Mt Mathieson and Governors Chair

14 August 2010 - Mount Mathieson Circuit - Main Range

Being a very cold winters morning a larger than expected group of 9 walkers met at the Vic for the drive out to the car park at Spicers Gap. Packs on and we set off up the trail towards Mt Mathieson with Paul in the lead, setting up a brisk pace for so early in the morning.

The track is in very good condition apart from a few branches across the track from the recent heavy winds. Steve had the clubs GPS set with the coordinates for the top of the mount and Governors Chair, something went wrong with the first settings as by the time we reached the summit the GPS was still telling us we had another 10 km to go. A little bit of operator error here but he made up for it with his calculation for Governors Chair, this one was spot on.

We had smoko on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Fassifern Valley and Cunningham’s Gap, slightly marred by the sound of trucks slowly making their way up the mountain road. From here the moderate section of the walk starts as it winds its way up through rocks and the steep slopes towards the peak. Once we were over the top we descended into a very pleasant section of highland rainforest with a very easy walking track with lots of bird, ferns and large trees, such a contrast to the rocky, almost barren slopes that we had just walked through.

Out of the forest and into grassy woodland with grass trees and gums before coming across an abandoned timber jinker from the days when this area was logged. Not far from here we joined the old road and turned left for the walk down to Spicers Gap and then the short walk up over the rocks to Governors Chair. It was just after midday so we had lunch at the lookout, this is a superb place for lunch as the views are endless.

The walk down to the cars after lunch is only short so we called into Moss’s Well for a quick look before continuing past the bell bird colony to the cars. Steve had bought a few bags of oranges from his trees to share with the walkers before the sulphur crested cockatoo beat him to them.

Then on to the small town of Aratula for a coffee, a few vegies from the shop next door and then home to the mountain before 5pm.

Mount Maroon

Its three weeks between club walks this month which is a long time without a walk so I gave Colin a call on Friday and suggested we walk up Mt Maroon on Saturday. Colin is always keen for a challenging walk so he gladly accepted. This is not a very popular walk with the club as it involves an almost vertical ascent of 600 meters to the summit on what you would not call ideal walking tracks. So it is always a good walk to do as a private ‘off club’ walk.

It was a very brisk 6 degrees as we left home so we knew it would be cold on the summit of Mt Maroon which is 400 meters higher than Tamborine Mountain. We were very surprised when we went to park in the small parking area at the base of Mt Maroon, cars everywhere so we had to squeeze in to be able to park, its normally deserted.
I have been teaching myself how to use the clubs GPS, using the instruction book and any other bits of information I could gather from talking to people and off the web. I think I have mastered the basics so before I left home I took the grid references of Maroon’s summit from a map and transferred them into the GPS. At the car park I marked our position there into the GPS so if we got lost I should be able to get us back to the car. Most of the track to the summit is very obvious but there are sections where it is possible to wander off plus we also wanted to walk to the second peak (no trail at all) before we walked back down to the car so it was fairly important that we had a reference to get back to.

The track lead off from the car park across a cow paddock and then up a lightly wooded ridge before the huge boulders and rocky outcrops start, then the going gets tougher. We found a nice spot with views about halfway up the ridge for smoko. Not long after smoko we managed to miss a turn and finished off the track and too far south, this then required a traverse as I knew from past walks that the only access to the summit from this side is up the gorge. We found the gorge and then continued up what I would consider the hardest section. We saw a couple of rock climbers to our right doing it harder than us so we really had nothing to complain about.

As we climbed out of the gorge and onto the plateau of the mountain any sign of the track to the summit disappeared as we were walking only on rock. I turned the GPS on; found enough satellites to give us an accuracy of 9 meters and the compass arrow pointed to our left with an estimate of the distance to go. We continued following the directions and arrived at the summit. The calculations I had taken at home were out by 21 meters and that was not taking into account the 9 meters variation on the GPS. I was very impressed with my newly learned GPS skills.

I know I have told you about my dislike of cairns being built in National Parks and I don’t like the one up here but I am prepared to accept it as it is very old and the only one here. Colin and I even posed next to it so you may call me a hypocrite if you wish. It was too cold and windy to have lunch at the summit so we joined a group of walkers from the Brisbane Bushwalkers Club who were sheltering from the wind just below the cairn.

After lunch we descended from the summit and found our way through very rough terrain to the other peak, it was windy and cold here also so we did not stay long. During our descent to the track leading down into the gorge, Colin lost his footing on a step rocky slope. As he tumbled forward he also knocked me down, somehow we managed to stop our fall before we suffered serious injury. I expected Colin to have skin off him everywhere but as far as skin loss, it was me who came off worse where Colin’s boot had hit me in his initial fall. He did finish up with a very sore rib cage and minus a bit of skin. A very kind nurse from PA Hospital in Brisbane came upon us and dressed my wounds. Whoever you are, thank you.

The trip down the gorge was a very careful descent as we did not want to tempt fate with another fall. Without further incidents we arrived back at the car and being sore and sorry for ourselves we abandoned our normal beer at the Rathdowney Hotel and opted for a quick trip home and a hot shower.

Tallebudgera Creek again

Last week was not a good week for either bushwalking or kayaking, we had rain on and off for most of the week. So when Tuesday was such a nice day Wendy and I could not resist loading the kayaks on the top of the car and heading for Tallebudgera Creek.

We are so much more confident in them now that we have them set up right for us. As we were about to set off two dolphins swam past just a few meters from the beach. We spent the day cruising around the lagoon outside the caravan park, and then we paddled up the creek to just below the bridge on the M1 and back downstream under the bridge on the Gold Coast highway towards the mouth of the creek. A great day paddling.

Thursday we had to take some friends to Coolangatta Airport for an early morning flight to London. We were out of bed at 4.15am, (ever try getting out of bed at 4.15am on Tamborine Mountain in winter) it was very cold. We had left the kayaks on the car as we intended to take the opportunity to go for a paddle before coming home.

It was just breaking day by the time we got back to Tallebudgera Creek from the airport and the temperature was just touching 8 degrees. It was beautiful; the rays of the sun were just touching the crystal clear calm water, almost no traffic on the bridge so the sound of the waves crashing on the beach carried up to where we were.

We had bought a few sausage’s and bread rolls with us so while I got the kayaks ready Wendy put the snags on the electric BBQ and prepared breakfast. Very nice, hot coffee and BBQ sausage’s on a toasted roll, a perfect breakfast for a couple of kayakers on a cold winter’s day. Breakfast finished and cleaned up and before long we were out on the water.

What a day, not a ripple in the water, bird life everywhere and the kayaks gliding through the water with almost no effort. These “Necky Looksha 14” kayaks are just fantastic. They are more expensive than the general run of the mill kayaks but if you are thinking of buying a kayak, the extra few dollars are worth the investment. They are made in New Zealand so you are paying for the real thing, not a copy made in some dodgy foreign country. Remember you will have them for a long time so buy one’s that will last.

After a lap around the lagoon we headed up stream. A quick stop at that lovely little sand and mangrove island up past the last of the houses, we can never resist stopping here. As the tide was fairly low the birds were feeding on the mud flats on the northern bank of the creek, several different species of Egrets, Herons, and Waders with the occasional Azure Kingfisher. We continued on and around the next bend a Sea Eagle flew up stream with a few twigs in its beak. We watched where it landed, a large dead gum tree with its very large nest built on one of the highest branches overlooking the water.

By the time we paddled under the bridge on the M1 Freeway the early morning peak hour traffic was in full swing. The traffic noise was deafening and the fumes were so strong we had to get past as quickly as we could. We paddled up as far as Schuster Park where we stopped for a break and a snack. As we had hit a few sand bars on the way up we knew that the tide was at its lowest, the tide would soon be turning and we did not wish to paddle against an incoming tide so we headed back.

The Tallebudgera Creek is a wonderful creek to kayak in because it has more vegetation than most creeks on the Gold Coast but the worst part about putting the kayaks in where we do is it is very popular with ski boats in the lagoon. Ski boats and kayak do not mix very well.

Apart from the M1 traffic and the ski boats we had a very good day. I was tired by the time we got home but we were very glad our friends had an early morning flight as we would not normally get on the water so early and the day would not have been so spectacular if we had started later.