Combined Club Camp
23 – 24 October 2021.
This trip gave us the opportunity to meet members of the Mitsubishi 4WD Club. We gathered near Gympie for a combined event at Cobb and Co. Nine Mile.
Nine members and one visitor of Bayside Off-roaders met with three members of the Mitsubishi 4WD Club. Unfortunately, the weather prediction reduced the planned numbers considerably.
There is plenty of room for campers on the grounds. It’s very well setup for adventure and play, especially for children. There are bike tracks and climbing equipment, a water slide operates in the afternoon near the natural Billabong. We also got to visit the petting zoo and say hello to the goats and chickens.
Our clubs were allocated the front area near George the white horse. He was very friendly and loved snacking on carrots and apples.
With the arrival of our trip leaders Murray and Julie-Anne with Chrissy we also got some marble size hail. Luckily no cars or camping equipment was damaged. The storm lasted around two hours and ended with a beautiful rainbow and blue sky.
The only thing damaged by the weather was our scheduled trip to the winery. See you next time Dingo Creek Winery.
On Saturday we went on a lovely drive. Our first stop, only a few minutes from camp, was the rock pools at the beginning of Woondum National Park.
The water was clear and cool. The children and adults all enjoyed the view. Max and Brad took the littlies back for a paddle in the afternoon. A great end to the day for them.
After the rock pools we drove up to Mount Boulder where the telecommunications tower is located. The track was great. A word of warning the summit has limited space for parking so coordination and patience are the key. Luckily the steepest part has now been concreted. Whilst it’s only a single track that you wouldn’t want to meet anyone on, going the other way, it made the journey up quite easy. The views from the top was overgrown and hard to see out from with the exception of one short walking track on the left as you get to the top that had views out across the valley below.
Our plan to stop for lunch at the James M McKane Memorial Lookout picnic area was dashed due to it being redeveloped. The good news is that we’re sure it will be amazing once finished in early 2022.
Instead we had lunch in the shade on the side of the road. Graeme, Jarod and Brad cooked up a storm, making our mouths water, with hot dogs, a steak sandwiches and hamburgers respectively. The rest of us took the easy option with wraps and sandwiches.
After lunch we took the loop road which provided a challenging 4WD experience for the inexperienced and newer members. The road had deep ruts and narrow tracks through the scenic forest. We all enjoyed the trip and we’re thankful to our leaders for challenging us in our great adventure.
On Saturday night members chose to either stay and enjoy the fire or go into Gympie for dinner at the Phoenix Hotel. Both groups had a great evening.
It was a very hot pack-up before the slow journey home.
Louise Watson