Sunken Reef Bay

-

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 southern side of the bay   (photo by Hans Preuss)


 There is a fresh water creek on the southern side of the bay approximately 50 metres back from the beach. This creek will dry out during prolonged periods without rain.  If you intend to use this as a drinking supply it would need to be boiled before doing so.

Looking south towards The Sugar Loading Jetty at Lucinda.

Looking towards Pelorus and Orpheus Islands.






Preparing to Launch from Sunken reef Bay.   (photo by Hans Preuss)


The bottles will roll  and eject small rodents, protecting your food items.


 If you intend camping here you will need to protect your food from white tail rats which will gnaw through tents or thin plastic to get to food.  The more popular sites have purpose built metal boxes for food storage, but the above setup also works well. 


Facts and Further Info

  • It is approximately 10 km from Lucinda to Sunken Reef Bay.
  • Has a path leading up a hill to the Thorsborne Trail.
  • Sunken Reef Bay is a Great Barrier Reef Marine Park "Yellow Zone" (fishing allowed).
  •  Fresh water is available from a creek, but must be boiled before drinking.
  • A National Parks Camping permit is required if you wish to camp. 
  • No toilets or other facilities available.
  • No phone reception

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Garmin Etrex 20x GPS

-
Image
The Garmin Etrex 20x is a lightweight and compact GPS unit designed and constructed to be waterproof to IPX7 standards and holds up to a bit of rough handling.  The unit is powered by two AA batteries, which provide sufficient power for 2 full days of kayaking.  Furthermore this unit has mapping capabilities, is highly customisable and has all the functionality a kayaker could want in a GPS unit. The unit has a 3.5 x 4.4 cm colour display which is clean and crisp and can be backlit to improve visibility.  There are five buttons placed along the vertical edges and a joystick style thumb button mounted on the front face for scrolling, inputting and selecting.  When I was choosing a GPS device for kayaking, I ruled out the touchscreen devices right away as touchscreens don’t work very well when wet and they also have a lower battery life. There are rubberized covers on all of the buttons along with sealable covers for the battery compartment and USB port.  The waterpro
Read more

Yanks Jetty

-
Image
Yanks Jetty is the name given to a floating pontoon positioned approximately 2km from the southern tip of Orpheus Island.   This area was the original site of an American WW2 Degaussing (demagnetising) Station for allied ships and submarines, hence the name.  It is located approximately 20.5 km from the Forrest  Beach Boat Ramp and has the following GPS coordinates  S18 39 04.2 E146 29 12.0  Google Maps Link. The pontoon consists of a 18 x 9 metre platform with an attached gangway connecting it to the beach.  There is a centrally shaded area containing several picnic tables and a snorkeling platform with easy access ladders.  The entire structure is moored approximately 55m from the shoreline on the edge of the surrounding reef.   There is a National Parks Camp Site located approximately 200m south of the pontoon where basic facilities such as a composting pit toilet and picnic tables are provided.  There used to be a gas BBQ at the campsite, but the burners and plate have been
Read more

Loading a Sea Kayak for an Expedition

-
Image
Despite their relatively small size, a sea kayak can carry an amazing amount of gear. One of the big draws of sea kayaking is that you can go and explore some of the most beautiful, wild and remote parts of the coast, for days or even weeks at a time and still live in relative comfort. The good thing about packing a sea kayak is that there are three hatches to stuff full of gear and there will usually be enough free space to pack a few luxuries (a little extra weight will still float just fine). The bad thing is the hatches are awkward shapes and nothing fits in them easily. Keeping Your Gear Dry The sealed hatches of a modern sea kayak are generally water-tight. However, leaks do happen. Your first line of defense against water ingress is to check that your kayak hatches are in good order and correctly fitted before setting off.  As a secondary precaution, dry bags or waterproof containers can be utilised to keep your gear dry. I use the general rule that if you woul
Read more