Diving - 2019 01 - MV Karma (Bundaberg)

Quick Stats:

4 dives

Max Depth 25m

Temp 27°c

Vis 10-15m

Album https://imgur.com/a/DBxrAFh

Kristie had tried to organise a dive on the newly sunk HMAS Tobruk but unfortunately due to a mishap in the scuttle it wasn't quite ready for us to dive yet. That's ok, it's always good to be flexible to we kept the same direction and switched up the dive site to the Karma. A 47m Gravel Barge that had engine trouble and was eventually dragged out to see a little and sunk in ~25m.  

I had an RDO on the Friday so I was able to get a head start on the drive up, hopefully beating the mass migration north for the long weekend. First I had to swing by Ozaquatec and grab my twins that were just in for Hydro then off to the club house to pick up the boat. I arrived to find that Anton had already swung by to grab the compressor and also went to town with the whipper-snipper on some of the grass that was looking more like a jungle. I hit all the smaller ones in the rocks and cracks in the pavement with poison and then hooked up the boat and was on my way. 

Drive up was thankfully uneventful, just a little delay due to traffic at the road works for the Mooloolabah turn off. Towing the boat with the Auto Dmax definitely makes a difference in both drive quality and fuel consumption though :o It wasn't too long though until I arrived at the Accom in Bundy to find the Gary's unpacking. Everyone else trickled in shortly after and some of us headed out for dinner. We went to a pub for a few drinks then onto RiverLife (Food Van / Truck setup, like Eat Street Markets) which had some good food options including a really tasty burger.   

The next morning we met Michael and Justin with their boat at the Winfield Rd ramp and headed out Baffel Creek. Winding through the creek to the mouth and crossing a wide, but not to treacherous, bar crossing. It was then 20km bashing into tall easterly swell all the way. About half way out we had a visit from the police in their boat. One jumped on board and went over all the usuals (Jackets, EPIRB, Flares etc) and took my details down. He asked if we were a commercial operation in about 5 different ways (Commercial boats require additional qualifications) before hopping off and onto Sly's boat for much the same questions. It took just over an hour all up before we got to the wreck. I started to feel a little seedy after the police stop, I took a kwell but it proved to be too late. 

Luckily we had Sly and Justin there as our Karma mark was about 70m off, they dropped pick and hit it in one go, while we circled over top to ensure they were on the mark and update our own. We tethered off to their boat and the first wave of divers jumped in. The surface was rocky and as we were tethered a little jerky. Not too long into the first wave I had to jump in the water to cool down but even the swell on the surface tipped me over the edge and I chundered. it's good for attracting fish life. As Nelly setup her gear air started rushing out, bummer, I think the final diagnosis was the catch O-Ring was missing from her DIN insert. With another tank and borrowed regs in case she was good to go.  

Photo by Kristie Ford

Well me being sick must have worked because the others came back with reports of Dolphins, Turtles, masses of fish life and even a Hammer Head Shark! Despite feeling like breakfast wanted to say hello again I quickly donned my gear and jumped in. Feeling 100% better before I had even finished my descent. There were heaps of schools of fish all over the wreck, at least 4 green turtles, Bull Rays, Leopard Rays, Some other big gray Ray's (with semi-pointy nose, know what they are?) all buzzing about. One of the newest attractions on the wreck was a couple of grands worth of trawler net. Lots of wire and long, long stretches of very expensive and heavy gauge, stainless chain.  

A few people came back with shiny shackles and some chain on a lift bag, but a lot of the rest requires tools to recover. I wonder if that would count as a clean-up project? Back on deck and the others went down again. It wasn't long before I started to feel sick again opting to spend my surface time in the water. The others got back again, no shark or dolphins this time but still a good dive. I must have been a little slower gearing up and I was ready to hurl again before I was ready to backwards roll into the water. I held it together long enough to be in the water but couldn't hold it any more, good thing regs have purge buttons right!?  

I threw up twice more on the descent before I was feeling good, switched over to my alt 2nd stage and tried to rinse off my primary a little before clipping it off, hoping to not need it for a buddy this dive... Another great dive with lots of fish, rays etc. Couple of Nudi's too, but all the same (black with yellow spots) type. Few Hermit crabs too hiding in the wreck.  

I was still a bit off colour when back on the boat so Jeremy took the helm and took us in safely back to the ramp. Back on dry land and, after some cool water, I was feeling fine. We stripped down gear and headed off down the road to a quiet pull-out area to run the compressor and refill tanks. The Gary's offered to stay behind and do the tank duty while the rest of us headed back, thanks guys!  

Dinner was a shared BBQ (minus the BBQ, we had to cook in the kitchen) with shared salads. A lot of salad... On top of all the biscuits/cheese etc we had for afternoon tea. All wonderful food, but I think Judy F's Mushroom sauce won the night. Nelly also gave us very good insight to the lack of quality in the steak from the foodworks across the road.  

It wasn't too long before most headed off to bed, ready for another big day tomorrow. Tide was slightly later so we arranged for 15min (as we were probably just a tad later than ideal on Saturday) and got to the ramp with the mud flats in the creek exposed. I made sure to take a couple of Kwells before I even set foot on the boat today. We geared up and got moving, only 4 divers on Diver 1 today so plenty spacious. Trip out was still fairly rough, probably not as bad because the wind was a bit lower so the swell was rolling more (seemed like a larger swell interval as well) but it was still pretty big so we took it slow. 

We anchored off separately today, we had 3 goes throwing out the anchor before we hooked solid and the others got it on their 2nd or 3rd as well. First in the water this time we got down to find the chain over the crane boom and the rope just scraping on the top edge of it. So I moved the anchor up and secured it for our dives. Right in the hull of the Karma was a pretty decent Nurse shark hanging about on the bottom. I then took off with Kristie into the blue a bit for the chance of some bigger pelagics (I wanted to see that Hammer Head!) and saw 2 Cobia shooting off into the blue. Again lots of schools of various fish all over the wreck and lots of big Rays. Less turtles today but still a few Nudis. There was also a huge Guitar Shark (Shovel Nosed Ray) cruising about looking for a spot to come to rest.

Second dive was more of the same with the notable sightings of a few Spotted Eagle Rays and massive Leopard Rays. We found some other rubbish (Snorkel, dive reel etc) to clean up before circling around the wreck again. As it sits at about 25m in depth it's pretty easy to accrue some deco. We were last from our boat to head back up so I also had to go a bit deeper to ensure the anchor was free and easy to retrieve, adding a few more minutes to my counter. Hanging out in the blue, with hardly/no current is pretty cool though. Vis wasn't good enough to see much but there were plenty of these little jelly fish things, all chained up in 'snakes' Kristie also spotted a Black Tip Reef Shark cruising about and was able to point it out to me before it swam off.  

Ride back with the wind and waves was a little more pleasant. Justin had recovered a bit more chain, which was weighting down the front of their boat a little so they were taking it nice and easy to ensure they got back safely. It wasn't too much longer though before we were over the Bar and back at the ramp. No more diving so no need for tank duty today we said our goodbyes and headed back our house.  

After cleaning all our dive gear and hosing down the boat we enjoyed some more snack food and a few drinks before everyone sorted something for dinner (there was still leftover salad.)  Kristina and I enjoyed a good game of catch (with a small-ish beach ball) which had about 7 rule changes before eventually evolving into a Soccer match, she has a pretty decent kick on her! It wasn't a very late night either most people making it to bed around 8:30-9 and a few stragglers staying up until almost 10. Diving is hard work...  

I didn't have much to pack up in the morning but I hung around for breakfast and a little bit longer before heading off just before 8. More fuel (both in my truck and the Boat tanks) before setting off home, hopefully avoiding most of the Public Holiday traffic. There were a few congested bits at the usual locations (Beerburrum) but it was only ~1hr of delays, not bad for SOBO on the Bruce HWY on a public holiday weekend! Back to the club house I flushed the engine and gave the boat another quick rinse before eventually getting home. 

Camping - 2018 12 - Burrum Coast NP

Burrum point campsite

Distance from Brisbane: 4.5 hrs

Facilities: Beach Access. Cold showers. Flushing toilets. Relatively clean. Beach shower. 

Access: 4wd (beginner)

Water: Yes (Should be potable but treat before drinking)

Photos supplied by Kelly & Thoa

Headed away for the xmas/new years holidays with the 'steak group that occasionally dives together'. After changing plans due to bushfires, flooding rain and booked out sites we settled on Burrum Point in Burrum Coast National Park. Nice little campground tucked away in the bush about 50m from the beach. Putting together my gear realised that my solar battery had packed it in, meaning I couldn't use my 12v camping fridge. Luckily Dad had taught me well and I had a backup Gas fridge for the week.

We got away to a relatively early start and met by 7am at probably the most common North Bound meeting spot, Morayfield BP Servo. After a quick breaky we were on the road and 3 hours later made it to the camp road.

It was a little Sandy but looked solid. Andy questioned of we should let down our tyres and I assured him it looked fine and we should make it through in 4wd no worries. About 5min later Andy was up to the chassis in sand... woops.

I was still free so after a failed attempt to drive him out (it's been so warm the sand was like flour) I backed up my Dmax and towed him out. By the time all that was done we had a 3 vehicle audience who clapped as we got free.

Setting up at 1230 was brutal. Even with dappled shade covering our site we all broke into a sweat almost instantly. Shades and tents up Jane and Kelly went off to enjoy a swim as the rest of us stuck to the shade. Report from the water was refreshing. I think my beer was fairly refreshing too.


Around 2 it was time for a late lunch, where Jane realised she forgot to bring any. Luckily we never go hungry on car camping trips and had plenty to share. Kelly and Jane then spent what felt like the next hour (at least 30min) blowing up some Aldi pool toys. It was really hot at camp so we all wandered down to the water to test them out.

The breeze on the beach was amazing and it was pretty surprising how much difference 50m could make. Blessing and a curse for the camp location. Little wind so our site doesn't blow away but also hardly any of that ocean breeze to cool us down. Heading back to camp the bees were getting full use of the beach shower, trying for a drink. Not wanting to have a bee shower I opted for the one at camp.

Dinner was a slow cooked stew and 1/2 the camp retired soon after. Some went down to look at the stars on the back and try to guess townships lighting the shore but it wasn't long before we were in bed too. About 11 it started raining so it was a rush to get out of the tent and close the windows/move some towels out on the line to under the shades.

Up early in the morning to relieve myself and took a short walk into the bush. I was immediately accosted by marsh flies, mozzies and sand flies. They were bad yesterday but this nothing compared to by myself. I must have been the only meal around and they were hungry!

The morning was a relatively quiet affair. A nice bacon breakfast followed by lounging around camp. Swims were had and then lunch was eaten. A Goanna visited camp a few times, Baa (Thoa's very Vietnamese mum) wasn't much a fan, getting goosebumps at the site of the rather large lizard seemingly not caring about our presence.  More swimming after lunch but I hung around camp a little longer. A Unimog with a long ish Jayco trailer provided just over an hour of entertainment trying to back into a campsite.

When that was done I went down the beach to join the others. Setup just on the tree line there as plenty of shade and wind and it was a good 5° cooler than camp. Added bonus of the wind keeping the bloody bugs at bay.

While chilling in the shade Thoas' mum, who can't speak a lick of English, started laughing. There were three activities on the beach. A Fisher casting a net for bait fish, kid playing soccer and a pair with a metal detector. After some confused pointing she took her sarong and acted out with it as if she were casting a net.

As he came up the beach she went over to give him instructions. Apparently he didn't speak fluent Vietnamese... Luckily Thoa was just arriving back with snacks and she was able to play translator. Not often a grown man will stand there and take instructions from a Vietnamese Grandma, especially about fishing, but to his credit he listened and I think was happy to learn! Well done mate.

Dinner was a great stroganoff followed by some Choc Bavarian cheese cake, yum! And most people were pretty wrecked so early to bed. Sadly when returning my borrowed torch Kelly caught the fly screen in my tent zipper. No resolution without making a hole but luckily I had some tenacious tape (it's great stuff) on hand to patch and plug any potential access for bugs.

Morning was another smashing success with bacon, eggs and mushroom. Then came the thrill of packing. Andy, Thoa, Liam and 'Baa' were heading home to see the fireworks. Once all of their gear was packed Andy started his Dmax to cool it down with the aircon and a squeal immediately recognised by any motoring enthusiast screeched over the otherwise quiet morning camp ground. Oh no.

His fan belt had gone, possibly back when he got stuck in the sand (as we haven't driven other than getting to camp.) After some figuring out (with a little Mr Google help) we got it back, mostly, to where it needed to be. It was a little frayed but after the bumpy Sandy road out of camp the car wasn't over heating and it was still in place.

Not being able to do much more we said out goodbyes and turned left to visit the boat ramp as they turned right to head home. Nice little ramp and beautiful salt water creek, much like Tallebudgera. We then went off in search of the other campground, about 16km north (via road) of town. We also got news that Andys truck had made it home safe and well.

The track in was easier than out camp but much longer. We also extended the trip by heading off down a side trail to Theodolite Creek. How could I pass that? (Surveying reference.) Quite a few mosquitoes there though, obviously enjoying the mangrove linked creek. Back out to the beach camping which looked like it has some really nice spots, sand was very soft though. Very sluggish in a few spots.

Eventually back at our own camp we quickly abandoned our chairs and took towels down to lay under the trees just on the edge of the sand. Much cooler with the ocean breeze and significantly less bugs. One bug Jane managed to find (or rather it found her) was a bee as she went to wash her feet. She's had reaction to bees before so we prepared for the worst, gave her some antihistamine and hot water to soak the bite (on her finger) in. After 20min there was no significant swelling and she was feeling ok.

There was a shortish loop hike from camp, 8.8km by the signs ~7k by measurement, and despite the injury we decided that it would be a great way to cap off the end of the year. Just as we got started we had to cross the beach access road where a weary traveller towing a boat was well and truly stuck. We went over to offer help but his wife had already ventured off to ask for help from their neighbours so we continued on.

The track wasn't extremely well trafficked but still easy to follow. Lots of Melaleuca trees (which are significant if you ever try to knock one down...) and quite a few more palms etc through this section compared to camp which wasn't far away. About one third around we found ourselves alongside a swampy wetland with a very active mosquito population. To the point where Jane had a dozen on her back and many more buzzing around exposed arms and legs.

More pretty wetlands always in tandem with another wave of bugs at a few more locations but that's just good motivation to hike faster, right? Near the end the sun had set and we were hiking in the remaining light. Kelly lit up the path with a head torch for us (We all had one in case) and brought us home. Just as we reached camp was when I needed some light, the last 100m. We timed it pretty well.

Quickly off to the showers to mostly wash off all the blood and mosquito carcasses from our skin before settling in to dinner. With the phenergan taking affect Jane dozed in and out of the conversation. We did manage to stroll down to the beach to star gaze but the wind had a little chill in it so we headed back to camp. Jane retired early and Kelly and I gave it a good shot but turned in not too long after. Might as well bring in the New year with a good sleep.

With the bugs chewing away we decided it was time to pack it in and head home. It was a slow pack up, with lots of cool down breaks and a few swims/cold showers in between. We eventually broke camp just after 11. Reaching Gympie for lunch (pro tip, use the Aldi Car park rather than the food strip. It's easier and quicker) before continuing home to unpack and clean all the sand off.