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!

Hiking - 2019 08 - Sunshine Coast Great Walk

After a long week of training I definitely needed a bit of a break and was lucky to have an RDO and the Ekka show day to give me a 4 day weekend for it. Not wanting those days to go to waste I set out to complete yet another QLD Great Walk. This time in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, near Montville. 

Packing my gear away Friday evening was a very welcome distraction in the afternoon to clear my mind after the long days work. When checking the weather it was for nice sunny days however an 'Arctic Blast' of cold strong winds were due to hit so I packed my warmer sleeping bag.   

Day 1 - 17.2km

https://www.strava.com/activities/2612030340

Drive out started off rather exciting, it looked like a tree loppers had left the hand brake on for his trailer/mulcher which got to the point where it caught on fire and already had spread to the wood chips in the back. Everyone was safe and there were plenty of people there so I headed on. Grabbed a quick bite in Montville and then got going on the trail. 

The trail starts along a beautiful creek. Heaps of rock pools, water falls and great vegetation. Quite a few short popular walks from the carpark too so nice bridges and boardwalks to keep you moving.  

I continued on for a while and eventually came across people going the other way. You can park at Kondalilla Falls and have someone pick you up at the other end. When I eventually reached the main circuit it got very busy. Lots of people, young kids and grandparents all giving inquisitive looks at the silly person with trekking poles and a decent pack.  

I stopped at the base of the falls for a short lunch break and a few people asked about the pack and were amazed that there was such a thing as a 60k hike (80k for me to get back to the car) here. Despite them having to have walked past at least a dozen 'Great Walk'sign posts by this point...  

Lots of stairs, and groups that don't seem to understand what single file is, later and I was at the car park. There must have been 75 ish mountain bikes layed out all with map readers. There must be an adventure race going on in the area, but I didn't cross paths with any participants. (Confirmed Adventure Race, my cousin was even a participant)

The next stretch was... less scenic. Can't really give props to QLD NP here but I'm not sure how 'great' a walk can be when you're doing ~3.5km of it along the side of an 80kph road. 

Still, it's a connection to get you where you need to be. Theres another shorter 2k road sting tomorrow as well. Past the road it was only a short 1.2k aong a forestry road (at least no cars on this one...) to camp 1, Flaxon. Despite the later start I was still at camp by 130pm. Which is good as it means I might miss work traffic on the way home.   

There were a few midges at camp but surprisingly no mozzies. The faint BRAPP of the occasional Dirt bike far off in the distance, mostly drowned out by the wind in the trees. I had a good scout at camp before deciding where to sent my tent, quite a few widow makers, especially with this wind.  

Day 2 - 27.4km

https://www.strava.com/activities/2612030322

Slept in and had a rather late packup not getting away from camp until after 8am. Easy start to the hiking too, all down hill until I reached the bottom of Baxter Falls. While not quite as tall as Kondalilla these falls were really good and had a much better swimming hole, that would definitely catch the midday sun. 

Far too cold for me to go for a dip I moved on. To get over the creek just near the falls is a pretty cool little suspension bridge. Apparently can hold 2 adults... though I'm not sure I would trust it with that...  

Back up the other side of the gorge all the way to the top and then another stint of road walking. Much quieter road so not quite as bad as the day before. During the road walk there was a few honesty boxes; Would have been good to have a little cash on me to buy some fresh fruit. At the other end was the Mapleton Falls carpark and then back on trail. The falls were good, but no great vantage point for them.  

Passed a few hikers heading in various directions. Mapleton seems to have a spider network of trails so you could plot out some good routes in here. 

Into Ubajee camp just past 11 to stop for lunch. According to the great walk planning map, this should have been night 2. Pro tip, about 200m past camp is a much better spot for lunch. Didn't discover that until I got moving again... 

A few more hikers on the way out and a surprisingly large amount of trail runners. Back down to the bottom of a valley and a few creek crossings that mostly had little concrete causeways to use. Some really beautiful spots. 

Past yet another entry/exit point and then up Mt Thilba Thalba. A few day hikers in for the mountain were on their way out but I had the peak to myself before eventually moving on to an also empty camp just on 1515. It's funny some other hikes I wouldn't dream of stopping at 3 in the arvo, but I was happy for the seat and the cool breeze today.

Day 3 - 25.1 km 

https://www.strava.com/activities/2612029177

Another late-ish pack up from camp rolling out just on 8 today. Considering I cleared the highest point of the hike yesterday there was a bit more up and down in the morning. The trail follows adjacent to a dirt road for a while, only heard 2 cars go past. The road was about 50m away and you can barely make out cars through the vegetation.  

After turning away from the road it was time to head back down into the valley to reach Gheerulla falls. Another great waterfall with a decent swimming hole. This one was a little murky though so I'm not sure how deep it is.  

A few hundred meters later I was at 'The Junction' and the official end of the ~51.5k Sunshine Coast Hinterlands Great Walk. Even with a shuttle car though it's still a few k (up out of the valley) to the nearest road. Approx 30km back to my car though... 

Overall there are some really great bits on trail but there isn't a single inch you can't get to with a moderate day hike instead.

I made it back to Mapelton Falls before 12 and stopped for a long lunch. Only 5 k to camp... 21k to my car. I was looking at times and thought if I pushed I could probably make it there before dark.... While I couldn't see the falls it was really relaxing just listening to them cascade over the cliff.

Having made it to Flaxton camp just past 1 the remaining 16.1k, mostly downhill, to my car didn't feel insurmountable for the day. After a quick snack and setting up the filter to replenish some water I decided to get back on trail. While the filter was going I also dug around in my pack to make my head torch more accessible should I need it.

Day 3 (part 2) - 16.1km (41.2km total)  

https://www.strava.com/activities/2612029177

Covering ground (including the stupid road walk) that I had already been over made me feel better about breezing through. I made it to the Kondalilla car park rather quickly.  

Was still surprisingly busy which held me up a little as people were strolling hand and hand stretching across the path. One lady gave me a rather unpleasant look after she wasn't paying attention and ended up face to face with me. Track is well wide enough for two people so if you're walking in a group of three I'm not hoping into the scrub for you.  

I decided to take the other half of the falls circuit this time, just to change it up a bit. Rock pools near the top of the falls are really nice but too cold for any punters this late in the day. I can see why it's a really popular spot in summer though.  

Once off the circuit I didnt see anyone else until I was 200m from Lake Baroon dam, where my car was parked. Theres a good lookout not too far up trail which they were heading to for sunset. Back to the car just on 5pm but I sat and rested a little while before the "2 hour with usual traffic" drive home. Figured sitting in the trees was better than brisbane peak hour... 

See you on the next trail!

Diving - 2019 07 - Straddie

Coralie had organised an awesome weekend away at Straddie as part of our clean up efforts to help reduce marine debris. 

Friday was an early start for me, up before the sun to pick up the club boat. Luckily the sign guys that have a workshop near the club house were in and shuffled cars making my egress easier. I then met a few passengers at the Ferry carpark to transfer gear into my car and hop in.   

Nelly arrived and as we started to load gear she clicked to open her boot. No clack. Clicked her key fob again, still no clack. Boot was stuck shut! We fiddled for a while with the boot lid, then turned out efforts to lowering her back seats, without much luck. We turned to the manual and Lynn found the instructions which were wrong! There was an extra and wrong steps but eventually I figured out and we were able to retrieve her dry suit.  

Still plenty of time for the barge and the weather is near perfect so it was a smooth easy ride over.  

After the barge we headed straight to Amity to meet the rest of the crew, many who were on an earlier barge. I was surface watch for the first dive and watched as the others geared up and got ready to start collecting underwater rubbish. Unfortunately more bad luck for Nelly, a split along her wrist seal in the dry suit. There must have been a heap along the wall as it wasn't 20min before divers were back on the surface with full buckets and heading down for more. 

There was a heap of rubbish along the wall, definitely warrants a few return trips. When all said and done we had to empty out the Anchor box to fit more in! Back on shore Nelly waddled up the beach, about half her suit full of water :( A cold dive for her so she made the wise decision to sit out the next. 

The rest of us got set and headed off to Cherubs Cave, through the north channel of the South Passage Bar. Great conditions today and barely a bar to speak of. It was even so good that it glassed out on the way back in. The same couldn't be said for underwater though, barely 5m vis. Still it was a good dive on Cherubs and despite a few fishers in the area not much rubish at all. Which I guess is a good thing. 

With the smooth run back we got to Kens mid afternoon and begun the clean up of the massive haul from the Amity wall. So much line, sinkers, squid jogs and even two (yes, TWO!) oven elements. Finding places to sleep at Kens place is always a balancing act, where are the snorers sleeping..... where are the people with heavy boots.... or early risers... or late partiers.... 

Anton and Al D cooked up some amazing Spag Bog... but we forgot to pack the past last wednesday... wooops. Al ducked off to the shops to grab some and we all had a good dinner. Bed wasn't too long after. 

The next morning we had a fairly leisurely start, at least so far as diving mornings go. Not leaving Kens until 8. By the time we made it out to Flat Rock there was already 2 boats at the shark gutters so we swung around to Turtle cave and dropped in there. Surpsing vis compared to the pea soup that was yesterday, almost a good 10 meters. There was also a bit of rubbish to collect making it a worthwile location to dive. Sadly I overshot the moring on the way back getting to the surface quite a ways away from the boat. Nothing like a good surface swim to work off that dinner from last night!

Second dive was around at Shag Rock. A few fishers on the surface and 1 very enquisitive dolphin that swam within 3 meters of the boat. Underwater there was a bit of waste to collect, including a dive slate. Alex and Iwent through the swim through and around the Eastern half of the Rock. Few turtles and heaps of fish. Usually see a Frog fish in that location but didn't seem to find any this time. On the return Alex was getting a little low on air so we popped up, I was dead on target this time, but still ~30m short making another (albiet smaller) surface swim to the boat :o  Sadly in the last 5min of the dive the bucket I had snapped off to my D-ring must have bumped into my tank and broke lose sending it flying :/ Had a few sinkers in it, so it should sink but I didn't see it fly off but we've made a net positive this trip and we can get it next time. 

Back to Kens again for sorting the rubbish and making sure it is recorded properly. In the afternoon most people headed up to Pt Lookout, some just for the Ice Cream, others to do the Gorge walk. I took a short walk down the beach but mostly chilled back at Kens and got a jump start on setting my gear up for Sunday. Some of the locals hopped by to help. 





Another great dinner, thanks to Jez for cooking the meat and Coralie and Marja for the Salads. A more lively night tonight with ome very good scotch by Al, and some Port that was donated. It's great going on dive trips like this where you can wittle the night away sharing trip stories, or planning the next ones! We had decided to beat the other boast in the morning so the night didn't drag on too long. 

Up and out of Kens by 7 for another smooth beach launch, conditions are great on the surface this trip. Looked like outher boats were already on their way out but we were at the rock with plenty of time to spare (they arrived after we were well and truely down) and were able to get the prime moring, right at the Shark Gutter. At least a dozen or more Grey Nurse Sharks in the gutter and a few in the side gutter. 50+ Mobula Kuhlii Rays schooling too, plus 2 Devil Rays near them. On the dive Kristie also found a Dive torch, looked likt it had been down a little while, but not too long. Battery was flat, but we chucked in one of mine to test it and it was a bright little package. Good find. 

On the surface we were treated with a few shows from the migrating Hump Backs, the closest just a little under 50m away. Kristie got her mask and Fins on and hopped in trying to see them underwater but unfortunately with the vis that was all but impossible. My buddy decided the sun and whales was enough for him so I joined Kristie and Jez on the second. Soon after out descent was a Cow Tailed Ray and then back to the many many Sharks.

Not too much to sort out after todays dives, and clean up was pretty quick. Some awesome Bacon wraps made for returning divers and then a quick sweep of the houses. We had plenty of time to go before needing to be on the barge so it was off for another IceCream, so I went this time too. Great view from the Point Lookout Knoll. Dolphin Pods and Whales off in the distance. We hung around for a bit, but then it was time to get to the barge and start heading home. 

Another smooth ride back and a quick transfer of Yanir and Lintons gear back to their respective cars and I was off to return the boat to the Club house. Good traffic the whole drive back and was long before I could Gerni off the boat and tuck it in the shed. Off home myself and dive gear away (washed it at Kens) and eat some Grub. 

Another awesome URGQ weekend away. 

Hiking - 2019 07 - Conondale (Summer Falls)

Thomas and Callan were keen for a little hike so I joined on and we chose to head back to Summer falls. It's the first camp (anticlockwise) for the Conondale Great Walk, 12k in and out. I have camped there a few times, once as part of the full loop, and it's a good spot.

I had also thought I managed to convince a friend, who had been talking about joining me for a while now, to come along for their first ever overnight hike. Even to the point where the pack was full of gear (some borrowed) and ready to go. With a big week and not ready for a big hike they ultimately bowed out. Mixed feelings for me, would have been great to have them along, but also means I got my tent back :) We'll have to aim for a shorter one next time so they can join. 

We stopped off at Malaney on the drive up for a smoko pie and reached the Booloumba Creek carpark by 930. Laced up the shoes and set off up the hill. The Mt Allan Fire Tower was unfortunately closed off due to some concerns about one of its supports. Bit of a shame as it's a great view from the top of the tower, but it saved us the decision on a 1.4km side trail.  

At the top of the hill we had a brief stop for lunch with pack weights etc being discussed. Callan gets away with a 36lt pack, which would be awesome, but that means Thomas has the tent, cookware, water filter and his fancy new chair (which is almost 900g itself!) 

We got to camp just before 1300 and Thomas was able to set up his chair... I hate to admit but the thing is pretty comfy! I still don't think I would carry it though. It was weird when I sat in it, you get a much different perspective. I'm use to sitting on logs/rocks where you naturally lean forward and look down, but in the chair you can lean back and look up at the trees much easier.  

After a few snacks we went down to the waterfall and Thomas got out his RPA to fly around and get some awesome shots of the falls. You can see it on his Instagram here. Explored the creek for  while too, much more water flowing through at the moment than any other time I've been here. Definitely improves the look of the falls.  

Another pair of hikers arrived but kept completely to themselves after saying hello. I'm definitely like that sometimes too, though usually rarely... while camping. I like hiking alone, on the move, but definitely prefer company and a chat when sitting around at camp or lunch spots.  

Thomas braved the chilly water... by going about ankle deep. Still more than just running a hand under it like I did.  

Two more solo hikers strolled in followed by a father and 2 young (10-11 ish) boys and then a little while later a mother and her (~14yo) daughter just after 1530. Camps are fairly spread out here though so it's not too bad. I wonder what the max capacity here is though, that's 13 now. It was a fairly quiet night but got quite cold, colder than I thought it was going to get. Still managed a good sleep in. We had a leisurely pack in the morning. And were just barely second last out of camp. 

We made really good time up the hill and decided that despite not being able to climb the tower itself it was worth heading up the hill to the Fire Tower. Callan's boots were causing her some pain (mainly on the heels) heading up the hill. We taped them yesterday but unfortunately that didn't seem to completely stop the issue. There were a bunch of Bees enjoying the wild flowers near the tower and it still looked pretty good, but you could definitely tell that one of the posts was rotting. 

On the road up there was a pretty cool mushroom poking almost 200mm out of the ground cover. Still enjoying the wet weather from the past few weeks. The trip down was much faster, smashing almost 5.5km per hour. Being downhill the entire way certainly helped. Once down we didn't spend too much time before hopping in the car to head home. Realising that it was the end of school holidays and not looking forward to the traffic.... There was a little on Steve Irwin Way and again stop/go for a bit when we got onto the Bruce but overall it wasn't that bad and we were home soon to Luna and Charlie (Callans dogs) giving us a big welcome home.