It’s Wednesday on Thursday

G’day Boatbloggers®

It’s Wednesday morning and we’re anchored on Thursday Island right at the top of Australia, getting ready to sail to Indonesia at the next decent weather opportunity. That’s right dear reader – from now on we are heading back home.

It’s taken a couple of weeks to get here from Cairns. When you’re actually in Cairns it feels like you’re already in the far northernmost reaches of Queensland and it doesn’t look that far on the map to the top – a couple of inches or so. But in fact it’s about 500 nautical miles. And it’s pretty remote. There’s hardly any people living this far north, there’s no phone signal – well not till we got Starlink – and there’s nowhere to provision. 

Which is of course what makes it so special.

First stop was Lizard Island. Captain Cook’s log reads “…the only land animals we saw here were lizards, which occasioned my naming the island Lizard Island.” And here’s a descendant of one of those very lizards.

A great navigator. But perhaps not the most imaginative when it came to naming places.

Quick quiz.

What rank was Captain Cook?

Answer below.

Lizard Island is especially famous for its walk to the top of the mountain which is called Cook’s Lookout, because it was where he climbed to look out and see if there was a break in the reef that he could sail his ship through. He’s still not blowing us away with the names. And today it looks just the same as it would have done when Captain Cook was here all those years ago.

Apart from the airport.

It’s quite a climb.

So we made sure to sign the visitors’ book.

And the views are amazing.

Next stop was Flinders Island, which is famous for its aboriginal rock art. We were the only boat for miles around, and the only people in the anchorage. So it was a bit nerve racking going ashore in the dinghy knowing we were completely on our own. What if the dinghy anchor dragged and the dinghy drifted off? It’s happened before. What if it punctured on a rock? That’s happened before too. What if a big crocodile bit a big chunk out if it. That’s not happened before, but it might. What if, what if.…???

But we didn’t want to come all this way and not see the paintings. So intrepid adventurers that we are, we braved the unknown and off we went.

It’s very pretty. And very hot and humid. As our entry for the Mr Wet T-Shirt competition goes to show.

Not bad eh?

The paintings are worth the trek.

We were surprised to see one of Domini.

And though the temptation to spray paint “Ju & Lyn Woz Here!” was quite strong, we decided we’d better not.

Do you remember Liz Truss and the lettuce? We didn’t expect to find evidence that the Indigenous People of the island ran a similar competition with a coconut.

The coconut won.

Next stop was Pelican island which was stunning and not normally on the route for most cruisers.

We went past Sunday Island on Thursday. (Don’t worry, we’ve got Wednesday and Friday Islands to go yet, so this joke has got lots more fuel in the tank.)

It’s famous because this is where Captain Bligh landed, having travelling thousands of miles in an open boat after he and some of his crew were cast adrift  from HMS Bounty.

Apparently his first words as he stepped ashore were, “Keep your spirits up men. One day they’ll make a film out of this and we’ll all be heroes. And that mutinous pirate Fletcher Christian will be revealed for the scurrilous knave that he is.”

True story. He probably didn’t expect it to be a musical as well.

All we had to do now to get to Thursday was Round the Horn. And this is us doing just that.

It’s not actually THE Horn that we rounded. In actual fact, it’s Horn Island, but that’s good enough for us.

So here we are on Thursday Island, at the Top Pub In Australia.

I think they mean it’s the most northerly – it’s probably not the top in any other sense.

And so this brings to an end our travels in Australia. We have had the most fabulous time, the Australians have been great fun and incredibly welcoming. The land and scenery is beyond spectacular. We’re really going to miss it.

Just time for a few Arty Farty shots. Both from Flinders Island, and both by Ju.

This one he calls “Flower.”

And this one he calls “Rock.”

(And you call Captain Cook unimaginative with the names – Ed)

Next time we see you, we shall hopefully be in Indonesia.

G’day for now.

Ju & Lyn

Answer to Quick Quiz.

Captain Cook was a lieutenant when he discovered Australia. He was never a Captain, but in those days whoever was in command of the ship was called captain anyway (with a small c). So now you know. Here at The Boatblog® we don’t just seek to entertain, but to inform as well.