MY mind has linked itself to our coffee machine. Making coffee is a morning ritual for yours truly as the Loved-One loves a latte before getting herself out of bed. Early mornings are the calm before the storm, so my mind wanders whilst I froth milk or wait for a shot.
For a few years after a trip to Hinchinbrook Island, I’d always recall our time there. Currently, however, my mind drifts towards my favourite camping destination, the islands of the Capricornia Cays National Park.
Lying off the Gladstone coast, they are the southern limit of the GBR and consist of low-lying islands with coral fringes. Reaching the destination is a piece of cake because we hop onboard Curtis Island Ferry Services barge which take the boat, our gear and fuel in all but the most severe weather.
So, my mind sinks into coral cay dreaming with each early morning coffee made … Sweet!
The Capricornia Cays offer fantastic fishing even though it’s not in the class of a remote destination. There’s the usual reef species, pelagics as well as bounty from beneath the surface. Fishing with soft plastics and trolling large minnows have always been my go-to techniques, although I’ve dabbled with slow-jigs and surface lures. So, I’m thinking about what gear to take and whether my PE 3 slow jig rod will cope with a rampaging trout.
However important fishing gear is to an island camping adventure, it’s being able to set up a functional camp that transforms a slum set up into a camping resort; and these days, I like my comfort!
After years of travelling around and camping with the family, we have settled on a simple but very workable system, namely, a living area in combination with small and simple sleeping stations.
The living area consists of a 20’ x 16’ silver tarp set up with a ridge running across the middle and down to aluminium tent poles on either end. By using sizeable plastic sand pegs, we can tension the tarp to achieve streamlined runoff during rain and stability during strong winds. Shade cloth DIY sides offer protection from low-flying shearwaters when having a pre-dawn breakfast. The addition of an open-weave shade cloth floor (as opposed to the tightly woven floors that are available), means that a quick broom will see coral “sand” fall through the spaces, leaving a clean floor.
Under the tarp we set up a food prep table with a dual burner butane stove, whilst a second table is the sitting area to eat and relax around. Good camp chairs add to comfort, and a fridge freezer stores food, cold drinks and trout fillets should we wish to bring a few home. Strips of LEDs provide the light and a solar panel keeps batteries charged.
Lidded fish boxes are the pantry and a secure bin with lid keeps mice at bay, if any are present; one word of warning however, turtle hatchlings are attracted to night light, so it pays to keep lights low in the event of a hatching nearby. We bring freshwater in 200L drums as provided by Curtis Island Ferries for a small cost and use their garbage service to deal with our rubbish. A 200L drum of fuel is pre-purchased and brought on the barge with us, with jerry cans and a syphon used to keep the boat tank full.
Having confidence that your boat is secure and safe is paramount given the nature of the environment. Coral cays have varied shorelines and some offer less than ideal situations for mooring a boat overnight. Ideally, you camp on the lee side, out of prevailing winds (SEs), but NWs do occur and they blow straight into your camp. Tidal movement is another factor that must be considered. In some places, low tides can leave your boat high and dry, exposing the hull to coral. Not ideal for a plate boat and very bad thing for fibreglass. Anchoring in deeper holes and/or over sand is the way to go, but might require the movement of dead coral lumps. A secure anchor is a must in any situation. Two large sand anchors, placed into holes dug at low tide work well and the addition of a significant length of heavy chain with a sand bag secured to the landward end of the chain, has never let me down. Further, ensure that the bow is pointing in the direction of the wind (by securing the transom to the land), minimises the effect of wave action across the flats. One sure way to court disaster is for the anchor to drag, putting the boat sideways on the edge of the beach, (which is often a 1m high slope), and filling it with sand and water as the tide rises.
Pulling off a coral cay holiday is hard work and at times stretching, but for me personally, they are fantastic experiences, one that is perfect for a bunch of mates or the family.
