It was warm, generally sunny, but somewhat windy. We heard that several beaches on the Sunshine and Gold Coasts had been closed.
After setting up our tents at Home Beach, we found the inland Tripod 4x4 track and took a pleasant trip through the middle of the island. We then stopped by Brown lake to take in the views.
Later we headed out to Main Beach and drove south along the beach. There were a few short tracks over the beach-front sand dunes, so we gave them a go. Cos was the first to tempt the tracks over the dunes.
After a bit of fun, we continued south along the beach, and then reached another track heading over the dunes.
Keri was the first to give it a go, and soon made it over. Fiona in the driver's seat then followed, and then Cos. The exit had far softer sand. Dave jumped back into the driver's seat, and only just made it over. The automatic transmission certainly helped.
Cos then gave it a few goes. You can see the slope and size of the dunes in the following photos. Within only a metre from the top, a bit of winching completed the exit.
Keri was next and made, also almost made it over. A bit more winching, and everyone was back on the beach again. It was probably the 4x4 highlight of the trip. Great fun, and a good challenge. We could push our vehicles to the limits with very low risk of damage.
Heading further south, we were approaching the southern tip of the island. We were running out of dry sand, and after Cos was brushed by a wave, we decided to turn around and stop for lunch in a shady spot. In the photo below you can see how close we were to the end of the Island.
We then headed north along the beach, and hit the bitumen at Point Lookout. A swim at Cylinder beach allowed everyone to cool down, though the very strong side current stopped us from going too deep. A local lifesaver mentioned he had never seen conditions like this before.
Sunday morning saw the group do a gorge walk where we could admire the views, the large waves, kangaroos, turtles, dolphins and various birds. The blow-hole was in good form (noisy), and waves were crashing over the rocks. Keep an eye out for Cos' photo of a dolphin.
Here is a group photo at a rocky outcrop.
Later on Sunday we had a stop at Amity Point, when we had a gate-crasher ..... someone wanting to join the group??
The weather was still reasonably good, and Brown Lake was chosen for the lunch destination. But unfortunately Cos and Dave had to leave for the ferry in the afternoon, leaving Paul and Keri to enjoy another night on the island.
We certainly appreciate Cos for organising the trip. It seemed that everyone really enjoyed themselves.
Cheers
Dave.
