Ever since we purchased the house we have been looking forward to being able to get out on the water. With kayaks purchased and assorted accessories such as life jackets organised we just needed to wait for some warmer weather and a weekend without plans so that we could get out to explore.
Everything finally lined up and we were able to make our first expedition out onto the bay. The tide wasn’t cooperating for a launch from outside the house so we drove the short distance to nearby Sandy Beach in Governors Bay to get out onto the water.
From Sandy Beach we paddled out across the bay to Quail Island. The trip across the bay didn’t take too long and we were able to land easily on the beach on the western end of Quail Island.
The tide was almost completely out by the time we reached Quail Island and so we were able to explore the old ship graveyard. From 1902 until the mid-1950’s disused ships were beached in the bay here and left to corrode. We were able to see into the hull of the Darra, a barque originally build in 1865. This ship started life as a fast tea-clipper for the Orient Line before becoming an Australian immigrant ship.
Most reports state that there are the remains of over thirteen ships abandoned here, the location having been selected so as to keep them out of the busier shipping channels.
A little further along the beach we could see the wreck of the Mullogh, an early steam ship built in Belfast in 1855. In 1863, it brought the first steam locomotive to Canterbury, and the materials to construct the railway on which it was to run.
We decided to give our arms a bit of a longer break and climbed the hill behind the beach to reach one of the tramping tracks on the island from where we were able to look out over the shipwrecks. We enjoyed having the island to ourselves as we explored the tracks, but with the wind picking up we decided it was time to retrace our steps and paddle back towards Governors Bay.