Saturday, October 30, 2021

Marble Island (Duke Islands)

[Kyle]The hundred miles or so between the mainland cities of Mackay and Yeppoon are generally without cellular service. Paperwork and communications from the lawyer (for Mom's estate) had been coming in at a trickle, rather than the torrent we had expected. My brother Darren really needed us to stay in close contact with him later than any of us had originally anticipated. To help stay in touch, we decided to change our plan from eight day-sails to one big leap down to the Keppel Islands, just off of the coast from Yepoon.

That was the plan anyway. As we were sailing about five miles north of the Duke Islands, Maryanne got a phone signal and suggested we turn right and check it out at the anchorages there. If we lost the signal again, we could carry on as before, having lost only about thirty minutes.

We lost the signal going through the Lolo-Mantes Passage between Hunter and Marble Islands, but it soon returned once we had line-of-sight views of the mainland. Our timing turned out to be pretty good. We were right at high tide, so we saw neither the five to seven knot currents nor the big standing waves that happen in the channel during maximum flow. We tucked into the bay on the western side of Marble Island and settled in to stay for the remainder of Darren’s time at Mom’s before he went back home to California.

The weather didn’t calm enough for us to consider going ashore until the third day, which we did when Darren finally fell asleep in his time zone. The Duke Islands are privately owned. Maryanne found the number for the caretakers and asked if it would be okay if we came ashore to stretch our legs a bit.

Caretakers Dave and his wife, Kerry, couldn’t have been nicer. They said we were certainly welcome and to pop over for a cup of tea when we land. With them to greet us was Lindal, one of the owners. Not only did they have tea, they had also baked us a cake! They were very thankful that we called and asked to come on the island, instead of just landing ashore like a many of the boaties. They may be planning fires to clear the brush on the day you visit, the island is an active cattle ranch, and they frequently host hunters in order to keep the deer population in check. Spooking a bull or rustling through the bushes on the next ridge from some enthusiastic hunter with a shotgun could both be bad.

As there were currently no hunters on the island, they said we were safe from that. Dave said he’d recently disposed of most of the ornery bulls. Otherwise, keep the herd on one side of you. That will keep any protective parent from head-butting you into the sea if you get between them and one of their calves. After our tea, cake and welcoming chat, Dave gave us directions to the trail, “Walk down the runway (grass) and take a left. You can’t miss it.”

We made it about twenty paces from the Caretaker’s cottage, when our first obstacle stymied us: a bush gate. At the fence, I saw the piece of wire holding the gate closed and disconnected it. Instead of opening a gap that Maryanne and I could walk through, the whole fence collapsed into a heap at our feet. We tried to put it back together the way we found it, but the jumble of parts didn’t look like they would fit together in any way that looked like it did before I touched the thing. I could see the wire hook I had undone, but it wouldn’t even reach where I had detached it. Oh, I wish I had been paying more attention to how it was all put together before I opened it.

After a few minutes, we had to call Dave over and admit we just broke the fence we were now trying to hold up. He then came over and gave us a lesson on how to open and close a bush gate. It’s really very simple. The thing I hadn’t noticed was the free-floating horizontal post at the top. We were trying to put the fence back together with that piece vertical, which made the whole thing fall down. Well, now we know. He told us we were going the wrong way anyway. The path to the runway was over there.

As soon as we got on the airstrip, we encountered the whole herd of cattle marching towards us with purpose. They did not look like they were planning on giving way to us. They seemed to not be bothered by us and were heading on their merry way until they got right next to us. Then they all stopped and turned to stare. We assumed it was just the usual country cow stare, but it also looked like they might be getting ready for a face-off. They definitely looked like they wouldn’t like it if we went over to try to pet one of them. Fair enough. We’ll keep walking.


We got the hang of the 'bush gates' after a quick lesson from Dave, and the cattle were clearly wondering what we were doing ashore

Coming along with us was Lindal’s dog. I guess she decided that what we were doing looked like a whole lot more fun than sitting under a tree at the cabin. That dog was good to have around. If the cattle came too close, she would herd them away. She seemed to know where we were going and charged ahead of us. Finding the trail was as easy as finding the dog.


We enjoyed our exercise, the stunning views, and the great company of the dog that was temporarily on the island

She was in absolute heaven. When she would get too far ahead of us, she would turn and gallop back, taking side trips for anything that moved; she chased butterflies, she chased grasshoppers. Her favorite thing, though, was chasing rats. We saw the first one after she spent some time snuffling in the undergrowth. Then a rat popped up and jumped ten feet before hitting the ground again. I had no idea they could leap that far. That one managed to find the safety of another hidey-hole.


We loved exploring the trails and kept discovering new vistas to linger over

The next rat wasn’t so lucky. A mad chase ensued where the dog plunged through thickets with no apparent regard for her own face. Then there were a few seconds of high-pitched screaming and we knew the rat had lost the battle for its life. The dog bounded proudly towards us with the corpse in her mouth, but before she got to us, something else rustled and she dropped her catch in pursuit of new prey.

She must have covered twenty times the distance Maryanne and I did, almost all of it at a full run. Like all dogs, she wasn’t good at pacing herself. By the time Maryanne and I flopped down at the conveniently placed picnic table at the viewpoint at the top, she was looking pretty sorry for herself. She immediately plunked down in the rectangle of shade beneath the table. We tried several times along the way to give her some of the drinks that we had brought, but they were flavored water, which she didn’t seem to like. By the time we made it to the top, she sounded like a steam train under that table. Then Maryanne was able to persuade her to drink out of her cupped hands.

We stayed enjoying the view until the dog’s panting morphed back into regular breathing. As soon as we started moving, she was off again, chasing anything that moved in the blazing heat. During lulls in the action, she would return to us and then plop down on the trail in what was clearly some kind of “carry me” message. No can do, buddy. We’re hot too and someone drank all of our water.

We crested the last ridge and the dog took off again, making a high-speed beeline for one of the cattle’s watering holes. She returned a minute later, dripping, with bits of dirt and grass stuck to her. Suddenly, she was a brand-new dog again that was SO excited about going on a long walk with us, as if she hadn’t just been running at full speed for the last two hours. She then disappeared into the bushes in a blur. Wow. That dog is having the best time!

All of the boats that had been anchored in the bay when we arrived were now gone, apart from one powerboat that had moved across to Hunter Island to anchor there. In the afternoon, a dinghy appeared from around the corner and sped right toward us. Aboard was a couple from the powerboat. We invited them aboard for some tea.

They were a pair of Russians who met in Japan and immigrated separately to Australia. Andrey was an engineer, who designed their boat, Pobeda (meaning ‘Victory’ in Russian). Tania did VIP tours all over the world and has been to more countries than any of the rest of us. We talked about travel and Australia and what we all did during COVID. We also talked about boats, of course. When Andrey said they had three freezers, Maryanne quipped that they must have ice cream aboard. Andrey bellowed out a big laugh. “I never get craving for ice cream, but TODAY, I want ice cream!”

They left to go retrieve Pobeda, saying the anchorage at Hunter Island was too rolly for them. No sooner was their anchor set than they sped over in the tender. When they approached, Tania handed over a box containing two ice cream bars! Maryanne ate hers right away, but I stuck mine in the fridge for tomorrow.


It was great fun to share the anchorage with generous owners of Pobeda (Andrey and Tania) - who delivered ICE CREAM to us aboard Begonia (so appreciated!)

The next day, we received a text from David, saying that three coconuts had fallen from one of the trees overnight. This was in response to Maryanne saying earlier that she was really missing snacking on scavenged coconuts. He also asked if she cut my hair. His was overdue for one and he was hoping Maryanne could give Kerry some pointers. “Not really”, she said, “Kyle does his own, but we can bring our kit and offer plenty of moral support.”


Dave and Kerry (the current caretakers, and ex cruisers themselves) were excellent company

On the way to the beach, we were planning on swinging by Pobeda to say hi, but they were just pulling up anchor to go to the Percy Islands. When they saw us approaching, they stopped what they were doing and invited us aboard. As soon as our feet hit the deck, Tania offered us cappuccinos. Why, don’t mind if I do.

Pobeda is beautiful with lots of light and air and space. It was like a little miniature Mediterranean villa. Andrey showed me around the helm, which has full control of the boat’s integrated systems. He took me through the various screens, which reminded me of the pictorial systems pages on next generation Boeings. Touch the screen here and this bilge pump will run. Touch it there and that valve will close. He then took me down to the engine room, which is bigger than our whole boat. I didn’t have to duck once. Everything was laid out immaculately and so well thought out, with lots of redundancy for each system. Tania said Andrey could go on all day, but we were eager to get ashore before it got too late and they were supposed to already be gone, so we gave them each a big hug and wished them Bon Voyage.

After more tea and cake ashore and a few words of encouragement, we were given directions to the highest point on the island (with 360 degree views). While we were gone, Kerry took a whack at Dave’s hairdo.

By then it was the hottest part of the day. As soon as Maryanne and I left sea level for the climb to the top, our walk became a slow trudge. The dog stayed behind today.

When we finally crested the last rise, we were pleased to find yet another picnic table, upon which we could admire the view while resting our weary bones (and proving just how much we needed the exercise!).



It was a privilege to be welcomed ashore and to explore the island trails

We took a chance and found a shortcut back, which had the added benefit of being shadier and making a loop of our trail. We got back just as Kerry was finishing up Dave’s hair. It looked pretty good. We would never have guessed it was a first attempt. There followed more tea, and some wine, and plenty of sailing stories. I had not mentioned it before, but Dave and Kerry had previously lived aboard a ketch that they had recently sold. They have sailed this coast and parts of Asia for many years.

When it finally got late enough that I was worried about getting home by dark, we reluctantly pulled ourselves away. Dave took us to the coconuts, which turned out to already be too dry to eat. Undaunted, he grabbed a big pole with a hook on the end and he and I went about harvesting a few direct from the tree that were in a better stage of ripeness. While we were doing that, Kerry gave Maryanne the garden and freezer tour, which ended up with Maryanne standing in the middle of a big, generous pile of food. Added to my coconuts were veggies from their garden, lemons the size of grapefruits, a dozen fresh free-range eggs (we’d met the chickens earlier, they were very cute) and a week's worth of frozen beef from the island’s own cattle. Jeez, all we brought them was a packet of biscuits to share with a cup of tea, and we found those tucked in the bottom of the bag on our return home.

Back in the USA, delays ensued, Darren continued working all hours getting Mom's house emptied and cleaned ready for sale. But on his last business day of his planned stay in Arizona, he literally got everything done in the last fifteen minutes before the close of business. He got it ALL done, though. Then he finally even got a few minutes to grab a very late breakfast and take it back to Mom’s empty house. When he was done eating, all he had to do was put everything that was left in the bed of his truck and pack it for the drive back to California. It is going to be so relaxing for him to go back to working full time. Maryanne had been spending all her spare time at the computer too, but Darren did so much physical work, AND had the stress of all the delays and surprises - we are SO grateful to him.


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