Met at McDonalds on Bribie Island turnoff at 8.00am for 8.30 set off There were 11 cars in total – 8 members and 3 visitors. It was a beautiful sunny day with barely a cloud in the sky as we headed off onto Bribie Island road, not much traffic around so was easy to stay in convoy. As we drove over Bribie Island bridge there was many a comment about how lovely and inviting the water looked. We took the Banksia beach exit and drove through numerous roundabouts. Was a good view being tail end Charlie and watching all the cars weave their way through the roundabouts like a conga line. We aired down at White Patch and then proceeded to Ocean Beach via the Northern Access track. The sand was very soft with some small ruts in places. We stopped at Fort Bribie Recreational
area for our last genuine toilet (pit) stop before continuing on the track to access the beach. Rangers came around and checked to ensure we all had our permits. We encountered a couple of vehicles passing us on the track, especially near the end of the track. Leighanne had a bit of a standoff with another vehicle as to how much track each vehicle was going to use. Leighanne was hoping they would feel intimidated by her Jeep. Poor Leighanne finished up being run off the track as other vehicle decided they wanted to use most of the track. This subsequently meant that Leighanne got slightly bogged in the extra soft sand on the edges. She did however manage to be able to get herself free with just a little bit more pressure on the accelerator. But alas Leighanne wasn’t the only one
to get bogged. Eddie managed to get bogged (BUGGER) not getting on to beach, where most people have trouble at times, but as we were heading off to drive up the beach. Eddie unfortunately wasn’t as lucky as Leighanne and couldn’t get out by himself. We had to have Hannah and Oswald snatch strap us out – ho hum. The rest of the convoy continued and waited for us at Fort Bribie. There were quite a few cars on the beach and the Police were out with their speed guns. They had pulled over a young chap and they were giving his car a complete look over, we think he would have received a few defect notices for his modifications. The water was lovely and clear and blue, not many people swimming though and no takers from our convoy to have a dip. We stopped at the Fort for awhile for people to have a look at the old World War II fortresses. Some people (sworn to secrecy) have trouble understanding how far 5 metres is, as sign stated had to remain 5 metres away from structure due to the instability of it. We then set off again up the beach, sand was soft in parts but we drove on the hard sand and at times was rutted enough that it felt like being on a small roller coaster going up & down over the small ridges. We stopped at a lagoon where we met up with Marcel and Ellen who had managed to save a very lovely area for us all. Tables and chairs were set up and wasn’t long before the smell of sausages being cooked on barbeques wafted through the air. Some of us decided to play beach cricket albeit that due to lack of proper wickets we had to use a chair. A few even managed to have a reasonable stint at the wicket before being caught out, others were out first time. Was a great laugh and I managed not to do any great dives for the ball like I did on the Boreen Point trip – enough said already. Some people headed off not long after lunch due to other commitments, the remainder headed off round three o’clock. There was a nice surprise at our air down location being an ice cream van. Most of us indulged in. That’s the story and we will hear the other fun parts when the sergeant-at-arms tells their stories, although they will hurt our hip pockets. Cheers
by Lauraine Carleton
area for our last genuine toilet (pit) stop before continuing on the track to access the beach. Rangers came around and checked to ensure we all had our permits. We encountered a couple of vehicles passing us on the track, especially near the end of the track. Leighanne had a bit of a standoff with another vehicle as to how much track each vehicle was going to use. Leighanne was hoping they would feel intimidated by her Jeep. Poor Leighanne finished up being run off the track as other vehicle decided they wanted to use most of the track. This subsequently meant that Leighanne got slightly bogged in the extra soft sand on the edges. She did however manage to be able to get herself free with just a little bit more pressure on the accelerator. But alas Leighanne wasn’t the only one
to get bogged. Eddie managed to get bogged (BUGGER) not getting on to beach, where most people have trouble at times, but as we were heading off to drive up the beach. Eddie unfortunately wasn’t as lucky as Leighanne and couldn’t get out by himself. We had to have Hannah and Oswald snatch strap us out – ho hum. The rest of the convoy continued and waited for us at Fort Bribie. There were quite a few cars on the beach and the Police were out with their speed guns. They had pulled over a young chap and they were giving his car a complete look over, we think he would have received a few defect notices for his modifications. The water was lovely and clear and blue, not many people swimming though and no takers from our convoy to have a dip. We stopped at the Fort for awhile for people to have a look at the old World War II fortresses. Some people (sworn to secrecy) have trouble understanding how far 5 metres is, as sign stated had to remain 5 metres away from structure due to the instability of it. We then set off again up the beach, sand was soft in parts but we drove on the hard sand and at times was rutted enough that it felt like being on a small roller coaster going up & down over the small ridges. We stopped at a lagoon where we met up with Marcel and Ellen who had managed to save a very lovely area for us all. Tables and chairs were set up and wasn’t long before the smell of sausages being cooked on barbeques wafted through the air. Some of us decided to play beach cricket albeit that due to lack of proper wickets we had to use a chair. A few even managed to have a reasonable stint at the wicket before being caught out, others were out first time. Was a great laugh and I managed not to do any great dives for the ball like I did on the Boreen Point trip – enough said already. Some people headed off not long after lunch due to other commitments, the remainder headed off round three o’clock. There was a nice surprise at our air down location being an ice cream van. Most of us indulged in. That’s the story and we will hear the other fun parts when the sergeant-at-arms tells their stories, although they will hurt our hip pockets. Cheers
by Lauraine Carleton
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