Fossick #566
No place for Old Men ~
Weds: I was up briefly at midnight and it was pouring rain ~
Usual routine ~ Grey skies but looking good for a sunny day ~ we rallied at 07:00 ~ and off ~ as we ascended into the high ground the clouds once again rolled way ad a clear day was on!
We had a plan but almost from the Get go we were on the back foot as the ground thought as we were some 20 plus meters above the level of the dry river bed ~
We parked after crossing a flat ground with a slight gradient~
I had plotted the plan ~ based on Google Earth ~ We were digging targets almost beside the car ~ but little did we realise we had ascended onto a Plateau ~ with sheer sides dropping to the river 30 M below and 45+ deg slopes below ~
BUT I did not consider the topography ~ after alI had been to this area some years ago and it had been burnt off and was all in my mind's eye as being essentially flat ground. Oh how wrong ~ how the memory played tricks on me !
The theory was that we would simply walk across the river ( in hindsight and reassessment ~ at 60o m ) and then ascend onto the opposite side and onto what I recalled a open level ground as far as the eye could see!
The fact that there was once a railway that ran dead straight across this plain ~ suggested open flat ground ~ the railway was torn up in 1939 for scrap at the beginning of WWII.
The drop at the creek was a sheer drop and we were scoring numerous targets including 2 Pdr.s and frags ~ also sighted wee smoke canisters and misc. fuze frags.
Extensive from work from the Colonial mining days ~ Timber boards ~ which I think part of the railway !
Wew had a short smoko before pushing on ~ but we agreed to assail hill immediately in front of us ~ is was like looking at a massive basket ball!
And to add further damage to the ego I dug a six Pdr. projectile at the river edge before beginning the climb~ So i am already carrying < 12 Pounds on weights i the Back pack .
The only safe way was to zig zag but half way up t was obvious tat a simple slip would end in tears!
Does not look much but the Bowling ball is < 40 plus m> higher than creek level ~ at < 730 > m !
We worked across the southern face ~ By then I was fully loaded and I weighed the back pack when I got home 15 Kg ~ plus kit!
After a good hour we returned to the creek further up stream absolutely Knackered ~
We rested before heading back to the car via the much gentler slopes to the SW ~ But the many boulders and stones made progress with an even heavier back pack a real stumbling torture ~ n din what was to turn out to be 35 Deg. at 12:30.
I was up for a short further go ~ not sure my feet were too keen after playing kung-fu with the boulders ~ We had only covered a mere 4 Kilometer by my Garmin.
But we took a vote and called it a day 13:00 ~ little to no breeze~
So we headed off and were shocked to see yet again the descent into Atherton the skies were again greyed out ~ 18 deg. at Malanda ~
This was one of the Toughest Hunts we have done ~ and Not having achieved our target area ~
We will not be returning unless the cooler weather returns ~ too hard.. Buggered if I know how the HELL the colonials or even the Diggers tolerated the Heat in Summer ~
his is a base pl;ate forma 4 1/2" High explosive shell~ it was welded in the base and flat~ the forces involved here are STAGGERING ~
New Guinea. A bulldozer, assisted by a number of soldiers, is used to extricate a 25-pounder gun from the mud of a river bed after its use in shelling Japanese positions.
THE TWENTY-FIVE POUNDERS WERE DISMANTLED AND THE PARTS MANHANDLED THROUGH ALMOST TRACKLESS BUSH TO BRING THEM WITHIN RANGE OF THE ENEMY.
AN A.I.F. CAPTAIN IS QUOTED AS HAVING SAID "THESE MEN WERE DETERMINED TO BEAT THE JAPS AT THEIR OWN GAME, AND WERE WORKING LIKE SLAVES TO KEEP THE GUNS OPERATING IN FORWARD AREAS. (NEGATIVE BY BOTTOMELY).
Clean up stahe one ~
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