Hiking - 2020 08 - Stinson Crash (O'Reilly's to Christmas Creek)

The morning started with a few long drives. First to get a car to the end of the walk, the furthermost point of Christmas Creek Road, Lamington. Second to drive my hiking buddy and I all the way around the mountain and up to the Green Mountain section of Lamington NP. Better known as 'O'Reilly's'.  

We left just after 7am and were up the top at just before 12. We had lunch at the cafe there, options were a bit limited... should have just got a pie... Ham and Cheese Croissant plus a shared bowl of wedges was pretty filling though.  

About 1245 we finally set off on the walk! The first 9 ish km are on a pretty well maintained section of trails. Very well maintained Border Track for 5km then another 4 on the Albert River circuit getting us to Echo Point and a great view of Mt Warning. Really clear day today with views extending past Mt Warning and over the ocean   

After Echo Point it does go onto more remote trails. Fairly well used though so well worn and easy to follow. When I expressed that thought I got an "Uggh, really?" So maybe my expectations for trails is a little too forgiving...  

It was very well marked as well, you couldn't go 5m without seeing another piece of flagging tape. Quite a few pieces fell on the ground, I only grabbed a few. It was also funny to see the ones with 4 different types of flagging, on the same little tree. As if the fluro orange already on the tree needed the help of yellow and pink too...  

Just after 4pm we came across the sign for Rat-a-Tat, a welcome sign as the woods start getting dark around 5... We took the turn off and went the 50m down hill to a nice, big (ish), flat site for camp. A nice flowing stream only meters away made water collection easy as well.  

Setup with more than enough light but then had to bring out the head lamps for dinner. Sadly one was dead on arrival with no spare batteries. Made do with just mine and phone lights as required. Without torch light we could look up through the small gaps in the canopy and see that there was an amazing clear night sky. After dinner, and a few sneaky MnM's for dessert, we brushed our teeth and turned in for the night.

It was a very relaxing morning pack.So much so that when we were still nice and warm in our bags, just past 7am, we heard a group of eager hikers (I had learned were doing the same trail as a 1 day adventure) hike past the Rat-a-tat turn off. After a little more snooze time and a leisurely breakfast we finally broke camp around 915am. Straight into an uphill stretch. The track was still well/not-well defined (depending on your view point) but then amount of flagging has certainly dropped off. 

I started picking up all the old flagging tape that had fallen to the ground. Feels like there's more flag waving here than at a parade... 

Despite the easy to follow trail it was a little over grown for some of it. Quite a bit of Wait-a-while vine to cause snags as we brushed by. The steep uphill slowed our pace, almost as much as the steep down sections did. Uphill sections thick with wait-a-while certainly hindered progress too.  

We stopped off for lunch at Kalinya Lookout, shortly after Mt Thorakban. A really nice little lookout in the sun. The westerly winds have blown up bringing with them dust and hazy views. Still able to make out Mt Warning through it. Most of the walk has been sheltered but the cool breeze was still reaching us at the forest floor making for a mostly chilly day.

Next it was up to Point Lookout for another short break before doing the final 800 ish meters into Stinson remote camp. Not the best sites to select from but we made do and found a flat spot. I set off for water down (then back up!) a pretty steep trail. Beautiful creek though, and good way to warm up.  

Just after 5 we heard a few voices and a pair that had come up from Christmas Ck strolled into camp. Conversation was basically; 

Them: Did you know you have to book here? 

Me: Ahh, yeah.

Them: Oh, we saw that there was only one spot and it was booked out. 

Me: Yep, would have been us...  

Them: Oh... Do you know where the wreck is?  

Showed them the path to the wreck, and the one down to water (they said they had plenty) and talked about where we came from. As I mentioned Point Lookout, not far away, they decided to push on and get the wreck on their way out tomorrow. I said they could stay, an meant it, but also glad they kept going. Hopefully they'll make it before dark. They seemed interested in the sunrise over Mt Warning after I mentioned it would be nice.

Around 6pm it was just starting to get dark so we made our dinners then retreated to the warmth of the tent and sleeping bags soon after.

The next morning saw yet another relaxed pack-up. Everything was squared away by 9am but we left our packs at camp to do the short (but steep, a precursor for the day...) side trail down to the Stinson crash site. A big tree had fallen in the last year and efforts were made to uncover the area. I honestly can't remember there being too much wreckage left when I first did it (20 years ago) though.  

We then started the steep uphill to get back to camp and crossed paths again with the guys from yesterday. They had made it to camp with light but it was dark by the time they finished setting up. The wind, which we felt but barely, was apparently quite strong up there. Only one braved the cold winds for sunrise.

After retrieving our packs we started down towards Christmas Creek. Deceptive at first it seemed like a nice trail but it soon picked up grade into the near vertical grade I remembered. Hey, at least this time it was dry, not muddy.  

We took a careful and cautious approach to get down. Flagging tape had picked up in frequency again making it easy to follow but the sheer steepness made for slow going. Climbing down over roots and rocks we eventually made the scramble. Someone had left a rope for a more direct route which was handy.  

The old route was up to the right and then along a thin ledge before going up. The new (red) was obviously straight up. But not too difficult.

Onward and... downward? The trail descends 500m in under 2km, with the steepest 150m elevation drop in just ~200m horizontal distance. Makes for some pretty cool tree roots though.  

Finally reaching Christmas Ck we took a sigh of relief and were able to ditch our packs and head a little further up stream to Westray's Grave. The end to his ill-fated journey seeking help after the crash.  

From there it was back down the creek line, picking up our packs once again and finishing the final 3 ish km to our car. A few fallen trees, as well as a Strangler with the host tree completely gone, were only a mild inconvenience to the now seasoned hikers. One decent rock hop across a creek later and we were finally finished.  

The only thing left was yet another drive up to O'Reilly's to get the second car and then the long drive back down and home. Probably took a little longer than expected but with a bit of motivation could be condensed into an easy 2 day hike.  

Diving - 2020 08 - Fraser Island

With Covid-19 easing off in QLD it was time for another dive trip. Kristie had organised a trip out with Ken at the very top end of Fraser Island.  Ute packed for an early Saturday morning leave I picked up Snr on the way.  

We got to Rainbow Beach just past 11 and did a bit of a car shuffle. I'm leaving my Ute at Inskip so all our gear was stuffed into Nelly/Pete's or the back of Bruce's ute. After a quick lunch we were off to the point and air down parking and I said goodbye to my ute for a week.  

The barge was just departing other side so we joined the queue. About 13 cars in front of us so we would all easily fit on. Smooth drive over and Kristie timed it well so we hit the beach 2 hours after high on the outgoing tide.  

Smooth run up with Pete's first time ever driving up the beach. Still had to take the bypasses around the rocks and we stopped at Maheno for a photo but it was pelting down rain so we kept going. By the time we reached Ken's shed it was clear. 

Off to the pub for dinner and talk about the plan for the next day. Ken wanted a scout of the water (vis) and current before diving so a fishing day was put forward. 

5 of the boys went off fishing and my parents, Kristie, her girls, Nelly and I staid back. We decided to head to Champagne Pools for a look. The quietest I have ever seen it. Even managed a picture when it was empty.  

Back by lunch and the boys were back not long after with a pretty decent haul. Weather was looking a little iffy for day 2 but we decided to push on for a dive anyway, so the afternoon was spent putting dive gear together and preparing the boat.  

In the morning a bit more boat preparation was necessary due to discovering a perishing fuel filter. Some duct tape and swearing later and it was all sorted.  

Launch was into a great calm gully and we began our trip out. As it was a Westerly wind tucked against the island was relatively calm but as we reached the top we felt the full force of the 15+ kn winds. About 10km into the 22km trip we decided to pull the pin as it was too rough :(  

Luckily there was a wreck close to shore so we were still able to drop in. It was only 8m deep but there was a lot of structure and fish. Nothing too big or exciting but I did stumble onto a Moray and saw a Leopard Ray swimming off into the green water. 

Water temp was about 20°c and with the wind it was very chilly on the surface. Shortish drive back to a second wreck even shallower and greener water... With the wind and the cold water Jeremy (in a dry suit) was the only one not freezing so we pulled the pin on dive #2 

On the way back to the shed we saw a Dingo enjoying the surf. When back Rod got a good fire going while we rinsed dive gear off. It was nice to warm up by the fire with chips and cheese. We enjoyed an amazing BBQ dinner cooked by Snr, lovely salad supplied by Nelly, and then turned in early for bed. 

Photo by Jeremy Ford

 

Tue morning was a pack up time for some while others got ready for another fishing excursion. Dive gear mostly dry I left my boots and wetsuit out for a little.more sun and Bruce kindly offered to pack them away for me (as he was taking them back.)  

Setting off about 10am we stopped by some attractions on the way south. Red Canyon and Pinnacles (coloured sands) are always beautiful but the Maheno on an incoming tide probably got the most excitement out of the girls.

After playing with the waves as they surged through the potholes it was time to set off again. Tide was starting to encroach the best driving path forcing us onto softer sands. Eli was still easily navigated though. It's not bad at the moment. We reached Happy Valley, the start of the Great Walk near 12 and after a sneaky pie the others headed off hoping to use as much of the harder stand they could.  

I set off on the Walk, which you can read about in it's very own post here.

Hiking - 2020 08 - Fraser Island Great Walk.

Day 1: Happy Valley > Valley of the Giants - 20.8km  

Day 2: Valley > Wabby (+Side trips) - 27.9km  

Day 3: Wabby > Central Station - 19.1km  

Day 4: Central > Jabiru Swamp Camp - 31.3km  

Day 5: Jabiru > Inskip Car park - 17.5km  

With the others already gone and the curry pie successfully consumed it was time to head off and find the start of the Great Walk. Only a few hundred meters up the road was the official terminus... and a lot of signs warning about Dingos... (You can read about where the Pie came from at the end of my Fraser Island Diving post)

Considering that Fraser is a sand island the track was relatively solid. A few sections gave way under foot but mostly it was fine. Lots of fallen trees to clamber over, or around, with the softer sections did make for slower going. It wasn't long though before I made the first camp 6.7km in... I was skipping this one. Nice lake though.

The next bit was more forested which helped with the path surface. Still plenty of trees down to make things interesting. Very large pines that seemed to reach into the clouds. My trekking pole is 1.15m for reference.

Just before 5pm I made it to where I was camping. 20.8km, not a bad afternoon. One other camper here so after i was setup I joined him for dinner. He's from Melbourne (seem to be meeting a lot of them lately...) but started an Australia tour back in Jan and has been in QLD since March.   

As he is heading north I was able to glean some info about the trail (and the 0 Dingos he has seen.) We also shared tails of other adventures which is always nice to take a few notes from. He was heading west soon so I put him onto Carnarvon as a must see. Mozzies were pretty aggressive, so we soon retired to our tents. I would have barely made 7pm before falling asleep.

Easy pack in the morning and I said my goodbyes before heading out. It was just 400m to the first side trail of today. Up to a Giant Tallowwood, over 1000 years old and 11.5m in circumference!

It wasn't much further for another (7.2km return) side trial to another big tree. Still very impressive but a lot of extra kms for one tree... A lot of others must have had the same thought as the trail is less travelled and in softer ground. Something I should note for this trail; If you're a trekking pole user use the blunt stop ends. The spikes on my poles dig into the sand too much making them less useful.  

Back to the main trail and just over the 1/2 way point for today was another side trail to Badjala Sand blow. I stopped here for lunch to enjoy the view. What was meant to be a relaxing hour turned into a 45min game of whack-a-mole with Mozzies. I lamented the wind the last few days as it was horrible for diving... but I sure could have used a breeze to keep those blood suckers at bay.  Still, a good view, even if it was an effort to climb the edge of the blow to see it.  

Just as I was hearing up to leave I noticed a tick crawling up my leg. Good to get them before they dig in. There was another couple arriving too, with day packs. They had been dropped off at 'M9' road crossing and were aiming near where I broke camp. Fraser GW seems to fall victim to a few of the other QLD Great Walls in that there's no place on trail that can't be traversed as a day hike. Takes away some of that remoteness feeling.  

I got to Lake Wabby by 215 and found a group just leaving (towards the beach track) so I had it all to myself. Pretty rare for Wabby. I didn't stay too long though deciding continue on for camp.

After setting up and sitting around camp I questioned my decision to move on from the lake side... I was starting to get sore feet, so glad to be off them, but there were less mozzies by the lake... definitely a better view too.  

One thing about camp though, and most of the trail actually, was the abundance of Midyim bushes. Haven't noticed much in the way of berries (wrong time I think) but in the right season they would provide a great little fresh snack on trail.    

With so much time at camp I took out the map and started looking at my plan. 29.9km today... and if I combine two 'short' days I could do a 32km day and finish a day early... 

2k wouldn't be too much longer, hardly noticeable, and it should be flatter trail too as it follows along lake edges for quite a bit. This would also have the added bonus of less time swatting Mozzies... and even with important blog writing time, 3 hours to kill before sunset solo in camp is a really long time.   

Luckily a pair of hikers showed up at 515 so I had someone to share dinner, and the mosquitoes, with. With my new plan of action I also had some spare Tim-Tams which were good to share as dessert. After here and some time at the Whitsundays these guys plan to do the Larapinta, so it was nice reliving it through their plan.

Had a slow pack in the morning and left camp around 750am. Not a long day today, 18.6 in total. It was 12km to Lake McKenzie where I was due at 1030am to meet the folks, Kristie and Jeremy to get the rest of my food and have a bit of a play with the nieces. Lots of uphill from camp so I was slower than expected.  

One other Nobo hiker who actually came from Hook Point (as opposed to Kingfisher like the rest) so he was able to give me some trail conditions for the remainder of the trek. It wasn't too long before Lake McKenzie came into view which its beautiful white sand beach.

Another 750m on and I was at the car park. Spotted dads Triton pretty quickly (unique roof rack and not many other Tritons on the island) but couldn't see Jeremy's Cruiser. Started to head down to the lake to find Kristie heading up to get changed into togs. She gave me the bad news that they has some mechanical issues with the Cruiser, sounds like blown CV joints :( 

She and the girls hopped in the Triton for the day while he stayed back and tried to get some work done. Kingfisher Bay is better than most office cubicles I guess...  

Down at the lake the girls were enjoying a (very cold) swim. I settled for getting my shins wet. The soft sand (which I'm told is a great way to exfoliate) does wonders for sore hikers feet. 

When it was too cold to keep swimming we went up to the Dingo proof fence for some lunch. Mum had brought some really nice fresh Pineapple. Fresh fruit on trail is amazing. I also had a ham and tomato sandwich and some Cadbury chocolate. I eat well on hikes! A Monitor Lizard hung about for a while too, hoping for a feed.  

After lunch the girls had warmed up and were keen for another swim. I decided to press on. Collected my things, said goodbye again and set off on the short 6.6km to camp for the night. About 4km in I was at Basin Lake and decided that I had plenty of sun left so I might as well take another break.  

The next 2.6k fell pretty quickly and I was soon on the boardwalk at central station. A bus group was coming the opposite way (there's a 900m loop) and had a few questions and comments but it wasn't long before I was at the Walkers Camp. 

It seems that most hikers skip this one (makes sense with McKenzie not far away) as there was branches and leaf litter on all the sites. The others so far had been swept fairly clean, as far as hiker camps go. However I was happy to be here for the hot showers. 

My excitement was short lived. I got ready and dropped 2x $2 coins in only to discover the stall I had chosen had a broken head. A single stream of hot water shot out like a jet, about an inch above my head... Still, I made do using a hand to direct water and got semi clean. Luckily I had a 3rd coin so after the hot water ran out I switched stalls and had a good, albeit short, shower. 

While getting ready for bed I was found by a leech. Another reason to pass on this camp :o No other walkers here though I am close to a regular camp site so I could hear all the car campers getting back from the days driving/settling in for the night/cooking dinner. It was barely past 6 before I retired to my tent. 

In the morning I discovered that a mouse had got into the "Dingo proof" cage and set upon my food bag. Luckily it only got into the milo/powdered milk mix and mustn't have enjoyed it. Leaving the rest alone. At the other camps they had sheet metal boxes which are rodent proof as well. Still, I otherwise would have had it in my tent and likely have a mouse sized hole in that too!

After breakfast was the task of getting up and out of the valley. They're only small hills here but I still feel them. Luckily half way up I was given a good reason to stop, a coastal carpet python sunning itself in the morning light. I may have stopped for some flowers too... 

The morning fell pretty quickly making it to the next camp site, lake Benaroon, for smoko. Only a short break before continuing on to Boomanjin for a slightly longer break, finding a trekking pole someone had forgotten just prior to arriving. The last 2km before here was along the sandy shore of the lake. Some was compacted and easy to walk on but a lot was loose. With full exposure to the sun I was glad for the break.  

Pushing on further to Dilli Village I arrived just after 1pm. And thus officially ended the Great! Walk.

I was kinda hanging out for a soft drink, figured they would have a kiosk with a few things but it was all fenced off with "NO PUBLIC ACCESS" signs... Would have likely been ok but it didn't seem welcoming... so I just snuck in a beach access gate to fill a water bottle and continued on. About 600m down the Jabiru Swamp trail was a nice grassy spot on the shade to pull up for lunch.

Glad I'm doing this bit in the afternoon. Makes it nice and shaded. The Jabiru Swamp trail isn't so much a trail, but a seldom used vehicle track. While some of it was ok a lot was loose sand as you'd expect and also a narrower path to thread (the width of a tyre.) 

After about 4km it did improve, there was a side road where most 4wd must come from/head off. The swamp itself is just that, a swamp. Surprisingly few mozzies though. Little bit of a breeze might be keeping them at bay.  

There was only 3 platforms at camp (at least a dozen at the others on the official walk) and no toilet or water tank. Luckily I knew about the water and came prepared, collected from a stream that crossed the road. Good thing I always bring a trowel and spare TP too!  Discovered tick #2 before dinner.

The next 15km of the swamp trail were as uneventful as the first 10. Swamp and more swamp. At least there was a Blue Tounge to say hello too. No streams south of camp; So carry all your water from the barge, collect from the swamp or walk at least a k past camp. 

Just over 15k and I was onto the beach. A long line of 4wd waiting to depart the island, a few of them asking questions as I walked to the head of the queue. Some Dolphins swam by as I was waiting, then it was so to the barge and almost home free.  

The line to get to Fraser was longer than I had ever seen it. All the way back to the bitumen road! Some nights in solo camps I think how nice it would be to have company, but then I see somewhere like Inskip on a long weekend, 2000 strong with campers. Loud music and people yelling and suddenly those quiet solo sites don't seem so bad.  

A quick pit stop at Rainbow for a pie and a drink before starting the drive home. Had an amazing run down the Bruce. Completely accident free! A spot of rain near the Gateway exit saw things slow, but only a fraction and it wasn't long before I could start the exciting task of cleaning sand off gear...  

Found another 2 small ticks, bringing the total to 4, nestled in when I finally got cleaned up. Just started spitting here, so a good excuse to leave the rest of the gear cleaning until tomorrow!