NGARO TRACK DAY TWO

*hoop pines (araucaria cunninghamii) framing a drizzly view out to pentecost island*

*starting the day steadily climbing through green-scape - so many hoop pines!*

*looking up at whitsunday craig - where we are heading!*

001. Day 2 of our Ngaro adventure begins with the gentle early morning sounds of pitter-patters hitting the tents. I slowly emerge from my plastic cocoon, stretching and taking in the smells of surrounding bush, sprinkled with the fresh morning rain. After the rest of camp wakes up, we boil water, make coffees and prepare oats, fuelling up for a big day ahead. We sit and eat, taking in the views one last time as the sun rises higher over the blue bay. My body feels tired from a restless sleep, but I’m excited for another day on the trail. Today, we are heading up, up, up and over Whitsunday Craig, the highest point of the island, then back down to sea level to the beachside campsite.

*a green ant (oecophylla smaragdina) nest*

*a random viewpoint from heading up that morning - if you look closely you can see the toilets from camp one!*

002. Tents packed up and backpacks back on, my little team of three hits the track around 9am. We are immediately immersed in layers of deep green hoop pines, following the track downhill at first before heading on an uphill trajectory. The misty clouds from the morning have decided to hang around for the day, providing some respite from the sun and framing the hills of hoop pine and eucalyptus we are heading up. I take photos of hoop pines, green ants making houses out of tree leaves and a couple of stinging plants near the track. As the path continues to climb, it’s lined by a forest of huge, wise, ancient xanthorrhoeas. They seemingly sit there in silent support. We stop at a couple of viewpoints looking back towards camp that really put into perspective how much height we're already gaining.

*shot of mum still smiling through the uphill woodland, dwarfed by xanthys (xanthorrhoea latifolia)*

*watch out for stinging trees, gympie-gympie (dendrocnide moroides)*

*views out to pentecost island as we head higher*

003. We continue to hike and hike and hike, slowly climbing higher up towards Whitsunday Craig. The landscape starts shifting as we get closer to the peak, becoming denser, rockier rainforest terrain. It also feels a hell of a lot more humid as I feel sweat dripping down between my backpack and my back. The path also requires a bit more focus in this area, and I feel like I’ve spent a bit of time looking down when suddenly I see the stair-ladder. I wait for the rest of my team. We catch our breath and then head up the stair section one after another.

004. I will be honest, I am a little worried about this section because I do sometimes get a weird vertigo kind of thing when I am on top of a mountain… on a man-made material like metal. It doesn’t happen often and I can’t really explain it, but it’s a thing my brain does sometimes. Luckily, I can report this is not remotely bad at all. The section is very short. The fresh breeze you are rewarded with as you climb up the stairs onto Whitsunday Craig, out of the dense rainforest, is somewhat euphoric.

*following a dense, dry, rocky rainforest path towards the top*

*making it to the stairs!? ladder!? a beacon of literal light at the end of the dense, humid ascent*

*sweeping views from over the islands from whitsunday craig*

*hoop pine popping out of the canopy to join us for the views*

005. Most of the hikers catch up to each other here, taking in the sweeping views and resting - a reward for a challenging morning on the trail. I refuel with salami, nuts, crackers and electrolytes. Looking out over the island landscape, I am in awe of the hoop pines and big old xanthy families growing on this rocky peak, just sitting here on the top of the world. This is why I love hiking. I love feeling so small and so tiny and so immersed in nature that any other problems seem dwarfed and insignificant.

*a good spot to take a break, refuel and really enjoy being at the highest point on the whole island!*

*deep forest greens and a moody misty ocean*

*walking through forests of HUGE wise, ancient xanthys, at home on top of the world*

006. We continue on a little more uphill through the xanthorrhoea forest along the rocky peak. We hit a couple more lookout points, taking in the deep green views towards the forested hills and mangrove forests of Whitsunday Island. The misty clouds are still accompanying us along the trail, creating a beautiful contrast between the rocky edges the trail follows and the dense distant greens. We almost miss one or two turns of the track in this area. Luckily, we downloaded a digital map beforehand, and it was easy to refer to.

*hikers dwarfed by an ancient landscape*

*looking out to the endless green - this hike really showcases the diversity of the island*

*proud of my hiking buddies for this tough day!*

*the trail can get a little harder to follow at some points on the descent - best to have a map downloaded and keep your eyes peeled for sneaky markers*

*mum on a mission through a forest of xanthys*

*a three-headed beauty - almost missed a marker from the track when I got excited for this shot!*

007. After what seems like a very long morning uphill… the track finally begins to descend. We stop at Bilbili Dhili lookout. It’s another picturesque spot to refuel. We look out over the mangrove forests of the island, framed by the leaves of the trees generously shading us on our lunch break. I sit there appreciating this little window into the landscape we will be exploring tomorrow, while also appreciating my little legs for carrying me up and over the highest part of the island today.

*looking out at the mangrove forests from bilbili dhili (chest eye) lookout*

*ngaro story at bilbili dhili (chest eye) lookout*

*descending back towards sea level and rainforest starts to emerge again*

008. As we gradually head back down the mountain, the dry rainforest starts to emerge again. Palms and paperbarks start to pop up. We reach a fork in the track and I drop my pack while my hiking buddies take a breather. I feel like I am literally gliding along the path as I walk the return trail without my pack down to check out Crayfish Bay lookout. When I reach the lookout, I see a small cove lined by hoop pines with blue and pink hues lapping at the shore. It feels bizarre to see the white Hamilton Island hotels towering over the island in the background. It’s a stark contrast to the wild island adventure I am having, and a reminder that civilisation really isn’t that far away.

*a tropical island cove, crayfish bay, held by a forest of hoop pines (araucaria cunninghamii)*

*view of hamilton island resorts from crayfish bay lookout*

*ngaro water story at crayfish bay lookout*

*looking up into the changing rainforest canopy as the track gets closer to camp*

009. I return to my hiking buddies and we begin the final section of the day towards camp. It’s been a big day and we all start to go a bit non-verbal. My body naturally adjusts to walking on autopilot. More concerned about how I still have to squeeze out some executive function to set up my tent and cook dinner than the physical task of keeping my legs moving for the last couple kilometres. Arriving at Dhula Yamba (Tree Camp), I take a big breath of salty air and look up towards a canopy of solitaire palms and hoop pines. I can hear other hikers chatting at their camps and the ocean gently lapping at the shore of Torres Herald Bay nearby. After picking a campsite, I dump my pack and rip off my boots. Soft sand between my tired toes has never felt so good as I head out to the beach. The mysterious pink marine bloom is on the foreshore here too. But I am happily distracted taking photos of the unusual-looking plants growing along the shore.

010. Not willing to get itchy from the mysterious pink marine bloom, I end up opting for a water bottle and wet wipe shower instead. After a fairly long and challenging day on the trail, we are all pretty keen to eat and just sleep for as long as possible. After stretching out my tired muscles on the campsite decking, I crawl into my tent for the night. Grateful to be listening to the ocean gently lapping against the shore, smelling its salty air and getting to explore a new landscape again tomorrow…

*solitaire palms (ptychosperma elegans) and hoop pines (araucaria cunninghamii) at camp 2*

*tree heliotrope (heliotropium arboreum) growing at torres herald bay*

*necklace pod (sophora tomentosa) growing on the shoreline*

*two pied oystercatchers (haematopus longirostris) fly past looking out towards hamilton island from the beach at camp 2*

*day two stats and map for day two on the ngaro track*

photography, travelLena BishopSeptember 27, 2026hiking

NGARO TRACK DAY TWO

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