Burnett Creek Canyon

After discovering the canyoning bug during my time in Sydney, I wanted to see what South East Queensland had to offer. I had read of a canyon in Northern NSW, near where I have climbed and kayaked in the past. I organized a few people to tag along and left Brisbane late one Friday afternoon.

 

After a quick stop for a great meal at the Railway Hotel in Beaudesert, we arrived at Tooloom Falls just outside of Urbenville. The camping area was pretty busy for a Friday night, be we found a spot to pitch our tents and settled in for the night.

The next morning we drove back north past Woodenbong, veering off along Mt Lindsay road to find the 4wd track that would take us towards the canyon. We left the black top and started up Dead Horse Mountain Road, slowly along the rutted tracks, the encroaching lantana leaving my 4wd with a fresh batch of scratches.

After forty-five minutes we arrived at the border fence which marked the start of the trail, we shouldered our gear, jumped the fence, and followed along the faint path to a small river bed. There were two parties of canyoners in front of us, so we went at a slow pace and enjoyed the setting.

The first couple of abseils were only short but there was enough water and height to make things interesting. A couple of swims followed before three abseils in quick succession, the last being a really fun 23m drop. One final short abseil followed by a couple of short jumps and we were out of the canyon.

We warmed in the sun before following the river bed downstream until it intersected a fire trail. Following this uphill we came upon the familiar track which took us back to our car.

We had just changed into dry clothes when the skies darkened, no sooner were we packed and ready to leave when the rain began. It came down quickly and heavily, turning the dirt road out of the forest into a slick and greasy mud track. Thankfully aggressive tires and locked diffs made it easy to get through, a bit of unexpected adventure to finish off things.

By the time I was back on bitumen the sun was out and I was off back towards the camp site to relax, only stopping to help a turtle / tortoise / terrapin make it safely across Mt Lindsay Road.

More light rain came and went for the rest of the afternoon, but dinner was hot, the beers were cold, and the roaring camp fire wasn't troubled by the drizzle.

The next morning was more of the same, no rock climbing was to be done in the wet, so I slowly packed up camp in between bouts of drizzle.

I took a quick swim and sat for a little while under the Tooloom Falls before setting off home. Half and hour with a pressure hose removed most of the mud plastered to my chassis, the lantana pin stripes will take a bit more work...

A really enjoyable weekend, look forward to more canyons in the near future!

More photos here

Kayaking on the Clarence River Pt 2

It has been over three years since my last (mis)-adventure on the Clarence River, and repeating the trip with less... difficulties had been on my mind since I returned from Sydney.

Unfortunately my original partner couldn't make it, so I roped in a friend for another crack at kayaking the 27 km stretch of river from Paddys Flat to Hootens Road.

With the benefit of hindsight we had a few things in our favour. Attempting it during summer (longer days, warmer water) and using some sit-on kayaks that wouldn't flip and fill with water, I had a pretty good feeling about this trip.

Justin and I left Brisbane on Friday night, and after a quick bite to eat at the Rathdowney pub we arrived to Paddys Flat well into the night. The drive was uneventful, apart from sections of heavy fog which reduced visibility to only a few metres, and we were happy to find the camping area almost entirely devoid of people. We had the pick of the spots, we knocked off a few cold beers while we set up camp then turned in for the night.

It didn't rain overnight, but it was overcast when we woke and the ground was wet from a heavy dew. We had a slow breakfast, then shuffled my car downstream, returning back to Paddys Flat to begin the kayak adventure at 9:30 AM.

Only 100m downstream we had to get out and drag our kayaks, there wasn't enough water to cross under the bridge at Paddys Flat. We passed our only neighbour, fossicking for gold in the river bed.

Back in deeper water we hopped back on and were properly on our way. A little way along the river was the first set of small rapids, ones that I have kayaked many times. We couldn't make it through, the water levels were so low due to the long drought in the area that we had to get off any drag the kayaks past the shallow rocky sections. Not off to a good start, but an omen of things to come.

At least the kayaks weren't filling up with water at every bend....

An hour had passed and we had only gone three kilometres, it was shaping up to be a very long day. At that rate we wouldn't make it downstream until after dark, I was beginning to regret the slow start to the morning.

The only way was down so we persevered. Short sections of deep water we often broken up by unnavigable shallow sections of mossy and slippery river rocks. Every step had to be taken with care, otherwise a twisted ankle or worse would result.

The hours dragged on, sections of paddling, then dragging, trying to find ways along the banks to clear sections of river or through weed beds and slick rocks.

All the while the dark clouds gathered, the overcast skies helped keep the heat off, but eventually the skies broke and the temperature dropped as the heavy rain kicked in. Luckily we were on a long stretch of deep water so I was able to keep warm by paddling.

The rain didn't last long, and by that stage we were on autopilot, knowing the every step, very stroke would take us closer to the end.

We came to a long section of shallow river, once more dragged the kayaks out, and kept heading downstream. It was appropriate that we weren't on the water when we finally stumbled across my 4wd, just on dusk. We changed into dry clothes, cracked a beers, racked the kayaks and heading back upstream to camp.

No sooner had we arrived that a mass pasta was on the boil and a solid fire was roaring, tired and sore we settling in around the warmth and enjoyed a few more well earned beers.

As the embers faded we retired for the night, and fell asleep exhausted in our tents.

The following morning the sun was out, the day quickly heating up with the humidity already high. Back to Brisbane, still not quite content with the trip, if the picks up some more water with a decent season of rain I'll have one more try...

More photos here

Double Island Point

Back on the beach after too many years away. We took the Friday afternoon off to sync up with the low tides and got onto the sand as night fell. It's always a pleasure driving along the beach, windows down, salt and sea in all around.

It was a little more crowded than usual, and our usual camping site was occupied but it wasn't long before we found a little part of the dunes to ourselves. We unpacked, set up our tents, got the fire started and sat down for some dinner and drinks and settled in for the night.

The blood red moon rose late over the ocean, we stayed up until the embers began to fade, then turned in for the night.

There was not a breath of wind in the sky when we awoke early on Saturday morning, sitting with coffee on the dunes to start the day. The tide was out so we took the opportunity to head north to the point, taking the cutting across to the northern facing beach, where we pulled out onto the exposed sand flats to swim and fish.

The water was amazing, warm and clear, and we spent the morning enjoying the perfect day. Naz managed a couple of small dart and flathead, flicking lures into the shallow water off the sand banks, but no keepers were taken.

The tide had turned so we left the beach while we still could, and drove the Freshwater cutting into Rainbow Beach. Lunch at the RSL, more coffee, then back via the cutting to the beach which now had enough sand to drive back to our camp site.

I had never seen the conditions so calm, I strapped on my snorkel and swarm for a while, hoping to spot some fish but nothing was there. We started the fire with daylight to spare, threw the pippies directly onto the coals, and feasted on the fresh shellfish with some cold beers until it was ready for dinner.

Darkness fell, it was another stunning night, thousands of stars above, no wind, the sounds of the waves lulling you to sleep.

Another early start, more coffee on the dunes as the sun peaked over the horizon.

Packing to make it off the beach before high tide, and back to Brisbane before the worst of the traffic.

A short trip away, but worth every second.

More photos here