We're on our way to #SouthbrookQld for another #HorseEnduranceRide with #BrisbaneWICEN… but so far, the morning has been eventful.

Minor medical issue for me (which I will not go into detail with) before we left, but that seems to be stable for now. Then as we're heading down the highway, we're watching the battery voltage on the car drop down… 11.8V, 11.6V… we roll into #GattonQld with it sitting at 11.2V (with the engine running!).

Yes, we had this checked on Tuesday.

So we're cooling our heels in the Gatton transport museum while we wait for the mechanics there to take a look. Greatfull that they could fit us in at such short notice.

Hopefully, in the words of Willie Nelson, we should be on the road again.

#FireVegetation #SouthbrookQld #QG52 #QLDFire #BushfireWarning. See https://www.fire.qld.gov.au/Current-Incidents for official warnings from the QFD. DO NOT RELY ON THIS SERVICE FOR TIMELY EMERGENCY WARNINGS.

Information - SOUTHBROOK (QF3-26-033670)

Location: SOUTHBROOK -27.62176° latitude, 151.731695° longitude, grid square QG52UJ70
Map: https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=14/-27.62176/151.731695
Incident Type: FIRE VEGETATION
Alert Level: Information
Severity: Minor
Action: Monitor
Expires: 2026-03-18T03:32:04+10:00

There is a vegetation fire at this location. Smoke may affect residents and motorists in the area. Residents should close their doors and windows and keep medication close by if suffering from a respiratory condition. Motorists should use caution and drive to conditions. If you believe your property is under threat, you should call Triple Zero (000) immediately.

- https://www.fire.qld.gov.au/Current-Incidents ← Click here for current QFD incidents and warnings
- https://www.fire.qld.gov.au/prepare/bushfire/prepare-for-bushfire-season ← Click here for bushfire preparation tips
- https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/air-quality/#health_levels_info ← Click here for health advice and air quality information
- Follow QFD on https://www.facebook.com/qldfiredepartment ← Facebook and https://x.com/QldFireDept ← X.com
- https://qldtraffic.qld.gov.au ← Click here for road closure information or call 131940

- See https://help.abc.net.au/hc/en-us/articles/5896732505103-How-can-I-find-ABC-TV-and-radio-frequencies-in-my-area for a listing of ABC Local Radio stations which may be broadcasting emergency information in your area. #SouthbrookQld #Information #FireVegetation #QG52

Toowoomba Endurance Horse Riders Hip Pocket Challenge

https://brisbanewicen.org.au/2025/07/01/toowoomba-endurance-horse-riders-hip-pocket-challenge/

We're about to set off for another #EmergencyCommsExercise at #SouthbrookQld for the #Toowoomba Endurance Horse Riders' Association Hip Pocket Challenge.

This _was_ to take place in March, however #CycloneAlfred was the final word on that… so it got postponed until now. Southbrook is a little south-west of Toowoomba on the high plains… very open to the wind and quite high in altitude. Consequently, I'm grabbing all the warm gear I can lay my hands on. This morning Toowomba region had a overnight minimum of -0.1°C. Sunday is predicted to get down to 5°C (a little warmer).

It'll also be the first event I try out the checkpoint reporter program I released a couple of weeks ago. I've of course packed clipboards and paper forms, so if things go pear shaped with the computing, we have the paperwork to back it up.

There are four rides taking place. Tomorrow afternoon there's a 20km introductory ride: I understand WICEN's not involved in that one officially, but we'll probably use it as a trial run of the software.

Sunday morning we have an 80km, 40km and 20km ride to support.

#BrisbaneAreaWICEN

We're off again for this year's first #EmergencyCommsExercise. This event is another #HorseEnduranceRide taking place at #KilkivanQld.

First for the year because #CycloneAlfred saw the cancellation of the event at #SouthbrookQld.

I hear we're using 2m FM simplex for this one. Cross-band operation here we come.

#AmateurRadio #BrisbaneWICEN