Tolkeins’ giant spiders or trolls live here; in fact, it looks like no
one has ever been here.
There are grass trees three metres high, which have never been
burnt showing a long time between fires; plus tall, apparently
solid, canopy trees that crash down at a mere touch.
We are not quite sure where we are now but the girls are in
high spirits. They feel it is the journey, not the end, which counts.
Their faith is justified as Chris leads us to a beautiful little pool
living in its own crystal clear creek. Here is space to pitch two
tents with a nice f lat rock to lie on while listening to the music
of a gurgling stream.
Tents go up and a fire appears beneath a rock ledge, Chris has
found dry kindling in a cave. It is now swim time so Maggie and
Chris f loat and play frogs as dusk eases in. We share noodles,
soup and coffee then a quiet chat pondering the philosophy of
here and now.
A new morning clears away the rain so we swim again, feast on
yabbies and play boats with drifting leaves and seed pods. Time
ceases to exist.
I explore higher up the creek and am soon leaping and
scrambling from boulder to boulder, ever higher until finally
arriving in a dead-end canyon. It is quite a place: massive old
trees on the f loor with tough little figs clinging to the sheer walls.
A few rays of sunshine spill over the top, then filter down to
sparkle in a hundred tiny waterfalls. I climb up the southern face
to stand all free and proud on top of a spur with tremendous vistas
away down the canyon to a bay where Uhuru 3 is a distant speck.
Back in camp a holiday atmosphere prevails, so there is more
swimming in clear water, so fresh it actually seems to make you glow
with vitality. Yet, eventually, it is with some reluctance that we finally
pack camp and bend our steps downstream, boatward bound.
There is more of course: walking along Ramsay Beach with
our feet in the surf as sun sets o’er the mountains; a cold beer at
Ted’s; sailing home through a dark and windy night. It is all there,
written in the book of life: didn’t we have a lovely time, the days we
sailed to Tolkein. ≈72
Cruising Helmsman July 2018REFLECTIONS
Steve Kenyon has considerable yachting experience on Qld’s coast,
with numerous sailing articles published. He enjoys exploring
isolated country ashore, met many early island pioneers and recorded their
stories in print and film. He has also travelled by land through 65 countries.STEVE KENYON
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