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Thread: Fraser Island 3- March '07

  1. #1
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    Well i'm the first one back from the island, the rest are leaving today (monday).
    It was a good trip as usual, and points must go to DRanged for his handling of all matters as trip leader. All cars met at designated spot on time and left on time and the convoy did great all the way to the camping site!!! Apparently we even got a mention on Gympie radio

    The first hiccup was just north of our starting point in that a truck rolled on the freeway and stuffed the traffic up as you can imagine, but we stuck together and made it through in one group - albeit very slowly. Next hurdle was the gateway tollgates where Justin went in front and paid and we all piled through in one go, none of this stop - start stuff! We eventually made it to caboolture bp where Navron thought we had given up on the trip . After the lengthy delay with the truck accident we decided to stop and get more coffee and stretch legs etc and then it was all aboard again for Fraser. The rest was uneventful and we made Rainbow without incident, some topped up vehicles with fuel/diesel, we purchased barge tickets from the information kiosk/shop (with a nutter who can't even drive a calculator??) , got fresh bread/rolls - oh and permits, and we headed out. Stopped to fill up water drums on the way and let down tyres and onto the barge.
    With high tide as we got there, beach driving was impossible - so the inland road it was. True to expectation the condition was cr@p, with corrugations for everyone! We had no choice and spread out a bit to try and avoid all the dust, just to end up behind a backpacker troopie going 20k's . Well, at least at that speed it did not shake and rattle as much, just took longer.
    Got on the beach as soon as possible with a stop at Eurong for coffee or an ice-cream. Imagine the surprise on Stevo's face when we all pointed and shouted at him that something was wrong!!?? He had demolished a tyre on his trailer completely and did not even notice it . Oh how comfortable those D3's must be . Well, he did manage to scource another tyre but there is a story there anyway which he can tell....! All fixed up and on the way again heading for Wathumba road to take us to the western side. Just before we got to the Maheno wreck i saw Harry and Camo run out of the scrub, they obviously heard/saw our convoy go past. As i was at the tail-end then, me and Navron turned around to say g'day and then had to rush to catch up with the rest of the convoy again. Harry and Camo camped on the eastern side at our "usual" spot - see previous post by camo. The trip to the western side was uneventful but slow-ish, with good scenery and soft sand.
    The western side is QUIET, the sand is soft and there are no march-flies. The spot we chose to camp was waterfront and very good with plenty space for all the trailers and on-suites!! We even had entertainment the whole time with a movie being filmed just offshore in front of our camp. It involved a lot of action with sea-planes, jet-ski's and all manner of boats. The helicopter filmcrew even entertained us by buzzing the camp a few times!
    The beach there was wonderful for the kids and they had a continuous ball. We played some beach cricket but the umpire was biased so no result recorded. The creek just up the beach was also great and we could get water there for the shower and also to cool off in. We drove further south on the beach but was stopped by an estuary and then went north again, but soft sand made progress difficult. Some fishing was done with not much result but for 2 small sharks and a few smallish dart, also the smallest flathead i have ever seen!
    Navron's folks were anchored offshore in their catamaran yacht and he took them for a trip to the other side and champagne pools. All the movie action was happening right next to their boat!
    Sunday morning the group went to lake mackenzie and i had to pack up to come back. We took our time and did a leisurely trip across to the eastern side and then popped in to Harry/Camo's campsite to say howdy but they were not there. While stopped further south on an elevated campsite to have a roll for lunch, i saw Harry go past in his flying green disco and called him on the radio. He popped round and after a quick chat we were all on our way again - before we got devoured by the march-flies!
    I wanted to see what dili-village looks like so we turned in there, only to be blocked by a rental suzuki jimny with a driver who had no idea and a burnt clutch. Poor bloke had trouble and i think a flatbed would have been his best go. There were other people to help him so we left. Went as far as the beach would allow on a pushing tide before hitting the corrugations again. Kept up the speed to try and get over them and also to make it go quicker, but still could not get on the beach at hook point - a Nissan with a trailer was bogged right at the entrance to the beach, really soft and deep sand there and he was'nt going anywhere. I offered assistance and managed to turn around and snatched him out. His family was from WA and they were on a 6-month trip just touring, and had 3 months to go.
    Well, had to wait for the ferry, and then all the usual after that - fuel, tyres, ice-cream, traffic and home.
    Did see a disturbing sight though - southbound about 2 k's before the gateway bridge a Disco2 had lost a boat off the trailer and it did not look good, especially with the amount of traffic going past!
    As far as the trip went, it was good and we all enjoyed it. Justin did a super job as trip leader.
    Sunday's events and the trip back will have to be covered by someone else.
    Also for later reading will be the stories about batteries going flat, new leader in the dingo-avoiding technique, water tanks busting, tyres wrecked, etc etc. What fun!!!!
    Now to wait for the rest of the group...
    Louis

    '99 'fender - it goes... (quite well actually!)

  2. #2
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    Sounds like some fun was had for all... glad it wasn't my trailer acting screwy this time

    FOX 2008 RRS - Artemis 1989 Perentie FFR - Phoenix S2a 88" with more - Beetlejuice 1956 S1 86" - GCLRO #001 - REMLR #176
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    RAAF Tactical 200184 & 200168


  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Outlaw View Post
    Sounds like some fun was had for all... glad it wasn't my trailer acting screwy this time
    and not just one
    Louis

    '99 'fender - it goes... (quite well actually!)

  4. #4
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    good read x-box, good to see the defender made it back in one piece

    sounds like there are a few more stories to follow

    umm, must make an effort for frazer island 4

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by weeds View Post
    good read x-box, good to see the defender made it back in one piece

    sounds like there are a few more stories to follow

    umm, must make an effort for frazer island 4
    there will definately be more stories - so watch this space

    i think a good thread to have will be one where we all say what piece of equipment or gadget or whatever really worked well during a particular trip/event. i bought a 12v shower for cheap and it worked a treat, as did the engel from newly-installed second battery and also the inverter - kept my son hapy and while we were talking nonsense, he was on the laptop...
    Louis

    '99 'fender - it goes... (quite well actually!)

  6. #6
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    hey x-box, maybe they are stuck on the island, could think of worst things

  7. #7
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    Gee I hope not! The others would have gotten back late this arv id say.

    Zoe and I along with harry and his wife packed up and left the east side at 8:30 this morning and hightailed it to the point for the barge. Low tide was at 9:50am so we were spot on for avoiding the inland track. Was so windy! Got to the barge as he was just about to leave. Awsome timing. Arrived Gold Coast at around 2pm.
    Bit hotter than last year at the same time which was a bother. But overall a great weekend and sucks to have to work tomorrow

    Camo
    2004 Black Range Rover L322 Diesel

  8. #8
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    Fraser Island 3/ Part 2 of the story

    Well I thought I better get in before some others do, despite having got back after 7.30 and only just sat down after a nice warm shower as I think I have gone from Stevo68 to MrBean68. Firstly what went right:

    • The great people I went away with, if it wasnt for their help/ assistance etc, my time away would have been pretty awful. The friendships I have will not be taken for granted, so thanks to all.
    • Time spend with my 3 children, they had a ball with all the other children.
    • The campsite was perfect.
    • Any time away no matter how eventful is good time, especially with good mates ( that includes partners/wifes/ children )
    • Sitting round talking, drinking, generally having a good time.
    What went wrong:

    • As Louis pointed out I not only blew a tire but the whole other half was missing, and I didnt know till it was pointed out . This lead to an interesting time tracking down a tyre, so Navron and I headed off to some place which I thought was going to be a tyre place. Ummmm, nope. Picture a cross between a hillbilly and Hannibal Lecter. Upon arriving he complained about it interupting his lunch, cutting a long story short, what should have taken 10mins took an hr and 1/2 as he had to knock back his cans of beer, smoke, talk how crap LR's were as he seemed to know he was the only option, oh and an aside from basically calling me an idiot for not having a spare ( he may have been right on that one ). Anyway with tyre in hand and patient group waiting, on goes the new / 2nd hand tyre and off we go. 10 mins later, Bolts over the UHF says pull over I can smell burning rubber. Sure enough the chassis has moved and the tyre that was replaced is rubbing and the metal part of the tyre is showing. Justin to the rescue and puts spacers in whilst Sam and David ( Bolts son and mate) helped put the tyre back on. Off we go again.
    • Once we got to the campsite after as Louis pointed out a great drive through rainforest we upon our site, truly a great spot. In the whole time there I think we saw 2 other vehicles and they were ones already camping on the same side. Anyhoo upon taking back the tarp the 40 litres of water I had bought, the taps had come off and had soaked everything in the back . Oh well cant do anything with that so start to unpack. Well, lets just say I dont think I will be tenting it again, at least not in the behemoth that I have, after almost 3 HRS of setting up, it was time to crack open the first beer. Sitting back later that evening, kids fed and in bed, wondering over to Bolts's site it was all worth it. Surely nothing else could go wrong, time to relax.
    • Saturday was kick back at camp day, a great game between Scotland, Australia, South Africa and France ensued, the umpire/ commentator/ spectator ( that would be me) called a great game even if he was abused by the SA boys for suspect calls, cant really remember the end score. Anyhoo noticed my 12mth old fridge ( wont name it yet, want to use that as leverage if they dont fix it) was on the blink.................F;ing great. After much fiddling, swearing etc, Justin and Katherine kindly lent me one of their fridges, which was truly a lifesaver as with no cold drinks ( read beer) or food, well until that I was ready to jump in the car, throw in the kids and **** off home. Ahhhhh I was back to happy camper again. That afternoon, the 2 groups split, one heading up further as mentioned by Louis, and a couple of us kicked back in the local stream with the kids running around and some cold beverages in hand. Ahhhh all was well again............nope
    • As the battery needed charging, I thought why not just turn the ignition on, play some tunes and charge up plus get the warm beer cold. Yeah no guesses needed here, went to start car as thought might be a good idea to turn it over just in case.........tick tick tick. Ahhhhhh FFS, what else. Sheepishly walked over to the group and asked if ol Mr Bean here could use someones jumper leads. Well I can still hear the laughter ringing loudly in my ears. Thankfully next morning thanks to Nana and Justin, the beast fired up. By now I thought I must at least have all bases covered, on the up an up now .
    • Off we all went to Lake Mckenzie, talk about hubba hubbaville, thought all my Xmas had come at once and was glad the missus wasnt with me as Id have two black eyes by now . Ill leave the day at Lake Mckenzie for someone else as was a great time held. What I will amuse you with is that as we sat down to have a bite to eat, Bolts and some else said there was a dingo in the back of my car. Pffft didnt bother turning around, thought was another HA HA HA at Stevo...........kids starting saying there is a dingo in the back of my car..........sure enough there WAS a DINGO in the back of my car and the blighter nicked off with our last loaf of bread. Funniest site ever, plastic bag and all and off it went with kids in chase, still not sure if it had my pack of smokes in there.
    • Back to camp and another good time, sitting talking eating and of course a cuppla cold beverages.
    • Last day, mostly will leave others to fill in where they want on the trip, the final day........could it have been possible?? And for anything else I may have missed, albeit thanks for the help again with everyone for a) fixing the trailer..........got home safely and b) for helping with my tent ( special thanks to Katherine) and everyone chipping in and getting my stuff on the trailer.
    As mentioned on the way home over the UHF and from me personally, its not that easy to meet good people when you are older and this club has a great mix of people from all walks of life that come together for times like this and all get on so well, you cant ask for much more than that, so again THANKYOU and I cant and I know the kids cant wait to the next trip...................oh and as a final note............don't go camping on your own with 3 kids alone, next time I will be making sure mummy comes along ,

    Regards

    Stevo

    P.S Will post pics tomorrow and hopefully some stunt LR driving

  9. #9
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    Well, all this talk about lake Mackenzie is useless without pictures!!!

    Glad you all made it back safely and yes a good time it was indeed.

    I think special mention should once again be made of the stirling job done by Justin (DRanged) as trip leader - thanks mate
    Louis

    '99 'fender - it goes... (quite well actually!)

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by stevo68 View Post
    Off we all went to Lake Mckenzie, talk about hubba hubbaville, thought all my Xmas had come at once and was glad the missus wasnt with me as Id have two black eyes by now . Ill leave the day at Lake Mckenzie for someone else as was a great time held. What I will amuse you with is that as we sat down to have a bite to eat, Bolts and some else said there was a dingo in the back of my car. Pffft didnt bother turning around, thought was another HA HA HA at Stevo...........kids starting saying there is a dingo in the back of my car..........sure enough there WAS a DINGO in the back of my car and the blighter nicked off with our last loaf of bread. Funniest site ever, plastic bag and all and off it went with kids in chase, still not sure if it had my pack of smokes in there.
    Regards

    Stevo

    P.S Will post pics tomorrow and hopefully some stunt LR driving
    thanks for that stevo, i'm still wiping tears of laughter away

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