Hiking - 2025 09 - Point Pure (Main Range National Park)

Finally had a good free weekend to tick off a hike that's been on my to do list for a little while, Point Pure in the northern section of Main Range National Park.

The usual pre-hike preparation the day before, seemingly blowing the dust and brushing some cobwebs off some of my hiking gear. Second time used this year, shameful. I also decided to pre-soak my water filter as it probably dried out. My brother 3d printed me a new cap for the back end of my sawyer squeeze which came in handy to stop any dripping.

The hike starts from Glen Rock/Casuarina Camp Ground, about a 2 hour drive from home. We got away just on 7 and had a smooth run up and were away hiking by 920. The first 4km are along a very well maintained mixed use trail. Crossing Blackwell's Creek a few times. We could get across dry the first 3 but no chance for the 4th so ploughed on through. Fairly exposed at the start, pack sunscreen!

The fire trail ends and you have to push though about 400m of snake country (knee-waist high grass) before linking up with some old fence trails heading up Repeater Ridge. Fairly easy going along the fence line, barely a scant trace of wire but the majority of posts are still standing strong. The the track it's easy to follow. Still pretty exposed on the Ridge.

Eventually the 4wd track ends, and it appears like the fence gets a lot better, with the trail changing more into bush scrub. Good footpad still and a bit more shade, but the incline definitely makes you work. A few rocky sections that require a bit of effort, but I would stop short of calling it a scramble. One had a cute little green snake, trying to soak up some warmth. Eventually you top out on an unnamed peak, take a sharp left, and start heading down again. 

Steep stepping down almost straight away as you walk along some fairly thin Ridge lines. Made a little more hazardous as it began to rain on us. Littered with a few more rocky outcrops to navigate you roller-coaster along the Ridge for a while. Eventually you veer right, where we almost immediately lost the footpad. Unable to relocate it we traversed across the side of the hill, often a foot slipping on the wet grass.

My shoes were mostly dry after the creek crossing, during the climb, but wet grass has made them drenched once more. This section would have been a bit annoying in the dry, so pushing through wet grass certainly wasn't making it better... type 2 fun right...? It was very slow going, carefully placing each step as the grass was hiding many rocks, logs and washouts. I managed to hold my feet, a few times just barely, but my partner did slide about 1/2 a meter and with the slope needed some help up. At least the rain had eased up... 

Eventually we started to hear rushing water, so I knew we were almost through it. Sigh of relief as we spotted a crystal clear flowing creek, gushing with water. The Valley also opened up to great views as the skies finally parted and we actually saw the sun again. Not much longer to camp from here but we stopped to collect more water for the night and tomorrow. Even with pre-soaking the filter it had more of a drip than a flow... Good excuse for a rest I guess.

Like some magical barrier the other side of the creek was more open bush, with relatively short grass. Mush easier walking. Not far from the creek we startled a wild pig that shot off into the bush. Black as night. It wasn't much further until we were at camp. Fairly spacious, obvious signs of past hikers, including a fire ring, and a great view into the valley. With the damp ground from the earlier rain and the wind picking up the valley we were very quick to cool down. I threw on my thermal top and used my rain jacket to block the wind and my partner already had almost all of her layers on. 

We ventured the ~100m from camp to the tip of Point Pure to enjoy a late arvo tea and the view. Not long after we were visited by another little busy friend. A tiny little guy, very interested in the scotch bottle. Back to the tent briefly for me to change into the rest of me warmer clothes before making dinner, enjoying the last of the sun disappearing, some good colour after it dropped behind the mountains, but fairly short lived. Soon it was time to head to bed to slip into warm sleeping bags.   

Immediately discovered a decent, unfixable hole, on the seam of my hiking pillow. It has seen a lot of use though, but it's not something you want to discover at bed time. Looks like the old lightweight trick (not carrying a pillow, just using a bunched up puffy jumper) would have to do for tonight... The wind was pretty strong for the first half of the night, and was still howling during the first pee break, but dropped off some time before early morning. I had a fairly broken sleep with my lack of pillow, drifting in and out of sleep and readjusting the puffy-pillow all throughout the night. 

In the morning it was nice and calm with the sun shinning, so it started to warm up fairly quickly and the condensation on the tent quickly dried. Still a more casual pack up with the two of us, so it wasn't until 820am that we broke camp and begun the hike home. No trail immediately apparent from camp, but it was still nice open scrub with short grass and easy going. Navigation was fairly easy... there was a cliff to our right; Don't fall off it.  

It wasn't too long before the scrub got thicker. Faint traces of a footpad appearing suddenly under foot and then dissipating just as quickly back into overgrown scrub. Some evidence of past hikers were branches were snapped off and had already regrown. Choke points that funnel hikers onto a similar route (top of peaks, around bigger fallen trees) had more defined tracks, but even these lasted barely 10-20 meters before dissipating once again into the scrub. Mostly soft scrub though, not too hard on the bare shins. At a creek crossing we could see patches of stinging nettle, but easy to avoid. Along the exposed cliff line was a lot clearer and easier going. Still fairly slow though, navigating and passing through it all. Probably averaging just over 1.5 km /hr through this stretch.   

There was another good climb to get up and over a cliff line before linking up to a ridge. On the way up almost stepped on a decent sized Carpet Python enjoying a patch of sun. Only the 2nd snake we've seen this weekend.... but I'm not sure I'd want to think too hard about all the ones we didn't... 

After all that climbing it was time to head back down.... 600m drop over ~2.5km made for some pretty steep sections. Ground was fairly good, plenty of vegetation cover for the most part. Some of it had fairly loose dirt which lead to a few slips. Steep drops either side at a few points as well, so be careful with your feet placements, but safe enough as long as you take your time, and that we did...  

Just as you reach the creek at the bottom you run into thickets of Lantana. Fun! There is a goat trail that leads you right through a 100m gauntlet of it, then you double back along the dry rocky creek bed to almost where you started (+ down a ~2m drop off.) If I venture back again, I might drop to the creek a little earlier off to the right nearing the end of the ridge, as following the creek was a lot easier than pushing through the lantana. 

A little celebration as we made it back to the maintained shared use trail. Nice and wide, slashed grass, easy hiking. Still 9km back to the car though. Lots more criss-crossing over the creek. Some you can stay dry through, others not. Held a fairly steady 5km/hr pace most of the way, excluding the creek crossings/rock hopping, and back to the car with plenty of sunlight left. Though definitely a long day for just 15 km...  

Diving - 2021 10 - Lady Musgrave Pontoon

Thursday afternoon Jeremy and I took off for Bundy. I took first driving shift as he still had a few Zoom meetings to do on the way up. We made decent time and got to Bundy just after 6 to meet most of the other divers for Pub dinner. $15 Reef & Beef for a decent steak 300g Rump. 

Day 1

Early ish to bed and it felt like nothing before the 540 alarm (Alan D telling us to wake up...) Off for a coffee and a quick bite before heading to the Port to jump on out transfer boat. There was a few other groups on the way out, including a school group. We wrangled one in to take a group shot of us and made great time on the way to Lady Musgrave. Certainly a lot faster and more comfortable than the ~9hr Barge ride I'm use to! We're staying with 'Lady Musgrave Experience' who have a floating hotel "The Pontoon" out in the Musgrave Island lagoon.  

We transferred to the dive boat and left the crowd behind on the pontoon. When packing my gear for the trip I realised that I only had 1 of my Lycra Dive Socks, I must have left the other behind on a previous trip. They make it a lot easier to don a wet wetsuit, but I thought I could survive a few days... Over to Fairfax for the first dive, nice reef slope and good vis. Second into the water near Manta Bommies for some bigger current. Saw the largest Spotted Eagle Ray I have ever seen (sadly didn't get a pic) and a Manta Ray with about a billion Remora.

Back to the pontoon for lunch and to say goodbye to the day trippers. Nice wraps and salad for a late lunch and then we made ourselves at home downstairs on the underwater beds.

Beautiful pink sunset and then 4 of us (5 + Madi the Dive Guide) jumped in for a night dive. I definitely felt the feet more without the socks, and they don't slip into the wetsuit legs anywhere near as easy. Just inside the Lagoon so probably not the most exciting one I have been on. Still nice to see a Giant Green Moray and a cool little flat worm. 

Pizza for dinner but it wasn't long before everyone, tired from the early start and long day, turned in. With the outside underwater lights off at night the downstairs room was pitch black. Good for sleeping but a little eerie.  

Day 2

Was up early at 5am and first inline for coffee. They were just turning everything on and heating the water and steamer up. About mid way through the coffee orders they ran out of reserve power and had to resort to the has stove for boiling water.  

After everyone was functional with caffeine we loaded the dive boat up for a single dive (had to double check a few underfilled tanks) and after a short (40 min) delay we headed out at 7:40am towards the South side of the outer Lagoon wall. Putting on the Wetsuit last night was a pain but luckily Grahame had an extra pair of dive socks he very generously let me use (Champion! Thanks Man) them which made my morning a lot easier.  

The goal was to dive 'The Caves' (mostly shelf overhangs but some with decent depth into the wall) but we dropped a little west of the marks and found reef instead. Some good reef though and as soon as we dropped a huge beehive coral with a cool pipe fish on it. Rest of the dive was ok with the usual Nudi, Turtle, fish etc.     

Back to the Pontoon and we had a good ~4 hours break. There was a few divers from the day trip boat so they took out the dive boat for a double allowing us time to relax a bit. Sadly all the day trip things had already commenced, so there wasn't a chance for us to hop on the Island tour or Glass bottom boat.  Another good lunch before gearing up for the arvo dives.   

Over to Hoskyn Island, a new site for me. 2nd dive of the day on the reef with beautiful coral and bommie structure. Under a huge bommie was a White Tip Reef shark sharing a hole with what looked like a pregnant Tawny Nurse Shark.  

Dive #3 was close by on a pretty well defined reef wall. A lot of life and some good Nudi and Flat worms. We drifted with the current for a while before it turned. A few of the crew pressed on into the current, while others took the easy route (I took the easy route) and turned around with the tide.  

3 went out for a Twilight Entrance Channel "Superman" dive but the rest opted for a hot shower and a cold drink. Dinner of Sheppard Pie was ok, very generous serving size. It came out still in the 'Tuck Shop' foil tray. It wasn't long before bed beckoned and everyone turned in.  

Day 3

A later start today, Coffee machine pre-warmed and ready for the few early risers. 7am breakfast for an 8am departure... so not much later than yesterday...  We took out dive site locations from Diver 1 this time to guarantee a dive on the caves. Alex popped the marks into his Navionics and dropped us directly on top of a cave.  

I was pretty lucky and the first in, leaving it pretty tidy. After another 3 or so people though and a silt bomb had exploded and filled the cave with fine silt. A good drift for the rest of the dive, many many overhangs.   

Back onto the pontoon and a bit of a wait until we could get enough full tanks. They don't have a compressor on the Pontoon, just banks, so limited fills. They have to wait for the day boat (with a compressor) to fill tanks/banks.  

While we were waiting it was almost lunch, so we had some a bit early before heading out to Bolt Reef for an afternoon double. The first dive looked a little underwhelming at the start but about mid way we started reaching some cool gutters/Slot canyons. Afternoon was a shallower dive on a flatter reef. We managed to fine a few things but a Yellow Spotted Moray was probably the best of it...  

Back on the pontoon and Jnr, Snr, Chi and Coralie went in for a night dive. The rest of us headed downstairs to the Observatory to watch them float about.  Another filling dinner (Burrito Wraps) and a few beers before another early bed.  

Day 4

We weren't due to be in a rush this morning but due to the light of the Sunrise and typical Diver/Boat nature there was a few of us already stirring at 5:30. Lisa (the Hostie from the last few days) had finished her shift and returned to shore with yesterdays Day Trip passengers. That meant that the Coffee machine was cold again and there was a bit of a wait for all us addicts. I can't really remember what time we left as the plan changed back and forth a half dozen times.   

Destination today was Fairfax Island to dive the Caves Wall. A particularly favoured site by many of us who have dived the area before. They were happy with our group and diving so the DM stayed behind on the Pontoon to attend to other duties and it was just us and the Skipper on the boat. With a gentle current it was a nice dive and with the Club GPS location and Alex Navigating we dropped directly on one of the caves. Was a bit crowded with 18 divers hanging about but there were a few others along the way too that people could explore.   

Second dive of the day, and last of the trip, was over the North western side of Fairfax, Coralie and I tried to find the site we knew as Jacksons Bommie, however without the GPS Location it proved too difficult. We dropped a little shallow, ~6-7m, where most of the group stayed. Only Jeremy and I seemed to make the swim to deeper waters, hitting ~14m. We managed to find some good structure and a reef slope with plenty of rocks and overhangs to explore and enjoy. Reports back from the shallower divers didn't seem to be as exciting. Will be good to be back here next year, camping with the club, and having all the GPS marks.  

On the Pontoon it was time to rinse Dive gear and get it as dry as possible before stuffing it into bags. We had already (mostly) cleared out our dry gear from our beds which were stripped and waiting to be locked back into their overhead positions. Another lunch made up of Chicken wraps, Miso Soup and a few varieties of salad (exact same lunch for the 4th day in a row.) I liked the food, despite it being the same all 4 days. I definitely didn't go hungry.  

We had until 2:30 to have our gear on the transfer boat back, which was brought forward to 2pm, but still plenty of time to get everything sorted. Gear was still damp, but that's to be expected at the end of any trip unless you have a full day to dry it. We all loaded up and then launched off for the ride home. Mostly smooth ride home, some tried to snooze in preparation for the drive home others kept busy with cards. About 1/2 way back we had Phone service again so the phones came out too after an enjoyable break from connectivity.  

Alex took an amazing photo from his drone; 

Back on land we were quick to unload, say good byes and head off in our respective directions. Some were staying up in Bundy for the night, others started the drive home. Jeremy and I got going and had a very brief stop just north of Gympie for dinner. We met a few of our fellow travellers but were barely there long enough to wolf down a pie before continuing on. We made it to my place just before 10pm (Jeremy had another ~25min to home) to unload in the rain... one last chance to get wet on a dive trip...  

The gear would have to wait until Wednesday. Luckily I had the day off to recover and take care of some house keeping.   

Overall I felt like the Pontoon stay was a good trip. There's definitely some teething issues to be worked out, which was to be expected when we were one of the first groups and it's only been there 3 weeks. I think if they could solve the few little issues that we noticed they could have an amazing setup. I think the system we have when Camping over there works really really well for our Club and sets a hard standard to live up too. Plus, I do love my camping...  

Of course with a great group of divers and friends it's always a fun trip. Thanks very much to Nelly and Jnr for all the organisation!

Hiking - 2021 02 - Steamers (Main Range NP)

Distance: 13.5km

Temp: 32°c Max, 18°c min

My cousin was interested in doing some hiking so I helped him toss around a few ideas before we settled on Rat-a-Tat in Lamington. 5 bodies all keen and ready to go, until heavy rain 3 weeks prior to the hike closed many of the trails there...  We came up with the Steamers hike as a back up plan despite it being a tad more difficult.  

Day 1: https://www.strava.com/activities/4863136564

With only a short day planned we had a late start and met for lunch before getting to the trail head. It was closer to 2pm before we actually set off. The first 2 km were fairly easy following along an old fire trail, even though some of it was a decent incline. Plenty of cobblers pegs to latch onto clothing as well.  

There had been a fire through here not too long ago and as soon as we turned off the road it was significantly harder. The trail was overgrown with weeds towering over my head. Pushing through thick green scrub in 75% humidity built up the sweat and drained energy fast.  Some plants sharper than others...  

Pace slowed to a crawl on some sections with regular breaks and trying to re-acquire the trail after it disappeared under weeds or a fallen tree. When we reached the top of the ridge I thought it would have been easier but we traded the weeds for Gympie Gympie and stinging nettle. I got hit at least two dozen times.  

Photo by Aaron. That's a lot of Ouchie!

Persevering through we made it to a rainforest section with a lot more open understory and much easier going, albeit steep incline again. Near the top the Aussie scrub broke through again and welcomed us with a grove of Grass Trees.  

From there, and a beautiful view just beyond, we made it to the Steamers Saddle camp. A nice open spot, suitable for 5 hiking tents, 6-7 if you squeeze. With very reliable fresh water just 250m east.  

With the late start we did get into camp a little late but plenty of light to setup and cook dinner. Just dark enough for the torch as I was finishing up eating. We stayed up and chatted (and reduced some pack weight by consuming some port and scotch... ) for a while but were all ready to turn into bed by about 8pm.  

Day 2: https://www.strava.com/activities/4863136411

We had a fairly relaxed morning pack up in camp, letting things dry a little after last nights rain. There were a bunch of Red Triangle slugs about who obviously enjoyed the small shower.  

Before long though we were setting off up to the summit of Mt Steamer. Straight from camp we started the ~260m climb. With a goat trail most of the way it was easier than the hills yesterday, but the soil was damp and rocks were slippery. Just as we reached the top, as luck often has it, a cloud rolled in and obscured our view..  Plenty of Wildflowers along the way though.  

Never mind though, off we went again. Following on a thin ridge line before starting the descent down to the stern. Rainforest scrub here, once again spotted with stinging nettle and Gympie Gympie. Luckily there was a distinct lack of Lawyer Vine ("Wait-a-while") though. A few small rock Cairns letting us know we were on the right path and eventually we made the Stern.   

We ditched the packs at the junction and made our way to probably one of the most scenic lookouts in SE-QLD. Often a bucket list hike for many Brisbane Bushwalkers. The Steamer Ranges. You sit on the Stern and look out over the Mast, Funnel and Prow. Definitely a great view and a nice relaxing spot to sit just feeling the wind blow by.  

Photo by Mike

With the Sun starting to beat down it was time to return to our packs and finish off the hike. As soon as you step off the Stern ridge it's loose dirt/rocks and big steps down. You follow along the base of the cliff mostly and only deviate for short stints before linking back up with it. It's not very far, but it definitely feels it.  

We then passed the Mast, mostly the same again and met the rise up to the Funnel. There was some opportune (or so we thought...) Flagging tape marking 'the trail' down back to Steamer creek so we took a punt and followed it. There was no trail. Waiting through long grass, down a steep slope with the occasional hidden stinging nettle... I got hit a few more times. We decided to traverse over to where we though the actual trail was, through two gullies and lots more long grass. Hot, muggy work. At least we got some light rain about 1/2 way down to cool us off.... 

Eventually we made back to the creek and were on the fire trail out. Just past the NP gate, about 1pm, were 2 keen hikers who apparently spent the day looking for the trail head. They asked it how long it took us and if they had enough time to duck up in the afternoon. We suggested they might want to start fresh another day....  

After the ~7 creek crossings to get out we were back on the bitumen. A quick sit down and Schooner + some chips at the pub in Yangan and then we set off home. 

Diving - 2020 11 - North West Island (Week 2)

Tuesday 3rd Nov

The wind was more intense during the night causing a pole or two in the Nelly/Kerry camp to drop. It was still pretty blowy in the morning but with a few brave determined divers we still headed out. We tried for a spot on the northern end of the island but the current was hopping so we doubled back to opposite camp and dived the 'House Reef'. Lots of finger ridges with sand between. Fairly shallow site, ranging form 4-8m, but as soon as we dropped in there was a large Beehive Coral Bommie with a HUGE turtle in it, mostly obstructed by bait fish though. As we drifted along we finally came across a Nudi or two and as Coralie and I stopped to play paparazzi the others went off and found a nice swim through cave.   

We changed over and went straight back out for a second dive. We had sat for a little while and marked the swim through at the end of the last dive. When we left there was a fishing boat heading past us. They must have thought we found something good as they dropped their anchor right at the swim through, where we wanted to dive...... Plenty of reef, even with the wind blocking us from heading afar, so we dropped in about another 150m north. As soon as we dropped we saw a few Ray's but after taking a quick picture I noticed we were one short. Kristie was still on the surface as she forgot her weight pockets :o We've all been there before once or twice and she was quick to catch up.

   

The rest of the dive were even more stingrays, over a dozen in total. Not many Nudi this site, but we did manage a Flat Worm. 57min into the dive Kerry also found a juvenile white tip reef shark. Back on land for lunch and then I wondered down to the compressor to fill some tanks to find them already mostly done by Mitch and Chi. Unfortunately with the wind swinging around it seemed like the exhaust might have been blowing towards the intake as a few tanks tested high on the CO meter. We reset the intake on a different tree slightly higher up and refilled a few tanks until they were all testing 0. Mitch and I also filled the boat fuel tank used this morning, just about emptying out first 200lt Drum (on top of the ~190lt of fuel we had already used from jerry cans.)  

The Moths have been really bad this trip, first time I have seen these on any of these URGQ island holidays. There is a distinct lack of Rails (ground bird) which I think is playing a part. None to eat the caterpillar. Making dinner is a challenge, being dive bombed by moths the whole time.  

Wednesday 4th Nov

Talking about moths, we had a pan with a bit of scorched stew on the bottom soaking over night. By morning it was almost an inch thick with drowned moths, almost as bad in the washing up bucket.   

A lot more reasonable start times now for dive as the high tide has moved later in the day. 730am we were floating the boat and making our way over to a 'Superman' (strong Current) 'Wall' dive at Tryon Island. It was neither strong current nor was there a wall, but it was a nice pleasant drift on a gentle slope. A few Sea Hares, Flat Worms, Nudibranchs and a huge Octopus to cap off the end of the dive. 

Dive 2 we went off in search of a Bommie that's meant to be just South of the western end of North West Island. We couldn't find it after 10 min of putting around the mark so we gave up and went along the south wall again. Coralie and I went a bit deeper in search of the drop... it must be further west because all we found was a flat area at around 17m deep. Pretty nice dive though, more current than the Tryon dive. We saw a few Nudi's but the best find was a Black and White leopard spotted Moray Eel.  

Back on land to put the boat to sleep for the night. Sitting pretty on it's tyres. SNR tried to organise a game of 500 but everybody was too busy relaxing instead. I went down to the boat when it was fully exposed to unscrew the bungs and release some of the water in the hull. Quite a bit ended up coming out so it was good to get it done. My battery has drained down a bit, running the inverter sucks a bit of juice, it's also the main drinks fridge so opened frequently and warm cans being placed back in. So I wheeled it down to the beach to catch some rays. By the end of the day it was still only 12.7 volts, not bad but I was hoping for over 13. After the housekeeping tasks I went to look at my diving photos from the day. My SD card didn't have any of today's photos. Back in the Camera and I couldn't see them either. The card had heaps of used space, so they were there somewhere... but after trying to find them a few different ways (including Kristie's iPad) I gave up and reformatted the card. Luckily I back up the photos every day! Disappointed I'll miss the photos from the Leopard Moray though.

Jeremy had been fishing with Pete for the day and caught a few fish including a 90cm Cobia, so he was able to cook up fresh fish for dinner. A few of us huddled around a radio to listen to State of Origin game. After the game I went back up the tree again to try send off a message to let people know I'm alive and get an updated weather report. Messages didn't want to go through but weather did... Sunday and Monday look //bad//  

900mm Cobia!

Thursday 5th Nov

I was up in the morning to skipper the first dive over at Tryon Island. Same 'Superman Wall' as before. One group managed to drift the phenomenal distance of 50 meters from where I dropped them. The others managed about ~200m. Wind was picking up a bit so the ride back was a little lumpy. Quick turn around for the second dive and we discussed doing something closer but ventured out to Tryon once more. This time we were on the South-Eastern edge of the island, a little more sheltered from the wind. This site had a really good Coral Garden. Massive plate coral, probably the biggest I have ever seen. Looked fairly untouched as well, didn't see one anchor scar and couldn't pick any damage from previous divers.  

Giselle has been practicing launching her Surface Marker Buoy (SMB). We launch them just before doing our safety stop so the Skipper on the boat can have an easier time finding us. She looked a little shakey at the start of the trip but is doing them really smoothly now. With the assistance of the SMB Alan R was waiting near us to surface and it was time to head home. Wind had picked up even more and the ride home wasn't very pleasant. It takes ~20min in good water, we took at least twice that. Quite a few waves splashing over the divers on the starboard side. 

Just as we were coming in the channel Peter and the Fishing crew for the day were rounding the last corner to come in as well. Alan D caught the bad end of a wave and landed awkwardly causing a bit of pain. He apparently had a cracker of a day fishing though, by all accounts everyone on the boat did. Tonight was our second group dinner night, Pajama party. Everyone came dressed up to Sunset Drinks (which didn't include a sunset as it was too windy on the beach) and I think Bruce stole the show with his sexy little number. Dinner was great, as always, so many tasty meals to eat. A few rounds of dessert too.  

Friday 6th Nov

Starts are getting later so Jeremy was cooking pancakes for us, with the girls helping with the whisking. Mid cook there were reports of a Turtle swimming around in our 'Swimming Pool' (a thigh deep sand lagoon at low tide.) The girls raced off down to the beach and were very excited to see it. First dive was out near the end of the 'Fish Tail' of the reef, as soon as we poked our head past the eastern extend it got really lumpy really fast. A few min pushing into the waves we turned tail ourselves and hid on the northern side of the reef. Site was called a generic "Tail 1" but we've renamed it Boulder City as there was three large boulders (and many smaller ones) and was a pretty good site overall. It was also Coralie's 700th dive!!

With the turn around time and a bit of bad chop we were a littler later back for dive 2 so we decided to drop somewhere really close at "Kristinas Cave." Named last trip over here for the large swim through under some structure. Found a new Nudi I've never seen before, a White Tip Reef shark was swimming around and a nice Epilep Shark was snoozing in a small hole. Fairly shallow dive but minimal current and rather plesant. 

Back on the island for the afternoon and we started to get some card games going. 500 has been pretty popular this trip but we had a few extra players to join in so I suggested 'Presidents / Warlords and Scumbags / Arsehole' which seemed to go well, but we only had one round before it was time to get ready for Sunset drinks. Weather report came in ok for Saturday but it's looking more and more likely that Sun/Mon is out. We've planned for 3 dives in total, the later 2 being really close in.  

Saturday 7th Nov

Lazy morning with Bacon and Eggs for breakfast before a late morning 945am Dive. I was skipper for the first and we went back to the Boulder site near the tail. Swell was definitely up a bit and a very short swell period which meant we were bashing into waves most of the trip out. Everyone jumped in for the dive but Giselle lost a weight pocket, which apparently had a pretty complicated procedure to put in which was difficult to explain/complete underwater. So while Mitch and Kristie held Giselle down they transferred weights from the weight pocket into the back BCD pocket.   

I went out on the second dive back to Kristinas Cave and dropped in with Kristie and Coralie. I went to the task of setting the anchor to prevent damage to the reef and when I was done I couldn't see either of them anymore. I started the search procedure and half a minute later found Kristie coming down the line again. Coralie had a stuck inflator hose button and had to surface to fix it. In the process her camera came unclipped but luckily Kristie was nearby to see and scoop it up. Later in the dive Kristie also found a Snorkle that Graham had dropped overboard while gearing up. The dive was pretty good, despite the added excitement, with a few flat worms and a few new Nudis.  

Back again for Dive 3 of the day, to just another close site on the House Reef. I think our average depth for the dive was 4.5m . . . Still wasn't too bad a dive; We saw a Persian Carpet Flat worm, Giant Green Moray, White Tip Reef shark and for most of the dive there was a large Humphead Wrasse stalking us just on the edge of visibility. Up the tree for the latest weather report and Sun/Mon still aren't looking amazing. 20-25kn winds and 2-2.5m swell. Both from an Easterly direction though so at least the 'House Reef' should be protected. Despite the weather prediction we still had enough keen divers for at least 2 dives to head out on Sunday. 

It just so happened that Mitch/Chi/Giselle had the same meal plan (Dumplings!) as us tonight so we decided to combine and have a shared meal. Pork and Chicken dumplings, Steamed vegetables and spring rolls went down really well, as did the company and chat.  

Sunday 8th Nov

It was spitting a little this morning, though definitely not enough to call rain. We contemplated collecting Rainwater again for rinse buckets but the tarp has a healthy coating of bird poop now so we thought maybe not. Even on the protected side of the camp we can feel the effects of the strong winds from the other side of the island. It's actually a nice breeze down at camp at ground level but every now and then the tarp flaps up and the tops of the trees are definitely moving.   

I'm off the hook for the 'morning' dive today (leaving at 11am) so plenty of time to start sorting some photos and start to tinker/organize gear for the mass packup. Jeremy and I emptied out a fridge to create a spare battery for charging. In this site (and not being near the panels to chase sun as I was on the boat) the battery had been struggling a little. Down on the beach now but, of course, it's an semi-overcast day. Started to gather some gear that had spread out over the last 1.5 weeks. ThermoCore hanging on someone else's line, clothes over the tent, main packing boxes with scattered gear and half full smaller containers that can be repacked. Stocktake on food (we had some fresh fish, so left over meals, extra Custard from the Firefighters etc and a few things we used more of than we thought we would.) I've finished the Cider right on time and have a few bourbons to tide me over to the end. Still have the emergency Scotch, but if we're doing House Reef dives with the bad weather it might remain untouched until a later trip. 

Monday 9th Nov

With no planned dives for the day (just 3 'maybe' divers) it was a very relaxed morning and the last of the Bacon/Eggs were cooked up. Most of the morning was spent doing a tidy up of gear and some initial pre-packing to make the actually packup tomorrow a little easier. Water drums were decanted and empties rolled to the beach. Dive gear was set out to dry and lose nick-nacks that you always have camping were returned to their allocated position in boxes. We also decanted the last of the fuel drums into our Jerry Cans. Counting the boat Fuel tanks we have almost 275lt left over, which would have been easily consumed with good weather these last few days. When we had a few strong hands free we also moved the compressor from the bunker back to near the fuel depot. We'll move it onto the beach when we can see the barge. 

Continued the slow pack in the afternoon consolidating boxes before enjoying an afternoon swim. One of the nearby campers were a little short on food for their next week on the island so we were able to pay it forward from the Firefighters group and pass on some extra safety meals we had which should keep them going. I took a few things closer to the beach including my table (which was going home with Graham) and my dive gear. When Kristie's and Jeremy's dive gear was dry I packed the drying rack and poles and carried it down as well. Every little bit I can do today is one less thing I have to carry tomorrow. Beside the table I'll also be retiring my camping chair (has served me well for over 10 years) and my Wet-suit which has developed even more holes this trip.

Tuesday 10th Nov  

With the efforts made the day before there wasn't too much in our camp to get done. My tent was down before others had finished breakfast but the rest was left up a little longer. There was plenty of little bugs, cockroaches and quite a few Centipedes that scattered as soon as they were exposed to the light. Another negative about the lack of the little Rails was more bugs, and less excitement as they rush in to claim their feast.  

The pack up for most of the other gear seemed to be going along well. Mitch/Chi/Giselle still had their tarp up for lunch which made a good spot to chill and have a rest. About 1pm we could just make out the barge as a dot on the horizon so the last of the water bottles were filled and the barrels emptied for transport. When it got closer we moved the fuel and empty barrels onto the beach along with all our camping gear we had lined up. It seemed to hang on the horizon for ages, then again hanging off the reef, like we had all the time in the world. When it starts to move in though, it's a mad dash to load! 

Luckily we were the first group to be picked up. We had six crates to load and as it was the ones at the back there was often traffic jams. Once our entire crew was loaded the barge moved up the beach to pick up two other small groups. A few of them came down to help us so naturally the URGQ members with more endurance than most put in the effort to help them too. It was my task to retrieve Diver 1, which was now in very deep water because of high tide, and pack the anchors and be ready to load it onto the barge too. It's an interesting task carrying/swimming with the anchor, in water that's about 100mm over my head...   They lowered the ramp and I drove it up and then we were on our way.

One of the other groups (picked up after us) had walked down the beach when the barge first came in. They pushed past Kristie and the kids to claim 'their spot' up stairs with mattresses taking up a 1/2 dozen seats... It wasn't too bad, still plenty of seats to go around. We also had a few kids beds setup in the middle, which took out about 12 seats too...   We had managed to leave the island a little ahead of schedule but we were still late back to Gladstone. Getting in around 10:30 we stood around for the barge to be unloaded of crates first and then began repacking into trailers/cars/roof racks. 

As the club trailer was out of action before the trip we loaded the compressor onto Bruce's truck... which left a little less room for the rest of our gear... Luckily there were a few people that could take the excess gear with them so we could sort it out in the morning. By the time we had finished rearranging gear it was midnight before we left the port.  

Wednesday 11th Nov

It was only a short 15min drive to the hotel. I had a quick shower and went straight to bed. Most woke fairly early ready to start the day, some found it a difficult sleep... no wailing mutton birds to comfort them to sleep I guess!? Tracey and Kerry headed off in search of Coffee for everyone while others talked strategy. Gary and Marg fronted at the RACQ depot to find that they "didn't have time" !! in the two weeks! they had the trailer to change the tyres.  

To much amusement and jokes in the group chat (I think that's the only way we could have coped) we pondered how long it normally takes to change two tyres... To their credit though, they were pretty efficient (while under the careful watch or Gary and Marg) that morning... It wasn't too long before they were able to get the trailer to the hotel and we could rearrange the excess gear for safe transport.   

We set off shortly after the rest of the group but just overlapped for the lunch stop with a few others before everyone continued their journey home. 

I would like to thank everyone again for all the massive efforts they put in to making the island trips viable. Props to Nelly for organising, Alan D for being the point man on the compressor, Gary and Mitch for their awesome help with Diver 1 duties, Skippers and Surface Watchers and all of us for all the extra little bits of help we offer everyday that add up to a really enjoyable trip away.