The day started badly in that I managed to miss two runs within the first 10 minutes of fishing!

But it ended with an amazing monster pike... what a fish!

Even with it getting colder (well... cold for Queensland!) and being outside of the school holidays it was really tough to find a campground that met my requirements for a good night away, namely a toilet (I know right?!), firepit with a bag of wood and fishing. Bushywood at Woodfordskilake fits the bill and this was to be a return trip for me as this was the first place I ever motocamped.

After an excellent sesion Bass fishing up at Enoggera Reservoir in the morning I headed home, loaded up the bike and got on the road. The route is amazing, through Samford Village, onto Dayboro then up over the hills to woodford via Mnt Mee. One day I really want to do the trip offroad traveling through the forest but I'll save that for when I've a bit more confidence!

I got to Woodford around 4ish, headed to the campsite and dumped the gear before returning to the Woolies in town to get supplies for the evening. The plan was to do a steak and mushrooms on the new camping grill I'd picked up so a quick stomp around the supermarket and a trip to the bottle shop for some beers and I was back at my spot by the lake just in time to see the moon rise.

It was completely unplanned but my trip coincided with a full moon (maybe thats why the fishing had been so good earlier in the day?!) and it was stunning to see it rise behind the waterskiing lake. With the tent up and the bike sorted out, the only thing left was to get the fire going. Bushy had supplied a big bag of wood for $20 and my spot overlooking the lake had a perfect firepit ring already set up. I'd scanned the area before leaving for the shops and it looked like previous campers had nabbed all the pine cones... Luckily for me I'd spotted a heap of them on the driveway so I had 10 or so in my pannier.

Pine cones make the most amazing fire starters and in no time I had a decent blaze going. So I grabbed a beer, sat back in my camping chair and watched the moon gracefully travel up into the sky. Not bad, not bad at all.

After a couple of hours of constantly feeding the fire I had a good pile of glowing coles so it was time to break out the camping grill. I've been hunting for something to cook over the fire with for a while now as part of the motocamping experience for me is eating well. Noodles, pasta, tuna fish innacan all have their place but if I'm going to spend a night under the stars, I'd rather having something tasty and less carby! After investigating various different options I found a foldable camping grill on Amazon and decided to give it a go. It has two different levels and I decided to use the lower level, positioning it near to the fire and raking hot coles underneath.

Steak on and sizzling away, there was just enough room to fit a large mushroom on the side of the grill - it was looking good! As I wasn't entirely sure of the heat coming off the coles I gave it a couple of minutes each side and then sliced a corner off to check the 'doneness' and as it was looking bang on, I tore off a bit of turkish bread, popped the steak in between and... It was perfect, probably one of the best steaks I'd had in a long long time!

So the evening was spent working my way through steak, a couple of beers and a movie under the stars. It was chilly but I'd built the fire up to a good size and that kept me warm until around midnight when I decided to call it a night.

Even though its winter the sun was up by 5.30 and as my spot wasn't in the shade I was up and about early to investigate the fishing options. From what I've been told, there are plenty of tilapia in the lake and I'd come armed with corn and bread to target them. But it was quickly apparent that the weed had really come up since my last visit and after an hour or so of being wiped out I decided to give it a miss. There are two types of weed in the lake, one if which is the brown floating stuff and as the wind got up it was just moving back and forth up the lake making fishing virtually impossible...

I had a shower, packed down around 10ish and got back on the road home. Another fantastic night under the stars, the camping grill had worked a treat, all my gear had performed perfectly and I guess the only down point was the lack of fishing - but having caught loads of bass up at Enoggera in the morning, I wasn't grumbling!

I decided to get on the road at midday and headed out on my usual route through Dayboro, over Mount Mee and into Woodford for a quick fuel up and a sausage roll at CJ's Pastries (always worth it!). Then it was into the unknown... I headed through Woodford, took a right off to Stanmore and then up over the hills towards Maleny.

Up until now the weather had been great for riding, a little cooler than normal and greyish skies. But when I stopped at McCarthy's Lookout for a look down the valley I realised that all that might change... Within minutes of riding off down the hill the heavens absolutely opened! I spied some shelter at the Maleny Dairies and got in under the trees to get out of the worst of it. The downpour only lasted minutes but it was enough to soak me through and I drove on steaming as the sun came out again.

This was familiar territory again and I was having a blast winding through the twisties onto Montville and then Mapleton. It really is a beautiful part of South East Queensland, real 'diary country' with loads of farms, cows and stunning countryside. But all that was going to change pretty rapidly...

I'd clearly not studied my route closely enough as things got tricky as I headed out of Mapleton and onto Obi Obi. Alarm bells rang when I spied a big read sign by the side of the road stating 'very steep descent next 3km' and then a 2nd sign further on stating 'caravans prohibited beyond this point'... And then the road turned to gravel... Where the hell was I going?!

Pulling over to the side of the road I flagged down a passing ute and asked the driver what I was getting myself into. He took one look at my loaded bike and said 'yeah... you should be ok if you go really slowly'. Not exactly confidence inspiring?! Looking at the map, there was no other way and with time marching on it was time to put on my big boy pants and soldier on.

Initially it wasn't too bad... but then the road quickly got steeper and steeper until it was (in my mind!) near vertical. It was pretty hairraising but I limped the bike down the steep incline using a mixture of engine braking in first gear and a very light foot on the rear brake - the last thing I wanted to do was start a skid as I doubt I'd ever stop and would end up in the bushes! Luckily the road surface was heavily compacted gravel and despite the number of cars that'd whizzed past me while I was deliberating if I should set off down the hill, I managed to make it down to the bottom of 'the mountain' unscaved and without anyone on my tail giving me the hurry up.

It was with a sense of relief that I continued my journey through stunning countryside, first onto Kenilworth and then on and on and on to Kandanga. I really had underestimated how long the ride would take and it was almost 5pm by the time I pulled into town. A quick stop at the local bottle shop for some beers and then onto the campsite.

I'm not going to lie, first impressions were not that favourable. Initially I put it down to being slightly exhausted after my ride but I couldn't help feel a little disappointed by the location but I found the host, managed to buy a bag of firewood, got the tent set up and cracked a well earnt beer.

Although the site is secluded I quickly realised that the rest of the campers used my area to get down to the the creek! The fire pit did overlook the creek as advertised but it's was on a 'cliff', I imagine where the bank has caved in - it defo was not safe for small kids and to be honest I stayed away from the edge. The creek water was pretty slow moving and stagnant and the banks are crazy steep so getting down to the water side to fish wasn't really possible. Despite fancying a dip I defo wasn't going to be swimming as I spotted at least one snake (this is Australia though right?!). Its prettyish but kinda ruined by the massive electricity pylon right overhead.

And the less said about the 'amenities' the better... They were grim! The shower and toilet shed behind the 'Macadamia Camp' was damp, dirty and pretty foul... In the end, I headed to the excellent public toilet block at the park up the road which was really clean! I think there might've even been showers there as there was a 'public RV Park'.

But hey, gotta make the best of a bad situation. Yes it was disappointing that the campsite didn't live up to the reviews but I'd had an excellent ride getting here, I'd got some beers, some food, a new camp chair to try out and it wasn't raining!

As always in Australia, it got dark quick and after getting the fire started I got stuck into dinner which I'm ashamed to say was a very basic 'noodles and snacks' meal - the next time I head out I'm doing proper camping over the fire! I was pretty exhausted and crashed out early but two interesting things happened overnight.

The first was I was woken up by some croaking and got out of the tent to investigate. It turned out there was a cane toad under each tree, staring fixedly up into space and croaking... Really weird.

And the second was that I was visited at around 2am by a horse and her foal who were investigating the bike and my tent which terrified the life out of me!

Apart from that, the night passed pretty uneventfully and I was up bright and early to have breakfast (a slightly more civilised boiled egg wrap) and got up and out by 9.30am for the long trek home.

I had a loose plan to stop in at the Eumundi Markets but by the time I got there around 11ish it was absolutely heaving... So after a quick bite to eat and a drink I got back on the highway and just blasted for home. The weather was turning and I was knackered!

Somewhere between turning off to Landsborough and heading onto to Beerwah I began to notice a knocking coming from the bike and after stopping at a cafe for a drink I realised the bracket on my tail tidy had snapped and the number plate and light fitting had been bashing on the exhaust pipe and rear tyre! Far from ideal. But if you can't fix it with cable ties and gaffa tape it's unfixable right?! Ten minutes later I had everything botched back in place and thankfully the light still worked so I could continue my journey getting home at around 3pm.

So, my official review of Platypus Hollow, Creekside Farm in Kandanga: ok for a quick overnighter but defo nothing spesh! On one hand, I enjoyed my stay - after a long day on the motorbike, I just wanted to pitch the tent, light the fire, sink a few beers & crash out... and I did just that! It was cheap, cheerful and did the job. On the other hand, there were a number of things that were less than perfect and if like me you we're attracted by the write up of the site and reviews you might be disappointed...

The highlight of this trip was defo the ride out, the steep decent down to Obi Obi being the thing I'll always remember. But the search will continue for the perfect motocamping campsite!

I decided to keep it relatively local for my first trip, think of it as a 'shake down ride' before heading off somewhere remote, a chance to test my gear and decide if this motocamping malarke was for me. My thinking was to find somewhere that felt remote but was close enough to a town, was basic but preferably had at least a toilet (a shower would be a bonus!) and wasn't honkingly expensive.

After a lot of searching and asking around I finally found a website/app that appeared to offer what I was after. HipCamp appears to be a direct clone of the very popular AirBnb website (perhaps it's the same company?!) but tailored to camping. The ability to filter by amenities, location features (lake, river, farm, beach etc.) and activity was really great and I soon had a fairly extensive list of places that fitted the bill.

The clear winner was Bushywood at Woodfordskilake. Not only were the reviews excellent, the location was perfect in that (as the names suggests) the campsite is on a lake (with fish in it!), it had a toilet/shower block, was just outside Woodford (so perfect for supplies) and as an added bonus, the owner could supply firewood! It sounded amazing.

My extensive research had resulted in me forking out for some excellent Kriega OS-18 Adventure Pack bags complete with the Kriega OS Base Pannier Bag Mounting System to fit them to the bike and a Nelson-Rigg RG-HS Exhaust Shield to stop everything melting the plastics on the bike. I figured two of these bags plus the ROK-Straps already on the bike would give me enough storage space with the tent strapped in place on top. Complete the set up with a Denali Kakadu II Hike Tent, a Mountain Designs Airlite 5.5 sleeping mat​, an old zone 1 sleeping bag I still had kicking around from when we travelled around Australia in 2005 and a 360 Degrees Furno Stove & Pot Set and I had everything for a quick overnight camping trip off the bike.

Now for my first mistake: for some crazy reason I decided that leaving after work on Thursday afternoon was a good idea... And instead of opting for the cruisy ride to Dayboro and over Mount Mee I thought I'd just blast up the highway...

I was rolling by 4pm and of course instantly got stuck in traffic. The highway was solid and it took me ages to get into Woodford and pick up supplies, I was literally racing the sunset to the campground. Not ideal as I didn't really know where I was going and dusk is a terrible time to be hacking around tiny Australian roads as that's when the kangaroos love to hop out of the undergrowth and argue with vehicles.

But by some miracle I managed to get there unscathed just as the last rays of the sunset were leaving the sky! After a quick chat with the host, I picked up my bag of firewood, got down to my spot by the lake and set up camp in a cloud of mosquitoes (luckily I had Aeroguard otherwise I think I'dve been eaten alive...).

It was a beautiful spot, I wished I'd got there earlier to check it out in the daylight. But after wrestling with the tent for a bit (note to self: always set up new kit at home first. It's a lot easier to figure out when it's not dark!) I got all the kit off the bike and stowed away before getting the campfire going. Dinner on this occasion was going to be simple: noodles and beer! Nothing gourmet, just simple and filling.

By this time it was pushing 10ish and I was knackered... The heat, the rushed drive up and setting up in the dark had taken its toll and I was ready to crash out. The night was really quiet and I actually slept pretty well and awoke to an amazing sunrise over the water.

According to the host, the two lakes do have fish in them but I couldn't get them to bite! I got the distinct impression there are a lot of Tilapia present and I didn't have the right bait (well, that's my excuse!) but I'll defo be having another go at them on a return trip.

The day warmed up really quickly and after a quick shower I packed up the bike and got back on the road, this time taking the more scenic route up over the hills and home via Mount Mee and Dayboro.

The good news is that I loved the Motocamping experience and all my gear performed perfectly. Luckily I chose a great camping spot as Bushywood at Woodfordskilake really is a fantastic place - incredibly friendly hosts, amazing location (especially by the water), basic but good facilities and all at a reasonable price ($23.36 for the night and $20 for a big bag of firewood.

I'll definitely be back, next time with some worms to chase those Tilapia down!

Christmas is coming so the weekends are crazy busy meaning the usual 48 hours off from the world is kinda spoken for and time for getting out on the bike is becoming scarce. But weekday rides are ok right?! Luckily for me, it looks like a couple of other riders in the group were also keen to get out as while I was typing 'is anyone free for a ride this Friday...' into WhatsApp Matt posted the exact same message! Much smaller group this time, Matt on his new Husqvarna and Ronnie on his KTM were the only riders available so we set a plan to meet around 6.30/7 at Elimbah and hit the trails.

I've done a couple of rides up at the Glasshouse Mountains and some trails are becoming familiar. But today was going to be all new as Ronnie had covered a different area on a ride with another group the previous week. The first section was very sandy, something I'm still getting used to and then it was off into single trails. The good thing was there was very little tarmac and this was the usual single track, sandy, muddy, whipping-through-the-trees riding that I love the Glasshouse Mountains for.

Then things got a little tougher... Ronnie had warned us that the next section was probably the toughest bit and he wasn't wrong: a steep descent down a hill track covered in ruts with loads of loose gravel... Not a lot of traction and slippery as all hell! I managed to get down most of it but had to walk the bike down a section as I was terrified of stacking the bike. Despite my slow pace, I did manage to slip the front wheel bring the back around to wallop me on the legs and down the DRZ went... Not too bad, easy enough to get back up, limp down the last bit and then catch up with the fellas back on the trails.

After that, the next couple of sections were all fantastic culminating in the excellent 'Rattlesnake Track', so called due to it's twisty nature. This was something else and probably some of the best riding I've experienced. It's not fast, but it's definitely fast paced! It's all enclosed single track with either sand, mud or pine needles. There are loads of twists through the trees (thank you Barkbusters for saving my knuckles on more than one occasion!), whoops, corners - we were flying along and loving every second.

Having done a bit of research into the track, it turns out that it might actually be intended to be for mountain bikes?! Can't quite imagine doing it under pedal power, far better on a dirt bike.

Once we were out of that track it was a short hop up to the big red car park for a breather and then off again to try out another new (to me) trail. Which is when I came unstuck for the second time of the day, again on a steep descent... I don't know what it is, getting up hills isn't a problem but going down them is becoming my nemesis, especially if there's rutts. The hill in question wasn't actually too bad, and maybe if I'd just gone for it I would've made it no problems - but as it stood, I slightly panicked, tried to walk the bike down a particularly steep bit of slippery as rock and yup, the front wheel slipped and down the bike went.

This one was tricky as the bike was on an incline - if I picked it up, it'd just run away and I wouldn't be able to stop it, meaning a bigger (and potentially damaging crash below). So I waited for the fellas to double back and luckily Matt came to my rescue. Between the two of us, we managed to get the bike upright and limp it down the hill with the engine off, using the clutch as a brake. Thinking about it, that was my mistake and why I ended up with a downed bike. If I'd used the clutch/brake technique I probably would have made it down by myself?!​

On we went and by this time, things were heating up... We were getting onto 10.30ish which doesn't sound early but when you've got up at 5am, rode for 45 minutes up the highway and then done 3 and half hours zipping around single tracks it begins to take its toll... But we were all keen as mustard and off we went again, this time hitting a single track known to us as 'The clergyman's Track' after it was shown to Matt and Luke on another ride by a couple of dirt biking clergymen! I only recognised it halfway through as we were doing it in reverse, the giveaway being a fallen tree that was tricky to get around last time but was a breeze in reverse.

At the end of that one, we were pretty beat but again our enthusiasm got the better of us and we headed to one more track which I call the 'Burnt out car track' (can you guess why?!). We'd done this on a previous ride when it was heavily overgrown and it's got a few challenges, mainly getting over and under fallen trees but there wasn't anything too tricky.

We were doing fine but decided to stop after a tree hop and have a breather which is when it all went to shit for me...

Setting off again, Matt and Ronnie headed off and I swung myself onto the bike putting my right foot down... into thin air and then sand which then led to completely over balancing and down the went the bike for the third time this ride! Now I initially laughed this off seeing the funny side in overballencing but that laughter soon turned to a little bit of panic when I discovered I couldn't get the bike upright. A combination of ending up in a bush leaving me with very little room to maneuver and the fact every time I attempted to pick up the bike it slipped forward in the sand left me puffing and panting and to be honest, beginning to freak out... I just didn't have the physical strength to pick the damn thing up!

Now what I should've done is calm down, not panic and think the situation through. We were on a single track with one way in and out. The fellas knew that I'd be on that track and would figure out I was somewhere between them and where we stopped so it was only a matter of time before they came back and helped me out...

Then I spotted Ronnie through the trees, he'd come back to check on me - only to not notice me in the bush, turn back around and speed off! No! I was totally stuck. I tried calling Matt but there was no coverage on the phone which only added to my mental stress.

I quickly realised there was no way I was getting the bike up so wasting what strength I had left was pointless and would only lead to me either hurting myself or guzzling even more of my dwindling water supply. And off course they came back - Matt, my saviour for the seconds time this ride appeared through the trees, helped me get the bike up and off we went again. Really, it wasn't a problem, I should've just sat in the shade and waited... but panic does funny things to your brain.

Looking back, I think the main problem was I'd pushed myself harder than I can handle. By 10.30/11ish I was done. The early start, the heat and the constant concentration of riding the technical single tracks had left me feeling far more fatigued than I'd realised. In addition, I'd pretty much drunk the 2.5 litres of water in my camelbak as well as the backup bottle I carry on the bike leaving me not only thirsty but with nothing to hydrate with.

To be honest, the whole thing left me pretty shaken. Since I started riding offroad I've always had an awareness that a potentially bad accident could easily happen at any time and it seemed ridiculous that a life threatening situation could have resulted from me overbalancing on a stationary bike!

So lesson learnt: carry more water, say when you're done (there's no shame in it!) and if you have a down, sit tight, wait for the cavalry and try not to panic!

I took the rest of the ride ridiculously easy. The other fellas steamed off but I took it very slow and steady back to the car park. After saying our goodbyes, I headed to the Big Fish servo, aired up the tires, fueled up and drank a couple of litres of water - I was that dehydrated that my leg muscles were cramping!

Streaming down the highway back to Brisbane I mulled over the ride. There had been some amazing times, the 'Rattlesnake Track' being the absolute highlight - tracks like that are the reason I was so desperate to get into dirt biking! But I will be practicing picking up the bike in the garden, trying to get more physically fit to build my stamina and definitely trying to figure out how to store a bigger backup water bottle on the bike.

Check out the ride on Relive - you'll notice the 'Rattlesnake Track' at the 17 second mark ;)