Exploring Lindeman Island

Thursday 14^th June 2012

Exploring Lindeman Island
Lindeman Island Resort, Public Jetty, Mt Oldfield, Gap Beach Anchorage
20’26.098 – 149’02.622
Very little wind WSW, warm sunny day

Looking down from MtOldfield at old resort and out boats at anchor

MrJ and I left Burning Point Anchorage Shaw Island at 0905h hoping to catch a little bit of wind to get a sail up going across to the southern end of Lindeman Island. We started out with just the genoa out but had to pull her in when the wind dropped off completely making us use the iron sails. We dropped anchor in 11mts of water just east of the public jetty near the now closed resort on Lindeman Island.

Closed resort

How many island resorts have I seen closed? Heaps!

Neriki and Forever Dreaming were not far behind and as soon as we had all settled at anchor – Forever Dreaming did pick up one of the X-resort mooring as it was too deep for them – we dinghied ashore to go hike Mt Oldfield. The climb up the steep road out of the resort area was a bit of a shock to start out hike. It was one of those “straight up” kinds of inclines and we all felt it, we felt like there was not a fit bone in our bodies. Once conquering the incline it was not such a bad hike of 7ks round trip taking us 2 ½ hours to do the trail with a good stop at the top of MT Oldfield to admire the wonderful 360* view. We passed through part of the X-resort, past some of the disused accommodation blocks, past the tennis courts and the archery field which didn’t look too run down. Then was walked along the road that ran beside the airfield before turning off onto a bush track, that had overgrown slightly, which led us down over a wooden walkway which crossed a creek where the trees were filled with the noise and smell of fruit bats. The bats took to the sky in fright as we past underneath and no one was game to look up in fear that they would get peed in the face. No one got peed on, thank goodness!


Up the hill

We walked on along the overgrown track, through dry bushland, through semi tropical rainforest and then out into grassland as we neared the top of Mt Oldfield. Throughout the grassland at the top were hundreds and hundreds “black boys” or to be politically correct, Grass Ferns with tall flowering stems. But the view was what we were there to see and it certainly did not disappoint any of us.

The view

The view from the top of Mt Oldfield was truly 360*; looking as far north as Whitsunday Island, west to the mainland, south down to Brampton Island and east all the way out to sea. How spectacular!

Looking towards Shaw Island

After our fabulous hike and back on board it was time to way anchor and mover around the Gap Beach (20’29.596 – 149’02.839) on the NE side of Lindeman Island for a better protected calm anchorage for the night.