Moreton Island 3 day Wintersun bikepack - day 1

I've said it before, Moreton Island is truly the jewel in the crown for Brisbane fatbike adventurers.

When a good mate Neil mentioned he was heading over to Moreton for a beach bikepacking trip  (bikepacking is where you load up your bike with the bare minimum of gear, instead of loading up the 4wd with nearly the entire BCF catalogue) I volunteered as tour guide to share a favourite route of mine. It had the lot. Beautiful beaches, inland tracks, fresh water lagoons and streams, rideable sand blows and plenty of 'type 2 fun' physical challenges.

Neil has a great blog, he writes about a diverse range of topics and will have his story up of this weekend any day now. It is also a treasure trove of trail information on SEQ tracks - highly recommended read!

My day started early, with a ride from home out to the Micat ferry terminal, from which it's a pleasant 70 minute trip over to the island.

There are plenty of places to stuff a fatbike on the Micat.

The beach was firm right up to the high tide mark, with a bit of rain about.

The Alpha lineup, my compadres on this trip were Tony, Paul and Neil. I hoped they were ready for some of my type 2 fun. I was on my Rohloffed Moonlander, Tony was on his titanium Muru Witjira, Paul on the Specialised Fatboy, and Neil on arguably the second most capable bike in the world - the loaner! (second only to the rental) Wayne (another fatbiking mate), the owner of the loaner, was off on a bikepacking trip in Korea, so what happened to the loaner on the trip...stays on the trip ;)

We all kinda got lost in our thoughts, just turning the legs over as the km passed by. Light sprinkles of rain came and went, as we traversed bay after bay, until the final turn around Comboyuro Point. We were often under the watchful eyes of sea eagles, whistling kites, pelicans and pied oyster catchers.

Heath Island is a dynamic region on the North-West of the island - with a lagoon/billabong at the base of Yellow Patch - a giant sand blow. The tidal outflow constantly shapes the beachfront, as a consequence our path meandered randomly according to firm sand and open gaps between tree deadfall.

We rounded North point to overlook Honeymoon Bay and a quick stop for lunch. The rain was slowly setting in - a nice hot cuppa-soup and a Nutella English fruit muffin filled the void and warmed the belly.

A quick push around the point, purely for the drill and a prelude for the trails I had in mind over the next few days.

The views from Cape Moreton are fantastic - off in the distance we spied whales breaching.

...and we thought we had issues with the wind...

...but little did he know he was being pursued by a mother Humpback and her calf!

Our journey took us along the East beach, through 6 or 7 fresh water lagoon outlets, stopping off at Blue Lagoon to top off the water bags, take in the view, enjoy the significant birdlife and ponder the lives of all who have called this region home over the years.

We chose a campsite not far south of Middle Rd, on the East beach. Plenty of room for all - even the snorers :)

Simplicity for me, the tarp for the errant shower and bug net there just in case. For the tech curious: I'm using a Gram Counter silnylon footprint; Klymit X-frame inflatable pad; Mountain Hardwear Ultralamina 32 synthetic bag; Sea-to-Summit 1p bugnet; Integral Designs 2p silnylon tarp. Contrast to all that - the pillow is 2 microfiber towels stitched together to form a drawstring pocket, filled with the sleeping bag drybag, gloves, neck gaiter, hat and Arcteryx synthetic insulated vest.

We cooked dinner, engaged in conversation, some had wine and cheese and we all enjoyed the final light of day fade.

...some did it with more style than others. Paul just needed a matching tweed dinner jacket and pipe - those slippers were a classic!

Speaking of food - a bit more tech: dinner was a cheap, reliable staple of mine - Couscous and foil tuna. Only need a small amount of water to re-hydrate and requires no fussing - so you've got hands free to do other things. My trick is to use unflavoured couscous, then flavour it with a noodle cuppa soup like Italian Minestrone - adds a bit of colour, flavour and floaties that resemble hydrated vegetables. Couscous packs a punch calorie wise too, easy to store, great shelf life. Mix the tuna in whenever you like. I prefer tuna in oil varieties, it lubricates the couscous, adds a few more calories and increases satiety. I used Salmon in foil packs on the Iditarod, less chance of the flesh freezing with a higher oil content. Takes about 250ml of water to hydrate the 1/2 cup dry couscous and soup mixture, and wash up the kit (which is just swish some water around the cup and consume).

I'm using a Kovea ti stove, 600mL alloy pot (canister and stove nest into pot) Sea-to-Summit collapsible cup, MSR folding spoon, 500mL bottle with Hydroflask flip cap.

...and of course dessert. Never go to bed depleted!

Moreton Island fatbiking and fatpack - day 1

A mate (Wayne) and I planned a fatbiking trip to Moreton Island over Friday and Saturday, bikepack for the night...somewhere. Wayne had just picked up his new Moonlander and was keen for a trip, it was a fat virgin bikepacking trip for him.

Regular readers of this blog will recall the weeklong trip here, as well as day trips here with video.

We caught the Micat over, no issue fitting us on the barge, even with it at capacity with vehicles.



Was a bluebird day, the bay was a millpond.

It was officially 'Steve Irwin Day', I don't know if Wayne knew this, but he dressed the part. :)

Along the way north I paused a few times to check out the official campsites, with million dollar views west over the bay. I could never grow tired of that sparkling, emerald green ocean.

Apart from the odd vehicle, we had the beach to ourselves.

Heading north we kept passing a group of people we spoke to on the ferry. Wayne noted in their vehicle there were 5 blokes, a few cartons, but only 1 fishing rod. They had air conditioning, but I reckon we had the best view.

Our loose plan for today was to head north, then east, south, west, south again, and lastly east for about 10 metres. The only two reference points that mattered today were tide and sunset; as we meandered along the deserted west beach we both felt it - that melting away of everyday stresses - replaced by a relaxed and uncluttered state of mind. 

We stopped at Bulwer for a quick supply stop. Salt and vinegar chips for the sunset swim and entrée. The store is pretty well stocked and provides hot and cold meals - I've had the big brekky on previous trips and can vouch for the satiety afterwards.

We found a short segment of singletrack back to the beach, I spotted 2 Bush Stone Curlews parked up for the day, with one on the ground just out of frame. Traditional stories of the Curlew tell of them keeping bad spirits away, and bringing good luck and health.

 From here we rounded Comboyuro point and over Heath Island - which is an ever changing series of dunes and tidal/fresh water runoff lagoons, and past the towering Yellow Patch. I spotted many pairs of pied oyster catchers, sea eagles, terns and heard the trill call of whistling kites.

We made our way to North point, overlooking Honeymoon Bay. Time for a bit of smoko.

On bikepacking trips, food is fuel...but food for the mind, the body, or both? This was a laid back trip, so my food profile reflected this with time allocated to prepare, cook and enjoy... pfft yeah right. I'm a real Gordon Ramsay. So, I present couscous with noodle sachet and a piece of fruit cake. For the gear junkies - I'm using a Kovea Titanium stove and a 600mL Gram Counter ti pot set that allows the larger 230g gas canister, stove, cup and condiments baggy to nest neatly.

We watched the storms brewing over the mainland for a while - the cumulo-nimbus rising into giant anvils in the sky - we then headed along an inland track to the lighthouse. These tracks are a real mixture of textures - sometimes bottomless hot sand, sometimes bound together with woodchip, or firm due to sandstone base.

We headed up to the lighthouse, I portaged the bike up the stairs for this shot. I hope you appreciate it. A loaded Moonlander is not light...

 With the wind at our backs, it was a cruisy trip south to our next destination - Blue Lagoon.

A great location to refill the water bottles, a quick wash and just soak up the atmosphere. Blue Lagoon is a freshwater window lake - meaning the water table is exposed at land surface.The birdlife here is something to appreciate - with an abundance of fresh water, the plants are varied, providing for a broad ecosystem to flourish.

Middle Rd was our next obstacle - this road crosses the island in an east/west direction. Normally this is unrideable on the ascent, but the combination of recent rains and firm packed sand (the rangers regularly grade the trail to keep it trafficable for vehicles - this also aerates the sand, dries it out and removes organic matter that helps bind it together - and makes it a lot harder to ride on) made it fully rideable - first time ever for me as I've always had to walk the ascent.

The fast descent winds through cuttings of coloured sands and thickets of scented eucalypt - your senses are assaulted from many angles.

Back on the west coast, the extent of the storms on the mainland were revealed. We would be in for a good light show tonight.

We bivvied a few km south of Tangalooma at one of the bush camps. A quick rinse off in the water at sunset was a great time to reflect on the days' journey, and talk bloke stuff.

In the words of Bill Merchant 'never go to bed depleted'. Today wasn't a big day on the bike, but it was nice to have the time to create a wide range of food to enjoy - which you ordinarily don't have time for on ultra-rides. Dinner: bacon carbonara macaroni with lemongrass tuna; chicken noodle soup with with pre-made vegemite sandwich; salt and vinegar chips; muesli bar and fruitcake slab; and the pet monkey slipped in a Bounty bar for dessert - she says they're her favourite!

I had a bandicoot visit during dinner, and this big guy watched over my bike and gear as I slept.