Hiking - 2020 06 - Ballow Creek Junction (Mt Barney NP)

Thought it was time for another over night hike as it had been a few months. Managed to convince a few others to go with me too which is nice. Had perfect weather; crisp clear Brisbane winter day. Blue skies abound. 

I had thought Barney Creek Junction would have been nice. A good 8km, Lower portals along the way. Goat track all the way to camp. Sadly when I went to book camps it was already half full. Scratching for other ideas I found Ballow Creek. Sparse information but some old notes said established rainforest camp so sounded good.  

Only a short 6km to the camp so we decided to have a later start. Leaving from the Gold Coast through Canungra, took a bit longer than expected but we reached the bottom of Waterfall Creek camp 20 past 12 and headed up to Cleared Ridge. Camp sites were fairly full, I guess lots of people getting out post covid, and there were a few walkers on the 4wd track to the top. The condition of the track has deteriorated a lot since I was last up here. Just over a year ago.  

Eventually we get going and knock over the 4km to Yamahra Creek pretty easy before we turn off for the 'short' 2k to camp. We started with a fairly well defined goat track but it disappeared after 200 or so meters. From there it was following the creek as best you could. Swapping sides, hopping up the centre, finding the path of least resistance. There were lots and lots of fallen trees making it very difficult to push through. Vines slippery rocks and a few hesitations on crossings made for tough, slow, going. The last 2 km took us almost 2.5 hours.  

We got to the Junction, with only my pair of shoes still dry, but didn't spy the 'established' sites. We found a few semi-suitable and they definitely had been slept at before but they were over grown and fairly tight amongst the other trees. In the valley is was starting to get dark before we finished setting up and just as we were done it was head torch time. Cut it a little close, but we made it.  Temp dropped a bit, however it was actually warmer than I expected. Sun was gone for a good 1.5 hours before I reached for my puffy.  

The 4 of us sat about for dinner, various easy to eat meals like Mac n Cheese, pasta, CousCous and 2min noodles. We stayed up chatting for a little bit before retiring to our tents. Temperature didn't drop too low over night. Min/Max Thermometer read 5°C as the coldest (outside the tent) but I felt pretty warm inside. It was only in the wee hours of the morning, just after sunrise, where I felt the chill of the cold morning.  

We had a very easy morning, lying in bed until past 8am, unheard of at camping usually! With breakfast out of the way the sky decided it was time for these smelly hikers to have a shower. I'll have to have a word with the folks over at BOM as it was meant to be a clear sunny weekend!  

With a fresh coating of rain, on top of the morning dew, the rocks were even more slippery than yesterday! It was really slow going for a while and we decided that maybe we could cut across a small ridge to avoid one of the worst bends of the river. It looked goood for about 5 min but then we hit vines... and prickles. Lots of prickles. They weren't new ones to me but I can't remember seeing them often. They had really small, splinter sized burs on a larger head. As soon as they got you the little spurs broke off and dug into your clothes and started to scratch away at your skin.   

After being covered in them, thinking that was bad, we reached some rainforest vine, wait-a-while and even, just for good measure I guess, some thickets of Lantana! It made getting back to the river quite a bit more difficult. Eventually down the other side of the ridge though and once again into the creek. It was my turn to take a misstep and feel just how cold the water was... not too bad. From then on it made things easier for me, they couldn't get more wet. The creek was still hard work though, rocks still slippery and many many fallen trees.

It was odd, there were some parts (seemingly random) along the creek where trees had been cut by chainsaws. No obvious trail near them and we couldn't work out why some were cut and others (that looked to be the same vintage) were left untouched. It wasn't just one or two close to the nearest Vehicle access (Yamahra Creek for Rangers) but some much further up, while closer ones went wanting. 

We actually made better time heading down stream, getting back to the main Upper Portals Track just on the 2hr mark. We stopped for a bite for lunch, some camped in the nearby campsite were still in the process of packing up. Others had obviously left just before... and left a smouldering fire. I had a bit of extra water so doused what I could before we set off back up to Cleared Ridge. 

The hill is just about how I remember it. Long and steep. We took our time going up (though Callan and Thomas seemed to power on!) and eventually made it back to the cars. After this trip, the fact that they were already well loved, and the numerous (like thousands) of little spur prickles I decided to retire my hiking shorts. Even after a shower I can still feel the spurs in the back of my leg. Hopefully just phantom pain though... or they might be with me a while.  

Certainly a more difficult off trail hike and probably should of picked a slightly easier one to ease a few people into it. Despite the prickles and soggy shoes I'm keen to head back and see if I could make it to the next camp (a further 2km up the creek) to a place called T Junction. Would definitely need an early start for it though! Maybe even night hike into Yahamra, then had a full day to get up the creek. Some other time though!

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!

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!