Monday 11 March Lemon Tree Passage

For a change of scene we tried out the anchorage at Lemon Tree Passage in the south of the bay. There are plenty of mud flats and a strong tidal flow – the line to the mooring ball we picked up was thick with oysters and clogged in gloopy black mud.

The local guide indicated the gum trees here were haven for koalas and there are cycle paths from the passage to the town. We did cycle to town – general store, bait shop, post office, closed cafe and one open cafe which served excellent fish and chips. Looking at the map we opted to take the circuit route back to the dinghy following the coastal track through koala land then cutting back across the headland. First problem was the track on the map wasn't there. Not only a rock wall dead end but David had a fall off his bike and knocked his ankle bone. Of course, he's a trooper and didn't mention it. We did find another track – this was an off road fire break with deep ravines from heavy rain, onwards on our little bikes until we came to a road. We followed this to the coast still looking for that illusive path. It existed for 100m and then we were on the beach. Our poor bikes went from marina hoppers to rock hoppers as we trailed them over the sand and then lifted over the rocks back to a road. This is what it must be like to be an intrepid explorer!

Safely back at the dinghy without further incident and we found the tide had gone out a long way and while we had wheels on the dinghy to push it over the sand to the waters' edge, the sand stopped here and turned to gloopy mud. All the way up to mid calf level as we pushed off far enough to float. How we laughed when we got home;David's leg bruised, muddy shoes and not one koala seen.