Moreton Island

Day 1

To be at Scarborough at 5:30 on Saturday morning for the barge to Moreton, we decided we would have to leave Maryborough straight after work on Friday. Krystal and Cassie (we decided to take our granddaughters with us on this one) arrived from Hervey Bay via Mum's Taxi at 4:15. To accommodate the extra luggage (extra tent, food and beverages for a week, etc.) we borrowed John P's trailer and, in exchange for some space in the trailer, Ron P offered to take it behind the Pajero once we arrived in Brissie.

Just before John left the workshop one of his customers thanked him for a job well done by presenting him with several cooked sand crabs. Needless to say, when we arrived at our Aspley Motel room, the sand crabs were devoured. Cassie had trouble getting to sleep, excitement I guess, but we were all wide awake and bushy-tailed at 4:15 next and headed off to the barge departure point at Scarborough.

The trip across on the barge was a little bit lumpy but nothing to get concerned about although Cassie looked a bit green around the gills by the time we arrived. On the way over we were told how some drivers get caught napping. As soon as you come off the barge you're in soft sand so the advice was to be ready, and of course we were - off the barge, a maximum of 5 yards travelled and then Murphy threw something into the fan. I couldn't believe it; I frantically pressed the little red button. This couldn't be happening, I gave it a thorough going over through the week - BUGGER!

I got on the CB and Dave came back to pull me clear of the barge traffic. The track off the beach was very loose and Dave (with our MY attached) went down so Matthew came back and hooked onto Dave but alas - ditto. Ron unhooked the trailer and, one by one, pulled us all through. What a great start to the week.

We finally made it to camp, most of the time connected to Dave's Brumby. Because of the extreme heat and the early morning start we took our time to set up camp. It was now time to find out why we didn't have 4WD. Matthew's hi-lift jack made the job much easier (and came to be the most used piece of equipment over the following days). The problem turned out to be a stuck spool valve - problem fixed. While we were in repair mode we decided to replace a split CV boot on Dave S' MY. Out came the shaft and two yards of sand with it. Ever tried to get sand out of a greasy CV with no compressed air? Dave Martin had a spare boot and strap and Dave Shaw had some grease so we did the best we could. There was no happy hour that day, we were all very weary and hit the sack early.

Day 2

We were all up quite early (except for Matthew who was having trouble with his body clock) and decided to head into Bulwer for ice, etc. It felt good to be travelling in 4WD again and doing it well - oops, BUGGER! The loud clunking noise from the rear indicated major problems but there wasn't anything obviously wrong. We appeared to be still in 4WD - almost. We continued on to Bulwer at a reduced rate and while the fem fatales were getting supplies we put Matthew's jack into operation again.

I discovered that the left hand inside DOJ boot was twisted - but why? I removed the boot and there it was. The wire clip had pulled out of the housing, but still I asked myself why. I had no time to think about it then, we were holding everyone up. I straightened out the clip, put it back together, using the last of Dave's grease, and we were ready to roll again. One thing that little incident proved - the viscous diff was doing its job.

We went on to Five Hills and walked up to the lookout. The sign said 400 metres but I think that meant as the crow flies. We had lunch at Yellow Patch and did a spot of fishing at North Point then went on to the lighthouse. We didn't stop at the lighthouse as it was another severely hot day and we didn't relish the thought of another steep walk. After hearing everyone commenting on the CBs about how efficiently their air cons were working, Dave Shaw was contemplating removing his doors to improve the air flow.

We stopped at Spitfire Creek on the way back to cool off. The kids collected some coconuts that looked to be a hundred years old. There were no signs of any palms so we decided they must have been washed up from far away places.

We headed back to camp for happy hour. The kids lit a fire that night and toasted a few marshmallows before hitting the sack. Matthew was still trying to adjust his body clock.

Day 3

Dave and Donalda were catching the barge back in the afternoon (they had arrived a few days earlier than the rest of us and had to get back because of work commitments) so they broke camp early and we all travelled across the Tangalooma track to the desert - what a remarkable sight.

The more energetic ones walked to the highest dune to try out a variety of improvised sand sleds but unfortunately none of them worked. Wade had the most success with his converted skateboard. On the way back, Donalda, Glenys and Dave collected rubbish that had been left behind by thoughtless people who don't deserve to be able to enjoy nature's beauty.

After leaving the desert we went on to the wrecks at Tangalooma for lunch and a swim and then to Bulwer to see David and Donalda off.  On the way back we went via Taylor Bight where Matthew decided to take a different track and finished on a very soft wet strip of the beach. He managed to make it back onto the harder surface which was just as well because no-one would have been in a hurry to join him.

Alas, on the way back to camp ... you guessed it, the all-too-familiar sound of a DOJ in rejection. On inspection I found that the DOJ boot was off and only two balls remained. Dave, Val and the girls went searching for the missing balls. You've heard of looking for a needle in a haystack - how about four greasy balls in 12 inches of very soft sand. Needless to say they had no success.

Back to camp in three wheel drive. If nothing else, the viscous diff has more than proved its effectiveness. Out with the hi-lift jack again (I think we owe Matthew rental) and off with the wheels. On pulling out the shaft I discovered that the inner DOJ wire clip groove had been mangled by the ungraceful exit of the balls.

It was time to reflect -  the collective mass of grey cells went into overdrive. Firstly, it was obvious replacement parts were needed. The only place possible for mobile phone service was on top of the highest sand dune on the beach side of camp so off we went to give Mike Collins a call. Mike couldn't have been more helpful. He could easily have told us to ring him the next day at work but he didn't. Instead, he assured us that he would have the parts on the barge in the morning. With nothing more to do until the parts arrived, it was time for `unhappy hour' and off to bed.

Day 4

The next morning Ron & Co. and Dave M left for Bulwer - Ron to pick up the parts and Dave to return to the real world and back to work. While we were waiting for our Parcel Post team to return, the severely reduced (not diminished) mass of grey matter began to diagnose the problem. It couldn't be suspension extension, there was enough free movement in the shaft. But on compression, with no bumper extensions, the extra load, and some badly rutted tracks, the drive shafts were loaded 4-6mm with about 2-3mm bumper compression. The result - stretched. This was enough to cause the problem. Having made the diagnosis we now had to overcome the problem. This was done by fitting non-metalic 50mm Moreton Island bumper stops inside the `L' series springs and securing them in place. Meanwhile the Parcel Post arrived back at camp and I was very relieved to find I had everything I needed - thanks Mike, you're a gentleman.

After getting the car back onto its wheels we all went to Blue Lagoon for a swim. Another happy hour and another day passed.

Day 5

The next morning we travelled down eastern beach to Kooringal, then off to Rierdens Point where Ron pumped some yabbies. I tried some fishing but to no avail. We went back to Kooringal for some supplies. After paying $4 for a bag of ice we decided to get what else we needed at Bulwer later in the day. I must say though, they did break the ice with a special wooden mallet so I suppose we were paying for the service as well.

On the way back up the western beach we had to stop for a couple of hours until the tide dropped. It was a beautiful spot, but then the whole island is just magnificent (although Bulwer could do with some tidying up). We had lunch and a swim and the kids explored some high dunes. We then continued on to Tangalooma for a short stop - there was quite a cool breeze blowing so no‑one was all that keen to get wet although the kids did eventually venture into the water and Matthew went snorkelling around some of the wrecks.

Day 6

We headed off the next morning to the lighthouse. This time we walked up and had a good look around. Reading the inscription on the cairn made us realise just how difficult it must have been for the early inhabitants - the lighthouse keeper lost three children and his wife, only one child lived beyond infancy but died at age eight.

We went on to North Point for lunch and a bit of fishing, While the girls were enjoying themselves in one of the rock pools, Krystal saw a shiny object poking out of the sand. She investigated further and discovered it was a gold watch that had been almost totally submerged.

On the return to Bulwer, Matthew and I took turns in getting stuck in a very soft stretch. Thanks to the Mitsubishi MY Mover there were no dramas and we were on our way again. After a pit stop at Bulwer we continued on to Tangalooma where Matthew and Wade went snorkelling amongst the wrecks. Val and I tried our hand at fishing again but without any luck, so far all we had caught were that undersized they didn't even warrant a kiss when we let them go.

Back at camp that evening Ron and Glenys disappeared into the bush and the next thing we heard Glenys give out an almighty scream. We thought Ron must have been up to no good but when they returned we found out they had been visited by a wild pig. The kids had spoken of tracks they saw on the beach the day before.

Day 7 

Our holiday was nearly over. I still wasn't feeling to confident with the car and we had to get back to Bulwer fully loaded the next day so Val, the girls, and I stayed at camp and decided to go fishing while the rest of the party visited Tempest Hill. We found a likely looking gutter about 1km  from camp. We had about a dozen pippies left from the previous day so we tried our luck with them. BANG - the second our lines hit the water the bait was taken. We had hit a school of dart and were pulling them in as quick as we could bait our hooks. Needless to say the pippie supply ran out quickly so we went in search of more. They were few and far between until we got the knack of feeling them with our feet as the waves were receding. With the help of Krystal and Cassie we were able to keep up the supply. One of us would fish while the other accompanied the girls to catch pippies.

After we had caught several it was time to start cleaning them. Val kept fishing while I gutted the fish and Krystal did the scaling. By this time Ron & Co. had returned and joined us. With an extra couple of lines in the water the fish were coming quicker than Krystal and I could cope. We finished up with 24 fish - enough for everyone, especially when we discovered there were some strange people amongst us who didn't eat fish.

Once back at camp the fire was lit so that we would have plenty of coals. Val cooked some potatoes in alfoil in the coals and the fish were cooked on the BBQ plate. It was a feast fit for a king - well, for a group of campers who had run out of fresh meat days earlier it was pretty good.

Day 8

Time to pack up. While we were packing Matthew went for a drive. When he returned he said it felt as if he had broken his torsion bar. We had a look and found that it wasn't broken but had stripped the spline in its housing. I had a spare bar but we decided against fitting it because of the time element. The barge left at 4 pm and we wanted to allow ourselves a good safety margin with Ron's vehicle the only one capable of getting the MYs through if they ran into trouble. With the trailer on the Pajero this could be a very lengthy process.

We took it very easy with my beast now fully loaded and making some very unfriendly noises and Matthew grading the track with his severely lowered rear end. We hadn't gone more than a quarter of the way when Matthew found a nasty tree root which bent the LH rear rim. After replacing it with his spare we now came to the realisation that we only had one spare between two cars and a trailer - worrying thought.

The familiar clunking sound coming from the rear end told me I must have damaged another outside DOJ clip. When we arrived at Bulwer I removed the shaft and replaced the DOJ with one Mike had previously sent over.

We proceeded on to the beach and had lunch and reflected on a week of relaxation, beautiful beaches, etc, and automotive horror stories. Matthew had arranged for Vanessa to meet him him on the mainland so that she could take his load (which was presently in the trailer behind Ron's Pajero).

We arrived back at Scarborough at 6 pm and swapped the trailer back to my car and transferred Matthew's gear into Vanessa's car. After saying our goodbye's we headed back to Maryborough. Just as a last gesture of defiance, the CB radio decided to pack it in so Ron didn't get to hear our message of thanks. The rest of the trip home was uneventful and we arrived back at about 9:30 pm.

Apart from the problems with the car, which has since been retired and its vitals transplanted to my '89 Brumby - MANUAL, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Moreton Island. It is a beautiful place and, given the opportunity, we'll be on the list for the next trip.

John Schliff SC450