Tri Peaks was a wonderfully long outing….11 hours for us…but good company, great scenery, lots of hard work and plenty of laughter made the day just fly along….
Leaving the BP Tewantin just a little behind schedule we headed up Gyndier Drive to start….just to ‘ease’ us into the ‘dirtiness’ of the day….We were all excited/apprehensive about the big day ahead. We made our way to the base of Mt Tinbeerwah via the ‘demoralizer’ (know the name really well now….)….and found the track in off Old Tewantin Rd….rode up out of sight of the road where we changed into our trekking shoes, stashed the bikes and went off on foot. The lovely single track takes you up the back of the long ridge that is Mt Tinbeerwah with stunning views of Noosa River’s lake systems and beautiful flora on the way up….Mel and Jules took a bit of a detour but were located with a loud Coo-ee from Paddy….and we all enjoyed the view from the top bagging peak No 1….
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| Sabina & Hayley in transition |
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| Little Bean took the easy way down... |
Arriving in Pomona we met Jules (T), Pete (aka Solo-man) and Bean (the wonder-dog) who were joining us for the trek up Mt Cooroora….The rain started about now…and we all got a cool wash….Jules (D) was happy as it cleaned her up a bit after an unplanned ‘sit’ in a mud puddle on the way there! Richard took the civilised option to wait it out at the bakery…but the rest of us stashed our bikes and went off on foot, once again. Did I mention it was a hot day….and humid….????? Well it was, so when the rain pelted down on our climb up, we were refreshed beyond belief…..No pics at the top though , as it was too wet to get out the camera…. Little Bean powered up the mountain with a few rides in the arms of Mum and Aunty Jan…..but on the way down he took the ‘easy option’ on the back of Pete…..with the bottle of coke! Very cute…
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| The group atop Mt Cooroy with Tinbeerwah in the background |
Back down at the bikes….we re-filled our bladders….did a quick shoe change, picked up Richard at the bakery and were off to Cooroy via Trail 8…..Jules (D) and Hayley took the road option here….and the rest of us enjoyed the ride along Trail 8 and regrouped in Cooroy before we headed off out along Cooroy Mountain Rd. We all struggled a bit on the ‘beautiful’ undulating road out to the mountain….and were very hot and tired again when we reached our ‘transition tree’ at the base. Gail opted for a little nap in the soft grass under the shady tree….it was very inviting….while the rest of us took off on foot once again…. The grass was very long….but all the snakes were hiding, thank goodness… It was extremely hot on this climb – as we were out of the wind…but we forged ahead….all just wanting to get there…. Arriving at the western viewing point….we were absolutely exhausted…there was no shade on this side…so we enjoyed the view very briefly while Aunty Kim got herself into a precarious position to take a photo…and Howie did a little dance for us! Then we were off again, over to the eastern side where it was much, much cooler….a nice breeze and a bit of shade. We all flopped down and took in the view…..had a snack….and looked out over our most wonderful ‘play-ground’ the Noosa Hinterland….we were happy with ourselves….sitting on the third peak of the day….and knowing we had gone all that way by bike and on foot…. But posing for the shot of us with Tinbeerwah in the background was rather difficult….Richard, I don’t know how you got down in that position….my knees were not working too well at that point….they refused to do so when I asked them to ‘kneel down on a rock!’…..
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| Jules on the tricky descent |
Wow….what an amazing day!! Not quite finished though, we had a quick shower and went out on foot again (the promise of champagne always gives you that extra energy) up to the Reef for a meal and of course the obligatory bottle of bubbles to round off the adventure…..Thanks to everyone who came along and made the day so enjoyable. We are already planning what we’ll do next year….hope you can join us then! (You have a whole year to recover, ok!)
NAV TRAINING IN RINGTAIL
Our Nav training session in Ringtail was very hot and ‘snakey’… but we only saw one ‘black’ when we were putting out the CP’s on Friday evening…though I’m sure lots of them saw us as we were trudging by…... The crucial tracks were extremely overgrown and it was difficult going through the long grass and lantana…. Aunty Kim managed to scratch herself up quite well on the Friday too….so lucky most of you brought your gaiters or long socks….as that ‘barbed wire vine’ was rather nasty also! It was great to see everyone out having a go at some Nav – under the watchful eye of Aunty Kim…..Howie cleared the course on the Mtb (not bad for someone who hadn’t done any nav since Timbertop) and Jules (D) was amazing getting the most points as she did 8 out of the 12 CP’s on foot! Even though it was hot, everyone still enjoyed some of Aunty Jan’s cake and a coffee afterwards….but we were all looking forward to a refreshing swim when we got back into town…..
PADDLE/RUN
Our recent Paddle/Run turned out to be quite a bit longer than expected…..in time, that is…Surprised? We know you’re not! Ant braved the king tide (which was ripping in at an incredible rate of knots) on Aunty Kim’s 18ft surf ski (which was a little too short for her in leg length….). All we can say it is that lucky it was hot – and the water was very refreshing…..as she spent a fair bit of time in it…..and not on the boat…..But, hey, we’ve all been there, done that….haven’t we?? Anyway, we positively flew up the river…..and when we decided to turn (earlier rather than later, luckily…) we faced half the Pacific Ocean coming at us (well, that’s what the force felt like…) Every time Ant fell in we went backwards very fast…..Our aim was to gain ground each time, but it was rather a challenge….. When we finally made it to our transition spot on the North Shore Ant was exhausted…..and very water logged. Luckily the next leg was a run…..and she was up for the challenge. The king tide had come up so high that some parts of the track were underwater…..oh well….it was hot so we didn’t care about getting wet (and Ant already was….)….. We ran up the the Esplanade and onto the Wallaby track….then when we were looking for the Quarry track we took and unknown track which led us almost back to where our boats were…. This one was very pleasant….nice and shady…..and a good one to take if we were riding too! When we got back out onto the beach we went in for a nice dip in the ocean before walking back to the boats…. Even the paddle back….now with the tide racing out….was another challenge…..The boat traffic in the river mouth was relentless….and poor Ant was struggling again…..However, she finally made it back and was still talking to us when we went and had bacon and eggs at Raw Energy afterwards……Like we said, it’s all a learning curve….and we all started that way…..so a good session in the bank – and it should get easier…..really, it should….!!!
JUNIORS AT STATE TRI CHAMPS
We had a very busy week with our Juniors at their State Tri Champs (Feb 24 - 26)….. Our squad (and the entire Sunshine Coast team) excelled themselves over the 3 days at Redcliffe….helping the Coast win the Championships for the 3rd year running…. We are extremely proud of their efforts, attitude and exemplary behaviour over the course of the event…. Brigitte Fischer won her individual event and also her relay event and is now in the Qld line-up when they compete at National Champs in about 4 weeks time…. We wish her all the best for this hotly contested competition!
So now we're into March and have the Kathmandu Adventure race on the 19th....followed by much, much more in our wonderful outdoor playground....
See you out there!
Jan & Kim
