16.02.13 Waterfall Creek Reserve

16.02.13
The weather promise is occasional showers, but somehow that’s not an issue for us.  The day is a bit cool and overcast to start with, but in less than ½ hour on the road, the sun peaks out and stays with us.

I love heading down the Mount Lindsay highway as once you are out of suburbia, the road opens up and the views of distance mountain tops are wonderful.   

Scenic Rim ...

Mount Maroon

Mount May

Within 1.5 hours we are at our destination and choosing the location for our camp.  Sometimes this can be quite an effort for both of us and on occasion a difference of opinion can occur.  Thankfully this is not one of those occasions.

The day promises so far to be warm and sunny, but we’ve got a forecast for showers so we’ll see what happens there.  As always here, the wind is coming from all directions so deciding on the direction of the camper is simply down to giving us some privacy from the constant traffic that we know will come in to check the falls and head up the hill.  Facing towards the creek seems to be the best for us although you do have a hard time seeing it as we are up a bit higher than it is.  We can’t hear it trickling or gurgling or babbling, but it is running.

Once set up completely, it’s up to see what the falls are doing as they are just a short walk from camp.  They are falling brilliantly (as I suspected) due to recent rain caused by ex tropical cyclone Oswald.   The pools heading up there have been transformed and are now larger and deeper than before.  Of course, Telashi is straight in the water and frolicking around yipping at some ridiculous decibel.  Once she’s thoroughly wetted and yipped out we head downstream to see what’s to see. 

 

People have been camping below the campground on the southern end as it’s a bit more secluded than the open campground.  I’m thinking kids most likely as the fire remains are large and they haven’t been very thoughtful when it comes to the rubbish – which really gets my feathers ruffled.

At the northern end of the campground where it becomes private land again and near where the crossing is, there is another deeper hole which Telashi must also swim in.

We head back to camp after wandering up the hill a little ways to check out a strange sight.  A tree growing out of a rock … well it really looked like it was splitting the rock in half.

Back at camp we while the day away drinking, preparing dinner, watching people park their cars and head off on a hike, watch people park their cars and wander to the waterfall, throw the ball as we must do, sit, drink and contemplate life.  Is there anything better?

 

It gets busy here ...

Boys heading out ...

It does start to sprinkle so we put up an end wall and listen to the sound of rain on the canvas, which I think is one of the best things about camping.  Rain on canvas is a special sound like no other in life.

When the rain eases, we head off on another amble away from camp.  I noted an old tank in the paddock below (which is private property) and head over to check it out.  I am dismayed to find it filled with filthy lazy bastard’s rubbish.  Nothing makes me more irate than this sort of anti-camping behaviour.  People with attitudes like this close campsites for the rest of us.  I wish I had a trailer to collect it all but I don’t … there is just too much of it for us to remove without an empty ute tray.  I also find rubbish in one of the fire pits.  Nearly all the rubbish is recyclable. 

I always collect things around camp that other people have left behind – smoke butts, stubbie lids, twist ties, bread ties, hair ties, straws – I carry gloves and spare rubbish bags for this purpose – which is disappointing to say the least – that I actually have to do this.  But do it I do.  I’m not camping in someone else’s rubbish tip!

It really is pathetic that people can’t abide by a simple camping rule:  TAKE OUT WHAT YOU BRING IN / TAKE NOTHING BUT PHOTOS – LEAVE NOTHING BUT FOOTPRINTS … why is this so hard to get through the heads of some people?  I am at a loss as to why some people still think this planet is their rubbish bin! GGGRRRRRR! 

We head back to camp to set up the OzPig and organise dinner.  Once we eat dinner, we head down to check out the wildlife in the creek. 

Afterwards, we sit watching the flames of the fire with the occassional crack and pop, listening to the frogs and cicada’s serenade us until it’s time to sleep.  Unfortunately the creek isn’t flowing enough so that we can hear it from camp.

I awake through the night to the sound of rain on the canvas.  How soothing.

5.6AH

17.02.13

Next day we awake late and find the day sunny and warm. 

After breakfast, we head up to the waterfall again to let the dogs swim.  Glenn heads up the walking track on Mount May a short way and comes back to report that it goes straight up for a distance, but it’s a fairly defined track for a short distance.  We guess its defined due to the number of walkers.  Sitting in the cool shade of the large overhanging rocks, it’s easy to think the rest of the world doesn’t exist.

As we did yesterday, we take the long way back to camp … via the creek and lower camps.  It’s peaceful so far today, with limited traffic and people noise.

The boys camping opposite us have wandered away from camp.  I’m guessing they have headed up the walking track as well for a look.  Before too long they are back and starting breakfast.

It’s still early, but we start our slow pack up.  The canvas is dry and we don’t want it to get wet again, so start getting organised so we can just drop the awning and close things up if we see rain.  The boys opposite are packing up also. 

Of course there is ball throwing and moments of rest.  We also have to fit in lunch.  Once readied, Glenn suggests we close the camper, have lunch and then go.  We’ll be leaving a bit earlier than usual, but we’ve had our fill of this place this weekend and have things to do at home. 

The trip home is fairly uneventful, although we see more turtles on the road than normal … not all of them are road kill, but doubtless, soon will be.

Once home, I’m surprised to find we’ve had 10.5mm of precipitation.

19.8AH

Trip Kilometres:  239

Trip Duration: 48 hours