Mooloolaba and Noosa Heads
Sunday, 23 March 2008
4WD Arvo to Bribie Island
Sunday, 21 October 2007
I really wanted to have another go at beach driving, and the easiest way to do that is to go to Bribie Island, which is only an hours drive from Brisbane and has a brdige. You still need a permit to drive on the beach, but you can get one either online or at a local campsite.
So off we went (Petra and I) and got there around 1pm. Got my permit and headed towards the ocean beach. We weren't the first there (many people get up a lot earlier...). Having driven on Moreton Island just the weekend before, I figured I wouldn't need to let the tyres down really. I mean, on Moreton Island it was mostly hard sand. So I drove onto the access road to the beach. Just before you get onto the beach from the access road however, there's a sandy patch, through which all the vehicles go, and which is loose and deep. And from there you can see the beach.
Uhm, I needed to let the air out of my tyres, before I went on... As I was looking on towards the beach and having second thoughs about not having let down my tyres, I slowed down, when I really wanted to keep going. It had to happen of course. I got stuck. Bogged down. Not badly, but without letting air out of my tyres, I wasn't gonna go anywhere.A few people passed me, even checking if I was alright (course I was!). Once I let out enough air, I tried again (after having taken a few pictures of course), and after a bit of wheelspin, the truck started to go forward again. Just before the access to the beach there's a hard section, where I stopped briefly to let some people get off the beach first. And there I had a good view of what the beach was like.
That wasn't a beach. That was a ploughfield! There was a big hole just after the entrance to the beach from the access road as well, and you had to keep momentum or you'd get stuck. I took a deep breath, and let the clutch come up. The V6 started to roar (love that sound) and off we went. Man, this is worse than sailing in a storm. We rocked left and right, like a boat on high sea, the wheels going in and out of tracks. Different alright.After a few minutes I got used to the motion, the swaying and started to enjoy myself. When another vehicle came towards me (usually when oncoming vehicles approach each other on a beach, you use your indicator to indicate to the other guy which way you intend to pass him), I think I indicated (staying left) and tried to steer my truck a bit more to the left, as my right side, and his left seemed to be in the same track. I guess I'll have to practise this a bit more, for I'm pretty sure my wheels were on a 90 degree angle, but we weren't going anywhere. We touched mirrors, and that was it. So much excitement...
We drove a bit further up the beach until we came to a section where there was a creek ending into the ocean. An easy crossing, but since the tide was coming, there wasn't much beach left to drive on with all those cars around and things got a little crowded. We walked up to the water first (you're supposed to check it out first, make sure you can cross) and then went for it. New record; 30 cm deep water!
We drove up on the other side, had a drink and a bite and decided I didn't want to push any further due to the tide coming in. So back we went, through the tracks on the beach and shot off the beach onto the access road again, through the hole. I reccon Petra should have video taped it, I'm pretty sure I came off the ground with all fours.
We stopped at a carpark at the start of the access road, and sat on the beach for a bit, afterwards, we drove to the other side of the island, there's a few more tracks there and spotted a few Roo's there. Lots of sandflies too. So we didn't stay long. Was getting later anyway. Still, a fun day. Lots of learning.