No: 92 NEWSLETTER February 2002
Sunday 3rd February Mt. Hedlow Saturday 9th February Funzone Sunday 10th February The Caves Pub Sunday 17th February Moore’s Creek Sunday 24th February Canal Creek Sunday 3rd March Clean-Up Australia Day Sunday 10th March Serpentine Lagoon Sunday 17th March Long Island Nature Reserve Sunday 24th March Kemp Beach Weekend 29th March to 1st April Riversleigh Sunday 7th April The Berserkers Weekend 13th & 14th April Blackdown Tableland Sunday 21st April Woppamunga Sunday 28th April Alton Downs Weekend 4th to 6th May Great Keppel Island Sunday 19th May Mill Hill Weekend 25th& 26th May Mt. Nicholson
2 PROGRAM DETAILS
Closing date for nominations normally several days prior to the walk. Some walks may have a limit on numbers per group. If you require transport it is doubly important to nominate well in advance. If travelling with someone else it is common courtesy to pay your share. Walk Legend D/W Day Walk T/W Through Walk or Car Shuttle required. O/N Overnighter H/W Half Day Walk 4WD Access by 4WD only! X/T Extended Trip TRN Training B/C Base Camp N/F No Facilities / No Water, Showers or Toilets. SOC Social
Walk Grading Fitness Distance Terrain (select 2 or 3) E Easy. Suitable for Beginners. A Less than 5 km 1 Trail / Graded Track Moderate. Reasonable B 5 to 10 km 2 Off-track / Cross-Country M fitness required. C 10 to 15 km 3 Not Pre-Walked H Hard. Fit walkers only. L 15 to 20 km 4 Minor scrub X Over 20 km(same day) 5 Medium or Heavy Vegetation Total uphill sections 6 Creeks / Rock hopping Alt Expressed in meters 7 Steep scrambles
Date: 3 February Location: Mt. Headlow Type: D/W M A 247 Alt 217 Contact: Joe Mt. Hedlow, swimming afterwards. Good views of Hedlow Creek flood plain.
Date: 9 February Location: Funzone Type: SOC Contact: Maxine
Date: 10 February Location: The Caves Pub Type: Meeting Contact: Dot All interested and Keppel Island May long weekend committee members will meet at The Caves Pub for lunch and a meeting will follow to organise the walks and activities for our May combined clubs get-together.
Date: 17 February Location: Moore’s Creek Type: H/W TRN E B 1 Contact: Bevan Come for a nature-walk combined with a navigation class. An easy walk, ideal for new members.
Date: 24 February Location: Canal Creek Type: SOC Contact: Maxine BYO picnic, a quite day swimming, canoeing or just doing nothing.
Date: 3 March Location: Clean-Up Day Type: Contact: Allan
Date: 10 March Location: Serpentine Lagoon Type: D/W E B Contact: Ron An easy introductory walk to serpentine lagoon for lunch.
3 Date: 17 March Location: Long Island Nature Reserve Type: D/W TRN E B 123 Contact: John Come along for some navigation and plotting training, this is a club community project to mark and plot another walking track on Long Island.
Date: 24 March Location: Kemp Beach Type: H/W SOC E A 1 Alt 110 Contact: Margo Join us for a BBQ and an easy walk to the Lookout.
Date: 29 March – 1 April Location: Riversleigh Type: D/W B/C N/F M B 235 Contact: Dot Come along and camp over at Riversleigh Crossing on the Fitzroy River for the Easter break.
Date: 7 April Location: The Berserkers Type: D/W T/W M L 1267 Alt 450 Contact: John A walk for the energetic, walk down the walking track to waterfall creek, rock hop to the falls and climb to the top for lunch, drop off into another creek and meet up with the main walking track for the walk out to Frenchville School. Hopefully the creeks will be still flowing and a possibility of a swim near the end of the walk.
Date: 13/14 April Location: Blackdown Tablelands Type: B/C T/W Contact: Allan Allan will be leading a overnight through walk for the more energetic. John Rideout will be leading a couple of day walks for those who don’t feel like carrying a heavy pack on an overnighter.
Date: 21 April Location: Woppamunga Type: GM Contact: Dot Join in for a Sausage sizzle at midday, thereafter the General Meeting at 2pm.
Date: 28 April Location: Alton Downs Type: D/W E B 1 Contact: June An easy introductory walk for those who want to start some cross country walking, lagoons, floodplains, flora and fauna, birdwatching.
Date: 4/5/6 May Location: Great Keppel Island Type: D/W H/W B/C & SOC Contact: Dot Combined Clubs Weekend.
Date: 19 May Location: Mill Hill Type: D/W Contact: Barbara An easy walk to Mill Hill for smoko & traverse Camp Hill Rock to the butterfly grotto for lunch, with a very easy walk back to the cars. This walk is suitable for beginners, bring a hat, sunscreen, lunch and water.
Date: 25/26 May Location: Mt. Nicholson Type: T/W O/N M B 12 Alt 260m per day Contact: Jeff An easy through walk for beginners in the Berserkers National Parks, with an overnight camp on the pretty Mt. Nicholson Plateau.
Please keep those walk stories coming in to us for inclusion in our newsletters, everyone would agree that we all wit to read the past walk stories and without them coming in we can’t print them. You can email us, save them to disc or hand written letters are acceptable.
4 Southern Byfield Ranges
Having viewed the Byfield Ranges the previous weekend from Yeppoon I was anticipating a weekend of tremendous views and, (after being informed from a reliable source) scrub bashing, I wasn’t disappointed! John Dick Alan and I started walking at 8:30 Saturday after we left Alan’s vehicle at Stoney Creek. The first hill we climbed was only 268metres but each hill became progressively higher, culminating at Mt. Ganter, 592 metres. Each peak seemed to defy our attempts to scale them. Dense stands of cycads, grass trees, acacia and stunted brush box on hill 329. Dick can testify to this, blood trickling down his arm whilst leading the group to the summit of this peak.
Progress was painfully slow, dense vegetation, steep climbs and heavy packs (Alan’s pack 26kg, John’s 24kg) resulted in us averaging around 1 km/h. We arrived at our campsite at 4:30 pm, gathered our water bottles and obtained water from a nearby creek. With our water supply assured for the remainder of the walk, we returned to camp for a well-earned cuppa. The only comment I will make about our campsite was that it was secluded. Dick managed to clear enough ground to pitch his tent. The rest of us camped under the stars. We wondered how the ladies were enjoying their weekend at Lake Mary, what a contrast to our walk.
We were glad to be on our way by 7:30 Sunday. Most of us had little sleep, thanks to the mosquitoes, uneven ground, grass trees, etc. We reached our first 500m peaks, just after morning tea. Navigation was straight forward throughout the walk, it was reassuring to have an experienced walker such as Alan in our group, who has walked part of the range before and climbed Mt. Ganter 4 times. Approaching Mt. Ganter we disturbed a sow in the middle of delivery, she had constructed a shelter from grass trees for the piglets. We marvelled at this rare experience for a brief time before pushing on to Ganter.
After pushing through more dense scrub we arrived at the base of Mt. Ganter. We rested here in pleasant rainforest before tackling our final climb of the weekend. A light shower had some of us donning raincoats but was soon removed once we started climbing. The climb is straightforward; some short cliffs are encountered which were easily negotiated. We arrived at the first of the lower peaks on Mt. Ganter. We scrambled over to the higher peak and enjoyed the views; our exit ridge was spotted and spurred us on. We clambered down cliffs and enjoyed lunch on granite slabs with views of Mt. Archer and ranges to the north –east. We continued down to the creek, appreciating more open vegetation before arriving at a delightful tributary of Stoney Creek. We followed this down to a road and our vehicle, arriving around 3:00 pm.
Overall an enjoyable weekend. We visited a part of Byfield few people have been to, although having endured thick scrub and difficult terrain I can understand why! Nether less, from Mt. Ganter I was attracted to the ranges of the of the Shannon Creek catchment and relish the opportunity to traverse them next year.
Richard
The Tasmanian Excursion
Expressions of interest are sought for a trip to Tasmania sometime during 2003. Please contact Sharyn
5 MORE ON SAFE WATER IN THE BUSH With Purifiers and Filters
What's the difference between a Purifier and a Micro-filter? A water "filter" generally claims to reduce or eliminate protozoan parasites and bacteria. A filter is adequate for remote wilderness seldom visited by people. A water "purifier" also removes or inactivates viruses and is therefore ideal in any situation. In both cases water is ready to drink without boiling.
What types of places would I need to use a Purifier? Places to use a purifier: - High traffic destinations - Travelling abroad - Floods and Earthquake environs - Anytime the water source is unknown Remember: Waterborne viruses are species specific. Only humans carry those that cause disease in humans. All of these organisms enter water through fecal contamination and are transmitted via a fecal/oral path.
Treatment of waterborne viruses: A much faster alternative to Iodine treatment is pre-treatment of water with regular household liquid bleach that contains 5.25% sodium hypochlorite. Do not use scented, color-safe, or bleaches with added cleaners. Add 3 drops of bleach (6 drops for cloudy, cold, or tea-colored water) for each litre of water mix it and wait 5 minutes. Then filter your water with a micro-filter. The bleach will inactivate viruses and the micro-filter will remove the bacteria and chlorine- resistant protozoa such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium. Simular hypoclorite solutions or their equivalent are also marketed in convenient small packages like ViroStop etc.
Other important facts: Mixing water with Iodine, ViroStop or liquid Bleach will result in a 10000 to 1 viral inactivation. Do this before the filtering process, as the filter will take out these elements along with many other minerals. Use separate containers for 'mix-up' and filtered drinkwater, and never mix up the input and output tubes of your pump/filter assembly as the safety factor would radically diminish. These micro-filters will separate harmful Bacteria to the tune of 1000000 to 1, as well as 1000 to 1 for protozoa such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium (now worldwide stringent EPA standards). Also do not collect your water from mining tailings or agricultural runoff; micro-filters are not designed for and will last longer by not filling them with heavy metals, chemicals or the like. When only muddy water is available use a silk filter to prevent your micron-filter from clogging. Clean your filter immediately after a trip instead of ‘ just before the next one’! Most modern systems have also an integrated carbon filter that will remove much of the residue chlorine or iodine trace for great tasting water. Another bonus: No matter how murky, brown, yellow (after iodine treatment), milky or dark the water looks like in your ‘mix-up’ bottle, the drink water after the filter process looks always crystal clear and fresh and is indeed of high quality. And that is just how I like it.
Jeff Aust
6 Bushfire Safety & Survival
Bushfires in Australia have claimed many lives. Lives so tragically lost that may have been easily avoided by a simple understanding of what to do in a bushfire. Most bushfire victims should have suffered no more than a few minor burns, nose and throat irritation and perhaps a slight headache. Instead, some die, because they have either panicked, or ignored to take a few basic safety precautions. A fear of fire is probably the most widely spread phobia of the human race. The unexplainable panic that arises when people have found, or imagined, themselves in danger of being trapped by fire has led to the abandonment of common sense. Panic, in most cases, has led to individual and multiple deaths when comparative safety was near at hand. To avoid such tragedies, everyone who lives in, or visits the grass land bushlands that make up such a large percentage of our country should make themselves familiar with a few simple facts about the dangers of bush and grass fires. They should be aware of the rules of conduct that may greatly multiply their chances of survival under even the most critical fire conditions.
Three important rules you must observe when faced with a fire: 1. Always remain calm; don't panic. (Panic is infectious, drains physical and nervous energy and clouds your judgement). 2. Always protect yourself from radiant heat. 3. Keep low and/or stay in cleared areas.
Heat effects from various sources are experienced by persons trapped in a fire, and each contributes to the risk of injury or death. Means of minimising the effects of these individual sources of heat should be understood and applied of chances of survival are to be improved.
RADIATED HEAT
Radiated heat is the greatest killer. Only a small percentage of those people who die in bushfires are, in fact, burnt to death. The majority collapse due to the effects of radiated heat before the flames actually reached them. The temperature at the face of a low-intensity fire will be around 1,000°C, and the heat level rises sharply as fire intensity increases. In a grass fire, a person would be subjected to the extreme radiated heat for about 30 seconds, but in high intensity bushfire, the danger period would be 3-4 minutes, or longer. Protection from radiated heat is the major factor in survival in bushfires. No means of avoiding radiated heat should ever be rejected. At such times any idea of personal hygiene may have to be temporarily abandoned; e.g. rolling in the mud and slush of a pigsty may not be clean, but it is preferable to extensive skin grafts and perhaps fatal injuries from burns.
7 WIND-BORNE HEAT
The main convection current rises above a fire, but air is heated as the wind blows the fire forward and this hot air has the effect of preheating objects in advance of the fire. The feeling of heat or strong smell of smoke in the air is an immediate indication that the fire is near and time to take safety precautions before the real emergency occurs. Body temperature will rise wherever there is a tendency to panic. Mental coolness (no panic) means physical coolness and this is important. Vigorous activities also cause the body temperature to rise, therefore the necessity to conserve energy by deliberately controlling your actions is important. Being trapped by a bush or grass fire generally occurs under one of three circumstances: • On foot • In a vehicle • In a house or building
When fire threatens or appears to threaten, there is no cause or reason for panic. It is essential for the person to remain calm and assess the position and situation in a logical manner. Certain measures can be taken to improve your chances before fire arrives. If on foot, employ one of the safety measures listed.
1. Stay with companions. Don't worry others by disappearing. Don't wander off alone. 2. Never try to escape from an approaching fire by running uphill. Fire travels faster uphill. It is always better to move across the face of a hill out of the way of a fire. 3. Don't panic as this drains your energy and affects your thinking. 4. Run only when absolutely necessary and only if your chances of escape are clear. 5. Seek shelter in a creek, waterhole, dam, in-ground earth tank, muddy area, or swamp at the side away from the fire. Wet or plaster the exposed parts of the body with mud to keep it moist. Do not climb into elevated tanks as this water heats rapidly and collapse can occur within a few minutes. ( A person almost totally immersed in warm water at 44°C reaches a stage of collapse in approximately 3 minutes). 6. If no water is available, take refuge behind a raised object ( a rock, log, or tree stump) in a cleared area. A slight hollow in the ground is also sufficient in a bare area (e.g. wheel ruts). 7. If there is no suitable safe location available, seek shelter in the barest area away from heavy quantity of fuel; cover exposed skin with dirt or dust or clothing; or any available protection; lie face downwards with boots towards the fire.
This Article is taken from The Queensland Fire and Rescue Authority Rural Fire Service.
John Rideout
8 "COMBINED CLUBS GET-TOGETHER - MAYDAY LONG WEEKEND 2002 - GREAT KEPPEL ISLAND"
We have secured a group booking for our Combined Clubs Get-together for the May Day weekend 2002 at Great Keppel Island. Your host club's members have paid their subscription in full in order to raise the deposit required.
Following is an extract of the Group Booking Confirmation received from Keppel Tourist Services:
Name of Group Capricornia Bushwalkers
Travel date: Saturday 4 May 2002 Ferry departure times: 7.30am/9.15am/11.30am/3.30pm Number or Passengers: 100 adults Departure date: Monday 6 May 2002 Ferry return times: 8.15am/2.00pm/4.30pm Accommodation: Keppel Haven Safari Tent Village Linen: BYO linen
The price per person will be $75.00
This price includes:
• Return ferry transfers from Rosslyn Bay Boat Harbour to Great Keppel Island • 2 nights accommodation at Keppel Haven Safari Tent Village • BBQ dinner (Sunday Night) - a selection of steak and sausages served with a selection of salads and a hamburger bun • Security parking at Rosslyn Bay.
Keppel Haven and Keppel Tourist Services are licensed premises. Consumption of private supplies of alcohol is not permitted in these areas and they may be confiscated from guests breaching these rules.
Keppel Haven has lockable doors on all tents. A refundable deposit of $10 per key will be required from guests using this facility. This deposit is payable direct to Keppel Haven when keys are issued.
The ferries depart from GKI Transit Centre at Rosslyn Bay. When you arrive at the round-a-about, you need to go straight through to the terminal. Do not go left at the round-a-bout - our vessels do not leave from the Marina.
The Security Car Park is 50 metres past the round-a-bout but you may wish to unload at the terminal first.
Due to the loading and unloading directly onto the beach at GKI, your group may have to walk through some water. Please advise the group to wear suitable footwear.
Kind regards……… Keppel Tourist Services
9 Additional Information:
1. A large undercover dining area with refrigeration and cooking facilities is adjacent to the camp area. Toilets and hot showers are also close by.
2. A deposit of $20 per person is required to secure your place for this weekend. Your host club has 30 members going. The remaining 70 places will be secured on an "as received basis" (Get in early!!!) Full payment of the balance ($55.00) must be received by 15 April 2002. Deposit is fully refundable if cancellation received by 31 March 2002. Deposits to be forwarded to: The Treasurer, Capricornia Bushwalkers Inc., PO Box 1130 Rockhampton, Qld 4700". A receipt with a booking number for each individual person will be issued and this number will be used for all further correspondence: (Please indicate all names and club with deposits).
3. A good quality polo shirt with 2-colour print will be available for $20. Please indicate when paying deposit if you are interested in purchasing one. This is not a firm order out just an indication of those interested. Further details about the shirts in our next bulletin.
4. Walks are planned for Sat afternoon, half or full day Sunday, and a short beach walk Monday. Other activities available - snorkelling, fishing, swimming (beach or pool) catamaran hire, or just sunbaking.
5. Saturday evening meal available at the Haven or bring your own. No formal activities planned. Usually outdoor entertainment at the Haven, or Nightclub at The Resort for the young at heart. Our usual entertainment evening will be on Sunday following the BBQ. Clubs are asked to present at least one item.
6. In our next bulletin, we will be forwarding forms to each club requesting more detailed information regarding approximate departure times, number of vehicles, shirt sees etc.
We are excited at being able to host the 2002 Get-together at this great!! Location - plenty of activities and some excellent island walks. Hope to see you there. And remember first in, first served.
Ron Hyslop
10 Qld. Rogaine Timetable for 2002
March 3 Upside Down Rogaine - Mt. Coot-tha, Brisbane
April 14 Metrogaine - SE Queensland
May 18/19 6/12 hour Event - SE Queensland
July 20 8 hour Championship - SE Queensland
September 7/8 Cyclegaine - SE Queensland
October 19/20 15/24 hour Championship, South-East Queensland
2002 Wilderness Rescue Navigation Shield Australia's Premier Emergency Services Navigation Event July 6-7, 2002
CAPRICORNIA BUSHWALKERS INC – MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION To: The Treasurer Capricornia Bushwalkers Inc PO Box 1130 ROCKHAMPTON Qld. 4700 I wish to apply for membership of Capricornia Bushwalkers Inc.
NAME(S) ______POSTAL ADDRESS ______
Number of members included in this application form: ______Phone (home) ______(work) ______Signed ______Date ______
FEES – either Individual/Family membership $13 or Student/Pensioner membership - $7 $______plus Insurance @ $5 per person $______TOTAL AMOUNT ENCLOSED $______
NOTE: Insurance is compulsory; therefore the Total Fee is $18 for one person, $23 for two, $28 for three, etc. Minimum fee for Student/Pensioner is $12. Membership fees are due by the 1st of July every year.
Our Internet page: www.geocities.com/capbushwalkers Our Editors e-mail: [email protected]
11 [email protected] The Secretary’s mail: PO. Box 1130, Rockhampton 4700 The Secretary’s e-mail: [email protected]
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