Cape Moreton Walk.

Back to Moreton Island

Moreton Island is a special place for Paul and me, as it's where we met. This was a return trip after some time of not visiting. We had recently decided that we'd like to get back into some backpacking, so we donned our packs and took off for an old favourite.

Day 1 - Thursday 3 April 2008

Home to North Point - 12km + 2km

Our trip started with a drive to Redcliffe to take the Combie Trader barge across to Moreton Island. We left at 8am under beautiful sunny skies and light winds. When we arrived at Bulwer 2 hours later there were many 4WDs lined up for the return trip.

We had a quick snack and then it was packs on. The water was clear and calm and the weather conditions perfect.

We took off, along the beach, around Comboyuro Point, having timed the tides for easier walking. From past experience we knew that the going could get quite tough if walking this area at higher tides.

We stopped at Heath Island for lunch about noon and then started looking for the creek crossing point. This area and creek outlet can shift about often and rather dramatically. It was a shoes off crossing, with lots of soft sand and fast flowing, though fairly shallow, water. The next stretch required much soft sand walking and scrambling due to the shore line being littered with many dead and collapsing trees, making walking there almost impossible.The changes to this area since our last visit were quite marked, with much of the shoreline eaten away by big seas. Some fishermen in a 4WD provided an entertaining chat, expressing disbelief that people would actually be mad enough to walk from the barge to North Point when you could do so in a perfectly comfortable 4WD.

We arrived at the North Point camping area about 1.30pm, the trip taking us about 3.5 hours. We were disappointed to see the tents and communal area for a large school group set up right in the middle of the camp ground. Because we wanted a shady spot, we set up closer than we would like to have been. Both of us were pretty weary, so we lolled about after setting up. The camp ground was lovely and grassy, with plenty of shade, water, a couple of composting toilets and an open-air fresh water shower, just near the walkway from the beach.

We got activated again mid-afternoon and walked across to Honeymoon Bay for a dip in amongst the rocks, before walking back along the beach back to the camp area. The shower was cool and it felt good to be clean. Our timing was perfect, as just as we arrived back at camp, the school kids all headed for the beach. The evening was spent relaxing, though the sandflies were a bit fierce. Luckily, with experience, we'd brought along a couple of insect coils, which we lit. Both exhausted, we collapsed in our sleeping bags and slept like logs. Knowing they had an early start, the kids were asleep pretty early. The wind came up strongly during the night.

Day 2 - Friday 4 April 2008

North Point - 5km + 4km

The school group did a quick and quiet pack up, leaving about 5am. We stirred but crashed again. When we woke, the wind was still very strong and the beach wasn't a pleasant place to eat breakfast, so we set ourselves up along the fence line, using our small tarp as a windbreak. A ranger came by to do some cleaning and then a truck arrived to dismantle the school's communal tent.

We decided to walk up onto Cape Moreton, though we very nearly got blown away. This place holds a special memory for Paul and I, as it was here when we first met (1989), that we sighted a mother and calf humpback whale. After taking in the view, we scrambled down the very steep soft sand dune to the gorgeous beach at its base. We were sheltered from the wind here, so we stopped for a swim. It was nearly lunch time, so we headed back to camp via one of the bush tracks.

After lunch and a relaxing read, we took off again, going along the soft sandy 4WD track towards the cape. We were heading back to the beach, so took one of the bush tracks, which required a bit of 'bush-bashing' to reach the sand. The lovely wide beach at the track's base was deserted and we had it to ourselves. We explored the caves at the beach's end and then rock-hopped to get around the next point. One area provided some problems for me but Paul found a spot for me to scramble up and around.

The rock formations here were pretty special.

Honeymoon Bay was where we ended up, but the swimming did not look at all inviting as the wind was finding its way into this area. We also tried a spot we knew of in amongst the rocks at North Point, but that was also very exposed. On our walk back along the beach we ended up having a dip in a gutter in the surf just off the camp ground. It was quite shallow, but cool and lovely on our tired bodies, as was our rinse-off under the shower.

Some folk in a couple of vehicles came to set up about 5pm, and then another large family group arrived late, off the evening barge. We watched a storm to the west and had some light rain during the night.

Day 3 - Saturday 5 April 2008

North Point to Tailor Bight area - 3.5km + 7.5km

Another slow start, with a clear sky after the rain of the night before. Being the week-end, the camp ground was starting to fill up with more groups coming in, this meant lots more people and vehicles moving around. We walked around North Point to get some views of the cape and Honeymoon Bay. We could see where we'd walked the day before, though it looked very different with the tide right in. This part of Moreton Island is very beautiful and being a little difficult to access, it's not uncommon to have the beach to yourself.

We walked back along the sand until we arrived at the beach camping area further to the west from the official campground. Many campsites were set up here behind the dunes. The ocean looked inviting, so we had a dip and then walked to the glorious freshwater lagoon behind the dunes and went in there as well. Bliss!

Back at our camp site we made the decision to move on. The main reason was, that we knew we needed an early start the next day to make our barge and the high tide would have made our going very tough and slow. The camp area was also getting a bit busy for us. After lunch we headed off along the beach right about low tide, making good time, with our intention being to bush camp for the night. Once again our crossing of the creek at Heath Island was a bit scary with the the water rushing and soft, shifting sand underfoot. Luckily, it was fairly shallow.

Definitely would not have liked to do this the next morning at high tide.

After about 2 hours of walking we stopped, making sure we set up before reaching the no camping areas around Comboyuro Point.There was nowhere fantastic, so we settled on a spot in amongst the dunes near some casuarina trees. A few 4WDs drove past during the afternoon, but mostly we had this stretch of the beach to ourselves. We'd made sure to bring along plenty of water, knowing that we'd have no facilities or water on our overnight stop.

During the afternoon we had a walk and a dip and then got into our 'long' gear as the sandflies were monumental. I have always had a very bad reaction to sandfly (really any sort of insect) bites, but they don't seem to worry Paul too much. For dinner, we lay our little tarp out on the beach and sat on the sand in the last of the sun, enjoying the breeze and a reprieve from the insects. We saw many rain clouds gathering, which made for a sensational sunset.

Day 4 - Sunday 6 April 2008

Tailor Bight area to Bulwer to Home - 4.5km

Both of us woke very stiff after a cold and uncomfortable night, with everything wet outside from heavy overnight rain. We ate breakfast inside our tent and then Paul braved the sandflies to do the outside pack-up while I hid from them and did all inside jobs. There was some urgency as a storm was looming. The rain just started to fall as we took off about 9.30am, heading for Bulwer and the barge.

We plodded through wind and rain to the Comboyuro Point camp ground where we had a morning tea/lunch stop out of the wind. Both of took a Kwell, as the sea was wild and stormy, and being prone to motion-sickness, we didn't want to get sea-sick. We were glad we had the forethought, as the trip back was very rough. We were back at home late in the afternoon and enjoyed a nice meal, a hot shower and our own comfy bed.

Besides our many sandflies bites, some blisters and few aches and pains, our trip encouraged us to consider further Adventures