BUSH WALK TO BARTALUMBA BAY

Bartalumba Bay was once the base for local prawning operations and provided servicing and provisioning facilities for a range of vessels.  The now-abandoned "Bartas" was also a popular "watering spot".  It sits beside a sheltered cove, Deception Bay, just around the point from Little Paradise outstation and Bartalumba Bay proper.  A number of the original buildings are derelict and the permanent population is small.

A saltwater crocodile, which subsequently paid the maximum penalty for its transgression, took a late night swimmer here in May 1990.

The track can be accessed from Telecom Hill road (off the highway opposite the port road just out of Alyangula). Numerous other tracks from Newtown and Oldtown, including those behind the flats and near the Health Centre, join this dirt road. Turn right onto a white sand track off the Telecom Hill road about 400 m after turning off the highway.

The track takes 1 to 1 1/2 hours to walk. It would be suitable for mountain bikes although the sand is soft in places. Expect to see lots of bird life and wildlife (at the very least plenty of footprints!). The total distance to the Bay, including the last 900m alongside the main road, is just over 5 kilometres.

There is also a side-track about 4.2 km from the highway turn-off or 1.5 km from the Bay. This leads to a high rocky escarpment from which the views of Deception Bay, Connexion Channel and surrounding waters and islands are excellent. The track itself is very pretty although it is probably impassable in the Wet. It meanders about 2.7 km through paperbark, ghost gum and pandanus/cycad forest. There is no defined path at the scarp, but it is well worth the climb.

An ALC permit is required to visit Bartalumba Bay.  As always, respect the land and take your rubbish home with you.