CraigMarlow
11th March 2012, 08:33 PM
Kayti and I are back from the Moreton trip, having had a great time. We have finally managed to get all the camping gear clean and dry, so now I've found time for the trip report:
We set off early on Friday morning to meet the MiCat (barge) for the trip over to the island in splendid weather. We aired down on the MiCat ready to hit the sand at the other end after a quite pleasant 1½ hour trip.
Straight off the barge we headed for the campsite at Blue Lagoon on the opposite side of the island.
Due to the recent rain, the inland tracks and beach access were all fairly firm, we encountered no difficulty getting through Middle Road or accessing the campsite from the beach.
We set up camp and then walked to Blue Lagoon for a refreshing dip in the fresh water, where we had the place to ourselves for about an hour – Perfect!
On Saturday, we decided to head up to Cape Moreton to see the lighthouse and to look around the top half of the island. Kayti drove today and enjoyed her first sand driving experience (she is a great girl who loves off road driving as much as me!). After checking out the lighthouse and admiring the views from the peak, we headed to the North Point campground where we walked through to North Point beach and Honeymoon Bay.
Honeymoon Bay was a fantastic spot, and after wandering around looking in the rock pools and having a quick swim, we decided to get out the snorkelling gear for a bit more of a look. WOW! As soon as we got our heads underwater we were transported into another world. There were the expected ocean fish – Gar, Bream and Snapper, but we were totally blown away at the wide variety of colourful reef fish. We even managed to spot a Wobbegong hiding in the rocks.
We then headed for Bulwer where we stopped for lunch and had an ice-cream from the general store. The trip back to camp was along inland tracks with a quick stop at Honeyeater Lake before tackling the now churned up campground entry...
What can I say other than first gear and traction control are NOT the way to navigate soft sand. Fortunately I won a set of Maxtrax at the Defender day out a couple of years ago, and we recovered ourselves quickly and efficiently without anyone else around, so there was no damage done to our ego or the Landrover name. A second attempt using more momentum in second gear went much smoother! Back at the campsite, Kayti cooked me a great upside-down cake in the camp oven for my birthday.
Sunday saw a the weather change a little, with a couple of showers and the wind churning up the ocean a bit. Due to the wet sand, we decided to skip sandboarding and headed back to Honeymoon Bay. The visibility was not as good for snorkelling, so we explored the rock formations along the cliff edge. Back to the camp we cooked up some rum and coke scones in the camp oven and relaxed.
Monday came, along with the rain! We packed up camp, getting saturated in the process, but showered and changed into dry clothes before heading back to the other side of the island. We had time to visit the Tangalooma resort for some lunch before getting on the barge and heading for home.
This was a great trip, somewhere so close to Brisbane and yet still a world away. I can't wait to get back for another play!:D
We set off early on Friday morning to meet the MiCat (barge) for the trip over to the island in splendid weather. We aired down on the MiCat ready to hit the sand at the other end after a quite pleasant 1½ hour trip.
Straight off the barge we headed for the campsite at Blue Lagoon on the opposite side of the island.
Due to the recent rain, the inland tracks and beach access were all fairly firm, we encountered no difficulty getting through Middle Road or accessing the campsite from the beach.
We set up camp and then walked to Blue Lagoon for a refreshing dip in the fresh water, where we had the place to ourselves for about an hour – Perfect!
On Saturday, we decided to head up to Cape Moreton to see the lighthouse and to look around the top half of the island. Kayti drove today and enjoyed her first sand driving experience (she is a great girl who loves off road driving as much as me!). After checking out the lighthouse and admiring the views from the peak, we headed to the North Point campground where we walked through to North Point beach and Honeymoon Bay.
Honeymoon Bay was a fantastic spot, and after wandering around looking in the rock pools and having a quick swim, we decided to get out the snorkelling gear for a bit more of a look. WOW! As soon as we got our heads underwater we were transported into another world. There were the expected ocean fish – Gar, Bream and Snapper, but we were totally blown away at the wide variety of colourful reef fish. We even managed to spot a Wobbegong hiding in the rocks.
We then headed for Bulwer where we stopped for lunch and had an ice-cream from the general store. The trip back to camp was along inland tracks with a quick stop at Honeyeater Lake before tackling the now churned up campground entry...
What can I say other than first gear and traction control are NOT the way to navigate soft sand. Fortunately I won a set of Maxtrax at the Defender day out a couple of years ago, and we recovered ourselves quickly and efficiently without anyone else around, so there was no damage done to our ego or the Landrover name. A second attempt using more momentum in second gear went much smoother! Back at the campsite, Kayti cooked me a great upside-down cake in the camp oven for my birthday.
Sunday saw a the weather change a little, with a couple of showers and the wind churning up the ocean a bit. Due to the wet sand, we decided to skip sandboarding and headed back to Honeymoon Bay. The visibility was not as good for snorkelling, so we explored the rock formations along the cliff edge. Back to the camp we cooked up some rum and coke scones in the camp oven and relaxed.
Monday came, along with the rain! We packed up camp, getting saturated in the process, but showered and changed into dry clothes before heading back to the other side of the island. We had time to visit the Tangalooma resort for some lunch before getting on the barge and heading for home.
This was a great trip, somewhere so close to Brisbane and yet still a world away. I can't wait to get back for another play!:D