Double Island Point Training Weekend

23 - 24 November 1996

Rainbow Beach at Low Tide - a "Highway"

Saturday

Our day started about 8.30am (late by our standard) on Saturday. John and family arrived at our place and we were on our way. We arrived at Freshwater about 10.00am and half an hour later Rob P and Margaret arrived from Brisbane. It wasn't long before everybody else with David M in the lead arrived to break the silence of our camp. It was a good roll up, there were ten in all.

David M, Keith P and family, Rob P & Margaret, John P & family, Danny & Beth W, David & Donalda S, Steve W, Arnold & Pat S, Royce J & Kaye.

After everyone had set up their camp some took longer than others with a lot of comments going backwards and forwards. It was time for a cuppa and as usual a chat about Subys and other things.

After lunch OH NO!! Someone started looking at John's L Series with all the add ons including a Turbo motor. That's it - everyone was looking at the cars, working or talking about them.

Finally we began moving out for the afternoon drive. First things first a walk up to the lighthouse. It was really worth the walk you could see for miles along the shore line and you could see the turtles swimming around at the base of the cliff.

A swim at the base of the lighthouse was most welcome after the long walk down and the games began. John and Danny drew a tie at horizontal bungy jumping and I won out of the females. The kids big and small had a great time with the ball games. For the drive back to camp the females had a turn at sand driving which bought many a comment.

Time for showers, coffee, snacks and games between arriving back at camp and tea which was supplied by everyone who brought something to share. Tea never looked so good with spaghetti bolognaise, tuna mornay, sausage curry and Thai green ginger chicken curry. This was followed by fruit pies and custard plus cheese cake and a monster bowl of fresh fruit salad.

After tea the conversation flowed freely about, you guessed it........ Subarus!

Wildlife at Freshwater - The Australian Dingo

Sunday

This bright sunny day started with a thunderstorm at 4.40am. It added a beautiful bright start to the day. A quick check of the beach about 8.00am and it was reported to be out of action for a while so the kettle was put back on again and you guessed it they started talking about cars again. We took a drive up to the Freshwater Lakes for a swim and to check up on the track as it was a bit soft coming in (especially where the Petersen's TWO Subarus sunk in the soft sand).

An hour later it was back down to the beach for another check and to see if the day trippers were coming as it was they were only about 10km away. The kettle was put on and the cake and biscuits came out for morning tea and a welcome to Julie and Cameron N and family, Ron & Glenys P and family and last but not least Peter N.

We went on our way again up to Inskip Point via the Freshwater track then into Rainbow Beach where we said goodbye to John and Jenny and to Arnold and Pat S. When we were mobile again we headed up to Inskip Point with Rob P getting lost and David M getting BOGGED. (Yes you read it properly) while going onto the beach. There was plenty of volunteers to pull him out with Ron P winning out in the end.

At the Cherry Venture we had some demonstrations on how to get bogged on the sand and then how to get the vehicle out. First the inexperienced ones showed how much they knew by getting the car out without towing it. They used a shovel, it was very well done. Then some of the experienced ones (Royce, Keith and Cameron) did it using only their hands and push power. We were then shown how to tow a vehicle out using a snatchem strap to the towing eyes and then to snatch it out. We also told how to park a vehicle on the sand by backing the car up and going forward to make a smooth path for take off. Also when stopping on the sand don't use your brakes unless absolutely necessary, just let it roll to a stop. Many thanks to Peter, Royce, David and Keith for explaining the do's and don'ts.

Recovery Training - Bogged In Sand

Finally with the day drawing to an end we headed back to the camp to finish packing the cars. Everyone headed for home about 3.30pm going by the beach except us we went through the Freshwater track. David waited to make sure we got through the soft sand patch, which we did. On one of the down hill runs we had to pull over for 2 big 4WDs. After they had gone past we couldn't get back on the road because of the soft sand and the slope of the road. We ended up turning the camper around and snatching it up the slope onto the road and then turning it around again to put it back on the car. All this took about 20 minutes and not one car passed us in that time. Luckily after that the trip home was all smooth going.

Danna Peters SC346