Sea Kayak Townsville

Approach to Sunken Reef Bay and Hillock Point to the far right. Sunken Reef Bay is a sheltered cove located between Mulligan Bay and Hillock point. It has a shallow sandy beach approximately 350 metres long surrounded by rocky headlands.  Easy beach landing at Sunken Reef Bay.  Its sheltered location, easy beach access, and panoramic views make it an ideal rest break before proceeding around the rocky coastline to Hillock Point and beyond. Interesting beach combing along the high tide mark   (photo by Hans Preuss) Currents and trade winds carry an odd assortment of objects across the sea to this beach and makes for some interesting finds when exploring the flotsam and jetsam deposited along the tide line.  A lot of rubbish also gets deposited, so help out the Rangers by placing any rubbish in a pile above the tidal zone or if you’ve got space in your boat, fill a bag and take it out with you. Fressh water Creek at the souther...

Zoe Bay located on the eastern side of Hinchinbrook Island is a highly sought after sea kayaking  destination.  The bay consists of a 2.5 km-long curved sandy beach backed with luxurious rainforest and dominated by the backdrop of the craggy peaks of  Mt Bowen.  There are estuaries at each end of the bay separating the beach from the rocky headlands.   The campsites and track to Zoe Falls are on the Southern end of the bay. The beach itself is all sand and is very shallow for a long way out. When landing at Zoe Bay, high tide access is best or you will have a long carry to your campsite.  There are several large  shady campsites with a picnic table and a heavy duty animal proof food storage locker. The wildlife will help themselves to any unattended food items, ( a tent or dry bag sitting on the ground wont stop them).   Zoe bay campsite  (photo by Hans Preuss) The campsites are large shady areas of for...

The Standard Horizon HX300 is a handheld  VHF marine radio which has a lot of useful features which make it well suited for sea kayaking applications. The HX300 has a large backlit display which shows the channel, volume, squelch and the battery charge all on the one page.  The buttons are large and thoughtfully set out, with backlit edges to aid in night time use.  Should you ever drop this radio overboard, the entire unit will float and will remain watertight with an IPX8 waterproof rating.  There is also a water activated flashing LED light as an aid for retrieval in the dark. Selectable High / Low Transmission    5 Watt high / 1Watt low Preset channel scan function 600 mW loud internal speaker audio Programmable scan, Priority scan, Dual watch and Tri-watch One of the standout features of this VHF radio is the ability to charge it's battery from any USB power source.  This means that I don't need to carry replacement batteries f...