Quick Barrier reef trip

[jonp]

Decided to head away for a few days with my son to the lower parts of the Barrier reef. We headed inland towing the boat to miss the coastal traffic the 2000km run north. Must admit my heart wasn't really in doing a trip due to having a bulging disk issue in my back but we headed off anyway.

I clipped an already dead kangaroo on the road which I didn't realise pushed my trailer axel back on one side which locked the trailer breaks. After noticing my fuel consumption rising, I realised I had an issue so stopped to check things out. The heat from the breaks turned the wheel bearing grease to liquid, cooking one set of bearings. In the 36'c heat it took me close to an hour to change bearings and get the axel lined back up, all on the side of a gravel track 100k + from phone reception!!!

Sleeping in swags meant we could simply stop anywhere to sleep overnight. We try to work on at least 1000km of driving each day, which is a long time behind the wheel with a stuffed back, but anyway we were up at our launch site in two days.

Bought a few food provisions and loaded up the jerry cans with enough fuel and water for around 500km of travel offshore.

The 76km run offshore to the island we had picked to camp on was flat calm. 24'c water with a constant spray of flying fish and turtles bobbing about was looking great for a few days away from it all. Unfortunately the next two day's blew at 10-15 knots which make conditions just lumpy enough to put my son off exploring further afield. We fished where ever we found shelter catching an array of species ( most we didn't identify) and kept the odd one for dinner. Turtles were mating and coming to shore each night. Dozens of sharks from small reef sharks to bigger tiger sharks hang around the shallows targeting these turtles. I saw very few sharks while snorkelling further out due to most of the sharks being so close to shore for the turtles.

The run home was a shocker with 25-30knot SE winds pushing against a northerly current ( the EAC current). Unlike the large swells we get where I live, Queensland is more of a wind chop which according to the radio weather warnings was at over 2.5m, so a wet long run back to shore. Ended up helping tow women who had rolled their boat closer to shore.

The 2000k drive home seemed to go pretty quick and uneventful apart from the gps taking us 200k out of our way!!!!

Home now and back on the water tomorrow.

[Jojosrib]

Originally Posted by jonp

Decided to head away for a few days with my son to the lower parts of the Barrier reef. We headed inland towing the boat to miss the coastal traffic the 2000km run north. Must admit my heart wasn't really in doing a trip due to having a bulging disk issue in my back but we headed off anyway.

I clipped an already dead kangaroo on the road which I didn't realise pushed my trailer axel back on one side which locked the trailer breaks. After noticing my fuel consumption rising, I realised I had an issue so stopped to check things out. The heat from the breaks turned the wheel bearing grease to liquid, cooking one set of bearings. In the 36'c heat it took me close to an hour to change bearings and get the axel lined back up, all on the side of a gravel track 100k + from phone reception!!!

Sleeping in swags meant we could simply stop anywhere to sleep overnight. We try to work on at least 1000km of driving each day, which is a long time behind the wheel with a stuffed back, but anyway we were up at our launch site in two days.

Bought a few food provisions and loaded up the jerry cans with enough fuel and water for around 500km of travel offshore.

The 76km run offshore to the island we had picked to camp on was flat calm. 24'c water with a constant spray of flying fish and turtles bobbing about was looking great for a few days away from it all. Unfortunately the next two day's blew at 10-15 knots which make conditions just lumpy enough to put my son off exploring further afield. We fished where ever we found shelter catching an array of species ( most we didn't identify) and kept the odd one for dinner. Turtles were mating and coming to shore each night. Dozens of sharks from small reef sharks to bigger tiger sharks hang around the shallows targeting these turtles. I saw very few sharks while snorkelling further out due to most of the sharks being so close to shore for the turtles.

The run home was a shocker with 25-30knot SE winds pushing against a northerly current ( the EAC current). Unlike the large swells we get where I live, Queensland is more of a wind chop which according to the radio weather warnings was at over 2.5m, so a wet long run back to shore. Ended up helping tow women who had rolled their boat closer to shore.

The 2000k drive home seemed to go pretty quick and uneventful apart from the gps taking us 200k out of our way!!!!

Home now and back on the water tomorrow.

I hope the south east winds have died down if you’re out again tomorrow Jon....sounds like an exhausting trip.....but nice photos

[Brian]

Posted by jonp " but lack of responses after posting makes some reluctant to go to the effort"

jonp, you posted this on another subject. Does this mean you dont think we dont read your posts with amazement and awe, just because we dont post a reply??
I hope not!!
And, I do hope you keep telling us about you amazing adventures with brilliant photography.
Your accounts are so outside our experience that it is no wonder we are stunned into silence! How many of us drive 2000km just to launch! How many of us see such a collection of sea life in just one outing, if ever!
So keep those stories coming and DONT think they are posted into silence!

[69cmw]

Originally Posted by Brian

Posted by jonp " but lack of responses after posting makes some reluctant to go to the effort"



jonp, you posted this on another subject. Does this mean you dont think we dont read your posts with amazement and awe, just because we dont post a reply??

I hope not!!

And, I do hope you keep telling us about you amazing adventures with brilliant photography.

Your accounts are so outside our experience that it is no wonder we are stunned into silence! How many of us drive 2000km just to launch! How many of us see such a collection of sea life in just one outing, if ever!

So keep those stories coming and DONT think they are posted into silence!

[emoji106]+1

[jonp]

Originally Posted by Brian

Posted by jonp " but lack of responses after posting makes some reluctant to go to the effort"

jonp, you posted this on another subject. Does this mean you dont think we dont read your posts with amazement and awe, just because we dont post a reply??
I hope not!!
And, I do hope you keep telling us about you amazing adventures with brilliant photography.
Your accounts are so outside our experience that it is no wonder we are stunned into silence! How many of us drive 2000km just to launch! How many of us see such a collection of sea life in just one outing, if ever!
So keep those stories coming and DONT think they are posted into silence!

Thanks for that Brian.

It's quite funny as I decided to post this on a fishing forum I'm on after posting this one. A comment came back indicating what a cost of such a trip would be. I'm from the UK where I was constantly in and out of work, struggling to simply pay rent and keep a crap old car on the road. I dreamt of leaving the UK for better prospects, which is exactly what I did.

The total cost of a trip like this is around $750 or £400 back home money. If I was a tourist, simply getting out to the island on the tourist boat would cost $500 each and a fishing charter starting at $350 each. Sleeping under the stars in a swag each night even on the drive up and down the coast is pretty special and something very few tourists will experience.

It's a great country where you can live life full of adventure on very little money.

[jeffstevens763@g]

you're very lucky jonp as are we to get to see your adventures keep them coming please no matter what reaction you get.

[Jojosrib]

Originally Posted by jonp

Thanks for that Brian.

It's quite funny as I decided to post this on a fishing forum I'm on after posting this one. A comment came back indicating what a cost of such a trip would be. I'm from the UK where I was constantly in and out of work, struggling to simply pay rent and keep a crap old car on the road. I dreamt of leaving the UK for better prospects, which is exactly what I did.

The total cost of a trip like this is around $750 or £400 back home money. If I was a tourist, simply getting out to the island on the tourist boat would cost $500 each and a fishing charter starting at $350 each. Sleeping under the stars in a swag each night even on the drive up and down the coast is pretty special and something very few tourists will experience.

It's a great country where you can live life full of adventure on very little money.

Similar story to me Jon....I left a corporate uk life to travel as a diving instructor...and ended up running a dive school in NZ.....that was 20 years ago.... I feel really blessed with the experiences i ve had and the world class waterways on my doorstep......but I have to say we’re just playing in a pond compared to what you’re getting up to...

[Lisilou]

Wow! Great post! I have no other words.
L

[Bern Hanreck]

Hey Jon , did you replenish your rum supplies at Bundeberg ?

( Fond memories from the Lady Fraser Island catamaran trip years ago )

I guess you have to see the colour of the sea there to believe it for yourself ?

Keep your threads coming , as Brian said most of us are just stunned into silence.....

[FoxZulu]

Yes, definitely keep your threads coming Jon. The things that you and your daughters get up to is beyond belief to most of us here, and especially your daughter's diving videos - simply awesome.

[neil.mccrirrick]

I'd have a chat with the tourist board. After seeing this and reading your other posts a trip down under is looking more and more attractive [emoji41][emoji1][emoji106]

[jonp]

Originally Posted by Bern Hanreck

Hey Jon , did you replenish your rum supplies at Bundeberg ?

( Fond memories from the Lady Fraser Island catamaran trip years ago )

I guess you have to see the colour of the sea there to believe it for yourself ?

Keep your threads coming , as Brian said most of us are just stunned into silence.....

No, I get my supplies from Agnes Water ( 1770 ) a much smaller quieter place just north of Bundaberg. Most people go way over the top with supplies but being away is just the same as eating at home, it doesn't need to be fancy. In all reality my supply costs are less than being at home, it's kind of a detox off coffee, chocolate buiscuits and general luxury foods. Couscous, noodles, rice and dried pasta are easy to keep for long periods and fish is a guarantee.

Also the detox away from phone reception is really quite nice.

[69cmw]

Originally Posted by jonp

No, I get my supplies from Agnes Water ( 1770 ) a much smaller quieter place just north of Bundaberg.

I stayed there about 15 years ago for 1 week, nice quiet place, what’s it like now?

[jonp]

Originally Posted by 69cmw

I stayed there about 15 years ago for 1 week, nice quiet place, what’s it like now?

It hasn't changed much, however school holidays gets a huge influx of people from Brisbane and the Gold Coast, not such a good time to be there.