We've found ourselves at a few very crowded caravan parks and campsites lately and have been yearning for somewhere a little quieter. So when we left our base on the Cassowary Coast we headed for another small dot on the map called Taylor's Beach near the small sugar-producing town of Ingham. There are several different Indigenous peoples in the area, all represented by the Girringun Aboriginal Corporation. We pay respect to all the traditional custodians of the lands and waters of Hinchinbrook Shire.
There's nothing much at Taylor's Beach other than a caravan park, a few houses, a boat ramp, and several groups of very friendly and chatty southerners who spend the winter here every year. Oh, and there are a few resident crocs apparently, but we didn't seek them out. We were booked in for three nights but shortly after arriving we had a family conference and decided to stay another couple of nights. It's a great place to chill out and do not very much at all.
As the name suggests, this part of the coast is dominated by Hinchinbrook Island, the largest island in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and also the largest island national park in the country. It's a whopping 52km long and you can see it from just about every part of the coast in this area.
Just a few kilometres north of Taylor's Beach is Lucinda, which is home to the longest service jetty in the southern hemisphere. It's 5.76 km long and is used to convey raw sugar to ships bound for Canada and Malaysia. It takes 22 minutes for crates of raw sugar to travel the length of the jetty on a conveyor belt. It's a pretty impressive structure and apparently, because of its length, follows the curvature of the earth.
We spent a few hours on a shady pontoon near the boat ramp at Lucinda attempting a bit of hunting and gathering. The Labs occupied themselves with a massive marrow bone each (for which we are now all paying the price) while I dangled a line over the edge. I managed to pull in a few undersized bream, which live to torment anglers another day, but mostly I was just feeding them. Luckily we had a back-up plan for dinner.
It was a lovely, quiet and restful week and a welcome change to being so close to other campers we can just about hear them breathe. The Labs have been tasked with studying the map to find similar hidden gems.
Oh my - the synchronised posture and concentration on their faces as they make the most of their bones!
This sounds like a great place. Lucinda jetty is somewhere we wanted to visit, but ened up 70klms up the coast! I Iove that you decided to stay longer after a family conference. 😊😘
So glad you’ve had a restful time there Barb — and that the rest of the family has also had a great time! We’re assuming you’re still wearing t-shirts by the look of one photo. It’s not gonna happen here for a while yet!