Further south from Mobor, a trip across the languid Sal on a rust-bucket passenger ferry will take you to solace and solitude on magnificent Agonda Beach with its wide swathe of sand.

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Find real bush solitude on Hinchinbrook Island, a 50-minute boat ride from Cardwell.

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But the total anonymity of my solitude began to course through me, as agreeable a sensation as slow-melting sunshine on the back of the neck.

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