Nina to Little Ramsay

We respectfully acknowledge the Bandjin People as the traditional custodians of the land on which we walk. We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend our respect to the Aboriginal people present today.

Doug savours evening reflections at low tide (with clear visibility in the lagoon!)

Today, you will truly feel you are on a remote and secluded tropical island. A distance of just 2.7 km plus a comfortable elevation gain of only 80 m means you can have a leisurely breakfast on the beach under the palm trees, as you watch the sun lighting up that tropical sea.

Once you’ve packed up camp, explore the headland at the northern end of the beach, then walk south along the sand and around another rocky headland before detouring briefly inland with a tiny cliff scramble. You’ll then rock hop along the aptly named Boulder Bay to its southern end, and over another small headland. Once on Little Ramsay Beach, detour to explore the headland, then cross the little estuary; just past the lagoon, you’ll see signs marking the campsite on the edge of the beach. Those with a permit to hike up the unmarked route to Mt Bowen will leave from here. It is a notoriously difficult route so make sure you research thoroughly before attempting it.

You’ll set off on pristine Nina beach, fringed with palm trees. Delightful!

We hiked this yesterday and stopped at the southern end of Nina Bay for lunch in the shade: you’ll be there for a very early second breakfast. The trail continues around the headland.

The headland is rocky but not difficult nor far. At very high tide, you’ll need to detour around the headland in the vegetation or at its edge, which might be trickier. However, today’s distance is so short that you should always be able to time your departure from camp to coincide with a lower tide.

Looking north up Nina beach, with Nina Peak looming behind. Our friends are not far behind on the sand. You can also see how you may need to skirt the vegetation at high tide.

The trail ducks briefly inland. It goes straight up to the right of the big boulder next to Geoff. I’d read there was a “small cliff climb” somewhere here.

And here it is, with the Trail Arrow on the tree leaving no doubt as to where you are to go.

It’s more of a scramble than a climb - you’ll need one of your hands at least, but it’s only for this step up onto that ledge and you’ll find plenty of footholds and handholds. You can see that Geoff hasn’t even packed his trekking poles away but carried them in one hand.

I dislike exposed scrambles but felt comfortable on this one because it’s straightforward, not high, and because of the psychologically reassuring trees and bushes on the downhill side. Don’t be daunted by the description in the Park map - it is eminently doable.

Up over the headland with its broad-leafed paperbarks, and on to Boulder Bay.

Broad-leafed Paperbark (Melaleuca viridiflora var. viridiflora)

Little Ramsay should be on the other side of the next headland. Oh, this is such delightful walking!

And this must be, let me guess… Boulder Bay! It’s different again! This is the rock-hopping section which can be slow particularly at high tide when you’d have to skirt the edge, or when it’s wet, when it might be slippery. Again, you have no time pressure because the distance is short, tailor made for us slower hikers!

Once you’re into the forest again, if you haven’t yet, you’re likely to see these green tree ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) with their lemony translucent abdomens; the larvae are also highly nutritious, though I imagine you’d need to eat a lot of them! The ants build waterproof nests by using larval silk to weave large leaves together. Tap on one and watch the soldier team explode out! Or better yet, don’t: I brushed against one accidentally and was so startled by the effect that I forgot to take a photo! These ants bite but don’t sting, though they squirt an aggravating fluid.

One species of caterpillar even lives inside the nest. When the Moth Butterfly emerges from the pupae it’s attacked, but it’s covered in loose scales that fall off, so it can escape. Isn’t that marvellous?

Long-flowered Clerodendrum (Clerodendrum longiflorum var. glabrum) with its large, soft, supple leaves is often host to Green Tree Ant nests

We emerge onto Little Ramsay Beach. Some distance along, we reach the lagoon with its outlet, which is easy to cross at low tide. At high tide, you could detour around the northern edge of the lagoon and to the rocky creek that feeds it. You would be able to cross the rocks there even at high tide, and follow the western edge around to the campsite to the south.

And here we are at another lovely campsite. The sandy substrates are firm and easy to peg: we recommend Y-pegs or full length MSR groundhogs.

The beach is just a few steps away, and the pack racks are perfect for hanging your food bags and packs out of reach of naughty goannas and native rats and mice.

Once we’ve set up camp, it’s a few minutes around the lagoon to the rocky creek to collect water. We didn’t bother treating it: you could hardly find a more pristine catchment.

I tried to get a closeup photo of what I think is a Spotted Tree Monitor (Varanus scalaris), but he was too fast and ran up a, well, tree. If you hear a loud rustling in the dry leaves in the undergrowth, it’s almost certainly one of these beautiful characters.

Flax lily (Dianella longifolia var. fragrans)

Diana, Martin and Doug collecting water.

Some kind of white-lipped fish in the lagoon (the outcast on the left is different). Fishing is allowed in the park, but not in the rock pools at Zoe Falls and Mulligan Falls.

Look for these fascinating wasp nests in the loo!

Our kitchen for two: Caldera cone tri-ti with 1300ml Evernew pot and toaks titanium siphon stove. You can see our dark fuel bottle and small olive oil bottles behind the water bottles. Our tablecloth is a piece of tyvek that sometimes doubles as a sitpad. The sousvide bag containing our dehydrated meal, ready for boiling water, is leaning up against the log, whilst our grey cosy, sewn from an insulated shopping bag, rests on top.

And here’s our deliciously authentic chilli sans carne rehydrating, ready to be sprinkled with parmesan, scooped up with corn chips, and seasoned with the best flavouring of all: a glorious view.

Doug and Diana soaking up the same view.

Two northbound hikers enjoying themselves as much as we are!

And a spectacular sunset to ice the cake. What a fantastic day we’ve had!