The Rest of The World, The Rest of The World, Double Trouble - Over

Whitemark - Shopping, Beer, Showers.

Spike Bay, Clarke Is. Landfall for most kayakers crossing Banks Strait, and it even has mobile coverage from somewhere on the mainland.


Trousers Point campsite last night just as we were settling in to bed.

Gale force NE made it a hard couple of hours paddling from Trousers Point to get here, Whitemark, just on high tide. As it dries at low tide for hundreds and hundreds of metres it was a choice of a very quick visit or the next high tide tomorrow morning. The thought of a another couple of hours into that wind and a generally southerly/westerly forecast for the next couple of days made the decision to have another cruisey day an easy one to make. It was supposed to be a rest day yesterday, though the climb of Strzelecki Peak including 8km rtn trip along the road from the Trousers Pt campsite tired the unused leg muscles a bit. It really is fantastic to be back in the Flinders Group again; this has to be some of the best sea kayaking in the world. Big tides, big weather (sometimes) exposed coastlines, surf and the most magical beaches and granite shorelines. Endless offshore islands to explore too, you could circumnavigate Flinders without actually landing on the island itself (now there is an idea for a future trip). Having just paddled the Bay of Fires coast, this area, especially the SW coast of Clarke, Spike Bay and Preservation Is, makes that bit look boring.

Interesting crossing of Banks Strait from just after slack water with the start of the flood tide, good SW wind, one sail, GPS keeping us on course sometimes aiming off 30deg or more to the east to counteract the northwesterly flood current. Steep seas and lots of jobbly water like big rebound effect but no land within kilometers. Maybe it is just the relief of finishing a big crossing but the Spike Bay campsite is just a fantastic spot.


We stopped off on Mt Chappell Is enroute to Trousers Pt and didn't see one tiger snake let alone the monsters that are supposed to live there! I think it is a myth though I didn't wander very far from the beach in my shorts and sandals.


The night before we crossed Banks Strait we camped in a cosy spot out of the wind and sheltered from the frequent showers near one of the Bay of Fires Walk's standing camps, a rendezvous we tentatively arranged with Anna some weeks ago. Thanks Anna for the hospitality, I am sure we entertained the clients with our kayaking stories. The cheese was delicious, oh and the beer!


With a good forecast for the next few days we hope to make the NE tip of Flinders by Sunday ready for the long day to Babel Is, aiming to be in Bridport for the March long w/e. If anyone has any info on the Pot Boil please text, it sounds wild and looked it when we were there some years ago, I suppose we can't go too far wrong if we get there around slack water. Which slack water is best and which tide times to use are unkown at present.


Double Trouble, Out.