Missionary Bay is a 20 km long, 5 km wide bay located on the northern side of Hinchinbrook Island. Its eastern half is filled with mangrove-covered mud flats up to 6 km wide. Only its 10 km long south-western shore is exposed to waves and even here, mangroves still dominate. In amongst the mangroves are three patches of sand - Waggon Wheels Beach and Missionary Bay Beaches 1 and 2. All three face north and are well protected from wind and waves, with only northerly winds producing low waves across the bay. All three consist of a narrow, sandy high tide beach, fronted by 200 to 300 m of sand to mud tidal flats. There is no vehicle access and no facilities at any of the beaches, with the only access being by boat at high tide.
Waggon Wheels Beach (795) is 700 m long, with fringing mangroves and is backed by the densely vegetated slopes of 70 m high Mount Pitt. Beaches 796 and 797 lie adjacent to each other separated by a low headland; both are bordered by rocks with some fringing mangroves.
Beach Length: 0.3km
General Hazard Rating:
2/10
Patrols
There are currently no services provided by Surf Life Saving Australia for this beach. Please take the time to browse the Surf Safety section of this website to learn more about staying safe when swimming at Australian beaches.
Click here to visit general surf education information.
SLSA provides this information as a guide only. Surf conditions are variable and therefore this information should not be relied upon as a substitute for observation of local conditions and an understanding of your abilities in the surf. SLSA reminds you to always swim between the red and yellow flags and never swim at unpatrolled beaches. SLSA takes all care and responsibility for any translation but it cannot guarantee that all translations will be accurate.