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Fraser Island Clean Up26 – 28 JANUARY 2007Greeted by some ominous clouds and a few spots on the
windscreen, we arrived at the old Gailes Weighbridge around 5 am on the
Australia Day holiday with
some eager four wheel drivers ready to embark on their Fraser
Island journey. Despite our prayers for rain, the clouds all but passed
over and the mercury
was soon climbing. We had ten vehicles in tow and after a quick
drill about convoy procedure and the planned route through Brisbane, we
made tracks for
Fraser Island. We had a great run via the Inner City Bypass
and we hit the Bruce Highway without losing any of our convoy members.
The traffic flowed
smoothly and the low clouds lifting off the ranges just before
Gympie gave a fitting end to our Bruce Highway trek and a beautiful start
to our long
weekend on the beautiful beaches of Fraser. Needing a stretch
of the legs and the all important coffee break, we made the obligatory
stop at the Gympie
Matilda servo around 7am. It seems every man and his dog was
heading to the north coast as well that weekend so you can imagine the
carpark, not to mention
the queue inside. Despite the crowd, most decided to have a
quick bite to eat and we were on our way again by 8am. We enjoyed another
good run along
the Tin Can Bay Road and eventually arrived at Inskip Point
around 9ish. Tyre pressures reduced and vehicle stickers applied, we made
the short beach
run to the Manta Ray Barge with no hiccups. All vehicles aboard
and thanks to a seamless operation, we made the short journey across to
Fraser Island
(Thank goodness for half price barge fees). The tide was on
its way out, so we were able to get around Hook Point and travel up the
beach and avoid
the corrugated inland track. Our designated camping spot was
just north of Cornwalls Break Road, approx 6k north of Eurong and the same
spot that we
had last year. Kathy and I stopped and registered at the Group
Camping Area near Cornwalls Break Road and collected our hats and bags
for the weekend
clean up. We eventually arrived at the camp around 10.30 am.
It wasn’t
even the middle of the day, but the heat was already past the
boiling point and unfortunately there was very little breeze
behind the sand dunes to cool
us down while we set up. The majority of Ipswich Club members
had arrived on the Wednesday and Thursday so the camp site
was already pretty full. We
had to settle for any piece of camping space that we could
find (Geez, you have to arrive three days beforehand to beat this lot).
To escape
the heat,
most of the happy campers were up at Eli Creek enjoying a refreshing
swim, but after our long drive from Ipswich, we decided to
stay near camp and have a swim in the surf and walk along the beach instead.
Everyone started
to arrive back at camp around 4pm and we enjoyed Happy Hour
with lots of tasty treats. It was also the perfect opportunity to hand
out the Toyota
hats (Major Sponsors for the Clean Up) and some brochures about
Fraser Island. Having endured soaring temperatures on the Friday, it was
a unanimous decision
to start early for the Saturday clean up so we all decided
on a 7am start. After happy hour, everyone headed back to their camp sites
for dinner and
some went back for more happy hour.
Up by 6am on Saturday morning and we knew we were headed for another scorcher. Thinking that we would have some stragglers, you can imagine the Trip Leader’s surprise when he drove over the sand dune to find all of the vehicles parked on the beach and ready to go by 7am. Armed with gloves and rubbish bags, everyone then gathered around to receive their instructions from their fearless leader. We had been allocated 28km of beach to clean from Dilli Village all the way down to Hook Point as well as 20 km of inland track from Hook Point back to the Access track, so it was always going to be a mammoth task. After much discussion and even a map drawn in the sand to explain how the vehicle drop offs were going to work, we made our way down the beach in single file and we arrived at Dilli Village around 8am. After some initial confusion about which vehicle was supposed to stop and at which kilometre point to drop off, somehow the organised chaos seemed to work and eventually Kathy and I arrived at the final stretch of beach at Hook Point (What a Miracle!) Sadly, like many other clean ups, there was lots of rubbish along the foreshore and in the dunes, so it didn’t take long for everyone to fill their bags. The heat was unbearable but we managed to get through it all and finish the clean up by 11.30 am. During the clean up, the ranger met up with some of our club members along the beach and she was able to load a lot of the bags into her Ute. The remainder were dropped off on the beach section near the group camping area, where the rangers were busily coordinating all of the rubbish collections. Despite the enormous amount of rubbish that confronted us, there was a sense of satisfaction in that we were all playing our part to clean up this beautiful island. The beach looked fantastic and it was a great club effort. On the way back from the Clean Up, some had stopped in at Eurong and bought ice blocks, while some headed up to Eli Creek for a well earned swim. Some even decided to do a spot of fishing which rewarded them with a good catch of Dart. At 5pm, we all headed down to the group camping area for the free BBQ. There were lots of prize giveaways and Ipswich won the coveted prize for collecting the most amount of small rubbish items, such as bread ties, drink straws and bottle tops. Some of the clubs were also rewarded for their innovative waste management practices. The BBQ was enjoyed by all and the Smokey Crawdads kept everyone entertained with their toe tapping and boot scooting music. The evening finished around 10pm and it was amazing to watch the mass exodus of 4wd’s making their way back to their respective camp sites. The beach front was clear in no time. We were lucky enough to be within walking distance, so we made our way back on foot and some continued on with a happy hour night cap. Sunday morning greeted us with more sweltering temperatures and we decided
to pack up early to avoid any more sunburn. Kathy and I were all packed
up by 9am and we had a good run along the beach back to the barge. We were
back on the mainland by 10am. Unfortunately, we had to endure a 6 hour
drive on the way home, with stop/start traffic all way from the Caloundra
turn off to Burpengary. TOTAL NUMBER OF CARS: 28 Some of the items collected included, fluro tubes, rope, empty cans & bottles and those horrible plastic bags that often cause serious and even fatal injuries to bird and sea life. Some of the more unusual items collected on the day included a condom, an unopened can of XXXX Beer from the 2006 Birdsville Cup, a stiletto, a pair of thongs, a toy soldier with no arms and lots of timber pallets. Ipswich Four Wheel Drive Club collected 91 Bags of rubbish and a trailer load of timber, as well as some larger items including plastic lids, buckets and tyres. Overall, 20 clubs participated in the Fraser Island Clean up with in excess of 900 people attending. Next year, the Annual Clean Up hopes to break the 1000 mark so don’t throw those gloves away just yet and mark your calendars for 2008. Thank you.
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© Ipswich Four Wheel Drive Club Inc. 2004 |