200502 Newsletter

QUEENSLAND BUSHWALKERS CLUB Inc. Newsletter

74 Kallista Rd. Rochedale South QLD 4123 Email [email protected] Phone No (07) 3341 7509 www.geocities.com/qldbwc

February 2005

Australiana Celebrates Christmas

Club News Christmas Party 2004

On-Line Bookings

19-21 November 2004

The Christmas party at Midginbil Hill was a great success with 27 people staying the weekend and an extra two who came down for the Saturday only. There was an early start on the Saturday morning for some of the club members to climb Mt Warning to see the sunrise. Other walks done that day were in Nightcap National Park and Mt Jerusalem National Park. After the walks the rest of the Saturday afternoon was spent relaxing and enjoying happy hour until it was time to dress up in the Australiana theme. There were a few “Yobbos” who came well attired, as well as Ned Kelly and the Pavlova. Noelene and Neville require a special mention for their typically Australian outfit. The evening BBQ was cooked magnificently by Bob and James and everyone enjoyed a delicious spread of food brought along by club members. After dinner was the quiz night. It was certainly a boisterous group (maybe the wine had something to do with it!). A good time was had by all. The rain poured down, but it didn’t seem to dampen the spirits. On Sunday it began to rain again at 1.00am. How lucky the Mt Warning walkers were to have clear weather the previous morning for their walk up the mountain. Sunday was spent viewing videos and slide shows that walkers had brought along and then it was time to clean up and head home. The accommodation and facilities were great and there was barely time to explore the Midginbil Hill property. Maybe next time. A big thank you to those who helped make it all happen and a special thanks to Evelyn who did a fantastic job.

Main Range Main Range remote bush campsites are now available for on-line booking via www.qld.gov.au/camping. The sites are listed under the park name of 'Main Range Remote Bushwalking'. 21 small camping areas are now available for online booking by the public. They include Laidley Creek Falls, Knoll E12, Knoll T30, Ramparts South, Mt Superbus - South Peak, Spicers Peak (East), Spicers Peak (West), Spicers - Double Top Saddle, Double Top, South Branch, Swan Knoll, Mt Huntley Saddle, Mt Huntley, Huntley - Sentinel Saddle, Panorama Point, Lower Panorama Point, Davies Ridge, Mt Steamer Saddle, Stern, Lizard South, Mt Superbus - North Peak or Main Peak. Mt Barney National Park Also, 11 small camping areas offering remote area bushwalking opportunities at Mt Barney National Park are available for online booking. They include Barney Gorge Junction, Cleared Ridge, Cronan Creek Site 10, Cronan Creek Site 9, Hoop Pines, Mt May Saddle, Old Hut Site, Paddys Plain, Rum Jungle, Skull Camp and Yamahra Creek

Membership Fees Members who paid membership fees between January and June last year will receive a letter asking them to renew their membership to the end of June 2005. The cost of this shortened membership (from February to June 2005) is only $10.00. This will bring in line all members to the Club’s new financial year, which now ends June 30, and not January 31 as last year. This change of financial year was approved when the Club became incorporated last year.

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General Information

The Management Committee

Meeting Place

President

Trevor Cox

3273 3484 (H)

Club Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month at the East Brisbane State School, corner of Stanley Street and Wellington Road, starting at 7:30pm. There is parking within the school grounds off Wellington Road. Consult a street directory, as there are a number of one-way streets in the area. There is also parking in Wellington Road.

Vice President

Trevor Davern

0411 512 202

Tea/Coffee and cake/biscuits provided after the meeting. A coin donation would be appreciated

Membership

Secretary

Bob Gur

3345 3971 (H)

Treasurer

Gary Woodward

3245 2695 (H)

Outings Secretary

David Kenrick

3349 8238 (H)

Membership Officer

Ken Walters

3344 1927 (H)

Editor

Richard Kolarski

3341 7509 (H)

Other Voluntary Positions Social Secretary

Evelyn Campbell

3809 2354 (H)

Before a visitor can go on a walk, he/she must be a Member (Probationary or Ordinary) or be a member of an affiliated club.

Training Officer

Frank Garland

3341 5207 (H)

Membership of QBW is only $20 and lasts till the end of the Club’s financial year which is on the 30th of June each year.

Equipment Officer

Steve Moyle

3800 3963 (H)

Supper Convenor

Danuta Gur

3345 3971 (H)

Federation Rep

Richard Kolarski

3341 7509 (H)

Federation Rep

Trevor Cox

3273 3484 (H)

FMR Rep

Richard Kolarski

3341 7509 (H)

FMR Rep

Frank Garland

3341 5207 (H)

Probationary Membership A non-member automatically becomes a Probationary Member on his/her first walk after signing the waiver form. There is no prescribed fee for a Probationary Member. However a Probationary Member must become an Ordinary Member on his/her 2nd walk by filling out a membership form and paying the prescribed fee. Ordinary Membership A person may become an Ordinary Member by filling out a membership form and handing the form to a committee member or walk leader and paying $20.00. An Ordinary Member has the right to vote at an AGM or be elected to a committee position. A Probationary Member has neither of these rights. Members of Another Bushwalking Club Members of another bushwalking club affiliated with the Queensland Federation of Bushwalking Clubs or another State Federation are covered by the same Insurance. Thus they do not need to become a member of our Club for insurance purposes.

Campsite Monitors Ratatat Hut

Barbara Makepeace

Running Creek Falls

Richard Kolarski

Throakban

Kerry de Clauzel

Mt Superbus

Christine & Cliff Harrison

Spicers Peak

Ann Kemp

Mt May

John Brunott

Ed Thistlethwaite Gary Woodward Trevor Smith

Creature Feature

Equipment for Hire The Club has a backpack (suitable for use as a day or through pack) for hire at $5.00 per week. QBW is also looking at purchasing further equipment in the near future. Any suggestions for equipment to buy would be appreciated. Also any person who has surplus equipment and would like to donate or sell to the Club, please contact one of the Committee members or Steve Moyle on 3800 3963. Bivy Bag/Pack Liners for Sale The Club has purchased a quantity of pack liners from VicWalk suitable for through packs. They are 2 metres by 0.9 metres in a bright orange colour. The packliners can double as an emergency bivy bag and have helpful information printed on them. They are available from the Club for $3.00 each or 2 for $5.00. Club Shirts The club still has a number of Club polo shirts for sale. They are available in XL, L, M and S size. $20.00 each. Emergency Space Blankets The Club has a supply of these for sale at $2.50 each. They are compact and weigh hardly anything but are a lifesaver if caught out in the bush overnight. EPIRB Available for Members The Club has purchased an EPIRB. It will be available to any member of the Club at no charge for use on weekend or weekday walks. If you would like to take the EPIRB on a walk, ring 3341 7509 on where to pick up and return the EPIRB.

Triboniophorus graeffei

This beautiful slug (Triboniophorus graeffei), sometimes called the Red Triangle Slug was encountered on a trip to Bare Rock. The weather was wet and they were in abundance. The slugs were bright red, orange or yellow with a distinctive red triangle pattern on their head, which contained the breathing pore. At approx. 7cm in length and dangling from or slithering up the trees they were a spectacular sight. They are native to Australia and are Australia's largest native land slug. Native slugs can be differentiated from introduced slugs because they have only one pair of tentacles, while introduced snails and slugs have two pairs.

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Discussion Paper on Proposed Fee Structure for BWA Inc

Bushwalking Injury Project

Bushwalking Australia Inc is proposing to apply a 50 cent fee on each bushwalker so that BWA Inc can effectively represent bushwalkers at a national level. This is a large increase from only 10 cents per bushwalker last year. They have released a discussion paper to be circulated to all clubs. Ever since Bushwalking Australia was first being discussed, everyone has been keen to keep it “lean and mean”. No one wants a bureaucracy, or another layer of administration on top of the clubs, conservation bodies and individuals. Most of us would much rather be out walking than typing into a computer, answering telephones or attending meetings. Neither do bushwalkers want to spend money where they do not see the value in it. Everyone knows that bushwalkers are a tight lot. Most clubs run on a shoestring budget. State federations have a hard job persuading clubs that they should join. On top of that Bushwalking Australia comes along needing a slice as well. Some clubs are better organized financially, and find costs easier to meet. Others keep their organization to a minimum, and have to literally pass the hat around to meet expenses like affiliation fees as they arise. We need to take a step back and consider what it costs the individual to go bushwalking, and how much people are prepared to contribute to running their club, the state federation, and Bushwalking Australia. I suggest as an exercise people add up how much they are already spending on their bushwalking activities: Club fees (including affiliation to the state federation) Donations (for conservation etc) Insurance (public liability, personal accident, ambulance etc) Gear (purchase, hire, replacement) Food Transport and travel (bus and train fares, shared vehicle cost, airfares, accommodation) Trip fees (park entrance, guides, maps, leaders, adventure holidays) I would suggest very few of us would spend less than $100 per year, and for most of us the cost would be nearer $1000. On this basis, it would be reasonable that each walker might contribute between $5 and $10 to the state federation. Some state federations already charge an affiliation fee of this order. Bushwalking Australia council has decided to set an affiliation fee of 50 cents per individual member per year. We recognize that some state federations would have trouble meeting this cost, so the committee was empowered to negotiate with individual states for a lesser amount. In these cases, Bushwalking Australia council suggests this should be not more than 10% of that federation’s total fee income. Why do we need this amount? Bushwalking Australia has relied on the goodwill of several states (NSW, Vic and SA) to meet the set-up and initial running costs. The understanding was that this would be corrected when we were in a position to know what our ongoing costs would be. The budget Marianne has prepared for us takes all this into account. Bushwalking Australia is still a lean and mean organization. But we cannot make further cuts without forcing people who already make sacrifices of their time, to dig deeper into their own pockets as well. We could of course reduce our costs further if we were to make Bushwalking Australia a purely figurehead organization. But then there would be no point in us existing at all. Politicians would not listen to us, especially if they knew how little support came from our members. Bill Gehling President, BWA

Background Currently there is no comprehensive data collection pertaining to injuries sustained by bushwalkers in Queensland. The aim of this project is to start to correct that significant deficiency. The State-funded Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit (QISU) collects some relevant data from Queensland hospitals. Federation Mountain Rescue (FMR) collects information on deaths sustained by bushwalkers and climbers and has some other incomplete information on bushwalking incidents. Bushwalker insurance claim information has also been collected and organised. Collection of data on all injuries to bushwalkers is necessary to understand the types and causes of injury and hence prevent injuries occurring through better targeted training. This information also has the potential to better inform hospital funding and focused expenditure. It may also point to possible gains that better equipment design may be expected to deliver. Investigators involved M/s Ameneh Ghafourian – completing a Masters Degree in Public Health (University of Queensland) Dr Peter O’Rourke – (Academic Supervisor, University of Queensland) Prof. Frank Bowling – (Project Advisor, University of Queensland and bushwalker) Dr Ron Farmer – (Project Advisor, Federation Mountain Rescue (FMR), Queensland Federation of Bushwalking Clubs (QFBWC) and bushwalker) Barbara Makepeace – (Project Liaison Officer, bushwalker) The Project: Ameneh will establish a data recording system for bushwalking injuries in Queensland and will endeavour to thoughtfully examine injury data collected for one month (April 2005) from all bushwalking clubs in Queensland. This data will remain the intellectual property of FMR and will be collected with the formal support of the University of Queensland, QFBWC and FMR. It is anticipated that this project will be the initial step in providing ongoing injury data collection for bushwalkers and will lead to further studies of the types and causes of bushwalking injuries and lead to future injury prevention strategies. Bushwalking Clubs Club outing secretaries will be asked to assist this project by collecting injury data from their club members and walk leaders for the month of April 2005. Barbara Makepeace will collect the data from each club on behalf of FMR and will then pass it on to Ameneh for her work. FMR may alert supporting sponsors of any information that may be of use to them. Federation Mountain Rescue GPO Box 1573 Brisbane QLD 4001 www.geocities.com/fmrqld/index.htm

Comings and Goings Maria L is in New Zealand doing the Milford Trek Redencion A is off to South America for some trekking. Fran M is off to Spain and Portugal, then a cruise in the Mediterranean and then several days in Tuscany. Gil is off to West Australia for a few weeks. Helen, Chris and Anthony are off to do walks in Tasmania. Trevor and Diane have recently returned after a trip to the east coast of the USA

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Special Coming Events First Aid Weekend

Past Walks

19-20 March 2005

Bushwalkers of Southern Queensland Inc, on behalf of Federation Mountain Rescue (FMR), is again organizing a Senior First Aid course for the weekend of 19-20 March 2005. It will be held at Wellers Hill State School Hall, 190 Toohey Road, Wellers Hill. The course will run 8.30 am-4.30 pm both days.

Coomera Circuit

5 September 2004

Meeting at Canungra 7 walkers, all on time, carried on up to Binna Burra to walk one of the best track walks in the park. 18 kms, 12 creek crossings, waterfalls, and after the rain on Saturday, plenty of water coming over the falls.

The course will be conducted by a St John Ambulance Australia Instructor and, after being assessed, a Statement of Attainment will be issued which will give accreditation for 3 years (CPR is 12 months). Cost: is $125 (includes Course Pack of manual, gloves, bandage and card). Tea and coffee will be provided, but BYO lunch. Those members who have not previously done a First Aid course are encouraged to come along and participate. You never know when you will be called upon to administer First Aid, especially when accidents occur in the bush. There is a limit of 20 people for the course. Nomination and payment must be received by Friday, 4 March 2005.

Coomera Circuit

A flyer will be available at the Club meeting or contact Jo-Anne McLaren 3345 2367 (after 5pm) Note that the QBW committee will reimburse a member who does a First Aid Course up to $50.00 if that member has led or leads a walk for the Club

The rain really made the walk worthwhile. Every thing was greener and more interesting. Morning tea at the Coomera Falls lookout, then all the creek crossings, with lunch at the last crossing, joining the border track. 4 walkers decided to detour to a couple of lookouts, while the rest walked the 7 kms back to Binna Burra for the usual refreshments.

Fraser Island Great Walk

A terrific day with perfect weather. Thanks to everyone for coming. John

27 April to 1 May

We will be leaving Brisbane early Wednesday morning for the drive to River Head and the 10.15am barge to Wanggoolba Creek. There we will be met by the taxi that will take us up to Happy Valley where we will walk in to our first camp at Lake Garawongera. Further overnights will be at Valley of the Giants, Lake Wabby, Lake McKenzie and then on Sunday walk out to Kingfisher Bay for the 1.30pm barge back to River Head and the drive back to Brisbane. As the taxi can only take five passengers, that will be the limit for this walk. If interested, please contact Patricia on 3341 7509 ASAP.

Pilgrimage 2005

19-21 August 2005

A meeting place for Bushwalkers Every year Queensland bushwalkers make the Pilgrimage to a favourite meeting place to camp, walk, socialise, catch-up, and have FUN! Redland Bushwalking Club, the organisers for the 2005 Pilgrimage, want to make this the biggest and best Pilgrimage ever! When

August, Friday 19, Saturday 20 and Sunday 21

Where:

Bigriggen camping grounds

Cost

Only $30 per person

Fountain Falls Via Canungra Creek

19 September 2004

This walk is along the old graded track between Binna Burra and O'Reillys. The track has not been maintained for many years and is in a very poor state. As we expected it to be a long day, we gathered early at Canungra and then drove up to O'Reillys. There we parked the cars near the top of Bull Ant Spur. It was a quick descent down to Blue Pool and an easy crossing over West Canungra Creek. The water level was quite low as there had not been any rain for several weeks. We followed the old graded track downstream and reached the junction of West and East Canungra Creek for morning tea. From here we headed upstream up the East branch. We rock hopped, followed the trail, crisscrossed the creek and made our way as best we could. It was relatively easy going but the rock hopping seemed endless with the falls still not in view. By 1.00 pm we were in need of a rest and stopped for lunch.

More details closer to the event.

New Members Joe Banks

Jon Beer

Greg Burton

Laleisha Burton

Suzanne Burton

Gail Cibilic

Michael Gamley

Steven Ponsonby

Chris Wacker No of Ordinary Members

Fountain Falls

147

This is the number of renewals and new members since 1/2/2004

At 2.00pm we finally reached Fountain Falls but as we still had a long way to go we did not dally for long. Luckily the track back to Blue Pool was taped and again we made good time.

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A short rest at Blue Pool and then up Bull Ant spur again. The last one reached the cars at about 5.15pm. It was a long day and we were lucky to complete it in daylight. This walk needs to be done over a weekend so there is time to enjoy the views and rock pools that we had to dash by. Many thanks to David for leading this walk.

Montserrat

Richard 25 September 2004

Thirteen of us gathered at Beaudesert to drive down to Rathdowney and then past the Mt May campsite. Luckily the road up to Cleared Ridge had been recently graded and we were able to drive up to the top of the ridge quite easily.

Thanks to Danuta, Shirley and Tina for keeping me company on the drive out to the walk, and to Jeff who probably could have done with something a bit more challenging but graciously wandered along with us. I know you’ll read this via the internet, Tina. Sorry we couldn’t find you a husband to keep you here but we did only have one male to work with. Hope to see you back here soon. Patricia

Christmas Party Base Camp 19-21 November 2004 Cloud loomed over the peak of Mt Warning as we drove down through Uki to Midginbil Hill for the Christmas Party on the Friday afternoon. We were hopeful it would clear for the walk to the summit of Mt Warning, being the first on the Australian mainland to see the sun for the new day. We were also hopeful some walkers would be keen to get out of bed in the wee hours to do it.

King Orchids

We set off along a dirt road and then turned off to follow a ridge to Montserrat Lookout. A wonderful display of King orchids awaited us. There were also magnificent views over to Mt Barney. Here we sat and had morning tea to admire the beauty surrounding us. After our rest we followed Steve who knew of a quicker, more direct way to the Upper Portals. We descended a steep trail down to the creek and it was then a short scramble up and round a rocky outcrop to get to the Upper Portals. While most of us had lunch, a couple of us braved the cold water in the Upper Portals and had a swim. One of our members had an accidental swim after slipping and managed to immerse his camera and mobile phone. Ouch! It was then a slow walk back to the cars. Thanks John for a great walk. Richard

Mt Mathieson

3 October 2004

Not the best day to schedule a walk out Aratula way. Road blocks and detours everywhere to cope with the airshow traffic. But, we had an earlier start than those heading for Amberley so we made good time up to the Spicer’s Gap picnic area and were walking by 8.45am. Beautiful blue skies and pleasant company for this short (8km) walk up Mt Mathieson and on to the Gap road. A few signs of wild cattle in the area but no actual sightings. This was Tina’s last walk before returning to Germany, and for Jeff, his first walk. Views from the lookout at Mt Mathieson then on along the escarpment with many pauses to admire the scenery – Mitchell, Cordeaux and along to Mt Castle. Marvelled at the skill and determination of the road builders as we walked along the old Gap road and read the information signs. Discussed macadamia nuts and macadamised roads. A rest at Governor’s Chair for panoramic views of the valley, dam and mountains to the east/south-east. The bare east face of Spicer’s Peak looked quite daunting and no one was interested in a closer look. Down along the road to the cars and lunch at the picnic area before heading for home via Boonah (airshow detour) after a visit to the café in Aratula.

Early Warning Walkers

It was a small group of seven enthusiasts who left Midginbil Hill at about 1.30am to drive to the base of the mountain. Gil, Lynn, James, David, Jenny, Lynne and leader Wayne all trudged through the darkness to reach the top. After climbing up the last section, with the help of the chains, they were greeted by the dawn at 4.30, revealing a beautiful clear view of the surrounding caldera. There was a touch of cloud on the horizon, just giving some colour in the sky. Wayne quickly had the billy on and the smell of pancakes with maple syrup soon got the appetite of the crew going. They returned to Midginbil Hill by 8.30. After a quick baby swap, the second group headed off to Nightcap National Park to the south. Jenny was especially keen, backing up the Mt Warning walk with our day walk. Unfortunately, the walk I had planned to lead to the top of Tuntable Falls couldn’t go ahead. The area was closed due to the risk of stomping on some rare variety of frog. So, as an alternative, our group of 18 did a combination of the Pholis Gap walk, named after Athol Pholi, a tree feller who was killed in the area, and a loop walk to Mt Matheson. We were afforded brief views from the Pholis Gap trail, however from then on the mist rolled in. It created a wonderful mysterious effect in the rainforest, the same way it did when I last visited Nightcap several years ago, walking in from the eastern side. It started to rain as we drove back down the range to Nimbin, where we stopped for a wander around and a visit to the coffee shops. It was an interesting experience for some club members as they had not been there before. The Mt Warning trekkers headed out again in the afternoon, after a rest, to find Hell Hole Gorge in Mt Jerusalem National Park, This group, led again by Wayne (and Jassie in the backpack) also included Scott, John and Helen who had come down on Saturday morning. After a walk down a forestry road, they turned off and headed down a creek, passing several deep pools, reaching the top of Hell Hole Falls. As they admired the view, rain started to come down and they donned raincoats and quickly headed back to the cars. Many thanks to all who came.

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Evelyn

All Bushwalking Club members and interested members of the community are invited to attend an informal information evening to discuss this project. Supper is provided. Where: Norwegian Hall, 23 Parker Street, Newmarket

Cost: $5.00 (covers hall hire, supper and handouts)

(just off Kelvin Grove Road) Time:

7.30pm

Date:

Thursday 17th March Federation Mountain Rescue GPO Box 1573 Brisbane QLD 4001 www.geocities.com/fmrqld/index.htm

Contact: Barbara Makepeace phone: 3245-2186

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