Wakeboarding in Carrara

I spent the first Sunday morning of the summer holidays out on the Nerang River at Carrara with some friends. It was a stunning day, with plenty of fun to be had on the skis, wakeboard and tube. A few decent wipeouts shook the cobwebs from my head, but I wasn't as rusty as I had expected.

I can't think of a better way to start the holidays.

More photos here

Return to Mt Ngungun

We returned to Mt Ngungun to tackle another section of wall, this time heading to the 'Lower Main Cliff'. We managed a couple of tricky but fun climbs in the heat of the day, definitely harder than the similarly graded 'Andromeda' wall nearby. A great variety of moves required and a fantastic feeling to make it up to the anchors at the end of the climb and look out over the nearby valley.

All in all a great but very tiring day.

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Climbing Mt Ngungun, Glass House Mountains

Driving north under darkened skies I was expecting the rain to start falling before I even got to the base of Mt Ngungin in the Glass House Mountains. Luckily the rain held off and we managed to get in about six hours of climbing before the thunder started to roll in.

Chris and I had a decent crack at the 'Andromeda' wall on the west side of My Ngungun. Nice cool, quiet day, lots of fun routes that we felt were mostly graded too high. We managed to get a couple of photos on 'Gravitational Equilibrium (18)' while leading to the first bolt.

A few more photos here

North Stradbroke Island camping trip

Considering I grew up being able to look out over the water to Straddie from my driveway it was odd that I had visited the island only a handful of times. Rectifying my long absence I loaded up the Patrol and set off with a friend and his dog to Flinders Beach for a long weekend of beach camping.

We were joined by friends in another 4WD as we made our way to a nice spacious camp site situated in the trees, back from the beach, sheltered from the constant northerly winds that blew all weekend.

That night we setup an impressive camp, drank beer, swatted the ever-present march flies and relaxed around the camp fire.

Arising early the next morning we swam in the very choppy ocean, and sun baking on the beach along with large amounts of seaweed and scores of dead mutton birds that had washed up on shore.

With the tide receding in the afternoon we left for a drive, first stopping at Point Lookout for gelati, then continuing on along Main Beach. We cut inland through a soft, rutted sand track until we arrived at the Key Hole lakes as the sun was setting in the sky. After a very refreshing swim in the fresh water we set back off to camp. There was a total fire ban in place for Saturday night due to hot weather and increasing winds, but we managed to survive the night.

The next morning was more of the same, the wind had eased a little but the ocean was still a mess. With the prediction of storms and worsening weather we noticed a lot of people packing up early and heading back off the island. After some more swimming in the morning we look a 4WD through the middle of the island to a lookout point which gave a nice view of the Island. The water around the bar and Moreton Island looked amazing, and we could just make out the skyscrapers in Brisbane through the haze of the heat.

It was very hot under the baking sun when out of the sea breeze, so we left to get back to camp just as the high tide peaked. Packing up camp we made the 4 PM ferry back to Brisbane as the skies darkened and a light shower of rain fell.

Another great camping trip, and I won't take as long next time to return.

More photos here

Paddy's Flat

Leaving Brisbane before dawn we set off south into northern New South Wales to a reliable camp site on the banks of the Clarence River. Much has changed since the 2011/2012 floods, but time has passed and Paddy's Flat has had a chance to recover. Long grass now covers what was a wide swathe of silt, but it will be a long time before the trees and shade returns.

After a dusty four hour drive we set up camp under the increasingly hot summer sun, and not a moment too soon. The tent poles were scalding to touch after only being exposed for 10 minutes, we soon settled in under the shade of the tarp and cracked a few deserved cold beers. After a very sweating midday sleep it was cool enough to venture out onto the Clarence River, we took the kayaks down to the sandy banks and set off.

We made it several kilometres downstream until the fading light prompted us to turn around. It was very peaceful on the river, but the lack of water made sure we had to get out to continue past several shallow bends in the river.

We made it back to camp just before dark, and set about cooking dinner over an open fire. We devoured dinner and sat back to have a few more beers under the crystal clear expanse of the galaxy above.

The next morning we awoke at dawn as the light and heat made staying any longer in the tents unbearable. After a quick breakfast and coffee we set off again for a short paddle and swim in the river.

Mid morning the winds picked up and we decided to leave before the heat of the day set in. An enjoyable but short weekend.

Clarence River height data here

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Climbing Mt Tinbeerwah, Noosa

On a slightly overcast Saturday some friends and I spent the morning climbing at the lower wall of Mt Tinbeerwah. We were protected from the wrath of the sun until midday, but the massive horse flies were a constant menace. We had the lower wall to ourselves so we had our pick of the crags.

We successfully tackled three routes: 

Malt and All (18)

Straight Up (15)

White with One (15)

All fun, challenging climbs.

More photos here

Double Island Point camping trip

On a beautiful spring weekend I christened my new Patrol with an overnight camping trip on the sandy shores of Teewah Beach, north of Noosa. We hit the beach very early on Saturday morning and were dismayed to find so many campsites already set up, the curse of school holidays.

We got lucky and found a fantastic site at the very end of the designated camping area, protected from the increasing onshore wind and secluded from the rest of the camping population. With the camp all set up, stomachs full, coffee's drunk, celebratory beers cracked and the tide incoming we set about relaxing in the gorgeous sun.

The wind kept picking up which turned the neat ocean lines seen early morning into slop, but there were still a few waves ridden on the 9" mal we took along.

Low tide came in the afternoon so we took a trip up to the headland with the intent to check out Rainbow Bay. Arriving at the cut-in there was a line up of cars waiting to take the same track, waiting for a stuck 4wd to be dug out of the soft sand. I decided to stay on Teewah beach and drive up to the headland for some rock fishing. We followed the track up past the lighthouse, took a turn into the scrub and scrambled down to the rocky point.

It was still very windy but one of us was able to score a few dart, with lots of small fish thrown back for another day. At sundown we left back to the camp, and after a return trip to retrieve the two MIA crew we sat down around the roaring camp fire, dining on fresh dart and pippies roasted over an open fire.

The next morning was as beautiful as the last although the wind was strong already early
 the day. We spent a few hours of the morning fishing of the beach, catching a few small whiting, and playing beach cricket with some stunning displays of athleticism, and finishing off the last of the beers.

In the afternoon the clouds darkened and with the sound of thunder rolling in it was time to leave. We managed to pack the majority of the gear when the rain set in. Thankfully it was a congestion-free trip back to Brisbane, but it will be a long time before I get the last of the sand out of my car....

A few more photos here

Winter fishing

First trip out in the boat for a long time. Beautiful winter's day, very few fish but great to be back out on the water.

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Wakeboarding

Just a few photos from a sometimes sunny Sunday spent wakeboarding on the Coomera River. Managed to grab a couple of shots before my camera battery died, great fun.

Photos here

Climbing Mt Maroon, Qld

I tagged along with a group of friends to climb Mt Maroon, situated near the border of Queensland and New South Wales in the mountainous region known as the Scenic Rim.

It was a mild day but we soon started sweating on the steep climb to the 966m summit. The rain held out and we made it to the top in overcast weather, where we had Chamomile tea, hot cross buns, chocolate and two minute noodles while taking in the fantastic view.

A relatively easy but fun climb

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Four wheel driving in northern New South Wales

After an early morning start Matt and I headed to Paddys Flat in northern New South Wales. We took a detour through the Lions Road between Rathdownie and Kyogle before driving into some state forest tree plantations looking for some camping spots with river access.

It was a pretty hot day but the wind was constant enough to take the edge out of the heat. Not having much luck we left to Paddys Flat and explored some camp areas along the upper Clarence river. We tried in vain to find more camp sites around Yabbra national park but were stopped by roads ending in private properties or ranger-only forest management trails.

We left back to Brisbane in the early afternoon only to destroy a tyre about 20 kms outside Beaudesert. It was then discovered that the key to the spare tyre wasn't in the car and all attempts at using bolt cutters and a hacksaw blade made no attempt on the hardened steel bolt of the padlock. We waited for an hour and forty-five minutes for the keys to be delivered  but I was thankful that it happened somewhere with mobile phone coverage and not in the middle of our wanderings through the deserted pine plantations. It could have been a lot, lot worse...

More photos here