowth and an endless number of frogs croaking. To the sound of the wildlife we enjoyed looking at the night sky, where we could see the milky way and the southern cross. The southern cross was used by early explorers as a navigation aid. The lack of light pollution meant that the night sky looked especially clear and we were able to see millions of stars dotted across the sky.

Pondering the tougher aspects of life. Stephen and David enjoying sunset

The next two days we spent exploring other islands, snorkeling, swimming, spotting more wildlife and eating lots of delicious food. We saw numerous sea turtles and also dolphins, flying fish, sharks and stingrays. It was an amazing trip and was so relaxing and carefree that it was almost like a holiday from the holiday!

Getting ready for departure at Dunk Island, looking towards the triplets and the twins where we camped