Our Hiking Blog: Hinchinbrook Island - Thorsborne Trail

Leg: Zoe Bay to Little Ramsay Bay
Distance: 10.4km
Maximum Elevation: 90 metres
Time: about 6 hrs but at a slow pace with lots of stops

We got on the track quite early as this is one of the longer legs of the Thorsborne Trail. The first part of the track is along the beach and was very pleasant walking in the early morning. The picture below is Ken & Vinnie heading along Zoe Bay with Mt Bowen in the distance.

The track then goes inland through a long section of rain forrest that skirts a large mangrove area. This was very pleasant walking except for a couple of areas where the track markers were not clear and the ground quite boggy. This area would be a challenge in "the Wet" as it is low lying and would have become very muddy. There were two river crossings,while easy for us, would be quite challenging following heavy rainfall. Below is the first river crossing. We guessed that in the wet the river could be one metre deeper. That would be a serious crossing.

Walking had become quite laborious as we skirted the low lying mangrove area and headed back into the rain forest. We were quite surprise with the landscape in one section at the back of the mangroves. It was quite open, dry and very hot in the late morning sun.Following a short rainforrest section we came across a very small swimming hole and a few of us had a rinse. It was the size of a large spa but, as with all rivers on the Trail, the water was beautifully clear and cooling. Below Clare is catching up with another walker we met. The swimming hole is at the base of the "Falls". We stopped here for lunch and were rewarded with some great wildlife.

Below is a Tree Frog that was sleeping in the tree above our lunch spot.

This Lace Monitor Lizard was very relaxed. We watched it wander across the top of the fall, stopping to see what was going on, and then make its way down the walking track to near our lunch spot. Clare took photo's within one metre of the dozing reptile.... It was almost a metre long and showed little fear of humans.

Following lunch we headed off towards that evenings camp site. There are two options here, Banksia Bay or Little Ramsay. We decided on Little Ramsay as other walkers had told us the water supply was better at Ramsay. There were also reports that Banksia had more sandflies so that put us ALL off.

Below is a picture of a small beach between Banksia and Ramsay. The track heads up and over the small headland to Ramsay. As you can see, everywhere you look on Hinchinbrook is magnificent.