After Happy Bay we spent a week anchored outside Airlie Beach using the dinghy to run errands. Laundry and shopping, getting ready for our guests from Vancouver. Don’t want to see the inside of a shopping mall again, at least not for awhile. Guests arrived on time as we were using the dock to fill up with water and we set off for some other anchorages. Next morning was a 20nm up to Gloucester Passage for a night and then over to Butterfly Bay on Hook Island. Had a great sail getting there, going along at an average of 6knots with the wind on the beam. Unfortunately Pete was under the weather. Some 24 hour bug that put him down for the sail, but he came good later. Butterfly Bay only has mooring buoys and wasn’t the greatest anchorage so off we go to Hook Island’s Nara Inlet. In Nara Inlet they say to get as far down the inlet as you can for the best anchorage and they weren’t wrong.

Calm enough for some jumping off the end of the boat to get cleaned up!

There is hike at the end of the inlet to an aboriginal cave and waterfall. Found the path but only after we trudged along the muddy beach and were headed back to the boat. Saved the hike for the next morning at high tide because of the reef.

As an aboriginal site it was well maintained and documented. Good to learn something about the people that lived in the area going back 9,000 years…. never found the waterfall, but did find some local wildlife. Funnel web spider and cockatoos. The little bugger came and ate right out of my hand. They must be used to having boaters in the area.