Jack the Underwater Dog

This is Jack. That may not be his real name though. If the DoD or ASIO got hold of him, they'd try and breed an army of him.

I took him down the creek (which shall not be named) for a swim. Jack loves the water...and chasing and fetching sticks/balls/empty plastic bottles,
...and diving for rocks.

First, you chuck a rock in the water so he has something to find, then you just leave him to it:



He scratches around a bit, feeling for the rock...

Then he gets his head right in to grab it:


He makes sure he has a good grip on it



Then...


"Here ya go dad."

This dive was a little over four seconds:









This next one was at least sixteen, yep, 16 seconds. I think he was having trouble finding a rock, because he moved about three metres while he was under:






No rock though. I have more of this series if anyone doubts the time under. For the record, the first photo was taken at 15:06:00. The second at 15:06:14, and the last at 15:06:18.

He also flies:


Jack the Wonder Dog can be contacted through his fan club. Just make a comment and he'll get back to you.

Drive Thru The Mud - Sorta

I probably could have invested my untold wealth in some super venture today. But I thought, Bugger It, I'm going to go for a drive and check out Bowlin Road and see if I can get bogged.

To get there, head down Quay Street on the South side of Rocky. Keep following the road over the 'Red Bridge' (Gavial Creek bridge), then follow it until you see the 'Road Not maintained' warning signs. You're now in the mud.


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Now, I tend not to play in the mud, 'cause I just don't like climbing under 4WDs with a hand spade to dig out diffs and such. I much prefer to check the tracks out when they're dry. Call me a wuss, or just too lazy.




In the case of this road, as you can see by the photos, the place becomes virtually impassable when it is wet. This is due to the Black soil, and the mad mud lovers who seize the opportunity to destroy this track even further when it's wet. Last time we were down this way (fishing) was just a week after some heavy rain (only 27mm). We heard of three vehicles getting bogged on this track that day.

The full length of the unmaintained section is about 3 to 5 km, so there's plenty of mud to get stuck in if you're so inclined. It's all flat country too...no breaks from the ruts or mud when it's wet.

One day I'll have a look when it's wet, but I'll take a come-a-long and some good chain.

These are 'dry' pics:

Go Fishing -- Remember the Crocodiles

This is an easy one. Pack up some sleeping gear, some beer, some fishing tackle and bait. Then head off somewhere far enough away from work that they either can't contact you, or it's too far to go back to work. If you don't work, doing this is even easier.



This is Corbett's Landing, located near Byfield on the coast of Central Queensland, Australia. It's not far from the Byfield State Forest (you pass through Pine forest to get there). Here's a map to help you if you're thinking of having a look:


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Now, if you're going to fish from a place like this, you need to take enough time to fish two tides, hence the need for the sleeping gear etc. Also, you have to watch out for crocs...saltwater crocs.
They have big teeth and eat people and dogs.

Now, looking at the above photo, you'd think, "no crocodile could climb that landing wharf!"
Well, no, not normally. Except for high tides...and abnormally high tides like this one:







We weren't expecting such a big tide, but should have realised that it was a new moon and we get big tides around these parts of Queensland. Six metre tides aren't unusual.

Anyway, here's a couple of photos of the camp oven and billy, and the campsite partly pulled down. Just bloody crocodile food waiting to be digested:







For more information about Byfield, Corbett's Landing and the area, check these links. There's not much info about. This place is supposed to be a secret:

http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/parks_and_forests/find_a_park_or_forest/byfield_national_park_and_conservation_park/

http://72.14.235.132/search?q=cache:0k8hjj9uGD4J:www.sunfishqld.com.au/pdf/maps08/Map_64.pdf+Corbetts+Landing&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au