MANY people, or maybe most sane people, would have looked at the weather forecast for 14 March onward and decided that a television binge watch or hibernation were the obvious choices.

But not if you are a Tea Gardens/Hawks Nest Thursday Walker booked to attend one of their biannual camps.

We left town under a cataclysmic sky that promised no end of drama and arrived at Toowoon Bay in great spirits.

Once there, we donned all manner of wet weather gear to meet for our initial briefing.

Abandonment, scrabble and cards were suggested walking alternatives.

But no, we are here to walk and this is what we shall do.

Our introductory walk under a leaden sky with battering wind saw a full roll up to a destination called Crackneck Lookout.

What could possibly go wrong?

As it turns out nothing. A good time was had by all.

Day two. Who knew so much rain could fall in one night?

Surely that hammering I heard early Tuesday morning was someone working on their plan with measurements that included palms and cubits.

As the interpretation of those terms differed widely, let’s hope there will not be any need for serious ark building in the immediate future.

Strickland State forest is a beautiful gem and we wanted to enjoy all it had to offer.

The plan was for us to do a couple of fairly easy loop walks.

But when lazy creeks turn into raging torrents, even the best laid plans can go awry.

Not to be undone we sought other avenues of adventure and were rewarded with a walk down to a spectacular waterfall at its magnificent best.

The downside of this great day? Leeches and more leeches.

Some reputed by one walker to be bigger than a snake.

It would seem that nothing quite focuses the mind as much as the sight of a leech invading your shoe through an eyelet.

It can also be somewhat disconcerting to see a group of people emerging from the forest all with feet covered in bloody trails.

But please spare a thought for those who encountered the leeches that leapt at them.

The Coast to Lake walk on Thursday proved to be equally enjoyable with the only drama occurring when a hat was wind tossed into the water at the end of the long jetty at where else but Long Jetty.

Thanks must go to our great organisers Ray and Cherry for providing us with another memorable experience.

 

By Helen WATKINS