NGARO TRACK DAY ONE
landing on picturesque whitehaven beach via a smooth transfer with scamper
a beautiful morning to start a hike! eucalyptus framing the white sands of whitehaven beach
001. I am sitting on a boat, approaching the shoreline of an island - it’s mid-morning and there isn’t a cloud in the sky. The sand of the island appears to be glowing as it soaks up the sunshine, framed by bright tropical blues. I can hear the ocean lapping calmly against the vessel as the engine is turned off and we drift closer to shore to disembark. Excitement and a little bit of nervous anticipation bubble up inside me as I roll up my pants and jump off the boat barefoot with my hiking pack lugged over one shoulder. Soft white sand under my feet, sunshine on my skin and a salty breeze engulf my senses. We are here! On Whitehaven Beach about to embark on the 32km Ngaro Track, a 3-day, 2-night hike through the diverse tropical landscape of Whitsunday Island in northern QLD.
002. Day 1 of the Ngaro Track for us involves getting a morning boat transfer from Shute Harbour via Scamper, landing on Whitehaven Beach and then hiking for around 9.5km to get to camp for the night. The first day on the trail takes us from the postcard-perfect beaches of Whitehaven, through coastal heathland, sandy rainforest and then up into eucalyptus woodland with epic views for the night. I think the most challenging part is that it’s day one, so hiking packs are the heaviest and there is a little bit of sandy walking at the beginning. I would rate day one overall as relatively easy hiking. It’s a bit of a choose-your-own-adventure way to start a hike, as you can go for a swim straight away on Whitehaven AND stop at Chance Bay too. You won’t get another opportunity to swim until Night 2 (and these Day 1 beaches are arguably the best to swim at), so don’t miss out!
first viewpoint of the hike - south whitehaven beach lookout - you can leave your packs at the base as it’s a loop designed for day visitors
south whitehaven beach lookout has views both sides of the island - really cool way to start a 3 day hike and see a taste of the landscape we were about to dive deep into!
003. We start our multi-day Ngaro adventure by dropping our backpacks a couple hundred metres on the track and heading up to South Whitehaven Lookout. It is a well-trodden loop with stairs and provides a panoramic view from different directions. I think it’s a worthwhile little lookout to start the track, as it gives a glimpse into the deeper landscape we’re about to head into. Heading down from the lookout, we collect our packs and walk onwards to Chance Bay. The dry rainforest provides a shady canopy most of the way. I spend some time being excited to be back around rainforest plants and have a bit of fun capturing the light hitting them in different ways with my film camera.
lots of shade on path and logs for snack breaks along the way
big smiles walking through the dry rainforest
capturing sunlight dappling through the canopy onto leaves - one of the reasons I lugged 35mm on the hike - THIS type of magic hehe
sunshine speckles caught on the trunk of a friendly giant
looking up towards the canopy of a queensland kauri pine (agathis robusta)
an oakleaf fern (drynaria quercifolia) growing on the trunk of a tree in the dry rainforest
004. After a fairly short hike, we emerge out at the coastline at Chance Bay. I’m excited to jump in my bikini and get in the ocean, while my hiking buddies have a rest in the shade under a coastal sheoak. My specific hiking buddies for this trip are my mum and one of her best friends, Katherine. Two women in their 50s doing their first-ever multi-day hike and a 29-year-old daughter who loves adventures but hasn’t hiked with a full pack for a while. The three of us form a slightly unconventional hiking group and are in good spirits nonetheless.
005. The swim is one of my personal highlights of the day, despite not having snorkelling gear to explore. Swapping sweaty saltiness for sandy saltiness while hiking on a tropical island is the best feeling! Chance Bay also has a campsite we head through to get back onto the track. There are picnic tables to use for a sand-free lunch or somewhere to sit to put boots back on post-swim.
second beach of the day - chance bay - about 3.8km (if you include whitehaven lookout) in and a good spot to have lunch or explore the shoreline
going for a swim at chance bay - also a good spot for snorkel too if you bring the gear!
view of chance bay from above - post swim back on track heading to bowarri yamba (moon camp) for night one
006. Leaving Chance Bay, we head back into the sandy rainforest with a shaded canopy. As we continue to hike, the path gradually becomes a little more uphill and we watch the ecosystems change around us. I am stoked to see my first xanthys and some flowering natives. Hiking out of the sheltered canopy and out onto the hill provides more viewpoint opportunities. We look back over Chance Bay and really take in all the greens and blues of the landscape around us.
hiking deeper into the island, revealing more layers of green eucalyptus woodland
native rosella (hibiscus heterophyllus) flowering in the sunshine
very excited by the day one xanthys (they were only going to get bigger and more abundant!)
a tropical island grasstree (xanthorrhoea sp) with a view
layers of a healthy diverse landscape - intertidal zones, mangrove forests, low lying coastal heathlands, rainforest and eucalyptus woodlands co-exisitng as one
007. Just before reaching night one camp, there is a lookout called Bari Dhili (Rock Eye). It has a dense green outlook towards Whitsunday Craig and the ocean. It’s also the first of the hardwood posts carved with Ngaro Traditional Custodian art and stories. This one is about the Rainbow Serpent and the Whitsunday Islands. For me, the lookouts are a real highlight of this whole hike, but I think the stories that accompany them are equally as important. They remind you of the context… yes, you are an independent hiker out in the wilderness, away from society, surviving with everything on your back… but you are also still part of a landscape that has held stories, culture and connection for thousands of years.
the ngaro track was co-designed with the island’s traditional custodians
hardwood posts carved with ngaro art and stories are dotted along the track
views from bowarri yamba (moon camp) for night one are pretty spectacular
008. From the Bari Dhili (Rock Eye) lookout, it’s a short walk downhill into Bowarri Yamba (Moon Camp), which is perched on a ridgeline above Silica Bay. All our hard work of the day is rewarded with an expansive view. It is a really beautiful perspective that lets us soak in the landscape we have walked across that day.
009. We take off our packs and set up our tents. We choose a platform a bit further away from the view, but also a bit further away from the wind that day. The platforms are great, but you do have to get creative with how to peg down your tent. There is an abundance of well-sized rocks already in little piles on most of the platforms - clearly from earlier hikers who have used them for their own creative tent solutions.
010. We fill up our bottles, filter the water and cook a dehydrated dinner with the Jetboil. Then we sit on the rocky edge next to the communal camp kitchen and just look out over the changing blues of the bay while the tide shifts and the sun starts to set. A little bit salty and sweaty, but a whole lot satisfied with our day one adventures. On the opposite side of the hill and camp are the toilets. They arguably have one of the best loos-with-a-view in QLD, but also face the hiking challenge ahead tomorrow - Whitsunday Craig sitting at 353m above sea level.
this camp is elevated with a view from the communal area
sunset magic at bowarri yamba (moon camp)
sitting down watching the colours of the tide change - the best way to end a big day of salty, sweaty sunny tropical adventure
view from the toilets on night one at bowarri yamba (moon camp) - this mountain is whitsunday craig is what we are going up and over on day two!
day one stats and map (add on an extra km or so… I didn’t take my phone up lookout)