queensland Rocky Creek Scout Camping Trip

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hi all

This weekend my Dad was doing a camp with his Cub Scouts (the level lower than scouts) so I decided to tag along with a couple of my mates. It was great fun and even though I didn't catch anything, it was quite fun and we had fires, went hiking and swimming. I know this is a fishing forum so if you aren't interested in reading a camping report with only a little bit of fishing, I don't advise you continue   The report also has a lot of photos, so you will have to put up with that too  

Since there weren't any cars to take us up to Rocky Creek Scout Park, we had to train up. The 1 and a half hour train trip up wasn't so bad, but since my friend decided his 'extra good satellite map' would work quicker/better than the route I had planned, and he was being stubborn, we took that way. After the 30 minute walk, we realised the stupid thing had taken us to a big steel fence on the other side of the camp, so we re-traced our steps and got back to the starting point. Afterwards, we took the actual route and arrived. We were all worn out, especially me as I had two packs on, but we were just in time for lunch  

I was loaded up well, with two backpacks and a tent - 

Loaded up

 After lunch, we proceeded to get our tents up and went down to Rocky Creek. It was pretty high and a lot more fast flowing than the last time I was there. My friends and I went for a swim, which was very nice. The water was a bit murky and we had to keep checking for rocks. We went on a rope swig that had fortunately been made and slid down some of the slippery waterfalls (hurt your butt a bit but was worth it ). Then, I went for a fish as well - 

 

Fishing in Rocky Creek

I was using soft plastics, poppers and didn't bother flicking anything more expensive out as the creek is riddled with snags. It was on a 6'6'' telescopic rod spooled with 10lb braid and 12lb mono leader and a size 4000 Shimano reel (my travel rod). That was fishing in a pool below a small waterfall, so that's what all the white bubbles are from. It's my second time not catching anything in there, so I'm questioning if there's even any fish/eels inhabiting it. I also was going to use some bait (any leftover meat) but it was quickly consumed by the group of about 40 people camping out.

After that, I had to get back to camp to make the nights bonfire for everyone. I love making fires on camps, it's one of my favourite things to do    The cubs had just put a whole load of grass on one of their fires, so in this process I was getting smoked alive LOL. 

We were quite low on wood, so I just used all the big logs first with lots of kindling so it would light. At first I thought it wouldn't go off due to dampness, but after some blowing it did not disappoint   This was about 2 hrs after the creek, and after dinner, which was sausages. We had a couple marshmallows and I was getting seriously tired. 

After the fire, I was completely done for the day. My legs ached, I began to feel a bit sick and I was tired (more than ever). I decided to crash in my tent, at about 8:00PM. Unlike me though, my friends (who are crazy) slept in the trailer and went to bed at about 1:00AM. I'm not sure what they did in that time apart from getting slayed by mozzies and eating, but they did find a green tree frog -

One of the few 'catches' 

Well, I had a really nice sleep and I had a good sleep in too. After drinking a bit, I felt better and today I was up to anything (hopefully  ). After waking up and packing up our gear, I was told to cook breakfast so I got started on the bacon while I waited for the others. They eventually got there and then our cooking operation became more efficient, with the final product ending up like this - 

BBQ Breakfast

Now, it occurred to us we had to go home  . We packed up our tents by about 8:30AM (or at least I did) and since we were catching the 11:05AM train, we still had a couple of hours. To kill time, we went for another swim in the creek. The rope swing was fun, and as well as water we had another fire, which I built on the rocks. That was very nice, but we had to keep it going so it took a while for us to chuck some logs on and just let it burn due to the struggle of finding any. It eventually turned out nicely, and we all were back by 10:30AM. The creek had gotten considerably clearer overnight as well.

Nice Creek

Overall, it was a nice camping trip and even though there was no fish caught, it was still fun. Next time, I might camp on the rocks under the stars, but we will have to remember everything possibly to repel mosquitoes. 

Here are some statistics of the report (not much that to read LOL)

Statistics of trip:

Location: Rocky Creek Scout Park

Suitability: Good for large groups, but not much to do... I suppose that's why it's a scout park  

Fish Caught: None

Tackle Used: 10lb braid, 12lb mono, small poppers and soft plastics

Overall Success: 85% - getting there and fishing weren't to good, but otherwise it was awesome!

Now, I have school camp tomorrow 'till Wednesday, so I won't be on the forum until then. I still need to play the trumpet and pack, too.

Hope you enjoyed reading the report,

Cheers Hamish  

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hi all

Sorry if I've somehow posted this topic twice and in the wrong topic section  

I've either clicked something wrong or the computer has gone funny, I'm not sure.

Cheers Hamish

[GregOug]

Sounds like you had fun Hamish. Good to see young people getting out and doing things instead of just playing computer games.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hey GregOug

Yeah, it was great!

It's good to get off the computers too, the 'no phones' rule is also enforced at camps (not that I own one anyway )

Cheers Hamish

 

[ellicat]

Where is Rocky Creek ?

Looks like a good spot and sounds like you made the most of it. Cheers for the report.

[ellicat]

PS  I've moved this report to the 'Outdoor' forum.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hi ellicat

Rocky Creek is located at Landsborough, on Gympie South Road. Thanks for moving the report too.

Cheers Hamish