Bloodhorn Bay, Hook Island to Sawmill Bay, Whitsunday Island

After breakfast we decided to go to Cid Harbour only 11nm away.  An easy trip and 2 hours later we were anchored in Sawmill Bay.  As it was still early and we couldn’t have been bothered with the fight to get the kids to do school work, we went ashore to find the Captain Cook Monument we’d seen marked on the map. 

We got to the beginning of the track and just started walking.  It was all up hill. After only 15 minutes I was doubled over and “sucking in the big ones” and wondering how far it would be to get there.  After 30 minutes, even my eyes were sweating and I was starting to think about heading back (let’s face it, I was now well overdue for a cigarette).  After 40 minutes, Grace was crying and stopping every 20 metres or so trying to catch her breath.  I’m sure I was suffering altitude sickness and was kicking myself for not bringing along an oxygen tank or two but the boys seemed to be doing okay.  Not to be outdone by the boys, Grace and I kept climbing up what seemed like Everest.  After 1 hour 15 minutes we’d finally made it to the top of Whitsunday Peak… 2.5kms of track and stone cut stairs into the mountainside and 440m above where we had started. 

Whitsunday Peak

The view was spectacular.  We sat at the peak, drank and ate and got attacked by flies so headed back down again.

The trip back down was a lot quicker and a lot easier but my shoes aren't made for trekking up mountains (they are made for prancing around on yacht decks) so I fell and twisted my ankle… but I’m tough, I rubbed some dirt on it and walked it off.  Jed did the last 20 minutes with 1 shoe due to a blister (the kids aren’t used to wearing shoes), Grace’s legs were like jelly and involuntarily shaking and Michael had one sunburnt leg.  But we had survived.

When we made it to the bottom the question was finally asked “where the hell was the Captain Cook Monument?”  We have no idea where it was, probably a different path but we certainly weren’t going looking for it.

We got back to the boat and Robin & Pam contacted me and let me know they were at Hook Island… we’d left there yesterday.  I told them where we were and they told us to stay put and they’d catch up with us tomorrow.