TRIP REPORT

Fraser Island 26/05/05 - 04/06/05

We had 3 weeks spare before the trip. The camper was being re-vamped and things were on track for a good holiday until the trip home from the April Club Meeting when the motor died. The next 3 weekends were spent looking for a motor, rebuilding, putting it in, pulling it out, and putting it back in. Just in time for the departure to Fraser and I mean just in time. The van was not completely finished, but enough for the trip.

Well it wouldn’t have been a “normal” holiday with out a mishap or two. We needed to top up the air in the tyre on the camper and would you believe the first three servos we stopped at had an “Out of order” sign on the pump!

Finally, we got to the Matilda servo near Gympie. After filling up we noticed a bad wobble which we tracked to an egg in the camper tyre. We figured we would fix that in Gympie however it blew out 2 minutes from the servo. So the Camper, the two boys, and I were left on the side of the road while Brett went for help because “someone” forgot to pack the spare.

2 hours later we were on our way, next stop the beach. What a beautiful place, we arrived at low tide for a fantastic run. Hook Point, at the bottom of Fraser was it’s usual self, exposed tree stumps, gutters running right to the dunes and soft sand. The police RBT unit was just north of Poyungan rocks and were pulling up everyone, they were a visual presence all week. After 7 hrs of travelling we finally set up camp.

Bad luck strikes again. We were getting settled in for the first nights sleep, after a very long and trying day. The boys were still hyped and bouncing around in bed. Brett and I on the other hand, were nearly asleep down the other end of the camper. After being roused at a final time the boys finally settled down. All was quiet for an entire 5 minutes, when the jockey wheel welds decided to give way. The camper up ended, with Brett and I going down hill, the boys bed sliding into the van, and tossing Jake out of bed. We ended up, after all the commotion, having to put the camper on the tow ball for the night. Brett made a “make do” solution using zip ties, and a tent peg. Very “BYB style”. I had to go into Orchid Beach in the morning asking to buy a besser brick so we had something to support us for the week.

We camped north of the Cathedral beach in an effort to get as far north without going to Waddy Point to try to save a bit of fuel. The Fishing Expo and entertainment was at Orchid Beach and we planned to travel there most days. If not, to weigh fish in, then to enjoy the entertainment. Petrol was priced at $1.53 a litre for pretend premium (95ron). Brett’s car is usually not happy with anything other than 98 but performed well any way.

The weather was awesome initially. Crisp, cool nights with clear days around 25°C. Sitting on the dunes having a drink, watching the competitors arrive with their big boats, was a great way to unwind. Other than the first few days the weather changed. It rained, it blew a gale, it was hot and sunny, and then it got cold, all in one day. Sometimes within a few hours. Mostly it was very good though.

The comp started on Saturday night at Midnight, and it was easy to tell. Some one yelled “Game on” and the fisherman come out in the hundreds. Everywhere you looked there were lines in the water. For all you statisticians out there, out of 1500 competitors, 440 were 1st timers, 285 boats entered, 125 women competitors, over 1100 “catch and release” weigh ins. Prize money was $3000 for each ”catch and release” winner and $2000 for the “catch and keep”.

We went for a quick spin in through the Woralie track to Lake Allom and the Knife-blade sand blow. To our ( Brett’s) excitement the track had been poorly maintained and we had to traverse quite a lot of large “steps” on the hilly bits with a big bumps and jumps over tree roots etc.

Dave Gibson SC 574 and his Dad came up in the MY and joined us for an overnight stay. With little time to show them around the island, we decided to do the same track again. I think he thought we were having a go at him when we told him how rough the track was, because on returning we ended up following a grader right to the lake turn off. Some how I think Dave may have been a little scared and actually paid the bloke to grade it. Ha ha.

Eli Creek, Ocean Lake, Ngkala Rocks, Waddy Point, The Champagne pools and Indian Head are the other touristy things we did. They barely change each time but are still amazing places to visit.

We were up there to fish, so fish it was. If you didn’t fish, just entering the comp for the entertainment and prizes, would keep you busy. Each competitor receives an identification number, a few of these are drawn each night with the chance to win, things such as generators, esky’s, fishing gear, deep sea fishing charters etc. After presentation each night highlights of the day were shown on multiple “big screens”, followed by live entertainment. The entertainment for the night Dave visited was called “Fiddle Me Please”. Their names just happened to be, Brett and Dave! Very appropriate I think.

Fishing was good, we entered a few weigh ins, ate some for dinner, and lost some possible “winners” that got away. Competition was strong with fish like Spanish mackerel at 24kgs, Red Emperor of 16kgs and a few 4.5kg+ Tailor already on the board.

Managed to have a chat to ET, had a quick word with Gary Howard, and Brett got to see (perve at) Natahlia, the girl that doesn’t speak English in the XXXX ads.

Subaru count for the weekend - a 98 Forester, a lifted L, and Dave’s MY. We saw one dingo in the whole 10 days. We spotted some horse manure, which is strange considering NPWS removed all the brumbies about 10 years ago. There is an abundance of Troopies loaded to the hilt with Backpackers and their supplies.

The return trip was less eventful. Our new Uniden UHF/GPS with its warning alarms etc proved to be a handy item. We used it to mark things during the day like fishing spots so they could be found again later in the night. It has an excellent feature that allows you to black spot things such as obstacles like Eli Creek etc that sets an alarm off upon approach.

The tide was still pretty high and we had to use the bypasses at Poyungan and Yidney rocks. This was a bit daunting as we had never taken the camper this way before but the Suby did it with ease. From there on it was an easy drive to the barge.

Quotes/questions from the weekend about our Lib:

“How does it go through the sand with the high stuff in the middle?” This was asked just after we drove 25k’s through a track on our own with plenty of “high stuff in the middle”.

“How often do you drive that mate?” Stunned look when he was told that it is driven to work every day.

“My mate reckons it’s a V8 but I reckon it sounds like a WRX thing, anyway it sounds bloody nice”.

“Have any troubles in that soft stuff back there” Asked just after we turned out of the tracks to go around a Patrol having troubles behind Indian Head. We think it may have been a bit tongue in cheek as they were pretty big eyed and grinning from ear to ear.

“I am not surprised you need the good fuel, you brought up a race car, not a fishing truck”.

We travelled 1375 km’s round trip. Excellent week. Brett is already planning next year’s trip. Any one else up for it, so I don’t have to smell like rotten fish for a week.?

Megan Rogers SC306