Thorsborne Trail, Hinchinbrook Island

GPS Tracks

North to South, 4 days. (GPX)

Simply Incredible!
The walk (32KM) takes you from Lucinda by boat, taking a magical ride around the western side of the island to the north and then meandering through the river systems to your arrival point.
The journey starts with a walk along the beach, taking in the beautiful colours of the Coral Sea, before you enter the rainforest of the Island. You will traverse an array of different conditions, gradients, difficulties and various stunning scenery. There are bays, rocky outcrops, fresh water pools and amazing waterfalls. The trip take 3-5 day to complete. This hike has everything for everyone. Take your time, breath it in and feel a part of the World Heritage Listed Island/Walk. There is a maximum of 40 people on the walk at any given time, so book ahead with NPWS to secure your time/ days for the month you wish to walk.

Waterfalls

Lookouts

Swimming

Bird Watching

Picnic Facilities

Toilets

Scrambling or Climbing

Camping Permitted

Coastal

Rainforest

Swamp or Wetland

985m

Total Climb

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Getting there

Ferry transfer to/from Ramsay Bay (from Cardwell) or George Point (from Lucinda) – the schedule varies based on tides
There are multiple operators, including Absolute North Charters (John: 0419 712 577)

Maps

Hillock Point 1:50K topographical map (https://www.abcmaps.com.au/Hillock-Point-150000-Scale-Topographic-Map)
Free QPWS map is sufficient as walk is well signposted (https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0028/164179/thorsborne-map.pdf)

Route/Trail notes

The track generally follows the coast, with about half along beaches or the coast, and half through the interior rainforest. You can do the walk in either direction.

Permits/Costs

QPWS camping permits for ($8 per day).

Other References

https://hikingtheworld.blog/2013/09/29/thorsborne-trail-hinchinbrook-island/

GPS Tracks

North to South, 4 days. (GPX)

Comments

Fantastic walk. Took it over 5 days taking a rest day at Zoe Bay. Plenty of water around, so many creek crossings. Big tides meant being careful with depart times to cross some creeks and even to have some beach to walk on. The rock scrambles and some creek crossings were slow carrying a pack.
Pi on 1 Aug, 2023

Was a hot few days on the Thorsborne trail but it was most definitely worth it! First day walking to Little Ramsay Bay via Nina Peak. Second day I attempted to get up to Mt Bowen and let me tell you that mountain is no joke. Whilst navigationally it is pretty straight forward (a lot less tedious than Mt Cook on Magnetic Island), it is unrelenting. Constant rock hopping and scaling waterfalls makes the relatively short distance quite time consuming. I intended to do it in a single day but by the time I got up to the campsite (which took roughly 6-7hrs) the weather flipped and it became a complete white-out. I realised I wasn't going to get a view and the rain was going to make the descent fairly diabolical, so decided to call it and go back down. And I was right, the descent took even longer than the ascent because the rocks were all like ice. By the time I got back to the campsite I was covered in bruises and scratches and all my fingertips were bleeding from all the scrambling. I would try it again but would recommend packing a light tent and spending the night at the camp-site to break it up a bit. Third night we spent at Zoe Bay and forth night at Mulligan falls. So many great views, great waterfalls, great beaches, can't recommend it enough! Wouldn't like to be there after a full week of rain though, the track would get insanely muddy. Also for the whole 5 days we were there we filled our bottles up straight out of the rivers, freshest water you will ever drink!
Vonsnrub on 14 Apr, 2023

Fantastic hike! We did it over 5 days camping at Nina Bay, Banksia Bay, Zoe Bay and Mulligan Falls. Zoe and Mulligan were by far the highlights in terms of swimming. It's worthwhile to do Nina Peak on the first day and take it easy from there.

Plenty of water available in April, even if it's a little on the hot side. Not too many creek crossings and the swamps were not as bad as we had heard. Mozzies were my only complaint, we got eaten alive.
jumpingjacq on 4 Apr, 2022

Amazing!!
Mackamcb on 18 Jul, 2021

Second time doing this hike. Fantastic walk. Much hotter and more biting insects than last time (June 2019) but no swamp and easy creek crossings! Fantastic swimming at Zoe and Mulligans falls.
Heather T on Oct, 2020

hard but doable , rest day at at Zoe Falls and rest day at Mulligans Falls, I would recommend anyone planning this walk should factor in a zero day
Dave on 15 Aug, 2020

An incredibly beautiful hike. The track is well defined and not particularly difficult (medium to hard) but it is the creatures that make it scary (crocodiles, snakes!). We took 3 nights and 4 days, although an extra night in Zoe Bay would have been really nice because it's stunning. Drinking water was difficult to find in September, particularly on the first day of the trail, up to a 25 minute walk to find it, so recommended taking a large bladder or water bag so you don't have to make so many trips.
Leith on 4 Sep, 2018

Fantastic walk at this time of year. Still a bit warm but the creeks are flowing better and the swamp is a bit more of a challenge.
Spidy on 25 Mar, 2016

Simply amazing!!!!!
Christian on 28 Aug, 2014

Spectacular walk. July-September best time. You can comfortably do this in three days. https://hikingtheworld.blog/2013/09/29/thorsborne-trail-hinchinbrook-island/
Oliver Descoeudres on 29 Sep, 2013