The Thorsborne Trail on Hinchinbrook Island has been a dream of mine since moving to FNQ and finding my love of hiking back in 2019. This illusive 32km hike has always seemed out of reach previously, as I’d tried to book several times and never had luck on the Queensland National Parks page. It wasn’t until earlier this year that I finally cracked the code for booking the trail and had success!
This hike is up there for one of the best hikes I have ever done. What made it even better, was that Zeb and I got to do it with two of our good friends, Ju and Will. Stick around to hear our experience of the one of Australia’s top hikes.
Day 1 – 6.5km to Ramsey Bay
We opted to save some money and remain in Cairns the night before we were due to start hiking. This meant a 3:45am wake up to go collect our friends and drive the 3 hours from Cairns to Dungeness Boat Ramp outside of Lucinda. We arrived shortly before 8:00am where the legend John from Absolute North Charters met us to take us out to the island.
The boat ride was the first of many surprises! A total of 2 hours to get from Lucinda around to Ramsey Bay on the northern end of the island. This was well worth the $183 (update – now $193) per person fee. The water was like glass for about two thirds of the journey and we were lucky enough to see a crocodile, giant green turtle and Zeb even says he saw a dugon!
We arrived at Ramsey Bay just after 10:00am and after a few piccys at the Hinchinbrook Island sign we were off. After no more than 5 minutes walking, we made it over the sand dunes and onto actual Ramsey Bay and my goodness it was breathtaking! The water was crystal clear and not a single cloud in the sky. We walked along the beach, taking plenty of photos before heading back inland and up to Nina Peak.
At the bottom of the trail to Nina peak, we dropped our bags and had a quick water break. The trail up to Nina peak was as steep as it gets, but definitely worth the views! We stopped at the large rock platform for snacks and photos, opting to not bother going right to the top as the day was hot and the trail looked much less used. The views were incredible.
After a good amount of relaxing and capturing content for Eucalyptia. We headed back done the trail, picking up our large packs and heading through to Nina Bay. We made a pitstop of Nina Bay for lunch where Zeb and I had our first of Sirena Mexican Chicken & Rice cups on a wrap.
By 1:00pm were were on our feet again and pushing through to Little Ramsey Bay which we planned for our first night’s stay. To our absolute luck, we were the only 4 at the campsite, giving us plenty of room to set up ad spread out.
After setting up, Ju and I headed down the beach to find a place to cool off. We settled on a a small stream running from Warrawilla creek to the ocean where we dug out some sand to create our own type of pool! At sunset we headed to Warawilla Creek which makes for an amazing reflection of Mount Bowen and captured some amazing shots of landscapes.
On the first night we opted for Back Country Freeze Dried Meals, sharing the veggie cottage pie, honey soy chicken, beef teriyaki and thai chicken curry meals.
Day 2 – 10.5km to Zoe Bay
The next morning, we were up for sunrise and had no regrets as soon as we walked out from our campsite and onto the beach! The sky was red! Zeb was very stoked to recreate the photo he took several years earlier of Mount Bowen reflection at sunrise.
After making our oats and coffee for breakfast, and enjoying a slow morning, we headed out for the 10.5km hike to Zoe Bay. The second day was probably the hardest for me. Our packs were still relatively heavy with most of our food and the distance was the furthest of any day. What drained us the most was the sun! Without a cloud in the sky, it made for very hot conditions. Despite this, there were some incredible sights included along the way.
For lunch we stopped at North Zoe Creek which had the most turquoise water hole yet! We didn’t swim again as there were signs warning of crocodiles, so we continued on to Zoe Bay.
On arrival, it was clear we were not going to be as lucky as the first night. The campsite was packed! We counted at least 6 other groups with 2 sail boats just offshore and a tinny docked nearby. We managed to steal a small campsite further down the beach but this one didn’t have bag racks or picnic tables like most of the other sites.
After setting up camp by 3:00pm, we changed into our togs (swimmers if you don’t know what they are) and made the approx. 1km walk to Zoe Falls. Despite the campsite being crowed, the waterfall was empty and we got to spend the afternoon soaking up rays of sunshine at the famous Zoe falls all to ourselves. The water was freezing but just what we needed after a big day!
We finished the second night off by heading back down to the beach at Zoe Bay and cooking up our dehydrated spaghetti bolognaise. This was by far the best meal we had, and all credit goes to Zeb for making and dehydrating in the days prior. We were again blessed with another spectacular sunset.
Day 3 – 7.5km to Mulligan Falls
On the third day we again woke up before sunrise and headed back out onto the beach from our campsite to soak up the glorious first rays. We made coffee but kept our porridge for the top of Zoe Falls. Packing up was a lot faster on the third day as we were eager to get to the top of the falls.
When we arrived at the top of Zoe Falls we were not disappointed. Another stunning lookout and no one around. We quickly stripped off and hoped into the top pool, getting plenty of pictures.
We then made our porridge and sat soaking in the views until about 11:00am when another group finally made it up and we figured we should move on. I found the walk on the between Zoe and Mulligan Falls much easier and more enjoyable. There was definitely less elevation and our packs had started to feel lighter. It was damn hot though! With no clouds in the sky again and lots of the hiking trail in the open, we could feel the heat draining us.
At about two thirds of the way to Mulligan falls, we walked out onto the side of a mountain and my goodness the views are to die for. The maps told us it we were at Sunken Reef Saddle. There is a small trail the forks off the main trail that heads straight up to the top of the hill and it is definitely worth the detour.
No longer than an hour after the lookout we made it to Mulligan falls. We met a big group of fellow hikers who were packing up to leave, so we were able to snag their campsite which just happened to be the best one. It was closest to the falls and with hanging racks for our bags, no table though. Despite Zoe Bay being so busy, the only other people to join us at Mulligan Falls was a lovely German couple we’d met a day earlier.
After eating lunch (Mexican chicken & rice on a wrap for the third day in a row), we took the short walk to actual Mulligan Falls. Now I don’t want to say this again, but oh my goodness! This was one of my favourite views. The falls were incredible and far better than my expectations and my photos do not do it justice!
We spent the last few hours before sunset, swimming, sun baking and in my case reading my book at the falls. At night we enjoyed our last night’s worth of meals, keeping it simple with Mi Goreng and a can of tuna. We turned it in early again, with sadness in our hearts for the last day of hiking Hinchinbrook Island.
Day 4 – 7.5km to George Point.
On the last day, we got our campsite packed up early and took our porridge and coffee’s down to Mulligan falls to enjoy one last view.
We had arranged with John from Absolute North Charters to pick us up by 11:00am from George Point which was a 7.5km hike, the majority of it on the beach. We made it to Mulligan Creek by 9:30am but with a time to spare we sat our under some trees to wait out half an hour and let the creek drop some more.
After crossing the creek, (shoes on and all) we walked the last bit around and John was waiting for us. The boat ride back to Lucinda was much shorter and we were excited to be back on the mainland.
Our first stop was Lucinda Hotel for a beer (or many) and a chicken schnitty. We then made the 3 hour drive back up to Cairns, dropping Ju and Will off at their places and unpacking ready to start the working week Monday, full of memories that’ll last a lifetime.
My Top 3 Tips:
- Pack a chair. We ummed and ahh’d about whether we should bring a chair with us in the weeks prior. On just the weekend before, I pulled the trigger and went to BCF and got the OUTRAK Adventure Lightweight Hiking Chairs for Zeb and myself. Whilst it did obviously increase the weight we carried each day, it was in my opinion absolutely worth it considering the only campsite we came across that had picnic tables was Zoe Bay and we didn’t even get a table at our site! There was nothing more relaxing than at the end of the day sitting back in a chair to relax rather than spending hours on the ground.
- Pack more than one gas canister. This was definitely our one mistake. After lengthy discussions about whether to bring more than one gas canister for our jet boil, I told our friends not to worry as my canister had 24 boils in it. Between boiling water for coffee’s, breakfast, dinner and tea we ran out of gas on the last night just as we finished boiling water for dinner. Luckily our German friends helped us out on the last morning, having enough gas to spare for our breakfast and coffee’s.
- Purchase a Pocket Shower. We stumbled upon this really neat invention when we were in BCF looking to grab a pocket bucket. When looking at what was available I said to Zeb, why not get the shower so it has a tap AND might be useful for future hikes we might want to shower during. Needless to say, it was a game changer for filling up our jet boil, camel flasks, water bottles and even rinsing our toothbrushes.
If you loved this blog or have any questions, comment below and I'll do my best to answer!
- Jess