Here is a little blurb from the website describing the trail from the www.australia.com website “Trek the 32km Thorsborne Trail along the eastern coast of Hinchinbrook Island – an untouched tropical paradise on the coast between Townsville and Cairns. Over four days you’ll traverse cloud-cloaked mountains, jungle-like rainforest, melaleuca swamps and pristine white beaches. See a panorama of wildlife, from bright butterflies and birds to crocodiles, sea turtles, dugongs and dolphins. This is a true wilderness walk for the experienced walker – the path isn’t graded or hardened so can be difficult to traverse in places. Walk in either direction, camp in any of the seven designated sites and remember to ‘leave no trace’. Only 40 people can walk the trail at any one time, so book your permit well in advance. Planning and following safety guidelines is vital. The best time to walk is during the cooler months from April to September. You can reach the island on a ferry or water taxi from Cardwell or Lucinda.”
To save money on transfers we accessed the island from the South end from a tiny town, Lucinda, then in 4 days got picked up from the South end as well. We knew going we wouldn't complete the entire trail, however we felt we’d see the highlights over the 4 days.
The night before the trail we spent the evening getting ready in Lucinda’s caravan park, in order for us to make the 7:00am boat transfer we had to wake up extra early to pack the tent and prepare our gear. Our water taxi met at us Lucinda’s docks and dropped us off at the South end of Hinchinbrook Island, about a 20 minute boat ride from the mainland. We began the hike from George Point and hiked along the beach crossing one small river before heading into the rainforest where the trail was pretty thick and in some places overgrown. As Hinchinbrook Island is in the tropics we were on high alert for wildlife that could kill us in one bite, snakes, spiders and crocodiles... just to name a few. Our hike continued up into the bush for about 2 hours until we came to Mullligan falls, a beautiful waterfall and campsite where we took a break and a swim.
The second day was utterly relaxing! We got up late (7:00am instead of 5:00am) ate, gathered our books, towels, lunch and sunscreen and headed back up to the top of the falls. For the next few hours we sat in different pools reading and enjoying the view. After lunch we headed down the falls to the pool where it was shaded. We spent another few hours reading, playing in the falls and teasing the very docile fish. That evening we prepared a delicious Indian curry, got eaten alive by bugs then hit the hay or mat nice and early.
Knowing how hot the trail got two days before, the third day we got up early, packed up our gear and headed back towards Mulligan Falls. We arrived around 11:00am and enjoyed the day again swimming in the falls, reading and playing cards. A couple we had met the night before arrived later in the day so we spent the rest of the evening cooking and swapping travelling stories.
The forth day we had one last swim in the fountain of youth then headed back towards George Point where we met our boat transfer back to the mainland.