Paradise Found: Hiking the Thorsborne Trail, Hinchinbrook Island
- Andreas Taylor
- May 14, 2023
- 12 min read
Updated: Jun 23
A brief introduction to Hinchinbrook Island and the Thorsborne Trail
Hinchinbrook Island, located off the coast of Northern Queensland in Australia, is home to one of the most iconic wilderness hikes in the world: The Thorsborne Trail. The Island, an outstanding feature of the North Queensland coast, is the largest island on the Great Barrier Reef and part of Australia's largest island national park (39,900 hectares). From stunning beaches to jagged mountaintops, it encompasses a remarkable variety of pristine habitats from the mangrove forests and freshwater melaleuca swamps to ancient eucalypt forests and open grass tree heaths higher up the mountainsides, the experience feels like stepping into a land that time forgot, untouched by the modern world for millions of years.
The Thorsborne Trail itself is a 32-kilometer path that stretches along the island's rugged eastern coastline, is named after the late Arthur Thorsborne, a passionate nature conservationist. This is an isolated location with no facilities and no-trace camping ethics and permits are issued for a maximum of 40 people on the trail at any one time to maintain the wilderness
setting.
Growing up hiking and climbing around Vancouver, British Columbia, I've always found solace in unspoiled wilderness and the satisfaction of overcoming physical challenges, especially the solo kind. Working and living in Queensland Australia now, I recently found myself on an unexpected work vacation and unattached after a series of misadventures of a different kind. That's when I discovered the enchanting Hinchinbrook Island and the legendary Thorsborne Trail. I knew I had to embark on this adventure into the wilds of Australia, and now I'm excited to share the story of this unforgettable journey with you.
ow to Get to Hinchinbrook Island
To access Hinchinbrook Island, I traveled from Townsville (140km) to Lucinda, a sugar milling town at the Southern end of the island with a really long jetty and wharf. Lucinda is the best option to access the trail, for reasons that I explain later on. A variety of accommodation is available in town within short walking distance of the charter service to the island. The town has a thriving sport fishery and seems to cater well to tourism with everyone I encountered being helpful and very friendly. Parking wasn't really an issue. I used Absolute Northern Charters for boat transfers to the Island. Skipper John is very knowledgeable about the island and I'll underline that the advice alone I obtained from him was worth the fee. Local knowledge counts and John grew up exploring and visiting and preserving the island!
Preparing for the Hike and Understanding the Trail's Limited Access
Preparing for the hike means first obtaining a permit from Queensland Wildlife and Parks Service with the best time to go being in the relatively cooler months from May to September. Permits can be hard to come by so plan early. There are no facilities on the island so you must pack in and pack out everything needed for your trip, except fresh water, which you need to plan for in the drier months. Most parties travel North to South over three to five days, depending on objectives and comfort levels. This is the most sensible direction for several reasons, the main one being that fresh water is easier to find later on the trail in the dry months and the prevailing Southeasterly winds help to cool things down in the tropical heat. Most will find it hot here even in mid-winter, with daytime temperatures reaching into the high twenties/low thirties and nights typically in the low twenties and very tropical, aka humid. I traveled in the usual direction in early May with a plan for 3 nights on the island.
Hiking Gear, Clothing, Food, water, and Cooking equipment considerations
I'm a gear junkie so I'll go into this subject in some depth: for me, traveling fast and light is pretty much always safer and better. I am used to foregoing many items that others might consider essential so keep this in mind with my gear selection. Fast and light means safety in my opinion. For context, I used to run ultramarathons and do a fair bit of climbing and mountaineering in my twenties and thirties but even though I'm forty-nine, I am still in fairly decent shape and have retained my tolerance for a level of discomfort. I've also seen my fair share of unplanned nights out unprotected in much harsher environments as well as being badly hurt in the wilderness, so my choices of essential items on a solo trip do take into consideration how I would manage if the unexpected arose. Please keep in mind these are not my gear recommendations for others, just what works for me and my level of risk tolerance.
Firstly, I assembled and tested everything, then took any newly purchased gear out of the useless little stuff sacks and tossed them in the bin or left them behind, then into my trusty ten year old Arctery'x Alpha FL 45L pack, I stuffed a lightweight Big Agnes UL2 tent, an MSR rocket stove with a half canister of fuel, a titanium pot and spoon, freeze dried food for four days, a silk/cotton sleeping bag liner, an inflatable pillow, one of those 3/4 length egg carton foam mats from Nemo (sets up is instant and you can't pop it), a Katadyn Befree water bottle, an extra 2L water carrier, a lightweight Outdoor Research Gore-tex rain jacket, two shirts (one quick dry and one wool), some running shorts and something to swim in, a sun hat, the most potent insect repellent i could find, a bamboo toothbrush, a small Opinel folding knife, a Fenix headlamp (they go for 30hrs), a roll of tape (first aid kit) and a phone with the trail app, which i didn't use except to make sure i didn't miss the blue lagoon, but it is a pretty cool app and only 5 bucks, so you might as well get it. I tossed in a featherlight Rumple down blanket into a small dry bag too, because I recently had a rather cold overnight in Lamington NP at the Gold Coast and was a little wary.
Now for some packing advice: Pop a few soft things into the bottom of your pack, then the hard and pointy stuff, then fill in around it with more soft things and the food and you're good to go! This is where getting rid of the stuff sacks comes in handy. Keep the water and the bug repellent on top or just carry the water in your hand. Please don't bring soap onto the island and believe it or not, you can skip the toothpaste too, and just use the toothbrush. For footwear, some people wear Crocs, which is on balance a pretty good idea, but you'll probably have pretty sore feet from the rocky sections, which could be a problem if you plan on covering a lot of distance in a day or are wearing a heavy pack. I wore Altra trail running shoes which I've used for ultramarathons so I know I can cover the distance in all sorts of terrain with them with no foot care issues. Don't wear anything untested! Foot problems are a serious and common problem for many people that will stop you in your tracks, so be sure and test everything first. I walked barefoot a fair bit too and put up with wet shoes as needed, which wasn't very often.
With the benefit of hindsight, next time I would maybe ditch the down, the rain jacket, and about half the food, just wear swimming gear, plus way more insect repellent, and take a 30L pack instead. Maybe a small rain fly for bad weather. Instead of a t-shirt, a long sleeve would be useful to keep the sun off. My experience was that you'll be pretty wet most of the time anyway, so there's not much point in trying to stay dry and you're definitely not going to be cold. If I hadn't had any camera gear, (which I haven't listed), my pack weight would have been around 5kg but could have easily been less with the aforementioned changes.
One thing to mention is that while much of the trail is incredibly scenic, there are also long sections in forests with nothing but trees to look at. I like to either jog these sections or go very lightly on my feet in the hope of sneaking up on shy wildlife. You can't do either with the heavy gear.
I passed four parties in the first two hours, mostly because I wasn't carrying a bunch of comfort gear and giant heavy backpacks loaded with padding, pockets, zippers, and heavy hiking boots (a kilo on your feet is worth five on your back). That way, you'll get your pick of the campsites and have lots of energy left for side trips, you also need less food and water and generally are a lot safer and more nimble hopping around the rocks, balancing across slippery creek crossings, and up and down steep hills...let's face it, carrying 20-25kg on your back is kind of miserable for anyone, especially if you're built on the small side or like me have knees that aren't in the best shape anymore. But also, it's important to realise that being a little bit uncomfortable is actually good for you so if you want to have a luxury campout, just go car camping in one of the million other places you can do that!
Overview of the trail and its key highlights
The trail is not difficult to navigate with plentiful markers helping you find the way. It seemed to me that strategically speaking, the main thing you need to plan your trip around is when you are going to do the section of trail from Banksia Bay to Zoe Bay. It is the longest part of the hike, with all the creek crossings and tedious swamps, and potential scenic stops along the way, this will govern how you approach the rest of the hike. Basically, you could stay at any of the camps North of Zoe and still make it to Zoe Bay in a day's walk without missing out on anything - if the tides around the headlands and bays are favorable with your plans. I had low tides around 3 p.m. on my trip which worked for all the tidal crossings.
Day-by-day breakdown of the trail, including campsites and points of interest
Here are the approximate times I recorded, I got these from time stamps on my photos as I wasn't writing anything down:
Ramsey Bay to Nina Peak 1:15
Nina Peak to Nina Bay 0:45
Nina Bay to Little Ramsey Bay 0:45
Little Ramsey Bay to Banksia Bay 1:00
Banksia Bay to Zoe Bay including Cypress Falls side trip 4:30
Zoe Bay to Mulligan Falls 3:00
Mulligan Falls to George Point 1:30
Skipper John at Absolute Northern Charters dropped us off at the jetty on the Western side of the Island at 10 am and it's a short five-minute walk to Ramsey Bay and the Eastern Shoes of the island. Walk down the beach to the Southern end where the trail enters the forest for the first time. It is very well marked throughout with orange arrows going South and yellow arrows going North. Soon you reach a tee junction with a worthwhile side trip up to Nina Peak, about 45 minutes round trip. Drop your pack and take an early lunch on top with panoramic views of the island and peaks in all directions.
Within an hour you'll reach Nina Bay and the first campsite. It is a beautiful bay and certainly worth considering as a destination for the first night. I've already passed several places where fresh water was available. Lovely scrambles and boulder hopping around headlands and along Boulder Bay plus a few more sections in the forest quickly led to Ramsey Bay with more of the same onwards to Banskia. The trail had lots of places to collect water and lots of variety, just when the sun started to feel intense the trail would provide some welcome shaded forest walk. Spectacular views along the deserted beaches looking up at the peaks and out at the fluffy cumulus clouds dotting the ocean with shade really give you a sense of being out of time here.
Since I arrived at Banksia Bay quite early, I spent time exploring along the beach and out to the Southern point where I found a nice rock pool for a rinse-off overlooking Agnes Island. The Bay is quite lovely but the camp itself is probably the least attractive of the ones I had passed thus far and very buggy.
A lazy morning the next day had me departing around 730-8 am bound for the Blue Lagoon, soon crossing Banksia Creek and climbing quickly to the saddle overlooking Zoe Bay. A gentle descent into the valley and the beginning of many creek and swamp crossings leading to the Blue Lagoon where I again dropped my gear for a swim-hike up cypress creek to a spectacular multi-tiered waterfall with infinity pools. There is no trail really just hiking up the creek and the incredibly slippery submerged rocks. I did this section with a couple of lads that were on the boat trip up with me.
Once back at the trail, I lingered for a while at the beautiful Blue Lagoon, drying off a few things as best as possible in the sun, then bid farewell to the other two. From then on, I encountered no one else on the trail for the next two days.
I ditched the soaking wet board shorts and t-shirt for nothing but running shorts, feeling in full jungle mode by now and wanting to make time to Zoe Bay. I jogged this section mostly and there weren't any spots where I couldn't avoid getting wet and muddy again simply by hopping around the wet patches of mud and little watercourses. I was in Zoe Bay just after 12 pm to enjoy another quick dip in the spectacular Zoe Falls rock pools. This must be one of the most picturesque waterfalls found anywhere! but it was bright and hot, so I did not linger, instead hitting the trail for the next camp. For me, this was the most interesting part of the hike, crisscrossing the watershed and on up a gentle climb with the occasional steep section, with spectacular views in all directions.
I was going pretty slow by the time I reached the Southern viewpoint of the saddle overlooking the Diamantina watershed and the Southern Beaches but I was committed now to either Sunken Reef Bay or Mulligan Falls campsites. I elected to continue to Mulligan Falls so I could arrange an early pick up as there was mobile reception available there.
From the high point in the open grass heaths, the trail descends through ever-changing habitats, first crossing Diamantina Creek (where I found myself off track momentarily) and then traversing Southward, crossing several dark little creek crossings and eventually descending almost to the valley floor to the last camp at Mulligan Falls, a perfect little spot to spend an evening alone in the wilderness, watching butterflies and jungle perch and listening to tinker frogs over the sound of the rushing creek.
I was out of insect repellent by early evening, so I put off a swim until the very last minute and the following morning made my way down the beach and last creek crossing to George Point, perhaps an hour and a half easy walk. Crossing Mulligan creek was easy and by the time I got to George point there was time to chill under some of the few shade trees overhanging the beach, a short distance up from the George Point campsite, which is in a rather unfortunately chosen location. Soon John was zipping up in the boat and a quick ten-minute ferry back to mainland. If you depart Lucinda, instead of a long boat trip to Cardwell, you can be eating a delicious lunch in town by midday!
What to see Along the way
I'm really just scratching the surface here with my limited knowledge in this area but with 689 plant species and 276 animal species as well as insects that inhabit Hinchinbrook island it is sufficient to say there is a great deal to see!
I saw a remarkable array of bird species all over; in the forest, shoreline, rock outcrops, and rock pools. Other highlights included dugongs, multi-coloured skinks, Woompoo Pidgeons, electric blue and red mushrooms, and the sounds of tinker frogs at night. Among the ever-present butterflies, I watched iridescent blue Ulysses butterflies flying around the rockpools at Mulligan Falls.
The highlight for me was the Jungle Perch that inhabit the rock pools. These provided hours of entertainment for me in the evening and morning I spent at Mulligan Falls. They are very curious, not especially shy, and watch you even from quite a distance from the rockpools.
Hinchinbrook Island also has fascinating and varied geological formations. The dominant feature is the granite of the main mountain mass featuring Mount Bowen (1142m), Mount Diamantina (955m), and Mount Straloch (922m), which have weathered to spectacular, jagged peaks. The island is separated from the mainland by the Hinchinbrook Channel, which represents the flooded former valley of the Herbert River.
At Ramsay Bay on the northeast coast, a dune barrier, or "tombolo" links Cape Sandwich, an outlying group of granite peaks at the northeastern tip of the island, to the main body of the island. Another of these features exists at Agnes Island.
The beauty and significance of the Thorsborne Trail can't be overstated, wilderness trails like these are comparatively overrun and overloved, I reckon a result of our strong desire to reconnect with nature in this fundamental way and they are an essential part of our shared heritage and need to be preserved for everyone. I hope you are willing to make the effort to experience such a unique place. Don't wait, go out and get to it, the hardest part is always getting out the door! Until next time!
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