I’m not sure whether to classify Lloyd as a new or old friend but one thing’s for sure, after spending a few days with him and his lovely partner Shelly they are good friends now!

Initially, when discussing this trip with my old school mate Marc, he suggested I contact his brother-in-law who happens to be a master mariner and also has a keen interest in lighthouses. I subsequently contacted Lloyd and he suggested I drop by when I reached the Sunshine Coast.

Prior to my visit Marc cautioned me that Lloyd was a teetotaller so I braced myself for a couple of dry days. I was slightly mystified when, on arrival, he offered me a beer and had one himself, but as it was an unfamiliar brand I assumed it was non-alcoholic – it took me a few minutes to realise I’d been had. Marc is a notorious practical joker and I look forward to getting one back on him one day!

Over the ensuing few beers we discovered that one of Lloyds other sisters was our next door neighbour when we lived in Mosman, that we were both active in the Palm Beach Surf Club at the same time in the ‘70’s and knew most of the same reprobates and we shared a common affection for a certain Pig of Steel (Captain Goodvibes for the uninitiated) from that era! We were even in the same faculty at Sydney Uni at the same time although we both seemed to find more interesting things to do than attend lectures. So for someone who was meant to be a complete stranger it wasn’t so much six degrees of separation, more like one or two!

Like me Lloyd has enjoyed an interesting and varied life and while our lives seemed to run in parallel for a few years in the mid-70’s we’ve had divergent careers since then, only for fate and lighthouses to bring us together again now.

Apart from reminiscing about those lazy hazy days Lloyd was to be my captain and tour guide for two of the more interesting lighthouses on the Queensland coast, Sandy Cape on the northern tip of K’gari (Fraser Island) and Double Island Point at the end of Rainbow Beach, both of which are fairly difficult to get to.

After discussing the pros and cons of driving to Sandy Cape, and realising there were over 300km of beach driving including several exposed rock sections we decided that it would be much better to visit by air, but as the flying conditions were sub-optimal we decided to do Double Island Point first.

The next morning we set off, passing through Tewantin which now seems like an extension of Noosa and crossing to the north shore by punt which seems to have insulated it from the rampant development on the south side of the river.

Once on the beach a combination of low tide and having the beach to ourselves created a great sense of freedom. I have to say driving on a deserted beach with the waves and sea birds as company is one of life’s great joys, although after about 30km even this joy began to wane a little – the beach seemed endless, and vindicated the decision regarding Sandy Cape which is about four times as far and degrees of magnitude more difficult.

Eventually we reached the headland and began the walk up to the lighthouse which offered incredible views at every turn. Even though the day was overcast it was a nice contrast to the two months of bright sun and blue skies I’d endured since entering Queensland. Once there the lighthouse didn’t disappoint, you can read more in my Double Island Point Lighthouse Story.

After arriving back at Lloyds ute we started back along the beach but then took a right turn and headed across the peninsular to Rainbow Beach. If Noosa north shore was spectacular this was next level…a perfect right hand point break on the outside of a beautiful sandy lagoon framed by incredible sand cliffs of every imaginable colour in the red / yellow spectrum. What makes it even more special is that it’s only accessible by the beach at low tide or boat if you’re game enough.

Lloyd reminisced about a day he had here years ago when he was getting 400 to 500m rides with only two other people out, and they both happened to be attractive young ladies! The stuff a young man’s dreams are made of!

After another 20km beach drive we ended up at the township of Rainbow Beach and as it was only 11.00am and a bit early for lunch we drove up to Inskip point where the car ferry crosses to K’gari and which happens to be one of my daughters favourite camping spots.

Returning to town we had a great lunch on the verandah of the surf club and headed south for about 10ks before taking a left turn onto the Freshwater track which cut through the most amazing rain forest to Noosa north shore. On the way home we encountered two F16’s flying north at about 10X our speed and virtually skimming the waves. I’m sure the only guys having as much fun as us were the two pilots…which happened to be a taste of the future!

I’d previously mentioned that Lloyd was a man of many talents, on land, sea and in the air as it turns out! Not only a master mariner and experienced off-roader but a pilot with his own plane in which he’d offered to fly me to Sandy Cape. This seemed like a much better option than subjecting Max to over 300km of difficult beach driving, especially when I was relying on him to get me around the rest of Australia. The only problem was the weather was closing in and didn’t look conducive to flying for the next couple of days.

Not to be deterred I took this opportunity to head back down to Brisbane for the postponed dinner with Mary and Jerry and to hunker down in a library somewhere out of the rain and try and catch up on my blog posts which were falling behind!

I got a call from Lloyd on Saturday saying it was looking good for flying the following day and we agreed to meet at the hangar at Gympie airport the next morning. I headed back up the now familiar Bruce, stopping for a meal and a few tunes at the legendary Yandina pub.

Camping at the hangar is more like glamping as it’s well set up for overnight stays and located in the surprisingly beautiful Gympie hinterland. Not surprisingly I can’t help thinking of Pulp Fiction every time I mention Gympie, and true to Pulp Fiction form a massive thunderstorm arrived that night with the special effects dialed up to Tarantino proportions – they do thunderstorms well in SE Queensland!

As Lloyd predicted the storm cleared and I awoke to a sparkling clear morning, amazing after the tempest the night before! Lloyd arrived at about 6.30am and we were up in the air before 7.00am!

Wow – way to go! Lloyds plane is a canary yellow Sling which are evidently made in South Africa and the aeronautical equivalent to a Golf GTi – very compact, well appointed and goes like the clappers!

We headed north east for Sandy Cape and even at ~ 200kts it took us nearly an hour to get there, but time literally flew by as the views on the way were spectacular and you realise the scale of K’gari, the largest sand island on earth! I’ll let the pictures below tell the story…

We did several low level passes by Sandy Cape lighthouse and I got my shots and then proceeded down the eastern side of the island passing the famed Indian Head, the magnificent Lake McKenzie and the wreck of the S.S. Maheno which ran aground in 1935.

It was somewhat voyeuristic for me to be looking down on all 4X4’s stranded by a combination of washouts from the preceding storms and a very high full moon tide, and thanking God and Lloyd I wasn’t one of them!

After about 40 minutes we reached the southern tip of K’gari and Inskip point, and set course to revisit Double Island Point by retracing our previous trip along Rainbow Beach only this time in the air and in perfect weather! What a treat, a double dip at Double Island Point!

As we headed back to the airport I reflected on what a memorable time I’d had with Lloyd and hoped our paths might cross again, maybe when I’m in Tasmania next year!