December 15th, 2006
seems to be a good time to leave Darwin and to sail
in the direction of Cape York. Unluckily the winds are more east as we
had expected, so we spend Christmas in a quite deserted bay on Elcho
Island. Our last port for 2006 is Gove in Arnhemland, aboriginal land where
since the '70s
daily life is all about the
exploitation of the aluminium mine.
A 30 km long
conveyer belt transports the ore and
is the link between the mine and the processing
plant. This the longest conveyer belt in the southern hemisphere.
From Gove
on we have the winds behind us and passing the Gulf
of Carpentaria is a piece of cake. Late afternoon we approach Thursday
Island and we decide to take
the northern passage, the
Prince of Wales Channel.
Early morning Jan.11 the last lights of the passage are behind us and by
reaching Cape York we make a fresh start on the east coast of Australia.
In the night the different lights warn for the islands and reefs around
us.
Lizard Island is a
beautiful place in de
northern region behind the
Great Barrier Reef with
good anchorages, colorful underwater life and good
tracks to make a make a fine walk over the island. There is also a quite
tough climb to the 'Cook Lookout' from where Captain Cook searched for
an opening in the Reef. The lagoon and islands around Lizard offer
plenty of opportunities for snorkeling and scuba diving.
Cooktown is a pleasant
little city with a lot of history. In 1770 there were the repairs of the
'Endeavour', the ship of Captain Cook that got aground on one of the
many reefs before the coast. And around 1850 Cooktown was an important
landing place for the gold diggers that went form there more inland to
try their luck. Many buildings and monuments remind of the historic
events.
From Cooktown to Cairns is a route along the beautiful reefs of
Agincourt, Norman and Michaelmas Cay. Jan. 31, 2007 we anchor on the river
opposite the old Yacht Club of Cairns. Since then a tropical rainfall is
pouring down to wash the 'Alexandra' fresh again and to fill up the watertanks on board. When the sun comes back we explore the many shops
and restaurants in Cairns.
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