Robin & Harrie's Very Excellent Adventure

[hairymick]

Hi guys,

We are allmost home after a two week sojourne to some very special places.

Combined, we have taken about 2 Gb of piccies :shock: and if anybody is intersted, will post detailed trip reports on some of the highlights.

I can't post any piccies just yet because we forgot to pack the USB cable.

Here is a very brief summary.

TIN CAN BAY. Absolute waterfront accommodation, very good paddling.

MONTEVILLE, Luxury, (5 star) rainforest tree house accommodations, more very good paddling.

BLOODY GOLD COAST. -Seaworld Nara Resort. Aussie big smoke tourist mecca. Tall buildings - bright lights, mad house in a beautiful place.

GOLD COAST HINTERLAND. Old Growth, Sub-tropical Rainforest Retreat. - Superb. Much more on this later.

 

[bearridge]

treehouse? Mick, ya Tarzan, Robin iz Jane. Good on ya mate! :wink:

regards
bearridge

It appears we have appointed our worst generals to command forces, and our most gifted and brilliant to edit newspapers! In fact, I discovered by reading newspapers that these editor/geniuses plainly saw all my strategic defects from the start, yet failed to inform me until it was too late.
Accordingly, I'm readily willing to yield my command to these obviously superior intellects, and I will in turn, do my best for the Cause by writing editorials - after the fact. Robert E. Lee

 

[Kayak Jack]

Welcome home, Mick. I hope you and your ever-lovely had a great time together. Yes, I'd like to see some pictures.

 

[hairymick]

Thanks guys,

Hi Bear, Hope your ribs are getting better mate.

The tree houses I mentioned are magnificent. They feature carved - old growth cedar everywhere and are set in old growth sub-tropical rainforest overlooking a lake. I am uploading a heap of piccies of the whole trip at the moment and will post some links to the site shortly.

I don't really want to tie up too much of the available space here. There are around 2000 piccies in all.

Hi Jack, Hope you are felling better too mate.

Here are a couple of the first leg of our trip. Tin Can Bay at the southern end of our Great Sandy Straights. We have never stayed or paddled here before. Up until the last 3 or 4 years, Tin Can Bay was just another little fishing villiage like thousands of others along our coast line. Catering to a fleet of prawn trawlers (shrimp boats) but mainly a family holliday destination and nice place to retire to. Now the tourist operators and property developers have "discovered" it and condos and other garbage are starting to dominate the shoreline.

The north shore of the bay is all owned by our military and is used for training and other stuff so the developers can't get their greedy little snouts in there at least. The bay is pristine with abundant wildlife and is a lovely place to paddle.

This is the little gem we stayed in. Very retro from about the 60s, immaculately clean and absolute waterfront. 12 feet from the front porch to the waters edge.

 

[bearridge]

Now the tourist operators and property developers have "discovered" it and condos and other garbage are starting to dominate the shoreline.

Dont it always seem az tho
ya dont know what ya got til it's gone
they pave paradise 'n they put up a parkin' lot.
joni mitchell

:cry: :cry: :cry:

 

[oldyaker]

Glad your back to return sanity into the forum. Beautiful Pix and I like the last one the best! Nice to get away every once in awhile.

 

[oldsparkey]

Some nice water and I bet you did not cast a single plug for the fish. A dock to fish off of while enjoying life and you left the fishing rods at home , shame on you Mick. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Chuckles.

 

[hairymick]

Thanks guys,

Not being able to fish here drove me nuts.
The place is a kayak paddlers paradise. The inlet is a little too open for a pirogue in any sort of wind.

here is a map of the area.

one of the several barges that run tourists in 4 wheel drives across to Fraser Island.

Robin having a drink break. Twas a magic day. We paddled from tin Can Bay to Inskip Point (about 7 miles) with the falling tide and returned on the rise. My type of paddling.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Looks most pleasant. I'm glad for you two that you had that time and those experiences together.

 

[oldyaker]

Twas a magic day. We paddled from tin Can Bay to Inskip Point (about 7 miles) with the falling tide and returned on the rise. My type of paddling. []

Yah Mick........Chucks kind of paddling too..... :roll:

 

[oldsparkey]

Mick

The pictures are really nice and I enjoy each and everyone of them.... Makes me wish I was there. (You don't have to answer that)

Now...... You not being able to fish was driving you nut's , Man .... what a short drive since you are already there.

I have to say it was really nice that you took Robin with you , I love to see a father and daughter camping , paddling and having a good time together.

WHAT , That good looking , fun loving lady , experienced paddle and camper is your wife. HOW DID YOU GET SO LUCKY.

Tell Robin that all of us on this side of the pond respect her and even understand what she has to put up with. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I am glad you guys had such a good time , both of you deserved it and I am sure all of us wish that you will have many more trips and good times together. Makes this old fart feel really good seeing a couple enjoying life together. (By the way , I think Robin is a lot better looking , Nothing personal you know ):lol:

Thinking about it .. The next trip we do ........ you take Kayak Jack and Oldyaker and I will go with an good looking and experienced camper and paddler .... Robin.

When those two guy's are along no one looks at us , in fact most folks run for the mens room , lock the doors and wait till we leave to come out. It would be fun paddling with someone who would have the other boaters waving to us instead of making some nasty gestures.

Chuck.

 

[Kayak Jack]

... Thinking about it .. The next trip we do ........ you take Kayak Jack and Oldyaker and I will go with an good looking and experienced camper and paddler .... Robin.

When those two guy's are along no one looks at us , in fact most folks run for the men's room , lock the doors and wait till we leave to come out. It would be fun paddling with someone who would have the other boaters waving to us instead of making some nasty gestures...

In fact, you smart aleck, we had MANY visitors on our key. Old Yaker and I enjoyed the witty, urbane conversation. Much better than the grunts and farts we got out of you and Mac!

You may as well take an ironing board for a table as a tide table.

Yakus Dolphinicus, should we ever take Chuckus Ebbtideicus with us any more? I'm betting we can get an ergonomically correct, inflatable cracker doll that would be less trouble, ehh?

 

[oldyaker]

Yakus Dolphinicus, should we ever take Chuckus Ebbtideicus with us any more? I'm betting we can get an ergonomically correct, inflatable cracker doll that would be less trouble, ehh?

Hell Jack......Just carry a box of Ritz Crackers with a sun hat on top.....same thing. :roll:

 

[oldsparkey]

Jack

You would miss me , after all I am the one that made it very memorial for you. It is called Souther Hospitality , or something like that. .

I even saved oldyaker from that bull manatee that was looking for him after his dip in the Gulf , then the little hammerhead shark with delusions of grandeur that was looking for him as a full course Eye-tal-ion meal.

Just hold on to ya britches and keep them up , then get ready for a lot of fun in Yankee land , either eat the grits or find them in your sleeping bag that night.

Grits always need something to go with them so you might have some help crowing in the morning. I am studying the tide chart for the trip so I will be prepared for the changes in the tide ....... Those folks in Canada sent me a really nasty e-mail when I asked about the tides. I always thought they were nice folks and wiling to help a paddler.

Fear .... Not..... I will figure it all out , just like on the last trip. I am not one to give in or up , No Sir ... Not Me .....I am just like a Pit Bull ... Bite and hang on for the duration.... We will have a good time no matter what the dang tide does in that lake.

I will even set up a tarp the southern way for me while up there. Just something I am use to doing for myself over the last 300 years. Ya , Learned me how to do it the Yankee way but I'm just to set in my ways to change things..... Yep , call me bull headed , opionated an unwilling to accept new ideas. Hit's just me :lol:

Thats the fun of paddling an camping , all of us learn new things from some good friends , even if we don't want to.
**************************************************************

Some half baked southernpaddler philosophy.......

In all Honesty........As long as you are breathing you will learn something everyday , even if you don't want to. Life is a learning experience , every day of it increases you knowledge , for the good of you or for the bad. That decision and choice is your's and your's alone.

Chuck.

 

[Kayak Jack]

... I will even set up a tarp the southern way for me while up there...

Ask Bear's Buddy to show you how to fold a rectangular tarp into a pyramid shelter. He's pretty shrewd!

 

[catfish]

nice looking pics mick. have a great time & share more.

chuck wonder who was checking the tide mick or robin. probally robin. :lol:

chuck i don,t know what we would do without all u geezers on here. would be mighty boring. :lol:

 

[hairymick]

hi guys, Thanks for all the lovely words, We had a great couple of weeks. I didn't want to leave Tin Can Bay but we had other places booked so could ony stay for 3 nights.

Chuck, mate, I passed on your very kind offer to Robin and she replied in one word. Deal! :shock: :shock:

here are a couple more piccies.

This one is a classic older style Aussie Prawn trawler. These boats dotted the east coast in their thousands. Typically, about 45 feet in length and pulling two X 6 or 7 fathom Stevenhauser (or similar) nets. they were generally skippered by the owner with one or two deckhands who were paid a percentage of the catch. King Prawn catches in season would average out at about 700 pounds per night. School Prawns could be up to several tons per day.

Those days are gone now, as have most of these boats. They have been replaced by bigger, more effecient vessels that are mostely company owned. I don't know what their catch rates are.

This one is my old boat - Susan R. Carvel Hull, 30 feet long, 101/2' wide and drew 2 feet empty. Powered by a 4 cylinder 80 horsepower Ford Albacore . She used to be a river prawn trawler but was converted into a leasure craft When I baught her in 1992. She turned out to be a very capable and sea-worthy little boat. She brought me and a mate home from Masthead Island during a mini cyclone across about 28 miles of some of the roughest water I have ever seen.

Robin and I had many week long trips to the Capricorn/Bunker Group, fishing, snorkling and beach-combing on the unhabited islands and coral quays there.

It broke my heart to see her in such a state of dis-repair as she is now. I sold her in 1996 to an old couple who live down this way and clearly, they don't love her as much as we did. made me allmost want to go and buy her back. Just looking at the piccy brings a tear to my eye.

This one belongs to what I call water gypsies. More and more of them are dotting our Great Sandy Straights and retired folks are selling up their family homes and living the dream on the water in them. I can think of far worse ways to spend my autumn years than travelling round Great Sandy Marine National Park in something like this.