Sandy Cape Fraser Island towing a jet ski Nov 2014

Doing a report on this to give a heads up if anyone ever gets the idea to want to do it with their skis/boat.
Dave and I went up towing the skis. Low tide .3m at 12.30pm. We got off the barge at Inskip at 10am and had an easy run up to Indian Head. Got to Ngala Rocks at 12.30, after stopping for a pie.
Both Dave and I have done a lot of beach driving, and I’ve towed big boats to Straddie and DI lots of times. So we’re pretty experienced on the beach. Tyre psi 12-15, incl trailer tyres. Neither of us had done Ngala Rocks track though, so we were unprepared for what we encountered.
Apparently plenty of cars had been getting bogged that day, and if we'd got there at a time to see cars bogged, we wouldn’t have attempted it. When we got there though the track had just cleared and there were no cars on it, so without any idea of what was in store, Dave gave it heaps and took off up the track. I watched til he’d got a fair way up and thought he was thru the tough bit no worries, so I took off too. Next thing you know Dave starts to slow and bog in, with me bearing up the back. I had no option but to veer to the right off the track, and try and get past him with momentum, but bogged in.
So there you have it. 2 cars, 2 jet skis bogged. Couldn’t go forward, couldn’t reverse. Cars sitting on the floor-pans. Stuffed. The sand there is a black talcum powder type stuff, which offers no traction.
We found out later that after rain it packs down and is quite easy, but if it hasn’t rained for a few weeks it becomes impassable for all traffic. We heard that a v8 diesel land cruiser ute running 5psi couldn’t get thru a few weeks back. Nor could anything else.
Once you’re bogged with a trailer, you can’t get yourself out. The only way is for people to help you. The black sand absorbs the heat, and even with sandals on, it burns your feet. It’s a mongrel place.
Using 6 max tracks, and a few friendly people to push, and a land cruiser which kindly pulled our cars and skis out separately, we eventually made it to the north side after 2 hours. We heard of other people who had been stuck for 3-5 hours. Getting past Ngala Rocks is a talking point for campers at Sandy Cape.
So anyhow up the top it’s a great place. We went over to Rooney Point on the Thursday but unfortunately didn’t catch any blacks, which is what we were there for. Trolled up and down the bay but didn’t see any. No-one else was getting any either. There were a couple of other boats doing the same as us.
Next day we headed across the bar and went about 5-6 miles s/e of the Cape. Couldn’t locate any surface action.
So on arriving back at the beach at 11.30am, the decision was made to do the bolt. We knew we’d have trouble at the rocks, so we threw the camping gear in with the thought that if were stuck for hours we wouldn’t make it down the beach with the tide, and would have to set up camp around Indian Head or somewhere south.
I got stuck on the track again, with Dave’s car parked on the beach. Thankfully after about an hour a great guy came along (Gunter if you ever read this, you’re a legend) and with 2 snatch straps he towed me out whilst skull dragging the trailer down the track. He then drove over the other side, hooked up Dave’s car with a strap, and towed Dave and his ski thru.
We made it to the barge about 4.30.
So all in all, I enjoyed the trip because the camping and boating were great. I would only do that trip again if you could drive around the rocks on the beach at low tide, in which case it’d be no dramas.