Back from an awesome trip around the Keppels.
Got off to a bumpy start however. I stayed the night in a cabin at Yeppoon after the 800+km road trip (11 hours). The next morning I have packed the TI and am just about ready to drive down to the boat ramp for launch, when i notice some funny looking white balls in the bottom of the mast tube. I realised they have all fallen out of the mast collar (never realised they could come out). Now had to completely unpack and disassemble the TI so I can roll it on its side to get them out. Once I put them back in their holder, I realise 4 are missing somewhere in the last 800km
Not wanting to postpone my trip, I raced around Yeppoon looking for a similar alternative. Eventually I resorted to some fishing sinkers (really good quality sperical ones the same size as the Hobie bearings) I hit them with a bit of sandpaper to smooth them out a bit and put it all together. Clearly not a long term fix but it got me through the trip without any damage. Crisis averted.
Visited Humpy Island, Great Keppel Island, Middle Island and Miall Island. All were amazing places, made for Hobie Islands. Im not a big fisherman myself, but I noticed other campers/fishers were pulling in some pretty decent fish, next time Ill be prepared with a decent offshore fishing setup.
Beaches were predominantly fine sand, with the odd coral patches around low tide, had no problems landing the TI. All Islands had the usual sandfly/midgies buzzing around, but a bit of spray dealt with them, although Humpy island had some mutant sized mosquitoes.
Weather was perfect, mid 20s during the day, and not much less at night. Winds were always from between S/E and S/W 10-15 knots,TI just loved the weather.
Heres some pics
Crossing between Great Keppel Island and Humpy Island
Humpy Island
Humpy Island Reef
Sunset over GKI from Humpy Island
Butterfly Bay GKI
Long Beach GKI
Monkey Beach GKI
Monky Beach GKI
Middle Island
I can definately recommend the Keppel Bay region. I will definately be back again