Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Tarago ride

On seven bikes, that's 22 cylinders and a total displacement of 3.4L, Jen and I joined a bunch of mates for a ride out to the "Loaded Dog" hotel in Tarago on Sunday afternoon.

From Toolin Around

Steve couldn't come. Here's a video of him whipping his dead horse Ukranian tractor.


Sunday, February 01, 2009

Hottest beach trip

On Friday afternoon, our party trawled Wasp Head. The heat we had experienced in Canberra prior to our departure had vanished by the time we reached South Durras.

From Hottestbeach2
After camping at the Honeysuckle Beach Campground in the Murramarang National Park beside a very well-built campfire, we ventured down to the beach.

From Hottestbeach2
We played a variation of beach football: just tackle whoever is holding the ball. Injuries were rife. Ash smacked my jaw, Glynn compressed his neck in an awkward tackle on Roberts, and we were all seriously abraded by the sand. Some body-surfing was to be had, too.

From Hottestbeach2
Amy takes one from on-high while Ash watches in admiration.

From Hottestbeach2
Following lunch at the South Durras cafe, we returned to the water in order to hunt.

From Hottestbeach2
Ash and Glynn joined me in launching from the eastern tip of Wasp Head. I wasn't able to convince the lads to join me on a short sprint over to Wasp Island. (Though with inflatable boats, the temptation would have been irresistible).

From Hottestbeach2
Jen poses at Wasp Head Beach. There's the football to the left where we played our second round of beach football. To the right a successful fisherman fillets his trevally. Subsequently, we all roared home to Canberra again in the sweltering heat.

From Hottestbeach2

Focus trip

Pending the final adjustments on Steve's ZZR25o, it was necessary for us to take the Focus on our trip on the Australia Day long weekend. We camped at Honeysuckle Beach in Murramarang National Park with half of Canberra. Our first action was to take the boats into the surf. Tragically, Glynn's boat and Steve's inflatable dolphin incurred punctures. Next, we established a vigorous campfire in a vain attempt to ward of nicotine-addicted possums.

From Focus

Spearfishing netted us less fish than we had hoped for and we made our way back to Braidwood for a beer at the Braidwood Hotel. Patches wasn't about this time. Here, we decided to head south to the Wyanbene Caves off the Krawarree Road near Gundillion.

From Focus

Perhaps there are other entrances to the Wyanbene Caves? According to the sign at the entrance we used, you can take it most of the sites in the first 100 metres. However, the tunnels we explored petered out after a much shorter distance.

From Focus

To rinse off after our brief caving expedition, we entered the Wyanbene Creek. The water was cool and clear, with only a gentle current. (Perfect for leeches, though this didn't concern us at the time).

From Focus

In contrast to the packed campsite on the coast, we had Wyanbene entirely to ourselves. With it being rather cool in the mountains, I was relieved to have my swag handy. Surprisingly, one character was content to simply sleep in the open!

From Focus