Introducing Macona Inlet - Hook Island

In the early versions of the book A Trailer Sailor's Guide to The Whitsundays there is a short chapter on Macona Inlet.  It is mostly about getting there and the anchorage itself, but there was no way to let people see the beauty of the place.  We'll visit Macona a few times over the life of this blog, but today I want to introduce the main anchorage.

The image above is a screencapture of a google map, because inserting the link code (google's approved way of adding a map) opens the map at some fictitious address somebody has created online.  I hope Google decides to rectify this. 

 The bay with the gold star in the middle of the map is the main anchorage in Macona.  There is room for about half a dozen yachts in here in good weather and for about three or four in stormy weather.  If you arrive at Macona Inlet and it is a bit crowded, just stay out of the main anchorage and choose another spot further out in the inlet.  As long as you stay clear of the reef around the entrance and the eastern side, there is plenty of good holding in mud.

The main anchorage however is surrounded a reef wall.  The middle is mostly sand.  At low tide it is protected from most swell, and at very low tide, well, you can see from the pictures.

Looking across Main Anchorage in Macona Inlet

The ideal time to enjoy Macona Inlet is on a sunny day when the tide tables show a low tide of about 0.10 some time between 10am and 2pm.  If you are lucky enough to get a low in the morning, the water should be crystal clear.  Once the tide gets down around 0.30 the reef will be out and visible.

Tide's out - check the brown stuff

On a clear day if you enjoy snorkeling, the marine life can be amazing to watch.  Pretty corals, multi coloured fish darting in and out of the rocks and corals, the odd seahorse hovering and sometimes a turtle or two swimming around the edge of the reef.

There is a sandy beach on the north side of this anchorage that is a popular spot for sunset drinks and nibbles.  Please pick your times to go ashore according to the tide, and avoid dragging dinghies across the reef on the way to the beach.  Facing north, towards the beach there's a clear sandy break in the reef to your right.

As the tide returns the sandy beach gets smaller until it all but disappears.  At some high tides it vanishes altogether.  Unlike Nara Inlet on the other side of the hill, Macona Inlet has quite a few sandy beaches around it.  Some are shallow, sheltered and safe for kids to play and swim in, having no problems with currents.  Always watch for stingrays however, around any Whitsunday beaches.

Brown stuff up close

When you first see the reef at Macona Inlet it looks just like a lot of brown rock and weed.  From your boat it doesn't look particularly appealing, but taking the dinghy ashore will give the opportunity for a reef walk.  Be very careful wandering around here.  There is a lot of sand between the corals, so there's no excuse to stand on things that might break.  Also, remember that corals are living creatures.  Among the rocks and corals are various other forms of life. Keep ya big feet away from them too!  If you walk carefully you can see many different types and colours of coral.

Brown stuff even closer.  This is what visitors in a hurry miss out on,

One day we were discussing the limited number of colours in the Macona corals.  During the discussion we realised that on one walk we had noticed something like twenty variations of colour, shape and type.  And that was just what we remembered.  Heaven knows what we actually saw.  About the rarest we discovered was red, but it is amazing what is actually there in a relatively small patch.

Twisted and folded.

Aside from the reef around the main anchorage, there are some others in Macona Inlet.  Like most of the anchorages on the mainland (western) side of the Whitsundays, the water is stirred up by the strong currents.  After calm weather though Macona Inlet has a few rather nice spots to enjoy.  Curlew Beach at the entrance has some lovely views out into the Whitsunday Passage, and there's a special little beach further in that has a parade of tiny starfish as the tide changes.

Of all the anchorages around the Whitsunday Passage, Macona and Cid Harbour are favourites. Macona has the disadvantage of no toilet facilities, but the advantage of peaceful beauty, several beaches and places to explore in the dinghy and on foot.

Green Stuff

In a future visit to Macona Inlet we'll explore a little further around the inlet and also look at Curlew beach.