02.02.13
It had been raining last week with Ex tropical cyclone
Oswald, so we were expecting that there would be good water in the creek. It also rained Thursday, so we were hoping
that we could make it there. I’d called
David on Wednesday to make the booking and he’d requested we call back on
Friday. When I called late Friday night,
he was surprised that we still wanted to come out, but was happy to accommodate.
All packed and on the road by 0808. Our expectation was that we would get into
the overflow section this time so we’re keeping our fingers crossed. The trip up was fairly uneventful. We couldn’t see any flood damage or even
debris.
We stop in at the Kilcoy Bakery for a sausage roll and
a pie. Glenn is rather keen on their
sausage rolls, but I’m not so keen on their pies. The cakes all look lovely, but we usually
make “Camp Cake ” so I didn’t bother getting any of
them.
As we turned up Mount Kilcoy Road , we immediately noticed
the damage. The creek has overflowed
everywhere you look. Always good to give
creeks a good flush out, but after they’ve been stagnant for a little
while. From what I could see, the extra
25mm they had on Thursday wasn’t really what they required. I snapped off a lot of photo’s as we drove
along. Glenn had to do a lot of slowing
down to ensure we didn’t damage the vehicle or camper on the roads as some had
washed away completely.
Once at the driveway, I hop out to open the gate and
notice two things. First one is the
“Closed” sign on the gate and the second is David on his tractor at the far
end. We pull up so he has ample room to
reverse anywhere and he pulls off the road, giving us a “let’s have a chat”
wave. Engine off, we dismount. He laughingly grabs our cash, mentions no
refunds, and then he explains that he’s just putting the road back together and
that we will have to drive around a fair distance to miss all the mushy stuff
and double back up to the road. He says
that the rest of the road is good, but he’s not sure how we’d go getting back
out of the overflow section he’s calling “The Island”.
We take a wander over the concrete creek crossing and
immediately see the issue he’s spoken of.
The whole road is missing in one spot to about 1m deep and about a car
length wide. I can see why he’s doing
some repairs. They have laid some huge
slotted pipe along the bottom and David is going back and forth filling it all
in. It’s going to take him awhile too as
the bucket on the tractor is only household sized. Checking out where he’s requested we take our
detour, we set off to ensure it’s good for our vehicle and upon our return to
the vehicle, David is back with another bucket load and gives us some further
advise.
Due to having to fill in the driveway entrance to the
concrete causeway, it’s now a little on the steep side, but nothing we can’t
handle in the 4WD. Crossing over, we
take a hard left atop the other side and drive along the bank for a few hundred
meters before crossing over and taking the ridge back to the roadway.
Through some more gates and we pull up to check out
the creek crossing to the Island
(overflow). Glenn suggests that we just
stick to the campground this time and I agree saying that it will also save
David having to repair it today or tomorrow … he’ll be able to do it at his
leisure.
It’s just after 1000.
Once in the campground, we notice a closed up caravan
and a cub camper. I’m guessing they
decided to leave them here through the Australia Day long weekend and scarf it
home while they still could.
We select our position and set up. It’s great to see the creek right up and
flowing fast. It is a bit murky although
it won’t take long for that to settle down.
It’s warm enough that we can swim if we choose and I do that quickly
after setup.
We walk along the creek to see what’s what.
Over some lunch I mention I’m keen to see our Island spot and see how high the water is there, so head
that way first. We wander along the
creeks course noticing fences missing here and there, so must be careful where
the dogs go running off to. Glenn is
keen to check out the Deep Hole and we also head up that way after a dip and
refreshing drink. I can’t help but think
how much easier moving around the rocky creek is without Dear Old Jack.
On the way up to the Deep Hole, we notice some “road”
missing here and there and the water’s roar is much louder this time for
sure. Once at the Deep Hole, we swim as
it’s still rather sweaty walking weather.
Water here is indeed up and we can see small waterfalls further upstream
that just weren’t there last time.
Reckon the 10 metre falls would be spectacular right now, but we have no
way of getting up there over the rocky creek.
Glenn wants to investigate a way around, but we can’t recall the exact
directions given last time. Mental Note
to ask again and maybe get a mud map.
Heading back to camp, we amble down to another large
fall for a short time. It’s about now
that I realise I’m getting eaten alive by something and am starting to get
rather itchy. Biting Midges it seems. Great!
These are part of the whole Richmond Birdwing butterfly habitat, but I’m really wishing I had something lacquered on me … sunscreen – bug deterent – mud … anything would be good about now! I don’t realise it at the time, but I’m going to come up in big red pimple like spots and scratch them whilst asleep. (After Note: It’s nearly 4 weeks on and I still have the red marks all over my legs and arms … which is rather attractive I must say … although they aren’t itchy all the time now). We head back to camp, and a flock of them follow us. I start drinking alcohol till I no longer notice.
These are part of the whole Richmond Birdwing butterfly habitat, but I’m really wishing I had something lacquered on me … sunscreen – bug deterent – mud … anything would be good about now! I don’t realise it at the time, but I’m going to come up in big red pimple like spots and scratch them whilst asleep. (After Note: It’s nearly 4 weeks on and I still have the red marks all over my legs and arms … which is rather attractive I must say … although they aren’t itchy all the time now). We head back to camp, and a flock of them follow us. I start drinking alcohol till I no longer notice.
Throughout the day we (of course) throw the ball or
frisbee for Telashi.
We are going to use the campfire leanto for our dinner
tonight. It will give Glenn a break from
the OzPig construction and deconstruction and we are having a roast so many
coals will be available. We’ve collected
some drift wood from along the creek sides and are particular on what we gather
(must be dry … must be small enough to burn without too much axe work). I notice that we don’t seem to have any eggs
so looks like Camp
Cake is not on the menu
alas.
We settle into sitting by the fire, cooking, throwing
the ball and generally relaxing our butts off whilst we can. You see, Glenn has ideas that we are going to
“find that track to the waterfall” tomorrow.
Bless his heart I’m certain he doesn’t mean a 4WD one either. This could be a very interesting day from my
point of view.
17.7AH
03.02.13
We waken early and start to get breakfast underway. Leftovers!
YUM! Once the kitchen is cleaned
up a bit we notice the odd “poo” here and there on the table and benches. Oh No!
I think we have a very small mouse eyeing off our goods. Someone’s nibbled on my bread loaf in the
pantry! ARRRRGGHHH! So we spend a bit of time finding out where
else the suspected small furry felon has been.
Top pantry draw, back of kitchen, top of kitchen, table top, chairs,
kitchen box … only place he hasn’t been is inside the tent itself. We don’t find the furry felon at all.
So now all that cleaning is out of the way, it’s time
to pack up the bags and see if we can find the way to the upper
waterfalls. We head upstream to find a
place to cross that we noticed yesterday.
It seems to be a cow path that’s been used by lots of water lately and
almost takes us back to camp. Heading
north we come across a lot of brush that we aren’t dressed to go through so we
head back … always looking to find a way up.
We don’t see anywhere we are able to go up without scratching the heck
out of our legs so we head back to the deep hole and try to get around the lantana
that is on the opposite side. We
can’t. It’s too thick and goes way up
the valley. We’ll have to find another
way. I hope we see David today as I want
to ask him again which direction we need to go to find the “track” I recall him
talking about. I thought it was on the
southern side, but Glenn says the northern side.
We swim for awhile and then head back to camp. We’ve got to pack up and go home today but we
aren’t in any hurry.
Slowly doing the usual pack up routine, we notice that
David has come down to visit so one of the first questions is how to get to the
upper waterfalls. He mentions a very
steep track cut into a hill on the other side of the creek and details what to
do once at the top of the steep track.
We feel confident that next trip here we should be able to get
there. I don’t do steep very well so how long it takes is another question that
can only be answered in the actual doing.
As I’ve only just started my routine daily walks again since Jack
passed, my fitness level isn’t what it used to be. There are also two dogs and a forest full of
snakes, spiders and other creepy crawlies to add into the equation.
We get a brief lunch out of the way and continue the
pack up, stopping to rest and swim when required, which means we are on the
road about 1330 or so. We’ve decided to
take another route home, leading us away from Mount Kilcoy
valley near the school.
I didn’t realise till we got home and checked the maps
that we weren’t all that far from another campsite about that time. I knew they were in the area, but wasn’t sure
exactly where. Maybe its one for another
trip in the future when we have some time to spend there … it’s a two night
minimum I believe.
Noticing the debris of flooding almost everywhere, I
hate to think what it would have been like actually camping through all that
rain.
After an uneventful trip home along the highway, the
usual unpack occurs and then it’s back to insanity for another fortnight.
28AH
Trip Kilometres:
291
Trip Duration: 48 hours
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