Diving - 2019 11 - Moreton

It was time again for another awesome weekend away at Moreton. Marie and Coralie had organised another Clean Up Dive. A great chance to enjoy a dive but also give a little back to the environment we love to visit. 

About a dozen were able to head over Friday morning, with most coming on the Sat. I had a bit of work to take care of but managed to swing a half day to head over on the afternoon. Hit the first stumbling block when I arrived at MiCat to realise BCC has blocked all street parking. $60 later I was in their carpark and getting on the barge. I wonder who requested no parking on the street.....  

The wind had kicked up quite a lot today and Paul, who was heading over on his own boat, had to pull the pin. 25 knot winds will do that! The plan was to try again early in the morning. With the head wind the 90min barge ride over was a bit lumpy but luckily my chariot (Lintons Prado) was awaiting my arrival.

Far too windy for a dive this afternoon so we resorted to having a few sunset drinks instead. Half way through relaxing we were made aware (thanks neighbours!) that the wind and waves were -not so slowly- filling up the boat. Gary's sprung into action to save it and shuffled it down behind the safety of Tangalooma wrecks. 

The prediction is for it to get even worse later tonight but then start getting better in the morning. Fingers crossed. Sunset drinks were nice though.  

It only got a little bit worse but then improved significantly. The house I was staying in was back off the beach a little and when I woke up not a single leaf was blowing. Slightly different down the beach though... still felt like about 18kn and still too rough for a dive.  

As we pulled the pin the night before most people had decided to sleep in but generally got up by 8. It wasnt too long before we were sending cars down to pick up the new arrivals and retrieve the boat from Tangalooma.  

As soon as they got back to the house it was time to gear up and head out for a dive. Outgoing tide makes for a pretty good drift dive on the Pines. Half way down the wall was a massive MASSIVE anchor. The chain alone would sink our boat... Stainless, probably a 600lbs plough, with a massive shaft and significant chain attached. 

Few Nudies but a bit less life than I'm accustomed too on the pines. the wind and current had taken the boat about twice as far as the divers so when we popped up it was well on it's way to Bulwer. Wasn't too long though and they were back to pick us up.

Back on shore for a very quick bite and turn around before heading out again for the slack low. I put my hand up to be skipper and dropped the group on the MDS. Seemed like a good dive, if a bit milky because of the low tide.  

After the dive it was a little more relaxed. People had a late lunch and then we started discussing the possibility of an afternoon drift... moments after I stripped of my wetsuit... it was still pretty good though despite having to don a wet wetsuit... 

6 of us headed out but Mitch had to abort at the start due to sinus pressure. The remaining 5 of us met some impressive current but it was manageable with the protection of the wrecks. When it was time to surface I shot my SMB up and it whipped down current. As soon as we left the protection of the wreck, so did we. 

Back on land and unfortunately we were having problems with the compressor. It would run and sound fine but cut out, for seemingly no reason, in under a minute. Managed to barely eek out 10 tanks... of 20...  before calling it quits. Despite about 8 'experts' (me being one) taking a look to try fix it. Any Honda Mechanics in the club? 

Carbonara was amazing for dinner and as usual the company here kept us entertaining for the evening. With only a few tanks not everyone could dive in the morning some had to do a hat draw to see who got on. Alex got a spot but kindly stepped down so he could go surface watch.  

Early start for the slack high and a few of the tanks we thought were full were only partially so. Still 8 of us made it out to the Rock Driller/Tram and I was able to duck over to the Nautilus Statue to see how it was going. Definitely encrusted and lots of life calling it home but the sand has encroached a little as well. 

Back after the dive and someone must have gone to church this morning for as if by miracle the compressor was running again. Best efforts to fix yesterday must have paid off. Or it just needed a sleep..  

Coralie, Marie, Jack and Mitch also got stuck into sorting and cataloging the marine debris we recovered. After every dive we separate line, hooks, sinkers and all manner of other rubbish so we can track what were taking out.  Slightly less than past years but maybe that means our efforts are making a difference!

Big gap between dives so some of the group headed off for a drive to check out the light house. Having done that many times before and there being limited seats in vehicles I opted to stay behind and rest. A working compressor was also short lived but in that time we did manage to fill enough tanks for the afternoon dive. 

Slack low again so the vis was as expected. Milky and 5m. We were a little late getting out after lunch and just missed the turn. It was fine when we hopped in and getting around though. We were at the northern end again but still managed to mostly fill buckets.

Towards the end of the dive the current was starting to pick up. The anchor was nice and wedged under a rail on the MDS wreck and as JNR and I were the last divers down we unhooked it (to make it easier to retrieve.) The moment we did the boat shot off with the current, us in tow. Occasionally it would catch on a bit of sand and give us a little tug but it wasn't long before we were back on the surface and heading back to shore.  

8 pax were heading back home this afternoon so they packed up and we got a group shot with some of our haul from the weekend. Compressor was still giving us grief and there was a lot of discussion about what to do with the remaining 3 full tanks...

Running the compressor a little early in the morning and we were able to just get 7 tanks done. Not being the kind of people to skip a dive we dropped right between the Enterprise and the Birambin wrecks. Huge Groper was hanging around where we dropped, starting off the dive on a good footing.  

There was loads of rubbish on the tyre pile. Not so much on the wrecks but 1/3rd of the tyre pile was enough to overfill the bucket! Heaps more for when we come back next time. The vis was better too, almost 15m at one point. Best so far this trip.  

Another great surprise for me was seeing something new. I have done at least 50+ dives on Curtin, probably more, but found a new Nudibranch and a really cool fancy Pipe Fish too. Neither I have ever seen anywhere before. 

When back on shore we sorted 'the catch' again to track what was collected. After that was lunch and then seeing the Gary's off who were driving Diver 1 back. Our Barge wasn't until 330pm so we had some time to kill.  

Some sweeping to be done after lunch and loading the 4wds for the trip back. Lifting the compressor onto a ute tray is always a fun job. As well as 20 ish dive tanks...  then soft and dive gear stacked ontop of that. 

It was a short jaunt down the beach to meet the barge and it felt like no time at all at Tangalooma before we were loading. A fairly smooth trip back, compared to the trip over... on the mainland we reshuffled gear into personal cars, said our goodbyes and headed home.  

All in all another great trip. Thanks completely to the organisers and everyone that chipped in to make sure all the various weekend jobs got done!

Hiking - 2019 11 - Lamington NP (Lost World)

Another loop that had been on my radar for a while was the Lost World circuit starting from the O'Reilly's section of Lamington National park. I finally had a weekend lined up so locked it in. A few were initially keen to join me but with family commitments and rain predicted by  Friday afternoon I was heading solo.

 

Didn't rush in the morning but had a really pleasant drive to the mountain. Carpark was almost empty, guess the rain scared most people off. There were some people feeding the lorikeets though and a rather brave bush rat out in the sun too!

The trail started off really easy in a maintained path to Morans Falls. Despite the rain on the drive up and the constant drizzle I was keeping mostly dry due to the canopy. Kicking off the top layer of leaf litter exposed dry ground. The northern section of Lamington suffered some significant burns recently so they could use the rain. The rocks forming the steps were just damp enough to cause caution slowing my pace a little.  

It wasn't long before I made it to Castle Crag and was almost ready to start the 'real'section of the hike. Beautiful views up the valley to Lost world... and some rather tall mountains for later in the day...  

Dropping off the edge of the cliff, and it certainly was cliff like, was more than I had anticipated. It was very bloody sketchy to be honest. Those who know me, and my affinity for teetering on the edges of cliffs, know that I'm not squeamish nor do I shy away from heights but there was a good few moments where even I questioned the sanity of my decision to press on.  

Even past the really steep bit the trail, if you could call it 'trail', often had you heading straight down. The 'trail' was effectively non-existent. Every now and then you would see a foot pad/goat track that would last for 5 meters, 10 if you were lucky.  There was evidence of past hikers though. Big skid marks down the hill where someone took a slide. I left a few marks myself, not just those on the trail...  

 Eventually I made it down to the upper reaches of the Albert River. I followed it down stream until the turn off back up the other side before stopping for a rest before the hill. Great spot to stop for lunch, though I had planned for smoko here. Flowing really well and a knee deep hole should you want to get wet. As it's been really dry this was also the last guarantee for water. 4lt makes for a heavy pack...

No messing about on this hike. No such thing as switch backs, just straight up the hill. Straight up on a ridge line, over 300m elevation gain is just under a km. Then turn left when you reach the top to traverse along another ridge, for a similar sort of distance and height... Definitely some cool bits though. 😀

Ridge ridge and then some more ridge before it flattened up a little bit closer to Lost World. I'm so glad I carried all that extra water up the hill to see the creek flowing free and clear. . . . At the Lost World Creek camp, good spots for 4 or so tents a little spread out and the flowing creek near by I think it's worth the climb. 

I had arrived just before 3 and thought I shouldn't be done for the day and decided to push on to the Lost World Saddle, another 4k. After a short break I pushed off once again up the hill.  

It wasn't long before the bush gave way to rain forest. Lots of vines, heaps of spikes, easier grade than the previous hills but felt even harder. At some point before the Mt Razorback Summit a vine must have grabbed my side pocket and raked my TP from me, doh!  

This was an easy bit.  

The trip down was rather difficult for navigation. I had my phone out fairly often to confirm my position was still on trail. A few times I confirmed I was a hundred or so meters from where I wanted to be. I started using the compass on my watch which made things easier. This sort of forest with dodgy maps and old school compasses would have been quite the feat! 

Eventually though another defined ridge protruded through the forest and it wasn't too much longer before I was at camp. Just on 5:20. Enough time to get everything sorted, enjoy the sunset and cook dinner in the fading light. 

Even before dinner (a continental pasta side with powdered milk to thicken it) was ready the temp had dropped to the point where I reached for my beanie. I have my warm bag with me tonight and thermals should it drop too much. Puffy jacket to for emergencies, but I don't think it would be needed. By the time I was in my tent, around 7, it was 16°c. A bit warm to be in my bag but perfect with it as a blanket.  

Surprisingly few mosquito but of course 3 made it into my tent and needed to be dispatched before I could have a good sleep. Not much room for them to hide in a small tent.

Nature called in the morning, not a call you can leave unanswered, so I tried out the old naturalist approach and grabbed some leaves. The Cordyline leaves went ok actually, but I think I'll be more vigilant with my TP through vines the future. I'm more upset about leaving rubbish behind that my choice of wipes this morning.  

After breakfast and packing camp it was straight back up a ridge again. Once more covered in thick forest and vines. Even more dense than yesterday. The first 3k to Mt Worendo took a little over 3 hours. 1.3 kph is a fair wack off my usual 4.5-5kph on maintained trails...  

A few hundred meters shy of the summit was a very faint goat track which did make it a bit easier. Smoko on top and pulled the first leach of the trip. While eating discovered another 3 that had latched on. Blood dripping down my leg onto the top of my socks... 

The O'Reilly's side of the mountain had a much better defined trail. Very easy to follow. A few people would day hike to the summit but it's also the trail for Rat-at-at and the Stinson wreck, so it makes sense it's more well used. There were a few sections near blow downs where the trail disappeared but the occasional piece of flagging tape made it easy to rediscover.  

Past the 'Rugged/Remote' sign and it was almost like a maintained trail. It wasn't long before I reached Echo Point and was back on actual maintained trails, Albert River Circuit. A couple that camped there the night were just about to head off, having enjoyed a sleep in and the view at Echo point.

They asked me how far it was to Stinson and pulled out the map below...  

.... 

I tried to manage their expectations. 

...

Luckily as I was on the return circuit I was able to offer them my actual (topographic) map and suggested they set a firm 'turn back' time. The trail back was much much faster. It's not surprising when you're not stopping every 3 meters to step over a vine or unhook from wait-a-while (Lawyer Vine) spikes.  

Back on the border track and the path was easier again. The closer I got back to O'Reilly's the busier it got and when I saw people in thongs I knew I was close. Got back just before 1230.  Enjoyed a drink and a hot pie at the cafe before starting the drive home. 

Gear is a bit of a mess, certainly dirtier than most of my hikes time for a hot shower and probably take the pack in there with me. Hope you enjoyed the hike, see you on the mountains!