Tom, Mark and I had planned to return the next day but were under no time deadline. After packing the gear away Tom headed for Cooloola Sandpatch while we went north on the Cooloola Trail to Wandi Waterholes. As novice bush walkers this day trek had overtones of our very first trip up the Noosa River where we never quite made it. This is a very pretty walk through varied vegetation which at times offers limited shade. It is very much what it says - a trail. Narrowing down to a mere 6 inches, some places would have made for a tricky ride for the bicycle which was somewhere up ahead. We came across two walkers looking like pack horses. The woman was not faring to well in the heat and wanted to pull out at Harry's Hut rather than walk through to their car at Elanda Point. Dave was also leaving that day and we suggested they look out for the West End marque, find the West End Canoe Club and see if Dave may be able to give them a lift. As a bushwalker with no sense of direction we thought he might welcome their company.
This trail kept on. I hadn't packed shoes for walking as it is not usually a part of the activity list. We had walked for the estimated time the bushwalkers had given us when we came up over a hill and down into a gully to what I would call a cesspit. They didn't sound overly enthusiastic about swimming in the waterhole and I could see why. There was a 'No Camping' sign and to be honest I wouldn't have bothered. Mark said he didn't think this was the waterhole and so we walked up the next hill. There was no obvious change in the terrain that looked like it would be home to this elusive waterhole, it was hot and we were starting to watch the time as we had said we would be back to meet Tom. I
was convinced that the cesspit was an Australian joke for waterhole, Mark thought otherwise.
We did an about face and came across the two bushwalkers sitting on the bank where we had pulled out on our first foray up the river having missed Campsite One by 200m - it was just around the
corner. Here we were to learn that history had repeated itself on our first bushwalk. When I described the cesspit they looked a bit confused, pulled out their camera and showed us pictures of two tents on a flat grassy meadow under the shade of some gum trees. Another 200m up to the crest of that hill was the turn off
to Wandi Waterhole. Sorry Mark.
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