The ships log:
Fraser Island September 2004
This trip had been planned over the last 6 months. The team of paddlers were mates who have enjoyed short camping/kayaking trips over the years. This group were now somewhat proficient at packing kayaks for at least two days.
The plan was to meet at Coffs Harbour
on the 8th September at my brothers place to arrive at Boonooroo on the 9th
and start the trip on the 10th September.
I left early on the 4th to paddle a few places on the way up to Coffs Harbour.
Camped near Scotts Head and rearing to go for a paddle, I had come down with
the flu. High temperatures, sweating, hot and cold. I felt completely stuffed.
5th September - Flu getting worse and beginning to think I would not be going to Fraser Island. Laid in my tent all day.
6th September - Thinking of calling
the group to say go without me as I was so weak with spiking temperatures. I
had remembered what my father used to do and try to sweat it out. So I spent
the morning drinking around 7 liters of water. Unpacked my thermals, winter
jacket and jumper, took a sleeping pill and hopped into my sleeping bag as a
last ditch effort to throw this bug off.
I was asleep at 5pm and woke up at 10am on the 7th !!. The inside of the tent
was completely saturated along with my sleeping bag and thermals. Feeling weak
but the aches pains and temperature was gone.
7th September - Went down to the local RSL club and managed a huge lunch and dinner. Feeling much better and a little stronger.
8th September - Arrived at Coffs Harbour and purchase some prime fillet steak for the group. I put the steak in my brothers fridge and of we went to fly his Zagi. The rest of the group arrived late afternoon. Ready to prepare dinner.... "where is the steak?" I asked my brother. "Was that yours?" he said ... "I just fed it to the dog!" Nevertheless a good night was had by all.
9th September - Early morning start saw us at settled in at Boonooroo complete with car shuffle to Hervey Bay. Then the rain started, it bucketed down from late afternoon through the evening. It was not looking good for the 7 km crossing in the morning.
10th September - Up at 7 am with
not a cloud in the sky. We packed and were on our way by 9 am. We reached Gary's
anchorage with the aid of the GPS by 11:30 am. The GPS makes pinpointing this
location much easier as there is no geographical reference point on this part
of the Island. A short stop for morning tea and a quick chat to the owners of
a yacht from Canada we were off again.
The tide was still running against us but on my calculation it should move to
the north in the next hour. I was surprised no sooner said, the tide began to
turn and we were traveling at around 7 km/hr. This was going to get us to Ungowa
our first campsite ahead of time. It was not long after departing Gary's anchorage
when I noticed one of the group occasionally slapping the water with his paddle..
I observed this a few times and noticed his head was dropping at the same time?.
He was falling asleep! and had gone into automatic bracing mode. I asked him
if he was tired.. "Yes" was the reply, "a 20 minute kip would
be all I need" So we pulled up at a place called Sherradin flats and had
another cup of coffee whilst one slept. From this point on throughout the trip,
accommodation was made for a short nap each day.
We cruised the blue green waters, spotted turtles, a ship wreck and a brief
glimpse of a Dugong before arriving at Ungowa at 3:00pm. Our Kayaks were lifted
on a wooden boat ramp used by National parks rangers. Within minutes of arriving
down came the Dingoes, they were everywhere. We set up camp and were fortunate
enough to have a Dingo proof food locker where we put not only food, but nearly
everything else as the Dingo has been known to run off with any item small or
large that is not tied down.
A great evening sitting around the campfire with a nice glass of red, finished
of the day. Well, not quite... the dingoes came back as a pack, the howling
kept us awake for some time until the sounds faded in the distance. Peace at
last. That was until a horrible loud scream emanated from one of the tents "There's
a Dingo in my tent", apparently one poked his head under the fly of Stephan's
tent. His scream did the trick, woke us all up and frightened the Sxxx out of
the dingo.
11th September - Another great morning with a good weather forecast picked up
on my VHF radio. We were packed and ready to go by 8:00 am ensuring a good run
with the fast flowing tide. Our next stop would be Woody Island after a brief
stop at Kingfisher Resort to pick up some more supplies. Arrived at the resort
where we had a nice cup of coffee. This was when one of our paddlers decided
he had not expended enough energy paddling, approached a young lady (half his
age) at the bar and asked her for a dance! This was odd, I mean her male partner
just looked on in amazement when she said Yes!. This was entertainment at its
best... There he was with his Kayak boots, neoprene pants and Kayak shirt dancing
to Rock and roll.... I knew it was time to go when he stuck a $10 note down
his pants. It was off to Woody Island camp.
Stopping at a small beach on the South East end of the Island it was a short
10 meter carry of the kayaks. Another pleasant evening was had... knowing that
there were no Dingoes on the island. However, we were suprised to find a Cane
Toad hopping around. Amazing how they get to a place like this.
12 September - The forecast for the next four days were excellent. We were off by 9:00 am heading for Moon point and onto our second campsite on the Northern end of the Island. My GPS showed Coongul creek running parallel to the beach just behind the sand dunes. The creek was a known fresh water stream. We followed the beach until the creek began to veer to the South, this is were we picked up additional water using Stephan's purifier. We continued along the pristine beach that seemed to run forever and continued to disappear over the horizon. We reached Woralie creek around 4:00pm and not long before we set up camp, collected more water and sat down for a nice supper followed by a nice glass of red.
13 September - We were up early
rearing to go by 9:00 am. Well nearly everybody... After packing the kayaks
I noticed a plastic bottle on the beach near Norms Kayak, I assumed that this
was his pee bottle and he was leaving it till last to pack. I was right in one
respect it was his pee bottle but he forgot it. About 2 hours into the paddle
he asked me if I saw a bottle on the beach? after my reply he said "do
you think it will be there when we get back?" Unlikely considering it was
near the waters edge and this place has 6 meter tides. Nearing a spectacular
bit of coast line called Athon Cliffs, we met up with 4 other paddlers returning
from the North end of the Island. They were friends we had paddled with in Sydney
previously and also members of the NSW sea kayaking club. They reported that
whales were in abundance and not far from the coast line. After a good chat
we departed and headed off to Wathumba, our final campsite and where we planned
to stay two days fishing, whale watching and just lazing around.
It was mid afternoon and Wathumba lagoon was rapidly emptying itself on the
dropping tide. A hard paddle and then it was get out and walk. I could not believe
the rapid run out of this tide. This was where John, the last member of our
group who was not more than 50 meters behind was stranded. Nothing to do for
him but wait for the turn of the tide, while the rest of us headed to the campsite
and set up.
The Southern side of Wathumba had some basic facilities ... a nice cold shower
was very welcomed. A water supply marked not for drinking, we filtered and purified
so we had plenty to last the rest of the trip.
After dinner I decided to do some fishing... caught one after the other, not
bad considering I was using the same packet of worms I had purchased in Boonooroo
4 days ago! All the fish were let loose as we had just eaten dinner. Even the
mud crabs that wandered along the shore line were flicked back into the creek.
14th September - It was off to do some Whale watching. The weather was a little
overcast with a bit of chop on the water. We sighted 2 to 3 pods and immediately
our paddling group broke up heading in all directions. This was the highlight
of the trip, to be so close to these majestic creatures was just the best experience
one could have. Although a little disconcerting when they despaired for a few
minutes at a time, it left you wondering where are they going to surface? We
sighted a single dingo on our arrival, he kept his distance but given half a
chance we knew he was ready for a hit and run at any time. Our food was hung
high up in the trees.
15th September - I was awoken early
by a call from John... "There's a dingo in your tent!" Now where have
I heard that one before? I took little notice until I heard the panting of the
canine right next to my head!. I gave out a loud growl and he bolted. He was
becoming very game as time went on.
The group did some rolling practice in the morning and I headed up as far as
I could up Wathumba creek. I examined one of the crab pots it was loaded with
mud crabs. This area was abundant with wild life. Some of the group stayed at
camp, some went whale watching and some just walked along the white sands of
Wathumba. What a beautiful place this was.
16th September - It was time to
pack up and head back to Coongul point a distance of around 34 km. We had just
left Wathumba creek when we were approached by a fishing boat. The chap held
up a bottle and called out "Does this belong to any of you?" Yes you
guessed it, He was holding up Norms pee bottle! I asked him where he found it
and he replied about 1 km back towards Wathumba. This bottle had traveled 19
km from Woralie creek to Wathumba in 4 days what's the odds against that! Norm
was ecstatic, no longer did he need to hang on.
We arrived at Coongul point by 4:30 pm and set up camp behind the sand dune.
Watched the sun go down and dreamed of the adventure we just experienced.
17th September - Up at 8:00am and packed by 8:30am we had it down to a fine art by now.... at least most of us did. The crossing was interesting with an incoming tide about to peak we had some assistance as we headed toward Torquay our final Camp on the mainland.
The celebrations were held that evening as we parted our ways on the 18th.