09 Dec Cruising the Obi
The toughest part of the trip – shooting a farm causeway.
It’s been a huge year across QCCC. Mapleton alone has hosted nearly 300 different groups of guests through the course of the year. Brookfield has had its busiest year ever and Tamborine has also hosted hundreds of groups and played a part in some major events on Tamborine Mountain.
As the schools head into their Summer holidays the whole of QCCC gets just a few weeks of hiatus. Australia’s camping industry is the opposite to the American model, where the prime-time for their camping programs is over the northern hemisphere summer. In Australia the summer period leading into Christmas is the quietest time of year. On Boxing Day Mapleton kicks off its Summer Holiday Family Program and shortly after QCCC Tamborine’s accommodation gets used for the Tamborine Summer Convention. Brookfield has several church, youth group and craft camps in January.
So right now all of our sites are getting their annual check-up, spring clean and all the jobs we’ve had to hold off doing whilst we’re hosting groups. It’s also a great opportunity for some staff training and reconnaissance for our expeditions program.
Earlier this week the Mapleton Outdoor Education Team slung the canoes onto the trailer and took the short drive off the back of the Blackall Range to do a staff paddle down the lower reaches of Obi Obi Creek. This is one of the sections where our expeditions programs takes canoeing groups so it was a great opportunity for our more experienced staff to take those less experienced down a familiar route, pointing out the landmarks, difficulties and beauty.
Happy campers
The route meanders through rain forest giving way to farm paddocks. The Obi Obi/Mary river system has an abundance of wildlife and our group were treated to close up views of the endangered Mary River Turtle, platypus and cormorants who swam out in front of the group for much of the journey.
Arrival at the Mary River gave way to a mandatory celebration courtesy of a group swim in the warm and pristine waters. A fun day after a big year of work, but more importantly a significant addition to our staff cache of knowledge and experience so we can exceed guest and customer expectations into the future.