Mount Bowen tips and hints

[liverhead]

Hi guys and gals, we are headed off up to Hinchinbrook island next week to walk the Thorsborne trail, we have a pass to climb Bowen next, just wondering if anyone has been up recently and can offer and tips or advice, or can help with answers to the following questions we have?

• Does anyone know where one can buy a copy of the topo map for the Thorsburne trail (Hillock point 1:50,000), the Rainforest and Reef info centre has sold out and will not be getting them in for another ten days?
• We have heard rumour of a possible campsite approx 3 hours up Warrawilla creek which can be camped at instead of Little Ramsay bay on the first night to make the climb up Bowen a little more relaxing, can anyone confirm or deny this? Or is it better just to camp at the saddle?
• How high do the rats get? We are hoping to ditch our main packs at the saddle and pick them up on the way down after our summit bid, is this a good idea or will the rats get’em?

Any other hot tips, re: water location and the route gratefully received

[Don R]

Hi some interesting questions. I walked Hinchinbrook back in the 80s and 90s a hell of a lot including the Bowen to Diamantina traverse and can tell you rats are prevalent. I won't leave food unsecured /protected anywhere on the island even where people don't generally frequent. The antechinuses are particularly intrusive. there used to be some sites on Warrawilla Creek up from Little Ramsay Bay where a small group could camp. Warrawilla Creek is not the only way to Bowen, traditionally it was regarded as the "soft" way.Towards the top of the creek it is quite steep. Causarina saddle at the top of the creek was quite a good campsite with water available down the Missionary Creek side as well. However since Yasi the stories are that progress is impeded up by downed trees and overgrowth, so it would probably take a full on day to get to the saddle. Even in the "old" per Yasi days it was a reasonable day's effort to reach the saddle. The State Library will have a copy of the Hillock Point map if Worldwide Maps, Hema,etc don't.Give me a call, if not try Uni Qld if you are in Brisbane they should have some in stack. Worst case, if that doesn't work I will have a copy pre trail in my archives and can scan and send off to you.

[liverhead]

Thanks for the reply Don, The Bowen, Diamantina traverse! Now that sounds exciting, something for the next trip I think
I have heard about other routes up via Bowen, I think it was Pineapple ridge, but as you say post Yasi the route apparently has a lot of fallen trees so is slow going, so I think we will stay 'soft'.
So given the situation with the rats and the antechinuses we will need to string all food up over night if we are not camping where there is a box?

We will keep looking for the map, we are coming up from Sydney and our local outdoor shops only keep maps of NSW, I have been on Geosciences Australia but it appears you need a degree in mining or oceanography to work out how to get a simple walking map.......unless i am missing something (I probably am)

Thanks Again

Rich & Shaz

[Don R]

hi Rich and Shaz,

Pineapple Ridge has remarkable views but suffers from the fact that the bottom and top ends of the ridge can be thickly vegetated and need a bit of precise navigating. The views are excellent, there usually is some water in soaks along the way but, from memory, only one small campsite .Otherwise the ridge takes a day (my notes show 7 hours straight walking from the campsite to Causarina)from the camp at its beach end to get to Causarina Saddle. Towards the top if you take the wrong way to Causarina below the "Buddha" you can end up in some vertical scunge. the veg was dense each time I did the ridge (four times over four years) .

Bowen to Diamantina is not an easy trip, some abseiling is needed, water is limited, the scunge can be awesome, and progress glacial. The first couple of days we did after climbing out of Zoe Creek was a real trial, below Diamantina was banksia city, and , well it is all practically hard core scunge and dry. After that conditions with one exception, were very trying scunge wise. Bowen to Diamantna is a trip only for the very experienced and hardy.Doing that trip required three stroppy chaps including my mate Noel just about the toughest walker I ever met.

Enjoy the trip, it's a pity between tracks, backpackers, National Parks (poor track design on the Thorsbourne Trail) a genuinely wild environment has been sanitised to tourist country. 25years or more so you could be just about the only people on the island, doing hard and exploratory walking up creeks and ridges ....

[Skid]

Quick reply (at work at end of lunch break)...
Rats are all the way up to the saddle... Top end of Warrawilla is slower going since Yasi (in my opinion the lower sections of the creek are no slower than pre Yasi)
Pineapple peak ascent is possible (I've done this post Yasi) but very hard going just prior to the saddle (opposite side to Warrawilla), harder than Warrawilla!
I have a topo map you can borrow, but I'm in Townsville so that may not be of much use.
Happy to chat on phone and answer what questions I can. Send me a PM with your number or email me with you contact details kitesurferdave (at) gmail (dot) com
got to go, work calls...

[Zone-5]

Just remember that the waters there have the largest concentration of testy Tiger sharks in the world as it's their breading zone. Plus the hungry crocodiles there can seriously out run, out swim and out jump you!

Anyone who seriously believes they can safely enter the water, any open water there is either a complete fool, Steve Erwin or plainly suicidal to say the least!

Locals don't ever play in the water and there is a reason for it; violent thrashing death from huge gnashing teeth awaits you 24/7!

Read the signs, take the local advice and live..