we met Saturday 7.30 at the BP northbound, we had 7 cars and headed off just after 8am towards our first stop, Tewantin. The weather was beautiful and the drive up was smooth. Our first stop was the QPWS station near the barge across to Double Island Point, a few stopped in town to gather some last minute supplies, we then lined up for the barge, both of which were operating so there wasn't much of a wait, Gary managed to get on the first barge, while the rest of us got on the other one. We regathered after the barge and headed for the air down point, then down onto the beach, the entry wasn't too bad however it was getting fairly bad as plenty of people took good opportunity of the perfect weather to head up to the beach. We hopped onto beach with our speed fairly limited to 60 at most places due to choppy tracks. We proceeded to head up to Leisha Track for a few photos then a lunch stop at Rainbow Bay. It was quite crowded at Rainbow Bay, however we were able to find a lovely spot on the waters edge to set up for lunch. There was a strong breeze coming from the ocean which managed to rip up our awning a snap one of the arms. After lunch we headed up to Rainbow Beach for a quick toilet stop and gathering of a few supplies before heading up to Inskip Point. We camped at SS Dorrigo which provided spectacular views. We all decided that we would set up camp then go for a short drive around Inskip and up to the Fraser barge. Unfortunately Peter and Belinda's camping equipment became faulty and wouldn't set up so they decided to head home. After the remainder of us had set up, all of us bar Ellen and Marcel headed along the Inskip Beach, the beach was fairly choppy and provided for a bumpy ride. We drove past a Cruiser with a trailer that was badly bogged and as Nick (tail end) drove past he noticed that they were trying to recover the vehicle off of the tow ball! The rest of us headed further up as good guy nick turned around a provided some assistance. Nick said that they only had a 3 tonne bow shackle when the cruiser and trailer was at least 4 tonne and the trailer’s tyres were still inflated high. Nick provided his support as well as another experienced four wheel driver. We then all regathered and headed up to the barge area for a nice view of Fraser Island. The sand was getting very soft and we almost became stuck. While we were hanging around chatting, Sarah decided to take pictures of us and send it to a random number (she got Han-nah's number wrong earlier in the day) so some poor person was getting random photos. It was then decided that it was time to head back to camp, but Gary took us through a short detour up a very soft track, we almost had a few stuck people but we eventually made it back to the main beach and then onto camp where we had a short rest before heading off to a lovely pub dinner hosted by Nick. We headed into Rainbow Beach to the hotel, there were no seats, but we were lucky enough to get a special seat upstairs. The meals were delicious, the view was amazing and the atmosphere was super friendly. After dinner we headed back up to camp for a fire and drinks. Gary supplied pallets of wood to keep us warm from the cool ocean breeze. It was a nice relaxing night, and we made a friend, Aaron, who blasted some Barnsey for us all to enjoy. Some called it an early night whilst others stayed up a little later but eventually everyone packed it in. Everyone was up bright and early in the morning as unfortunately we had to pack up camp early and head out, it was such a lovely campsite and would recommend it, especially people with dogs and small families. We headed back into town for a morning coffee and a quick fuel stop then onto the king bore track. Again the weather was beautiful which made for a nice day. The track was fairly looked after, however several people picked up sticks which resulted in a longer than usual trip around the track. It was mostly a scenic drive through the Bush, which then transformed into some soft sand hill climbs. Whilst trying to get up one of the hills, Leighanne got stuck in her Jeep. As she wasn't too badly stuck, Nick pulled out his Maxtrax which got the jeep out straight away. Shortly after that we reached the end of the track. We all discussed what we would like to do, and some decided to head back into town, while others went through freshwater track and back along the beach to the barge. This brought the end of a wonderful trip. Would like to say thanks to Gary for running the trip, it was beautiful and the weather made it that much better, would definitely recommend going next year.
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