When we arrived at the beach access cutting on Noosa North Shore the waves were coming high up into the dunes. We had a good look at the conditions and discussed if there was enough room to drive along the beach. As it was nearly high tide we decided to wait for a couple of hours for the tide to go out before proceeding. Sitting in the local pub turned out to be a great way to pass the time.
Once the tide had dropped we headed back to the beach were we saw a motorcycle speeding up the cutting, losing control and almost colliding with an oncoming car on the track.
Finally, we were travelling along the beach in convoy. It was good to feel sand under the wheels and to smell the salt in the air. We had to time our run between the incoming waves, with Ivan putting on a good show for those travelling behind as he splashed through a big wave.
We meet up with Ray and Debbie, and their friends Craig and Gail, at the Teewah Beach Camping Zone. We set up our tents close by. I had a new tent to try out. It was the 3 second tent from BCF. So I opened the cover and pulled the tent out and voila! It was up. No sweat. No fuss. 4 tent pegs and I was done. Now just to wait for the rest to set up.
In the afternoon all 7 cars headed further along the beach towards Freshwater Road. The sand was very soft leading into the picnic area, resulting in some cars getting stuck. We all helped each other and recovered not only our cars, but a few others as well. I made sure they knew it was the Moreton Districts Off Road Club helping them out. I reckon Nick recovered about 400 vehicles from that spot. He worked hard to get everyone moving. Good work Nick! We had an enjoyable drive along the sandy track to Rainbow Beach. There was quite a bit of traffic which required some maneuvering to pass other cars coming from the opposite direction.
Once there, we showered and went to the Rainbow Beach Hotel for a well deserved meal. With full bellies we drove back along Freshwater Road in the dark where we showed off our spotties and light bars. Craig was close to a big wave as we headed alongside the surf. It is difficult to see waves coming in at night when your lights are pointed down the beach.
Sitting around the camp site we all swapped stories, and a few laughs before, heading to bed to hear a little rain on our tents.
The next morning Ivan and Genny headed home early to beat the high tide. Richard said that his tent had collapsed in the middle of the night, so he slept in his car. Sitting on the dune in front of our campsite, enjoying the morning sun, we saw quite a lot of cars without number plates or bent plates. There were about 5 cars being towed and a couple on tray back tow trucks, all water damaged I reckon.
We packed up camp and drove back to Freshwater Road. Everyone today made it through the track without a problem. We headed to King’s Bore Circuit Road for a nice drive through the bush. Well, it was a nice drive until we came across a fallen tree over the track. Nick, Richard and Ben worked hard with an axe to cut through the tree. A small scorpion ran from the bark of the tree and scuttled away to find a new home. The track was finally cleared with Richard’s winch. As we travelled further along, Nick and Richard saw a Dingo. The track was all sand, very soft in parts, and a relaxing drive.
We finished the circuit and aired up for the drive home. Thanks to Laura for taking some lovely photos, and also thanks to Nick for being trip leader and putting in a huge effort over the weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and would like to thank everyone who attended.
Gary.