David Grimshaw

I recently, 4 May 2015, did a trip to the Keppel Bay Islands of Miall Island and Humpy Island. There is no outstanding adventure story to this trip. I had a bit of trouble deciding which Island was Miall -- I had to pull out the map/chart to finally decide and head in the right direction. Miall Island is small about one nautical mile perimeter and has a small (40 metre) beach. You are unable to explore the island by land because it is low bush (heath land) with no walking paths. After a night on Miall I headed to Humpy Island. It was a few nautical miles to the south of Miall. Humpy is a beautiful Island both from the sea and on the land. It has a walking track leading along the ridges of the hills on the island revealing many 'lookout' areas. After spending a night on Humpy Island I left to return to Keppel Bay Marina. The seas out near the island were mountainous. About two-and-a-half metre waves with white-caps; the wind was blowing about 18 knots. I did not realize this when I pushed-off the beach as it was in the lee of the island. I was so tired from the previous two days paddling that I could not sit-up in the kayak properly. The waves were not head-on and the kayak rode them without difficulty. The problem was that I needed to be heading toward the marina and I could not point the kayak in that direction due to the waves; I was heading towards Ritamada point about two nautical miles to the south of where I was going. The wind and waves calmed down a lot when I got further in-shore as the wind was blowing over the land and the tide had turned. Someone at the boat ramp asked if I needed a lift with the kayak and I gladly accepted -- I was very fatigued. I did the trip alone and have been told by several people, kayakers and lay-persons, that this was not good for safety reasons; however, I did put a trip report in with the Coast Guard. Another adventure over. Enjoy the photographs. A video is coming when I visit more of the islands in the near future. David.