I was once again up at the crack of dawn this morning, and it was also raining on and off throughout the night. I was pretty glad I slept in the car whilst the majority of other people slept in tents, although the tents were covered by this big canvas thing. As I was once again up early I emerged to the morning after the night before if you know what I mean, I took a walk round the campsite whilst everyone was still asleep, not leaving to be dingo safe. I also secretly raided the last remaining cereal bars before everyone awoke.
Breakfast this morning was simply corn flakes and bread as to make toast you had to use the stove! Food was running thin by this point, and after packing up which was made difficult by the fact so few people had motivation to move, we set off for Lake Mackenzie. We were meant to leave at 8, but it wasn't until half 8 until all the plates were loaded on the trailer I loaded. It's funny that people seem to worry more about washing their dishes before eating than after eating!
After a drive back south along the beach we drove up, passing many of the places we visited and seeing some more wild dingoes, we arrived back at the Eulong resort. People frantically bought supplies here before we headed up the lake. After dumping the trailer we headed up this woodland track twisting our way past lots of unique plants. Our guide told the drivers that if they relaxed and let go of the steering wheel, the well used tracks would guide the wheels through. It kind of worked, but the frequent up and down made for a very bumpy ride.
Continuing through the forest, we entered an area classed as rainforest which you could tell by the sounds, and big trees with vines and exotic plants. There were tracks going in all directions, although each location was signposted very well. Before long we pulled into this car parking area and headed down to the large Lake McKenzie which at around 100m above sea level was a perched lake, a lake which is solely formed by rainwater.
After passing a busy beach area, we continued round through the bushes to a more secluded area. Like Lake Wabby the water was enriched by many natural oils, which made the water both fresh and good for the skin. Whilst there, there was a slight breeze which created waves to hit the inland sandy beach. Remember Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world. Apparently when there is no wind the lake is just still, mainly because the only intake of water is rain.
After a good swim round the lake followed by a walk and relaxation session on the sheltered beach, we headed back to the 4wd vehicles ready for a bumpy return ride to the Eulong resort to collect the trailer. The tracks were different on the way back as they were constructed as a one way system. After reaching the resort we continued back along the beach passing the many sand dunes until the mainland finally came into sight. Upon reaching Inskip Point we had a late lunch after opting for longer at Lake McKenzie. It was only bread and jams by this time.
When completing the short barge crossing back to mainland, we stopped on the mainland beach for some group photos, heading back to Rainbow Beach by about 3. We had to sweep the sand filled cars and empty the trailer here before leaving, finding a whole bag of uneaten satsumas in the process! It was funny after leaving though because internet was once again the more important thing over a shower, heading to the travel bugs shop for the free internet and a good catch up.
Upon leaving the computer I had been craving, I decided to walk to the Carlo Sandblow, a massive sand dune with views of the local area. It was really nice to be wearing trainers here and give my feet stability after three days of sandals! After finding a couple of geocaches I wanted and taking in the amazing views, I relaxed and watched the sunset which was good here as it set over the wooded river area in the horizon.
When finally having a shower, I cooked dinner in the hostel for once which was simply noodles. I tempted to start cooking more in hostels now as it is so much cheaper. I spent the evening with the new people I had met, playing pool but simply drinking water after the two nights before. It was then off to bed which was made better the fact I had the bottom bunk!
Friday, 28 February 2014
Wednesday, 26 February 2014
February 24th... Fraser Island Day 2
It was a nice and cool night last night in the car which meant I could use my sleeping bag to the full effect, saving me the $10 hire fee most the others paid in the process. This meant I slept well, only waking up once for the toilet, although I was up at the crack of dawn as the sun woke me up. Breakfast this morning was scrambled eggs and bread. My group was lucky as we got an extra 12 eggs from another group just leaving which gave us 4 eggs each. I let the girls in the group cook however and I wasn't disappointed getting a filling breakfast under the circumstances.
Due to the fact a few people had drunk a little too much last night we weren't ready to set off until gone 9, and after a quick tidy up of the camp we were off. Heading back the way we came along the hard sands of the beach, the first stop of the day was Eli Creek which is apparently regarded as some of the cleanest water on the planet. It was here we walked along this creek with the strict instructions not to take anything other than our swimming costume. We then got told that if we relax the water that continuously flows to sea from the mountains would take us back to where we came from, which it did. Our guide even filled up our water barrels here, and to be fair when drinking the water it tasted fresh to me!
After leaving the creek and disobeying our guides no camera command, we headed further south to Happy Valley which was another small residential area with a shop and everything. Everything on the island is really expensive though so we weren't here too long. It was then back to camp, this time with a really dodgy driver who kept hitting the rocks and getting the gears wrong. We even got stuck in the sand when entering the camp, and after frustrations from the radio we were forced to use the car mats to dig our way out. After one big push we were finally free to the cheers of others and we drove into camp ready for lunch.
Lunch today was tortillas and the leftovers from yesterday, which wasn't much. We still got two decent tortillas each though which tied me over. It was funny when accessing the food however as there was a lizard in the food cart, and when everyone went closer to take photos it jumped out the trailer! It proper scared everyone!
After lunch we headed up north this time where the sands got softer and where there were many off road tracks from the beach to avoid the increasing number of rocks. A while later we stopped at this headland where we were unable to go further to take a short walk to champagne pools, getting a brilliant view from the top of the headland en route. This was the only salt water area people are permitted to swim in, due to the shark risk and jellyfish, as well as the very strong rip tides coming from the Pacific. The reason this area was different was the fact it was a large pool protected by rocks on all sides. It was really salty with sharp rocks in places which made it a little precarious however. It was still fun though as the rocks stopped the large waves and created something like the wave machine at butlins!
After leaving the pools due to another rain shower, we drove back along the beach to Indian Head. Despite the rain it didn't make a difference as I knew by now it wouldn't last long and the sun would be straight back out and dry me off quickly. A short while later we arrived at the bottom of the headland where our guide recommended we go bare foot as it can be slippery. It was all good to start with on the slick rocks and sands, but when walking up to Indian Head some of the rocks were very jagged. We got brilliant views up here of the coastline both ways including the northern part of the island which is closed to tourists. Our guide said its the most beautiful part, but also the most dangerous for snakes and soft sands.
It was then back south to camp, stopping off at the red canyon which was strictly men only, literally. There is apparently an aboriginal law preventing women entering the area, which were these impressive red sand cliffs. When continuing down the coast our guide stopped to show us an eagle, but was more impressed when he realised that one had caught a puffer fish! He wanted it to deflate so he could show us the fish inflating, but it never happened so we let nature take its course as the eagle was circling above us!
Passing some dingoes on the way back, we stopped at these yellow cliffs called the pinnacles which was this time girls only. It was getting late by now and when continuing south along the coast past the campsite we were confused when arriving back at Eli Creek. Our guide just said it was an optional bathing stop, although I took a miss as it was getting cooler by now and I was hungry! We didn't arrive back at camp until sunset in the end.
Dinner this evening was steak and potato salad, although letting the girls in my group do the cooking once again we ended up with bbq marinated steak with fried potatoes and onions, with a salad tortilla on the side. It was a brilliant meal in the evening, it just needed a bit more stuff as it probably wasn't enough for eight people. We did have fruit cake after though which more of less everyone disliked which worked out in my favour! After another evening round the fire drinking Tooheys, I found some people willing to walk down the beach as you have to be dingo safe leaving the enclosed campsite. It was amazing seeing the pure night sky and just laying on the beach with the cool breeze. A while later after heading back I went to bed in the car as it was raining. The soft back seat was more appealing than the tent once again!
Due to the fact a few people had drunk a little too much last night we weren't ready to set off until gone 9, and after a quick tidy up of the camp we were off. Heading back the way we came along the hard sands of the beach, the first stop of the day was Eli Creek which is apparently regarded as some of the cleanest water on the planet. It was here we walked along this creek with the strict instructions not to take anything other than our swimming costume. We then got told that if we relax the water that continuously flows to sea from the mountains would take us back to where we came from, which it did. Our guide even filled up our water barrels here, and to be fair when drinking the water it tasted fresh to me!
After leaving the creek and disobeying our guides no camera command, we headed further south to Happy Valley which was another small residential area with a shop and everything. Everything on the island is really expensive though so we weren't here too long. It was then back to camp, this time with a really dodgy driver who kept hitting the rocks and getting the gears wrong. We even got stuck in the sand when entering the camp, and after frustrations from the radio we were forced to use the car mats to dig our way out. After one big push we were finally free to the cheers of others and we drove into camp ready for lunch.
Lunch today was tortillas and the leftovers from yesterday, which wasn't much. We still got two decent tortillas each though which tied me over. It was funny when accessing the food however as there was a lizard in the food cart, and when everyone went closer to take photos it jumped out the trailer! It proper scared everyone!
After lunch we headed up north this time where the sands got softer and where there were many off road tracks from the beach to avoid the increasing number of rocks. A while later we stopped at this headland where we were unable to go further to take a short walk to champagne pools, getting a brilliant view from the top of the headland en route. This was the only salt water area people are permitted to swim in, due to the shark risk and jellyfish, as well as the very strong rip tides coming from the Pacific. The reason this area was different was the fact it was a large pool protected by rocks on all sides. It was really salty with sharp rocks in places which made it a little precarious however. It was still fun though as the rocks stopped the large waves and created something like the wave machine at butlins!
After leaving the pools due to another rain shower, we drove back along the beach to Indian Head. Despite the rain it didn't make a difference as I knew by now it wouldn't last long and the sun would be straight back out and dry me off quickly. A short while later we arrived at the bottom of the headland where our guide recommended we go bare foot as it can be slippery. It was all good to start with on the slick rocks and sands, but when walking up to Indian Head some of the rocks were very jagged. We got brilliant views up here of the coastline both ways including the northern part of the island which is closed to tourists. Our guide said its the most beautiful part, but also the most dangerous for snakes and soft sands.
It was then back south to camp, stopping off at the red canyon which was strictly men only, literally. There is apparently an aboriginal law preventing women entering the area, which were these impressive red sand cliffs. When continuing down the coast our guide stopped to show us an eagle, but was more impressed when he realised that one had caught a puffer fish! He wanted it to deflate so he could show us the fish inflating, but it never happened so we let nature take its course as the eagle was circling above us!
Passing some dingoes on the way back, we stopped at these yellow cliffs called the pinnacles which was this time girls only. It was getting late by now and when continuing south along the coast past the campsite we were confused when arriving back at Eli Creek. Our guide just said it was an optional bathing stop, although I took a miss as it was getting cooler by now and I was hungry! We didn't arrive back at camp until sunset in the end.
Dinner this evening was steak and potato salad, although letting the girls in my group do the cooking once again we ended up with bbq marinated steak with fried potatoes and onions, with a salad tortilla on the side. It was a brilliant meal in the evening, it just needed a bit more stuff as it probably wasn't enough for eight people. We did have fruit cake after though which more of less everyone disliked which worked out in my favour! After another evening round the fire drinking Tooheys, I found some people willing to walk down the beach as you have to be dingo safe leaving the enclosed campsite. It was amazing seeing the pure night sky and just laying on the beach with the cool breeze. A while later after heading back I went to bed in the car as it was raining. The soft back seat was more appealing than the tent once again!
February 23rd... Fraser Island Day 1
By the morning the power was still not back which meant I did not have a fully charged phone, and also that I could not access any WiFi which left me in a position where I couldn't check Facebook, the football and everything else going on in the world. Luckily by about 6 the power did come back which was amazing, although I probably could have done without it after seeing the Southampton score! One thing I haven't mentioned yet is the occasional cramps I keep getting in my legs. As I woke up this morning it was really painful when I moved them which is another thing I can't explain. My body is deteriorating by the day with my unhealing open blister on one toe, big chunk of skin missing on another toe, and lots of bruises over my feet. Hopefully I will make it to the end of the trip in one piece!
We were yesterday instructed to meet at 8 in the hostel common room ready for our trip to Fraser Island. I packed light with just a couple of sets of clothes, sleeping bag, sandals, wash kit, suncream and water, and also my power socket in hope of power over there! We got shown all the food and other essentials being taken, although they made it clear it was not an all you and eat tour! About an hour later we had packed everything into this trailer on the back on the lead vehicle which included all the food and alcohol, all stored with plenty of ice. I bought some Tooheys for the trip with this Swedish guy! The trip basically works with a lead vehicle driven by our guide, Geoff, and then three other tag along vehicles. I was in the second car with 5 Germans and 2 Swedish, although they all spoke English in general as that was the only common language. There are 8 people to each vehicle making 32 people on the trip in all.
After driving down the road out of Rainbow Beach we got to a point where our guide gave us a briefing about safety on the island, basically saying the video we yesterday watched was completely useless. He basically just told us about car safety and dingo safety, telling us about the time some Norwegian got drunk and wandered off, fell asleep then nearly got eaten by Dingoes! We continued along the sand now in 4wd to Inskip Point to catch a barge across to the island. About 10 minutes after boarding the barge we arrived onto the biggest sand island in the world ready for 3 days of 4wd fun touring the island. We landed on the southern tip of the island, and as you are not allowed to drive on the western side we headed east along the 75 mile beach. It is actually a really big island!
Driving along hard sands due to the weather which was just heavy showers and then boiling sun, we followed the tracks in front of us passing many vehicles and sand dunes en route. We continued along the beach for a while, where the sea looked brown for some reason, and also going over the occasional bit of running water to the Eulong Beach Resort. This was one of the few areas of the island which had a shop, restaurant and a small residential area. It was here at 11 we had lunch, due to the fact many of us did not have breakfast. Lunch was basically just make your own sandwiches which included meats, cheese and salad. What we didn't realise however was that it had to last us for three days! This area was also classed as a dingo safe area, made secure by the high fences and electrified cattle grid we crossed when entering.
After lunch we continued north up the beach, this time with this dodgy German driver who kept driving through the waves and splashing us, as well as going over bumps at speed which kept making us bang our heads on the roof! A short while later we arrived at our next stop, Lake Wabby, although it was about a 45 minute walk to the lake from where we stopped on the beach. Walking through this heavily wooded area, not classed as rainforest however, we weaved round the track to this massive sand dune. The area was in fact classed as a desert, and it was amazing seeing the massive sands sweep right into the distance and also down to the ocean. After walking through the desert this big lake came into sight surrounded by trees on three sides with the desert on one side. We just ran down the big sand dune and dived straight into the lake, which was green due to the Eucalyptus oils and other natural things. Apparently swimming in here was really good for your skin. Due to Fraser Island being a sand island however, apparently this lake will disappear in about 80 years as the sand gobbles up the lake at a rate of about 3m a year!
After heading back through the desert and woods, taking in the amazing views in the process and finally getting some really good photos, we jumped back into the cars to head to our next stop, the Maheno Shipwreck. Our new driver got us stuck in the sand however, but we were soon free using our tour guides reverse back and the drive forward technique. I was in control of the cars radio as I had the best English! En route the shipwreck we had to take a couple of inland tracks due to the high tide and rocks, which was a very bumpy ride. A short while later we arrived at the shipwreck. Apparently it used to be a cruise ship in the early 1900s, but went into decline by the 1930s so was purchased by the Japanese. They decided to sell the propellers to pay off a debt before deciding to tow it back to Japan. There was a storm however when it passed Fraser Island and towing chain broke, washing it up to Fraser Island and it has been there ever since! It was probably a good job though as Japan was planning to use the metal for weapons in the war.
After getting a few photos, ignoring the stay within 3m away from the boat law, we continued north of the coast to our camp called K'gari. We passed a wild dingo en route which came up to sniff the car. They look just like cute dogs! Our camp was run a local aboriginal tripe, which is in decline however as in the 1800s most of the women and children were forced to jump of the cliff by the Europeans. It was getting late when we arrived so we cracked straight on with dinner which was an Asian Stir Fry. In English this was rice with chicken and vegetables. It took a while to cook however as the gas ran out to start with, and then the water took ages to boil for the rice. By about 7 it was finally ready and we got a sizable portion, although I thought back to Thailand where I had this on an all you can eat basis! I was well and truly on the Tooheys by now, playing silly games round the camp fire with the few English people in the group, before managing to find a working power source to charge my phone up. By the time it was time for bed I opted to sleep in the car over the tent. It was a choice between soft seat or the ground and the soft seats seemed like a good idea at the time!
We were yesterday instructed to meet at 8 in the hostel common room ready for our trip to Fraser Island. I packed light with just a couple of sets of clothes, sleeping bag, sandals, wash kit, suncream and water, and also my power socket in hope of power over there! We got shown all the food and other essentials being taken, although they made it clear it was not an all you and eat tour! About an hour later we had packed everything into this trailer on the back on the lead vehicle which included all the food and alcohol, all stored with plenty of ice. I bought some Tooheys for the trip with this Swedish guy! The trip basically works with a lead vehicle driven by our guide, Geoff, and then three other tag along vehicles. I was in the second car with 5 Germans and 2 Swedish, although they all spoke English in general as that was the only common language. There are 8 people to each vehicle making 32 people on the trip in all.
After driving down the road out of Rainbow Beach we got to a point where our guide gave us a briefing about safety on the island, basically saying the video we yesterday watched was completely useless. He basically just told us about car safety and dingo safety, telling us about the time some Norwegian got drunk and wandered off, fell asleep then nearly got eaten by Dingoes! We continued along the sand now in 4wd to Inskip Point to catch a barge across to the island. About 10 minutes after boarding the barge we arrived onto the biggest sand island in the world ready for 3 days of 4wd fun touring the island. We landed on the southern tip of the island, and as you are not allowed to drive on the western side we headed east along the 75 mile beach. It is actually a really big island!
Driving along hard sands due to the weather which was just heavy showers and then boiling sun, we followed the tracks in front of us passing many vehicles and sand dunes en route. We continued along the beach for a while, where the sea looked brown for some reason, and also going over the occasional bit of running water to the Eulong Beach Resort. This was one of the few areas of the island which had a shop, restaurant and a small residential area. It was here at 11 we had lunch, due to the fact many of us did not have breakfast. Lunch was basically just make your own sandwiches which included meats, cheese and salad. What we didn't realise however was that it had to last us for three days! This area was also classed as a dingo safe area, made secure by the high fences and electrified cattle grid we crossed when entering.
After lunch we continued north up the beach, this time with this dodgy German driver who kept driving through the waves and splashing us, as well as going over bumps at speed which kept making us bang our heads on the roof! A short while later we arrived at our next stop, Lake Wabby, although it was about a 45 minute walk to the lake from where we stopped on the beach. Walking through this heavily wooded area, not classed as rainforest however, we weaved round the track to this massive sand dune. The area was in fact classed as a desert, and it was amazing seeing the massive sands sweep right into the distance and also down to the ocean. After walking through the desert this big lake came into sight surrounded by trees on three sides with the desert on one side. We just ran down the big sand dune and dived straight into the lake, which was green due to the Eucalyptus oils and other natural things. Apparently swimming in here was really good for your skin. Due to Fraser Island being a sand island however, apparently this lake will disappear in about 80 years as the sand gobbles up the lake at a rate of about 3m a year!
After heading back through the desert and woods, taking in the amazing views in the process and finally getting some really good photos, we jumped back into the cars to head to our next stop, the Maheno Shipwreck. Our new driver got us stuck in the sand however, but we were soon free using our tour guides reverse back and the drive forward technique. I was in control of the cars radio as I had the best English! En route the shipwreck we had to take a couple of inland tracks due to the high tide and rocks, which was a very bumpy ride. A short while later we arrived at the shipwreck. Apparently it used to be a cruise ship in the early 1900s, but went into decline by the 1930s so was purchased by the Japanese. They decided to sell the propellers to pay off a debt before deciding to tow it back to Japan. There was a storm however when it passed Fraser Island and towing chain broke, washing it up to Fraser Island and it has been there ever since! It was probably a good job though as Japan was planning to use the metal for weapons in the war.
After getting a few photos, ignoring the stay within 3m away from the boat law, we continued north of the coast to our camp called K'gari. We passed a wild dingo en route which came up to sniff the car. They look just like cute dogs! Our camp was run a local aboriginal tripe, which is in decline however as in the 1800s most of the women and children were forced to jump of the cliff by the Europeans. It was getting late when we arrived so we cracked straight on with dinner which was an Asian Stir Fry. In English this was rice with chicken and vegetables. It took a while to cook however as the gas ran out to start with, and then the water took ages to boil for the rice. By about 7 it was finally ready and we got a sizable portion, although I thought back to Thailand where I had this on an all you can eat basis! I was well and truly on the Tooheys by now, playing silly games round the camp fire with the few English people in the group, before managing to find a working power source to charge my phone up. By the time it was time for bed I opted to sleep in the car over the tent. It was a choice between soft seat or the ground and the soft seats seemed like a good idea at the time!
Tuesday, 25 February 2014
February 22nd... Rainbow Beach
I was once again up at the crack of dawn this morning. It's probably the fact I was camping and generally speaking the light wakes me up. There was heavy rain during the night which made the night a little noisy, and when exiting the tent I was greeted with a little shower of water from the damp tent. I accidentally left my sandals out overnight, mainly to dry, but the rain probably helped as it washed all the sand off.
Breakfast this morning was just me eating corn flakes out the box, as there wasn't much else left other than noodles, which I am taking with me. That way it will force me to cook in a hostel at least once! After a few solo games of pool whilst everyone was sleeping, a few people awoke although much of my group had already last night decided to have lie ins. I was leaving early as I booked the morning bus out of Noosa.
After a few issues collecting my deposit and being told I didn't tell them I was leaving in the morning, they were those kind of people running the place, I was finally on my way leaving the sandy camp through the woods back onto the road. About half an hour later we arrived at the bus station where after a swift turnaround I was on my way to my next location, Rainbow Beach. One of the recurring features of the greyhound buses is the drivers speech throughout. I've had drivers give running commentaries about the scenery, information about roads, and today it was a lecture about how it is a legal requirement to wear a seatbelt!
About an hour into the journey we stopped at this service station called the Matilda roadhouse which had a massive kangaroo outside, the mascot! I was quite relieved to stop here because it didn't just give me a food stop, but also access to WiFi for the first time in three days! After getting myself re updated with everything again we were back on the road and by half 12 we arrived and I checked straight into my hostel Frasers on Rainbow. A night before and after my tour of Fraser Island was included in the packages price I bought for Fraser Island. Like I always do the first thing I did was just dump my stuff and explore the area, although it was a little small with just a parade of shops, few houses and the backpackers area. I think Rainbow Beach is a purpose built gateway to Fraser Island.
A short while later after taking in the views down the beach and looking in the little shops, I headed back to the hostel ready for a briefing of my trip to Fraser Island. My first impression of the group was German! We basically had to watch a video about car safety as we are touring the island using 4wd. Unfortunately I can't drive so I will be a passenger for the trip whilst I put my trust in the people who can drive! We also got told about everything ranging from camping to waste disposal with everything in-between. It was a very repetitive video. The other major message was about being dingo safe and not wandering off.
Apparently they have wild dingoes which hunt in packs so we were told how to beat a dingo!
After the video we got a short speech from this aboriginal guy telling us about the massive spiders and the deadly snakes on the island, as well as some true stories of disasters. I think he was just trying to scare us! We were then given a copy of our food for the coming days as well as a form signing ourselves away with all the small print. We were also instructed to pack light and not bother about looking good each day!
By the time the briefing was over I headed over to travel bugs to book the remaining part of my tour to Cairns. I'm arriving at Cairns a week early now, although I've booked a couple of tours out of town! Hopefully everything runs smoothly until then now as there is a lot of reconfirmations I have to do! By now it had stopped raining so I decided to walk to the sand dune for a quick cache. Despite the sand being wet I got brilliant views over towards Fraser Island just as the sun was setting. I walked back along the beach, dark at this time and managed to find some free WiFi en route which made me very happy!
It was then back to the hostel where I relaxed on my bottom bunk which I crave in the hostels, and also my personal power socket next to bed! This was too good to be true however as the hostel suffered a power cut which meant my phone didn't charge fully, something I wanted before a three day tour! I left my phone in the dead socket however in the hope it would return, and before long fell asleep.
Breakfast this morning was just me eating corn flakes out the box, as there wasn't much else left other than noodles, which I am taking with me. That way it will force me to cook in a hostel at least once! After a few solo games of pool whilst everyone was sleeping, a few people awoke although much of my group had already last night decided to have lie ins. I was leaving early as I booked the morning bus out of Noosa.
After a few issues collecting my deposit and being told I didn't tell them I was leaving in the morning, they were those kind of people running the place, I was finally on my way leaving the sandy camp through the woods back onto the road. About half an hour later we arrived at the bus station where after a swift turnaround I was on my way to my next location, Rainbow Beach. One of the recurring features of the greyhound buses is the drivers speech throughout. I've had drivers give running commentaries about the scenery, information about roads, and today it was a lecture about how it is a legal requirement to wear a seatbelt!
About an hour into the journey we stopped at this service station called the Matilda roadhouse which had a massive kangaroo outside, the mascot! I was quite relieved to stop here because it didn't just give me a food stop, but also access to WiFi for the first time in three days! After getting myself re updated with everything again we were back on the road and by half 12 we arrived and I checked straight into my hostel Frasers on Rainbow. A night before and after my tour of Fraser Island was included in the packages price I bought for Fraser Island. Like I always do the first thing I did was just dump my stuff and explore the area, although it was a little small with just a parade of shops, few houses and the backpackers area. I think Rainbow Beach is a purpose built gateway to Fraser Island.
A short while later after taking in the views down the beach and looking in the little shops, I headed back to the hostel ready for a briefing of my trip to Fraser Island. My first impression of the group was German! We basically had to watch a video about car safety as we are touring the island using 4wd. Unfortunately I can't drive so I will be a passenger for the trip whilst I put my trust in the people who can drive! We also got told about everything ranging from camping to waste disposal with everything in-between. It was a very repetitive video. The other major message was about being dingo safe and not wandering off.
Apparently they have wild dingoes which hunt in packs so we were told how to beat a dingo!
After the video we got a short speech from this aboriginal guy telling us about the massive spiders and the deadly snakes on the island, as well as some true stories of disasters. I think he was just trying to scare us! We were then given a copy of our food for the coming days as well as a form signing ourselves away with all the small print. We were also instructed to pack light and not bother about looking good each day!
By the time the briefing was over I headed over to travel bugs to book the remaining part of my tour to Cairns. I'm arriving at Cairns a week early now, although I've booked a couple of tours out of town! Hopefully everything runs smoothly until then now as there is a lot of reconfirmations I have to do! By now it had stopped raining so I decided to walk to the sand dune for a quick cache. Despite the sand being wet I got brilliant views over towards Fraser Island just as the sun was setting. I walked back along the beach, dark at this time and managed to find some free WiFi en route which made me very happy!
It was then back to the hostel where I relaxed on my bottom bunk which I crave in the hostels, and also my personal power socket next to bed! This was too good to be true however as the hostel suffered a power cut which meant my phone didn't charge fully, something I wanted before a three day tour! I left my phone in the dead socket however in the hope it would return, and before long fell asleep.
February 21st... Noosa Everglades Day 2
Last night I went to bed after the winter olympics and seeing gb win a medal, but woke up this morning to what was an absolute bomb site! It appeared that the Germans who made up the majority of the campsite compared to the few English people had a bit of a good night as I found one of them sleeping on the table, and another on the sofa. The old man who was one of the people running the camp was not impressed to see the sink blocked with crisps, and bottles and unwashed dishes congested with mosquitos everywhere! Overall however I slept well in the tent, mainly because being completely outdoors made things a little cooler, as well as having a three man tent to myself!
After having corn flakes for breakfast straight out the box, I fried up some sausages in preparation for lunch which was a success. Today we were instructed to paddle the other way to another lake, before being firmly instructed to paddle to the third channel marker to head across to this house where we could walk to the ocean. We didn't leave until 9 today however, and our group was now 13 after the two Germans I was with chickened out. This meant I went with the Scottish guy who I forgot to mention didn't remember meeting me when we played pool on the first day, but does now of course!
A short while after leaving, going with the tide through dense rainforest a few of us decided to jump in as there are no crocodiles this far south. I won't see one until Rockhampton. I took the lazy approach and put on my lifejacket to let the tide slowly take me along the river, whilst letting my canoeing partner drag the boat. Before long we were a rather long way behind everyone else, although one of the Germans swam back to us and we got back in the boat and powered back to the others where the Lake Cooraibah came into sight.
Stopping via this island for a drink which was covered in this murky sand, and losing three people who had to leave early for the bus, we continued across this lake through the channel before turning off to land at this road. We had to walk some way in the middle as the water got so shallow, but it luckily got deeper again and we continued to the road. One of the people in the now male heavy group with just one girl remaining said they saw a massive stingray!
A short walk along the road after having lunch, we got to this pub where we had a well deserved drink. They served everything in schooner's in here which were smaller than a pint, although the range of beers was big, even telling you what food to eat with the drink! In the pubs garden as well was this big jumping pillow like a bouncy castle which kept us all amused for a while, even if it did trigger off head aches for a couple of people who had been drinking last night.
By now it was coming up to 1 so we continued down the road in the almost unbearable heat in the hope of reaching the ocean. As the road winded through the dry vegetation surrounding it in the sand dunes, we finally arrived at what was called Cooloola Recreation Area. From here we got views of Noosa spanning right round to the national park, as well as the coastline sinking into horizon north. The sand was unbearably hot once again, even with sandals on, and shade was hard to come by. The sea was also really rough, and we only paddled as apparently the rip tides take many people into difficulties in this uncoastguarded stretch of beach.
We then headed back along the road, passing the pub en route for cold water as well as the ice cream shop for a similar effect. I stubbed my little toe on a rock however just to add to my increasingly damaged feet! When arriving back to our boats we decided to power back to the campsite which wasn't actually that far when taking into account we floated much of the way before. After negotiating the shallow waters of the lake we soon rejoined the river, passing a cruise boat which was one of a very few amount of boats we saw whilst paddling through this remote area.
About an hour after setting off we returned where I had another shower to wash away the sands, as well as properly cleaning my blooded toe. My mosquito bites were also annoying by now too as I had started scratching them. After another evening playing more pool and watching these random movies which were stored on the tv, I had a lovely pasta based meal made better by the fact I cooked it all myself for a few of us. I was having problems opening beers now however as they were normal bottles, but the Germans had their little tricks to open them for me! After another relaxing evening in the camp I headed to bed in my tent again ready to leave Noosa after a cracking 6 nights in the place!
After having corn flakes for breakfast straight out the box, I fried up some sausages in preparation for lunch which was a success. Today we were instructed to paddle the other way to another lake, before being firmly instructed to paddle to the third channel marker to head across to this house where we could walk to the ocean. We didn't leave until 9 today however, and our group was now 13 after the two Germans I was with chickened out. This meant I went with the Scottish guy who I forgot to mention didn't remember meeting me when we played pool on the first day, but does now of course!
A short while after leaving, going with the tide through dense rainforest a few of us decided to jump in as there are no crocodiles this far south. I won't see one until Rockhampton. I took the lazy approach and put on my lifejacket to let the tide slowly take me along the river, whilst letting my canoeing partner drag the boat. Before long we were a rather long way behind everyone else, although one of the Germans swam back to us and we got back in the boat and powered back to the others where the Lake Cooraibah came into sight.
Stopping via this island for a drink which was covered in this murky sand, and losing three people who had to leave early for the bus, we continued across this lake through the channel before turning off to land at this road. We had to walk some way in the middle as the water got so shallow, but it luckily got deeper again and we continued to the road. One of the people in the now male heavy group with just one girl remaining said they saw a massive stingray!
A short walk along the road after having lunch, we got to this pub where we had a well deserved drink. They served everything in schooner's in here which were smaller than a pint, although the range of beers was big, even telling you what food to eat with the drink! In the pubs garden as well was this big jumping pillow like a bouncy castle which kept us all amused for a while, even if it did trigger off head aches for a couple of people who had been drinking last night.
By now it was coming up to 1 so we continued down the road in the almost unbearable heat in the hope of reaching the ocean. As the road winded through the dry vegetation surrounding it in the sand dunes, we finally arrived at what was called Cooloola Recreation Area. From here we got views of Noosa spanning right round to the national park, as well as the coastline sinking into horizon north. The sand was unbearably hot once again, even with sandals on, and shade was hard to come by. The sea was also really rough, and we only paddled as apparently the rip tides take many people into difficulties in this uncoastguarded stretch of beach.
We then headed back along the road, passing the pub en route for cold water as well as the ice cream shop for a similar effect. I stubbed my little toe on a rock however just to add to my increasingly damaged feet! When arriving back to our boats we decided to power back to the campsite which wasn't actually that far when taking into account we floated much of the way before. After negotiating the shallow waters of the lake we soon rejoined the river, passing a cruise boat which was one of a very few amount of boats we saw whilst paddling through this remote area.
About an hour after setting off we returned where I had another shower to wash away the sands, as well as properly cleaning my blooded toe. My mosquito bites were also annoying by now too as I had started scratching them. After another evening playing more pool and watching these random movies which were stored on the tv, I had a lovely pasta based meal made better by the fact I cooked it all myself for a few of us. I was having problems opening beers now however as they were normal bottles, but the Germans had their little tricks to open them for me! After another relaxing evening in the camp I headed to bed in my tent again ready to leave Noosa after a cracking 6 nights in the place!
Saturday, 22 February 2014
February 20th... Noosa Everglades Day 1
Last night was a weird night, primarily down to the fact I was staying in the rainforest with so many diverse sounds and with its muggy heat to add to this. It was too hot to sleep with my sleeping bag which I finally had a use for saving me $5, although there were also too many mosquitos to sleep without anything covering myself. To add to this these Germans decided to stay up until the early hours of the morning drinking and made an absolute racket when returning to the dorm. All in all was a good night sleep considering we were staying in a canvassed based shelter constructed into a dorm. Breakfast this morning consisted of a pizza which I had previously bought from Aldi. I thought I better use it up as it was meant to be frozen and it was left in the fridge. It actually turned out really well in the end and set myself up nicely for the busy day ahead. In addition to this it was an absolute luxury to have a shower this morning after expecting the absolute basics in our rainforest based bush camp. It did remind me of a classic camp shower with its muddy floors though! In the mosquito department I actually fared rather well getting just a few bites on legs compared to some people who had their whole back nibbled upon!
By now I had established that we were to be based at the same campsite for the duration of the trip, paddling one way on the first day and the other way on the second. As I stayed in the Bush Camp dorms the first night, I had to pack my bags to leave in secure storage ready to collect later that evening when I will camping for a further two nights. We were meant to be canoeing at around 8 this morning, but by half 8 we were still waiting for some people which was frustrating. We were told from here that we were doing a self guided paddled and were shown the route on the map which was to paddle up the river to this lake, before turning into this creek to find a rope swing and picnic area for lunch. Sounds simple. After sorting out groups of 3 to paddle in as there were 18 of us, we finally set off along the dense rainforest of the Noosa Everglades, although shortly after starting these girls decided to paddle into the trees and refuse to move. This was frustrating as we were instructed to stay as a group, but after they just started laughing at us we decided to continue up stream, now as a group of 15.
Before long the once densely packed rainforest became these dry and bare tree which had obviously suffered from bushfires at some point in the past. The lake then came into view and we soon found the creek, which we paddled down before reaching these signs saying private property with no signs of a rope swing. We therefore paddled back out of the creek and continued round the lake, landing at this small area with a couple of seats. It was here we assessed the situation, before losing two people in the group randomly. After a short search and shouts with no luck, we started to freak out a bit, but about half an hour later they returned saying they went for walk. We decided from here to continue around the lake in the hope of finding somewhere more spacious. I was paddling with these two German guys who were real powerhouses and after getting ahead of the others, and seeing them land at this small landing point, they were keen to continue round to this beach in the distance. I agreed and we were soon on these lush white sands. I was going to go swimming but apparently there are these stingrays in the shallow water where we were so I went against it.
From here we walked along the beach, paddling in the water which was nice on my now sole blistered tow. It is really gruesome stuff! We then continued on this road to this shop, this time not good on my feet as the road was boiling on my bare feet. I left my sandals in the boat. We soon established we were at Boreen Point campsite and it was nice to get a nice cold drink of water here. When heading back along the fine sands to the canoe, the others arrived and we sat down to have lunch here. I had ham sandwiches and crisps here which I prepared on the beach. Before leaving the campsite where we started we were given these large plastic barrels which meant we could keep things dry and prevent things getting squashed. It was nice taking in the views of this beautiful area spanning in all directions, consisting of dense rainforests and this big sand dune as well! It was really hot by this time on what had been a funny day in terms of weather with a really hot start, before going cloudy and creating a breeze, and then going hot again. This was better than the previously predicted thunderstorms though!
After spending around an hour here we left to go back across the lake. I forgot to say that on the way we were paddling against the tide which made things extra hard work, and it was same paddling back as the tide had changed direction. Especially across the lake where the water was going into us sideways meant it was extra hardwork to steer, but the two German guys paddled on and we were soon ahead again, mainly because the one of the groups behind capsized. We continued on, powering back down the river and arriving back at around 3. Despite taking my camera with me it was difficult to take pictures on the water, and especially ones of myself because when stopping when going against the tide causes problems. The others didn't arrive back until like 4, which meant I got first into the showers to wash off the annoying sands which get all over you so easily, as well as the murky waters we had been paddling in. I also established here that I had got bad sunburn on ears when scrubbing them, as well as my upper legs which had burned where I hadn't suncream under my clothes. My legs are now brown, red, white! In addition to this, my hands were blue which I guess was created by the sheer heat of the day and me holding the plastic paddle.
The evening consisted of just chilling and playing pool, and catching more of the winter Olympics. Dinner this evening was either cook yourself, or fish and chips. Well it would have been if the owners of the camp didn't decide to time how long it took five of them to down 24 bottles of beer. It took them just over 2 minutes if you're wondering. They instead gave us the option of ordering pizza, which I opted for despite having it for breakfast. It was nice end to the day with a few beers. It was also nice to gain some people to the group as people stay here for three days, which runs on a continuous cycle. I was known as a day tower by the people running the group. We also had a big fire this evening, burning cabinets and beer boxes! A few hours later I headed for bed, going via the toilet which was once again full of frogs, before settling down in the tent which I had all to myself, pure luxury!
By now I had established that we were to be based at the same campsite for the duration of the trip, paddling one way on the first day and the other way on the second. As I stayed in the Bush Camp dorms the first night, I had to pack my bags to leave in secure storage ready to collect later that evening when I will camping for a further two nights. We were meant to be canoeing at around 8 this morning, but by half 8 we were still waiting for some people which was frustrating. We were told from here that we were doing a self guided paddled and were shown the route on the map which was to paddle up the river to this lake, before turning into this creek to find a rope swing and picnic area for lunch. Sounds simple. After sorting out groups of 3 to paddle in as there were 18 of us, we finally set off along the dense rainforest of the Noosa Everglades, although shortly after starting these girls decided to paddle into the trees and refuse to move. This was frustrating as we were instructed to stay as a group, but after they just started laughing at us we decided to continue up stream, now as a group of 15.
Before long the once densely packed rainforest became these dry and bare tree which had obviously suffered from bushfires at some point in the past. The lake then came into view and we soon found the creek, which we paddled down before reaching these signs saying private property with no signs of a rope swing. We therefore paddled back out of the creek and continued round the lake, landing at this small area with a couple of seats. It was here we assessed the situation, before losing two people in the group randomly. After a short search and shouts with no luck, we started to freak out a bit, but about half an hour later they returned saying they went for walk. We decided from here to continue around the lake in the hope of finding somewhere more spacious. I was paddling with these two German guys who were real powerhouses and after getting ahead of the others, and seeing them land at this small landing point, they were keen to continue round to this beach in the distance. I agreed and we were soon on these lush white sands. I was going to go swimming but apparently there are these stingrays in the shallow water where we were so I went against it.
From here we walked along the beach, paddling in the water which was nice on my now sole blistered tow. It is really gruesome stuff! We then continued on this road to this shop, this time not good on my feet as the road was boiling on my bare feet. I left my sandals in the boat. We soon established we were at Boreen Point campsite and it was nice to get a nice cold drink of water here. When heading back along the fine sands to the canoe, the others arrived and we sat down to have lunch here. I had ham sandwiches and crisps here which I prepared on the beach. Before leaving the campsite where we started we were given these large plastic barrels which meant we could keep things dry and prevent things getting squashed. It was nice taking in the views of this beautiful area spanning in all directions, consisting of dense rainforests and this big sand dune as well! It was really hot by this time on what had been a funny day in terms of weather with a really hot start, before going cloudy and creating a breeze, and then going hot again. This was better than the previously predicted thunderstorms though!
After spending around an hour here we left to go back across the lake. I forgot to say that on the way we were paddling against the tide which made things extra hard work, and it was same paddling back as the tide had changed direction. Especially across the lake where the water was going into us sideways meant it was extra hardwork to steer, but the two German guys paddled on and we were soon ahead again, mainly because the one of the groups behind capsized. We continued on, powering back down the river and arriving back at around 3. Despite taking my camera with me it was difficult to take pictures on the water, and especially ones of myself because when stopping when going against the tide causes problems. The others didn't arrive back until like 4, which meant I got first into the showers to wash off the annoying sands which get all over you so easily, as well as the murky waters we had been paddling in. I also established here that I had got bad sunburn on ears when scrubbing them, as well as my upper legs which had burned where I hadn't suncream under my clothes. My legs are now brown, red, white! In addition to this, my hands were blue which I guess was created by the sheer heat of the day and me holding the plastic paddle.
The evening consisted of just chilling and playing pool, and catching more of the winter Olympics. Dinner this evening was either cook yourself, or fish and chips. Well it would have been if the owners of the camp didn't decide to time how long it took five of them to down 24 bottles of beer. It took them just over 2 minutes if you're wondering. They instead gave us the option of ordering pizza, which I opted for despite having it for breakfast. It was nice end to the day with a few beers. It was also nice to gain some people to the group as people stay here for three days, which runs on a continuous cycle. I was known as a day tower by the people running the group. We also had a big fire this evening, burning cabinets and beer boxes! A few hours later I headed for bed, going via the toilet which was once again full of frogs, before settling down in the tent which I had all to myself, pure luxury!
February 19th... Gegagu Bush Camp
This morning there were so many people up early once again, but I decided to treat myself to some kind of lie in. Due to half my hostel seeming to leave early, I managed to have sole access to a power point which meant I got a fully charged phone for once. I had nothing planned for the morning other than sorting out a few little things so after another shower where I literally wanted cold water to avoid the humidity, and also using my access to a plug socket to my advantage to write my blog, I checked out.
First stop of the day was the post office where I sent home a load more postcards. I'm hoping they don't get binned and put into a photo album or something so I can look back at them when I get home. It was then off for a long overdue trip to the hairdressers, and despite not really knowing to say got a more low maintenance haircut compared to the mess I previously had on my head. By this time it was about 10, and I wasn't scheduled to leave for Bush Camp until 1. To summarise I am going canoeing and camping through the Noosa Everglades over the next couple of days.
To pass the time by I went on the computer to once again to try and sort out the whole photo saga. It is going to be rather interesting when I get home sorting out photos as they are now in three different places with a rather long time to go! I won't even go into detail about all my technological difficulties so far! After just browsing the internet and simply relaxing, this brought me through to about 12 where I headed off to the local supermarket for lunch getting grapes and shortbread.
A short wait later at the bus station reading through all my future trip details, I was picked up ready for transfer to the Gegagu Bush Camp, stopping off via Aldi en route for food supplies over the coming days. We have to cook our own meals whilst on the trip. We also stopped off via this alcohol drive thru place, and I was astounded when other people were buying more than one pack of 24 bottles for just 3 nights. I got a variety pack of ales, and also a variety pack of summer time lagers.
Upon arrival to Bush Camp, the rumours of basic beds with no showers were proved to be wrong, as we got shown round this dorm which included bedding, the games room including a pool table, kitchen, laundry facilities, shower block, power sockets and even these sofas with a tv. The only thing it was lacking was WiFi. All this was effectively set up in an outdoor environment with canvas tents. Unfortunately this is only for one night, although I think we camp the next two nights next door which means we will still have access to all the facilities!
After accidentally challenging this drunk Scottish guy to pool which was an experience, I settled down to watch some of the winter olympics which I have only caught glimpses of whilst being aired. There were lots of Germans staying, although on a local note there was someone from Rustington! By now I was on the beer and I soon found out about their bottle top system which can be opened by hand, another thing the UK could do with. A major problem in Bush Camp was the mosquitos which are supposedly here because the town of Noosa is dropping bug repellent from a plane, which is forcing the annoying bugs into the everglades where I'm staying. I never bother with repellent anymore because I feel it just attracts them, but even when I put on long clothes they were still just as bad at annoying me!
Instead of cooking dinner tonight I ordered the BBQ which consisted of chicken, lamb, beef, salad and bread. They definitely fed us well from our initial payment per head of $6. The thing I'm worried about is that storms are forecast for tomorrow, and a canoeing in the rain isn't fun because you don't appreciate the surroundings as much as it is head down and paddle!
For some reason I was really tired last night and fell asleep writing my blog. Luckily it was only me drifting so I admitted defeat and put my phone on charge. The beds were basically canvas bunks and were adequate enough, although I sunk down in the middle. There were also lots of frogs and noises outside as we were effectively in rainforest, but I was so tired I just fell asleep.
First stop of the day was the post office where I sent home a load more postcards. I'm hoping they don't get binned and put into a photo album or something so I can look back at them when I get home. It was then off for a long overdue trip to the hairdressers, and despite not really knowing to say got a more low maintenance haircut compared to the mess I previously had on my head. By this time it was about 10, and I wasn't scheduled to leave for Bush Camp until 1. To summarise I am going canoeing and camping through the Noosa Everglades over the next couple of days.
To pass the time by I went on the computer to once again to try and sort out the whole photo saga. It is going to be rather interesting when I get home sorting out photos as they are now in three different places with a rather long time to go! I won't even go into detail about all my technological difficulties so far! After just browsing the internet and simply relaxing, this brought me through to about 12 where I headed off to the local supermarket for lunch getting grapes and shortbread.
A short wait later at the bus station reading through all my future trip details, I was picked up ready for transfer to the Gegagu Bush Camp, stopping off via Aldi en route for food supplies over the coming days. We have to cook our own meals whilst on the trip. We also stopped off via this alcohol drive thru place, and I was astounded when other people were buying more than one pack of 24 bottles for just 3 nights. I got a variety pack of ales, and also a variety pack of summer time lagers.
Upon arrival to Bush Camp, the rumours of basic beds with no showers were proved to be wrong, as we got shown round this dorm which included bedding, the games room including a pool table, kitchen, laundry facilities, shower block, power sockets and even these sofas with a tv. The only thing it was lacking was WiFi. All this was effectively set up in an outdoor environment with canvas tents. Unfortunately this is only for one night, although I think we camp the next two nights next door which means we will still have access to all the facilities!
After accidentally challenging this drunk Scottish guy to pool which was an experience, I settled down to watch some of the winter olympics which I have only caught glimpses of whilst being aired. There were lots of Germans staying, although on a local note there was someone from Rustington! By now I was on the beer and I soon found out about their bottle top system which can be opened by hand, another thing the UK could do with. A major problem in Bush Camp was the mosquitos which are supposedly here because the town of Noosa is dropping bug repellent from a plane, which is forcing the annoying bugs into the everglades where I'm staying. I never bother with repellent anymore because I feel it just attracts them, but even when I put on long clothes they were still just as bad at annoying me!
Instead of cooking dinner tonight I ordered the BBQ which consisted of chicken, lamb, beef, salad and bread. They definitely fed us well from our initial payment per head of $6. The thing I'm worried about is that storms are forecast for tomorrow, and a canoeing in the rain isn't fun because you don't appreciate the surroundings as much as it is head down and paddle!
For some reason I was really tired last night and fell asleep writing my blog. Luckily it was only me drifting so I admitted defeat and put my phone on charge. The beds were basically canvas bunks and were adequate enough, although I sunk down in the middle. There were also lots of frogs and noises outside as we were effectively in rainforest, but I was so tired I just fell asleep.
Tuesday, 18 February 2014
February 18th... Noosa
I didn't really have anything planned for today, other than just exploring Noosa. I have already spent two nights here and haven't really properly seen the area yet! So after another muggy night, I am just craving for a hostel with air con now, I headed down down to the internet cafe combining a Skype session with planning a few geocaches to find. It is frustrating out here as I have to manually upload them all, whereas at home I can just click a button and I am sorted!
I have really fancied a pie the last few days so I went out in search of one and soon found a really nice curried steak pie for breakfast. I also bought a packed lunch as I was going into the national park which I was told was quite remote in places. There were all these warnings not to enter the national park alone but I put my confidence in my map reading skills.
The first place I headed was the Laguna Lookout, finding a cache en route and up top, even if I did cut my leg on a bramble when looking. The views from up top were amazing, and it gave me an insight into the surrounding area and beaches which I was about to explore. It was then down to the Noosa Heads area where I had a little look round the quirky little shops, although there were a surprisingly high amount of clothes shops down here! Passing through Noosa Woods and seeing all these expensive yachts and houses by the river, I think Noosa is built round a big river mouth, I arrived at this big artificial sand dune, showing persistence in finding my third cache.
It was then back along the beach on the other side of this area called the spit, passing all these dogs on what was a designated dog beach. Despite getting a DNF at the 4th cache, I continued round the coast entering what was called Main Beach, already really busy with surfers and people relaxing and catching the sun. It was already unbearably humid by now! I decided to go via the travel bugs place here to check a couple of things, although they were useless telling me not to go on this canoe trip I am doing over the next few days!
It was now time to enter the official national park which despite only being small housed many different trails and things to see on this densely wooded area of headland. I started by doing the Palm Groves circuit which took me through the rainforest to all these unique sights, sounds and smells, finding a cache in the process. I then headed onto the coastal circuit which would take me round to Sunshine Beach eventually. Heading round past Tea Tree Bay to Dolphin bay, my next cache presented me with treacherous terrain as I had to traverse across these rocks. Luckily I found it, and also got a good view of the rocky formations surrounding me.
Heading round past Winch Cove, it was then round to Fairy Pools which were these rock pools with a few people even snorkelling in them! It was getting more and more isolated as I headed round with just a handful of people on each beach I passed now. After a quick find in Fairy Pools, it was round to Hells Gate which was a viewpoint giving panoramic views heading south across Alexandria Bay and also of the scenic coast heading north into the horizon. After dropping down to the almost empty Alexandria Bay which was a long beach which took me about 10 minutes to walk from one end to the other, I rejoined the coastal path in search of my last cache.
Heading off the beaten track down this rocky path, I proceeded through these palm trees before emerging at this small but stunning beach. Despite getting a DNF here I was glad to see this area which words just can't describe! Its not normally you get a whole beach to yourself! It was then back up to the coastal path heading to the heavily populated Sunshine Beach, where I found out I had completed a class 4 walk, the toughest!
From here I weaved my way through the housing which included some proper plush housing back to Noosa Junction and my hostel. The fact it was 4 by this time, about 7 hours after leaving shows you just how long I was out for. One of the problems with walking in humid conditions on sandy paths means sand gets everywhere, so after washing it all off in my now empty room, everyone except me left the room last night, I headed out to sort out my blog. Someone tried to login which meant google blocked the account, but its all sorted now.
This evening I fancied a dominoes pizza. The problem was the nearest one was 4km away in Noosaville, they use km out here. In the end I thought I'd check out this area and I got my $4.95 spicy veg pizza! It was pretty dodgy walking home in the dark though as there were these massive bats which kept swooping down from the trees! When arriving back at the hostel the room was unbearably hot again, but as most the room were all going to bed upon return I followed and attempted another night in the muggy room.
Just a short thing to add, I may not be able to update my blog over the next few days as I am canoeing through the Noosa everglades.
I have really fancied a pie the last few days so I went out in search of one and soon found a really nice curried steak pie for breakfast. I also bought a packed lunch as I was going into the national park which I was told was quite remote in places. There were all these warnings not to enter the national park alone but I put my confidence in my map reading skills.
The first place I headed was the Laguna Lookout, finding a cache en route and up top, even if I did cut my leg on a bramble when looking. The views from up top were amazing, and it gave me an insight into the surrounding area and beaches which I was about to explore. It was then down to the Noosa Heads area where I had a little look round the quirky little shops, although there were a surprisingly high amount of clothes shops down here! Passing through Noosa Woods and seeing all these expensive yachts and houses by the river, I think Noosa is built round a big river mouth, I arrived at this big artificial sand dune, showing persistence in finding my third cache.
It was then back along the beach on the other side of this area called the spit, passing all these dogs on what was a designated dog beach. Despite getting a DNF at the 4th cache, I continued round the coast entering what was called Main Beach, already really busy with surfers and people relaxing and catching the sun. It was already unbearably humid by now! I decided to go via the travel bugs place here to check a couple of things, although they were useless telling me not to go on this canoe trip I am doing over the next few days!
It was now time to enter the official national park which despite only being small housed many different trails and things to see on this densely wooded area of headland. I started by doing the Palm Groves circuit which took me through the rainforest to all these unique sights, sounds and smells, finding a cache in the process. I then headed onto the coastal circuit which would take me round to Sunshine Beach eventually. Heading round past Tea Tree Bay to Dolphin bay, my next cache presented me with treacherous terrain as I had to traverse across these rocks. Luckily I found it, and also got a good view of the rocky formations surrounding me.
Heading round past Winch Cove, it was then round to Fairy Pools which were these rock pools with a few people even snorkelling in them! It was getting more and more isolated as I headed round with just a handful of people on each beach I passed now. After a quick find in Fairy Pools, it was round to Hells Gate which was a viewpoint giving panoramic views heading south across Alexandria Bay and also of the scenic coast heading north into the horizon. After dropping down to the almost empty Alexandria Bay which was a long beach which took me about 10 minutes to walk from one end to the other, I rejoined the coastal path in search of my last cache.
Heading off the beaten track down this rocky path, I proceeded through these palm trees before emerging at this small but stunning beach. Despite getting a DNF here I was glad to see this area which words just can't describe! Its not normally you get a whole beach to yourself! It was then back up to the coastal path heading to the heavily populated Sunshine Beach, where I found out I had completed a class 4 walk, the toughest!
From here I weaved my way through the housing which included some proper plush housing back to Noosa Junction and my hostel. The fact it was 4 by this time, about 7 hours after leaving shows you just how long I was out for. One of the problems with walking in humid conditions on sandy paths means sand gets everywhere, so after washing it all off in my now empty room, everyone except me left the room last night, I headed out to sort out my blog. Someone tried to login which meant google blocked the account, but its all sorted now.
This evening I fancied a dominoes pizza. The problem was the nearest one was 4km away in Noosaville, they use km out here. In the end I thought I'd check out this area and I got my $4.95 spicy veg pizza! It was pretty dodgy walking home in the dark though as there were these massive bats which kept swooping down from the trees! When arriving back at the hostel the room was unbearably hot again, but as most the room were all going to bed upon return I followed and attempted another night in the muggy room.
Just a short thing to add, I may not be able to update my blog over the next few days as I am canoeing through the Noosa everglades.
February 17th... Australia Zoo
Last night was a very muggy night as the room had no air con, and in the U shaped 16 bed dorm only a solitary fan was in operation. In addition to this there was rumoured to be bed bugs as two mattresses said they were out of order. Despite all these negatives I did manage to get some sleep, even if I did wake up at 1 in the morning to the sound of people packing their bags! Unlike the previous hostels, there were a few early birds like me which meant access to the showers was more difficult this morning!
After packing my bag ready for the day, I went to the local supermarket for breakfast and also to buy a packed lunch for my trip to Australia Zoo today. I picked up lots of morning bargains and by 8 had boarded the greyhound shuttle bus to the zoo. It was surrounded by this yellow livery and pictures of the zoo! En route to the zoo the screens showed previous footage of the crocodile hunter tv series and also short podcasts of what to see at the zoo. You forget how amazing Steve Irwin was as we saw him investigate these spitting cobras which spat in his face, and also his work in preserving crocodiles from execution by re homing them at his zoo.
By about half 9, after seeing so many clips of Steve Irwin en route, we arrived and were instructed to be back by 3.45 for the bus back to Noosa. I was given a map when entering which showed me the sheer size of the place, and also the many shows on throughout the day. There were too many animals to talk about every animal I saw, but I'll give you a vague idea of what I liked. I started off by seeing these snakes, before passing through this rainforest aviary which was just full of colour. I then entered this enclosure of red kangaroos where I was able to stroke the kangaroos. This was closely followed by the Koalas where I could stroke the Koalas too, although they always seem to be asleep! The zoo was crafty though as I soon found out that any photos with an animal were an extra $15!
It was then down to the Tigers, passing the red pandas and camels en route which gave rides at an extra cost. The tigers, or should I say tiger was very entertaining as he kept jumping onto the ledges. I'm not sure where the new cubs that were advertised were however. After passing this exhibit simply labelled under construction, I went to the newly constructed Africa zone which consisted of Rhinos, Zebras and Giraffes. I think this area of the zoo is very much work in progress. Also down here was the tv set from the Australian show Bindi's Bootcamp, and despite not being able to enter the actual set, there were many interactive things to do.
The zoo offered a frequent shuttle train stopping at 5 areas in the zoo, so I used this to get back to the entrance to watch the otters being fed. Apparently they used to always escape from Auckland zoo, but Steve found the solution! It was then onto the crocodiles which had so many different species and sizes to see! After seeing other native Australian animals including the weird looking Cassowary, and even some sheep, it was off to the crocoseum. As I arrived early I spent this time looking round the crocodile hunter museum. You forget how much Steve Irwin actually achieved in his life, but it really made me understand that the people are working to continue Steve's work in protecting the wildlife.
By now it was time for the highlight of the day, the wildlife warriors show. After listening to a motivational speech from Steve, we were forced into a screaming contest. The UK came a close second to Australia I think! During the show we got to see a few bird demonstrations including the colours of the rainforest, this massive vulture, and this parrot trained to fly to people with a $5 note! There were also alligator and snakes, but the highlight was the crocodiles where we were taught that is always human error that causes fatalities, as they are oppurtunists. He also proved to us you could outrun a crocodile, quite literally! He finished by feeding the crocodile on platform to show us climbing a tree to escape a crocodile is not a good idea as they can jump their full body length out the water!
After the show I looked around the final part of the zoo which included more kangaroos to stroke in Roo Heaven, and also this wetland area full of exotic birds and emus. I then went to the Koala show and learned about their sleepy lives and also how cute they really are! After a quick full ride on the shuttle train, it was off to the crocodile feeding where we saw Agro get fed, a croc saved by Steve in the 1980s who was going to get shot. We learned a lot about crocs here including the fact they have the greatest jaw pressure of any animal, and also through the clear water got to see how their predatory instincts work. They would normally operate in murky water. Just remember to stay about 5m away from rivers in Australia and you should be fine!
By now it was about 3 and I had seen all the animals, and the shows I wanted to see, so I took the chance to find the appropriately named "Crikey" geocache. I know some people who disagree with zoos, but Steve Irwin created Australia Zoo with the vision of giving animals who had nowhere else to go a second chance at survival. Everything at the zoo is dedicated to Steve who has made a truly positive impact for many people worldwide.
It was now time to get the coach back to Noosa which was half empty giving me a double seat to myself. Noosa is part of the Sunshine Coast, and is made up of three areas called Noosa Junction, Noosaville and Noosa Head. I am staying at Noosa Junction which is about 10 minutes walk inland from Noosa Heads. As it was still light when I returned I headed down to Noosa Heads for a look at the beach and shops. It was a fitting end to a long day. It was also nice to see the beach for the first time, even if everyone was going home!
After returning and having dinner, I was going to check out the bar as they had one of their silly nights on. This didn't really go to plan as at about 8 I accidentally shut my eyes and I re awoke at like half 10! I therefore admitted defeat here and after sneakily aiming the fan towards my bed went back to bed!
After packing my bag ready for the day, I went to the local supermarket for breakfast and also to buy a packed lunch for my trip to Australia Zoo today. I picked up lots of morning bargains and by 8 had boarded the greyhound shuttle bus to the zoo. It was surrounded by this yellow livery and pictures of the zoo! En route to the zoo the screens showed previous footage of the crocodile hunter tv series and also short podcasts of what to see at the zoo. You forget how amazing Steve Irwin was as we saw him investigate these spitting cobras which spat in his face, and also his work in preserving crocodiles from execution by re homing them at his zoo.
By about half 9, after seeing so many clips of Steve Irwin en route, we arrived and were instructed to be back by 3.45 for the bus back to Noosa. I was given a map when entering which showed me the sheer size of the place, and also the many shows on throughout the day. There were too many animals to talk about every animal I saw, but I'll give you a vague idea of what I liked. I started off by seeing these snakes, before passing through this rainforest aviary which was just full of colour. I then entered this enclosure of red kangaroos where I was able to stroke the kangaroos. This was closely followed by the Koalas where I could stroke the Koalas too, although they always seem to be asleep! The zoo was crafty though as I soon found out that any photos with an animal were an extra $15!
It was then down to the Tigers, passing the red pandas and camels en route which gave rides at an extra cost. The tigers, or should I say tiger was very entertaining as he kept jumping onto the ledges. I'm not sure where the new cubs that were advertised were however. After passing this exhibit simply labelled under construction, I went to the newly constructed Africa zone which consisted of Rhinos, Zebras and Giraffes. I think this area of the zoo is very much work in progress. Also down here was the tv set from the Australian show Bindi's Bootcamp, and despite not being able to enter the actual set, there were many interactive things to do.
The zoo offered a frequent shuttle train stopping at 5 areas in the zoo, so I used this to get back to the entrance to watch the otters being fed. Apparently they used to always escape from Auckland zoo, but Steve found the solution! It was then onto the crocodiles which had so many different species and sizes to see! After seeing other native Australian animals including the weird looking Cassowary, and even some sheep, it was off to the crocoseum. As I arrived early I spent this time looking round the crocodile hunter museum. You forget how much Steve Irwin actually achieved in his life, but it really made me understand that the people are working to continue Steve's work in protecting the wildlife.
By now it was time for the highlight of the day, the wildlife warriors show. After listening to a motivational speech from Steve, we were forced into a screaming contest. The UK came a close second to Australia I think! During the show we got to see a few bird demonstrations including the colours of the rainforest, this massive vulture, and this parrot trained to fly to people with a $5 note! There were also alligator and snakes, but the highlight was the crocodiles where we were taught that is always human error that causes fatalities, as they are oppurtunists. He also proved to us you could outrun a crocodile, quite literally! He finished by feeding the crocodile on platform to show us climbing a tree to escape a crocodile is not a good idea as they can jump their full body length out the water!
After the show I looked around the final part of the zoo which included more kangaroos to stroke in Roo Heaven, and also this wetland area full of exotic birds and emus. I then went to the Koala show and learned about their sleepy lives and also how cute they really are! After a quick full ride on the shuttle train, it was off to the crocodile feeding where we saw Agro get fed, a croc saved by Steve in the 1980s who was going to get shot. We learned a lot about crocs here including the fact they have the greatest jaw pressure of any animal, and also through the clear water got to see how their predatory instincts work. They would normally operate in murky water. Just remember to stay about 5m away from rivers in Australia and you should be fine!
By now it was about 3 and I had seen all the animals, and the shows I wanted to see, so I took the chance to find the appropriately named "Crikey" geocache. I know some people who disagree with zoos, but Steve Irwin created Australia Zoo with the vision of giving animals who had nowhere else to go a second chance at survival. Everything at the zoo is dedicated to Steve who has made a truly positive impact for many people worldwide.
It was now time to get the coach back to Noosa which was half empty giving me a double seat to myself. Noosa is part of the Sunshine Coast, and is made up of three areas called Noosa Junction, Noosaville and Noosa Head. I am staying at Noosa Junction which is about 10 minutes walk inland from Noosa Heads. As it was still light when I returned I headed down to Noosa Heads for a look at the beach and shops. It was a fitting end to a long day. It was also nice to see the beach for the first time, even if everyone was going home!
After returning and having dinner, I was going to check out the bar as they had one of their silly nights on. This didn't really go to plan as at about 8 I accidentally shut my eyes and I re awoke at like half 10! I therefore admitted defeat here and after sneakily aiming the fan towards my bed went back to bed!
Sunday, 16 February 2014
February 16th... From Brisbane to Noosa
Before I start I just want to say it is nice to finally be writing a blog so soon after the day, even if it's going to be about a less full on day. I wonder how long this will last, because I am doing a canoe trip which involves camping in a few days! And I am going to Fraser Island too next week and I really don't know what the facilities will be like there.
Moving onto the serious stuff, I had a good night sleep, getting woken up by the early sunrise again. I don't know why but I completely unpacked my bag upon arrival for my one night in Base, which meant I had to be extra quiet when packing this morning to avoid waking people up! I left the hostel by about 8 in the end with my first stop of the day being the bus terminal where I booked my coach travel to Kroombit for the cattle ranch stay. My greyhound pass doesn't cover this as this tour is more inland. It's going to be interesting though because I arrive in Rockhampton at midnight on greyhound, go to my hostel, then leave Rockhampton at 6.30am. This will all happen in a couple of weeks.
Today I booked a tour of the XXXX brewery in Brisbane, so after leaving the bus station I headed for the brewery, passing the rather large Suncorp Stadium en route. The brewery didn't open until 10, so I ended up going to McDonalds for breakfast which was nearby in this more industrial area of Brisbane. When it finally opened I booked myself onto the first tour at 11, having a good chat with the woman on the desk about my travels in the process. Whilst waiting for the tour to start I sorted out my ever growing pile of bookings. It's like a game trying to get rid of the booking confirmations as I check into the hostels and attractions I have booked!
By 11 this Aussie man came down and took us through this large metal door. It was made clear however that no photos were allowed inside the brewery. We started by congregating around this circular screen where we learned about the history of beer up until it was first introduced to Australia by James Cook. We then moved onto another room this time seeing the history of the XXXX brewery. It was all very interesting. We then preceded through to this room where we learned how beer was made and got to smell the ingredients. This was followed by seeing all the kegs and machinery in various rooms. The scale of this brewery compared to Harvey's was massive! We finally got to see how the packaging worked for both bottles and cans, watching more videos and then seeing it in action.
After about an hour of half we finished the interesting tour in the bar where our ticket entitled us to try four beers. I started with the XXXX Summer Bright Lager which was a bit like Corona. It was then onto the brewery's most popular beer the XXXX Gold Lager which was drinkable but nothing special. In the process of trying the beer I ordered lunch here, treating myself to a gourmet chinese five spice pork and mushroom pizza which was very nice! My third beer was the XXXX bitter which was pale and drinkable with no distinct taste. I saved the best till last having their limited edition Castlemaine Special Dry which followed their pre 1924 brewing method. The fruity aromas made for a delicious aftertaste.
After finishing my beer tasting it was gone 1, with my bus leaving Brisbane for Noosa at 3.15. I therefore took the opportunity to find a few geocaches, and after using the McDonalds free WiFi downloaded 4 caches to my gps, finding 3. I also soon established their was a big 'soccer' match on as swarms of orange kept passing me. It was then to the coach terminal where the bus was late, although we got a decent coach as it had the usb chargers and drinking water on board.
By half 5 we had arrived in Noosa, and after swiftly finding my hostel without a map I found out that they were having a bbq with free food. I took full advantage of this, and they certainly fed us well as there were still leftovers after my third visit! The people in my hostel called Nomads Noosa all seemed friendly, and I even bumped into another Southampton fan... they are everywhere out here! I would have explored the area this evening but it was dark and I didn't have a map so I thought I would save it for another day! It was nice to spend the evening relaxing in the hostel talking to other people about their travels.
Moving onto the serious stuff, I had a good night sleep, getting woken up by the early sunrise again. I don't know why but I completely unpacked my bag upon arrival for my one night in Base, which meant I had to be extra quiet when packing this morning to avoid waking people up! I left the hostel by about 8 in the end with my first stop of the day being the bus terminal where I booked my coach travel to Kroombit for the cattle ranch stay. My greyhound pass doesn't cover this as this tour is more inland. It's going to be interesting though because I arrive in Rockhampton at midnight on greyhound, go to my hostel, then leave Rockhampton at 6.30am. This will all happen in a couple of weeks.
Today I booked a tour of the XXXX brewery in Brisbane, so after leaving the bus station I headed for the brewery, passing the rather large Suncorp Stadium en route. The brewery didn't open until 10, so I ended up going to McDonalds for breakfast which was nearby in this more industrial area of Brisbane. When it finally opened I booked myself onto the first tour at 11, having a good chat with the woman on the desk about my travels in the process. Whilst waiting for the tour to start I sorted out my ever growing pile of bookings. It's like a game trying to get rid of the booking confirmations as I check into the hostels and attractions I have booked!
By 11 this Aussie man came down and took us through this large metal door. It was made clear however that no photos were allowed inside the brewery. We started by congregating around this circular screen where we learned about the history of beer up until it was first introduced to Australia by James Cook. We then moved onto another room this time seeing the history of the XXXX brewery. It was all very interesting. We then preceded through to this room where we learned how beer was made and got to smell the ingredients. This was followed by seeing all the kegs and machinery in various rooms. The scale of this brewery compared to Harvey's was massive! We finally got to see how the packaging worked for both bottles and cans, watching more videos and then seeing it in action.
After about an hour of half we finished the interesting tour in the bar where our ticket entitled us to try four beers. I started with the XXXX Summer Bright Lager which was a bit like Corona. It was then onto the brewery's most popular beer the XXXX Gold Lager which was drinkable but nothing special. In the process of trying the beer I ordered lunch here, treating myself to a gourmet chinese five spice pork and mushroom pizza which was very nice! My third beer was the XXXX bitter which was pale and drinkable with no distinct taste. I saved the best till last having their limited edition Castlemaine Special Dry which followed their pre 1924 brewing method. The fruity aromas made for a delicious aftertaste.
After finishing my beer tasting it was gone 1, with my bus leaving Brisbane for Noosa at 3.15. I therefore took the opportunity to find a few geocaches, and after using the McDonalds free WiFi downloaded 4 caches to my gps, finding 3. I also soon established their was a big 'soccer' match on as swarms of orange kept passing me. It was then to the coach terminal where the bus was late, although we got a decent coach as it had the usb chargers and drinking water on board.
By half 5 we had arrived in Noosa, and after swiftly finding my hostel without a map I found out that they were having a bbq with free food. I took full advantage of this, and they certainly fed us well as there were still leftovers after my third visit! The people in my hostel called Nomads Noosa all seemed friendly, and I even bumped into another Southampton fan... they are everywhere out here! I would have explored the area this evening but it was dark and I didn't have a map so I thought I would save it for another day! It was nice to spend the evening relaxing in the hostel talking to other people about their travels.
February 15th... From Surfers Paradise to Brisbane
I was up at like 5 this morning after a relatively good sleep. The problem with Queensland is that due to the fact it is an hour behind New South Wales, but just north, means that the day is effectively the same just with about a 5am sunrise and 7pm ish sunset. New South Wales was the same just with lighter evenings. Due the fact everyone was sleep at this time I left my phone on charge in our dorms en suite bathroom and sat on my bed reading things like my bible, by that I mean my lonely planet guide!
Today I booked a jet boating session which went all round the islands in the major river mouth near the Southport area of the Gold Coast. Prior to leaving I went to the shopping area for some free WiFi and breakfast, before heading back to the hostel. As I was staying in the Surfers area of the Gold Coast the company operated a free pick up service, which arrived late. One thing I haven't mentioned about the Gold Coast is the fact they are currently constructing a new tramway system which is due to completed by April. This has meant there has been a lot of roadwork's, and there has been a lot of confusion between me and the cars at times because of the poor traffic light system.
I finally arrived at the main terminal about a 15 minute drive away for a 10 o clock start. It was here they told us you might get a bit wet... that was to be an understatement! Leaving the terminal, we soon exited the slow water area where our driver put his foot down, doing the odd sharp turn close to these posts and also finishing on a 360 turn. After many soakings we were told that was just the warm up, as he continued with all these slick turns and waves in the water for us.
Upon reaching the other side, getting views of the rainforest, we went for a look round these houses on these manmade islands. We were shown one house worth $26 million which had a titanium roof to absorb lightning strikes and also a desalination plant to convert salt water into fresh water for their indoor waterfall! We were also shown this massive yacht which was given to a girl for her 16th birthday! Even the empty plot of land was worth $2 million! Oh the rich life.
It was then back into the full flow of things, this time doing 360 turns in both directions, and also riding the waves created by other boats. He even created these massive waves with our boat before speeding into them creating a massive tidal wave in the boat. Upon return I was literally soaked from head to toe! I probably should have taken a towel but it was so warm I dried off very quickly.
It was then back to Surfers after a lift back by the company, where I had another frozen coke on the beach before my bus to Brisbane at 1.10. The bus arrived late, and once boarding my seat was next to this old woman who told me lots of stuff about the local area. En route out we passed the commonwealth games aquatics centre and many theme parks. By about half 2 we arrived in Brisbane, and despite being unable to look up my Base hostel location prior I thought I saw it on the way in. It turned out there were 3 Base hostels in Brisbane when I arrived, and I was at the wrong one!
After finding my hostel shortly after, dumping my stuff in the process, I headed out for the lonely planets guided tour of the city like I did when I arrived in Sydney. Passing many historic buildings and parks, I was soon presented with views of the city skyline as I followed this boardwalk beside the river. It was then through the botanic gardens and university, getting views of kangaroo point where they do outdoor rock climbing. After crossing the river I walked through the ecologically diverse South Bank park, which led me to the artificial Streets beach which had lots of little pools, sand and amusements. A short look round the market took me back over the river, getting more views of the city skyline in the process to the main shopping area. The tour finished at the old bell tower and city hall. All in all the couple hours doing this tour gave me a real insight to the city with the aid of the blurb in the lonely planet guide.
Before going back to the hostel I went via travel bugs to book the next part of the tour, although once again they tried to sell me something completely different. I wanted to book a cattle ranch stay in the outback, whereas they were trying to make me take surfing lessons. I managed to book an outback tour in the end! After returning to the hostel and having a good chat with these danish girls, and a quick skype session, I headed out to down the pub for the football.
Prior to arriving I got a kebab, before arriving in anticipation to see lots of red and white. The pub I went to was called the Pig n Whistle and sold a good range of beer, although it was $9 a pint! In the end there were just two of us to watch the disappointing game, although it was nice to talk to someone who really knew his stuff about the club and had been to many games. It was then back to the hostel by about 1, and I was swiftly in bed!
Today I booked a jet boating session which went all round the islands in the major river mouth near the Southport area of the Gold Coast. Prior to leaving I went to the shopping area for some free WiFi and breakfast, before heading back to the hostel. As I was staying in the Surfers area of the Gold Coast the company operated a free pick up service, which arrived late. One thing I haven't mentioned about the Gold Coast is the fact they are currently constructing a new tramway system which is due to completed by April. This has meant there has been a lot of roadwork's, and there has been a lot of confusion between me and the cars at times because of the poor traffic light system.
I finally arrived at the main terminal about a 15 minute drive away for a 10 o clock start. It was here they told us you might get a bit wet... that was to be an understatement! Leaving the terminal, we soon exited the slow water area where our driver put his foot down, doing the odd sharp turn close to these posts and also finishing on a 360 turn. After many soakings we were told that was just the warm up, as he continued with all these slick turns and waves in the water for us.
Upon reaching the other side, getting views of the rainforest, we went for a look round these houses on these manmade islands. We were shown one house worth $26 million which had a titanium roof to absorb lightning strikes and also a desalination plant to convert salt water into fresh water for their indoor waterfall! We were also shown this massive yacht which was given to a girl for her 16th birthday! Even the empty plot of land was worth $2 million! Oh the rich life.
It was then back into the full flow of things, this time doing 360 turns in both directions, and also riding the waves created by other boats. He even created these massive waves with our boat before speeding into them creating a massive tidal wave in the boat. Upon return I was literally soaked from head to toe! I probably should have taken a towel but it was so warm I dried off very quickly.
It was then back to Surfers after a lift back by the company, where I had another frozen coke on the beach before my bus to Brisbane at 1.10. The bus arrived late, and once boarding my seat was next to this old woman who told me lots of stuff about the local area. En route out we passed the commonwealth games aquatics centre and many theme parks. By about half 2 we arrived in Brisbane, and despite being unable to look up my Base hostel location prior I thought I saw it on the way in. It turned out there were 3 Base hostels in Brisbane when I arrived, and I was at the wrong one!
After finding my hostel shortly after, dumping my stuff in the process, I headed out for the lonely planets guided tour of the city like I did when I arrived in Sydney. Passing many historic buildings and parks, I was soon presented with views of the city skyline as I followed this boardwalk beside the river. It was then through the botanic gardens and university, getting views of kangaroo point where they do outdoor rock climbing. After crossing the river I walked through the ecologically diverse South Bank park, which led me to the artificial Streets beach which had lots of little pools, sand and amusements. A short look round the market took me back over the river, getting more views of the city skyline in the process to the main shopping area. The tour finished at the old bell tower and city hall. All in all the couple hours doing this tour gave me a real insight to the city with the aid of the blurb in the lonely planet guide.
Before going back to the hostel I went via travel bugs to book the next part of the tour, although once again they tried to sell me something completely different. I wanted to book a cattle ranch stay in the outback, whereas they were trying to make me take surfing lessons. I managed to book an outback tour in the end! After returning to the hostel and having a good chat with these danish girls, and a quick skype session, I headed out to down the pub for the football.
Prior to arriving I got a kebab, before arriving in anticipation to see lots of red and white. The pub I went to was called the Pig n Whistle and sold a good range of beer, although it was $9 a pint! In the end there were just two of us to watch the disappointing game, although it was nice to talk to someone who really knew his stuff about the club and had been to many games. It was then back to the hostel by about 1, and I was swiftly in bed!
Saturday, 15 February 2014
February 14th... Surfers Paradise
The fact I was staying in a 20 bed dorm last night made for a noisy night, and for the first time there were a few characters I didn't really trust. Luckily there were big lockers here unlike the previous two hostels. There was also live music outside my room, and the fans were so noisy. Also by 5am in the morning all these alarm clocks starting going off, not sure if they were intentional or not. The other major problem I've been having in hostels is charging my phone, because there is always a lack of chargers. I therefore this morning used the bathroom charger whilst people were sleeping, then took an extra long session in the bathroom to maximise the charge!
As I only had one full day here in Surfers Paradise I was on the go by half 6 in the morning! After a short walk round the Surfers area of the Gold Coast, passing many attractions like Slingshot, Vomatron, 7D cinema and the Wax Museum, the list could on, I opted for a buffet breakfast, although it was only bacon, eggs, tomatoes, beans, toast and cereals. I had to take advantage of this cheap deal and my plate was piled high on each occasion I went up! After finishing I went and booked my Australia Zoo ticket for a few days time.
The thing that I liked the look of here were all the tours of the city ranging from luxury river cruises to jetboating to the aquaduck which was a bus and boat combined. In the end I opted against gaining my paddle ducks driving license or whatever it as called, and booked a jetboating session for tomorrow.
For the such high range of the attractions on offer here I ended up doing the federation walk to the local coastal reserve to the end of this spit and back. Passing the Australian sand sculpting championships en route, I soon arrived in the next area of Southport, home to the famous Versace hotel which they use on I'm a celebrity get me out of here. Passing through these big sand dunes full of plants as part of a restoration project, I arrived at the spit and was presented with brilliant views of the Gold Coast skyline as looked back over where I had walked.
I then followed the road back round reserve getting views of the many sandy islands packed with wildlife, before heading past Sea World. This area is full of theme parks including Sea World, Dreamworld, Wet n Wild and WB Movie World. Most were out of town, but Sea World still had a couple of big coasters! I then soon arrived back in Surfers, this time following the river round before dropping down through a park back to the busy sandy beach. After about 4 hours of walking I finally arrived back in Surfers!
This nicely set me up for lunch, trying my first ever frozen coke in the process, why is this not UK?! I then headed to the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum which I simply couldn't avoid missing. For me it was like opening up my Ripley's book and chucking it all into a museum. There were lots of interactive things to do, and also so many facts and things to see. I knew I was in for a good afternoon when the first exhibit was of the tallest ever man sitting down, then as I walked over he stood up! There was also these 'mirrors' which stated facts about rolling your tongue and stuff. I later realised that they were see through the other side and you could see the people trying all these silly things with their body!
Other exhibits included this revolving tunnel which made me feel really dizzy, loads of pictures and sculptures made of things like toast, hair and nail varnish, and these silly mirrors. My favourite part was this laser game where after picking a difficulty level you had to weave your way through this room hitting buttons whilst avoiding lasers to the other side! Towards the end there was a games room full of pinball machines, shooting area and this thing where you had to open a gate. It all finished with a dance room which illuminated your body on the screen.
To put things into perspective I was in there for over 3 hours as I had to look round 3 times just to make sure I had seen everything ranging from the worlds heaviest man to the farting man and everything in-between. I cant recall everything as there was so much! After leaving I went back to the timezone, the largest indoor amusements arcade in Australia, and it was massive. Anything ranging from bowling to dodgems, connect 4 to horse racing, it was there. It was then a quick look round the large amount of shops, before heading back to the hostel via Woolworths for food.
After getting myself sorted upon return, it was off to the Friday market selling local handicrafts and food. I also took advantage of the free WiFi here, as I keep taking benches outside places like McDonalds to get this service! After dinner by the river, finding a cache in the process at last, it was back through the darkness to the hostel. I feel as if I have seen so much of Surfers today and I kind of wish I had longer here, although all the attractions cost money!
As I only had one full day here in Surfers Paradise I was on the go by half 6 in the morning! After a short walk round the Surfers area of the Gold Coast, passing many attractions like Slingshot, Vomatron, 7D cinema and the Wax Museum, the list could on, I opted for a buffet breakfast, although it was only bacon, eggs, tomatoes, beans, toast and cereals. I had to take advantage of this cheap deal and my plate was piled high on each occasion I went up! After finishing I went and booked my Australia Zoo ticket for a few days time.
The thing that I liked the look of here were all the tours of the city ranging from luxury river cruises to jetboating to the aquaduck which was a bus and boat combined. In the end I opted against gaining my paddle ducks driving license or whatever it as called, and booked a jetboating session for tomorrow.
For the such high range of the attractions on offer here I ended up doing the federation walk to the local coastal reserve to the end of this spit and back. Passing the Australian sand sculpting championships en route, I soon arrived in the next area of Southport, home to the famous Versace hotel which they use on I'm a celebrity get me out of here. Passing through these big sand dunes full of plants as part of a restoration project, I arrived at the spit and was presented with brilliant views of the Gold Coast skyline as looked back over where I had walked.
I then followed the road back round reserve getting views of the many sandy islands packed with wildlife, before heading past Sea World. This area is full of theme parks including Sea World, Dreamworld, Wet n Wild and WB Movie World. Most were out of town, but Sea World still had a couple of big coasters! I then soon arrived back in Surfers, this time following the river round before dropping down through a park back to the busy sandy beach. After about 4 hours of walking I finally arrived back in Surfers!
This nicely set me up for lunch, trying my first ever frozen coke in the process, why is this not UK?! I then headed to the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum which I simply couldn't avoid missing. For me it was like opening up my Ripley's book and chucking it all into a museum. There were lots of interactive things to do, and also so many facts and things to see. I knew I was in for a good afternoon when the first exhibit was of the tallest ever man sitting down, then as I walked over he stood up! There was also these 'mirrors' which stated facts about rolling your tongue and stuff. I later realised that they were see through the other side and you could see the people trying all these silly things with their body!
Other exhibits included this revolving tunnel which made me feel really dizzy, loads of pictures and sculptures made of things like toast, hair and nail varnish, and these silly mirrors. My favourite part was this laser game where after picking a difficulty level you had to weave your way through this room hitting buttons whilst avoiding lasers to the other side! Towards the end there was a games room full of pinball machines, shooting area and this thing where you had to open a gate. It all finished with a dance room which illuminated your body on the screen.
To put things into perspective I was in there for over 3 hours as I had to look round 3 times just to make sure I had seen everything ranging from the worlds heaviest man to the farting man and everything in-between. I cant recall everything as there was so much! After leaving I went back to the timezone, the largest indoor amusements arcade in Australia, and it was massive. Anything ranging from bowling to dodgems, connect 4 to horse racing, it was there. It was then a quick look round the large amount of shops, before heading back to the hostel via Woolworths for food.
After getting myself sorted upon return, it was off to the Friday market selling local handicrafts and food. I also took advantage of the free WiFi here, as I keep taking benches outside places like McDonalds to get this service! After dinner by the river, finding a cache in the process at last, it was back through the darkness to the hostel. I feel as if I have seen so much of Surfers today and I kind of wish I had longer here, although all the attractions cost money!
Friday, 14 February 2014
February 13th... From Byron Bay to Surfers Paradise
I had another good sleep last night despite the noisy fan and humid conditions, and was first one up like always at the crack of dawn. Some people I have spoken to spend so long at each hostel and I keep hopping between places on what feels like a daily basis, which means I barely unpack before packing up again. The fact everyone heads off in different directions from each location makes it difficult to properly get to know someone! At least I now have an amazing knowledge of the few possessions I am carrying.
I was originally going to book a surfing lesson for today, but the best that I could get was surf board hire and I didn't think it was a good idea for me to teach myself! I also had a little disaster with my photos which meant I lost my photos from the afternoon of the 10th to the afternoon of the 11th. I cleared my memory card assuming they'd be on my skydrive but I forgot to check prior. To avoid losing pictures of the stunning Cape Byron and surrounding beaches I decided to head back up to the lighthouse and retake pictures.
After again buying a random bag of food from the supermarket for breakfast, wafers are becoming a firm favourite, I headed back to the hostel to watch the second half of the Arsenal Man U game which was nothing exciting. Just talking about football for a second, Southampton are now 8th just 3 points behind Man U! After confirming a trip I am doing to the Noosa Everglades next week, I checked out the hostel, although the woman was really nice and said I could use the facilities for the rest of the day and store my bag here. I therefore took advantage of this to hire a bike, and I swiftly cycled to the car park at the base of Cape Byron. I would have cycled up but I don't trust the breaks on the bike.
After walking back past Wategos Beach and heading onto the rocky outlet where I found the most easterly cache in Australia, I headed back up to the official eastern point sign and then to the lighthouse. I was doing the loop round Cape Byron the other way today. I was getting plenty of pictures along the way. Whilst at the lighthouse I got speaking to this woman who came from England, and the next thing I knew was that she came from Steyning which was funny! She recommended this little bush walk I could do back to the car park, but also warned me a snake had been seen in the area too! I decided to take this alternative route along the sandy paths through the noisy forest which took me straight out to the car park where I locked the bike.
When previously walking up here I got views of Tallow beach which was the next beach from Byron. I decided to cycle down here as this is where I got glimpses of dolphins the other day. I couldn't see any today however. It was straight back to the hostel from here as you can only hire the bikes for three hours at a time. All in all I probably got a better set of photos, especially ones of me which made me happy after the previous disappointment.
Since arriving in Australia I have been using a company called Travel Bugs to help me along the way because they have travel centres all along the east coast. They have been really helpful, and when booking things I have received lots of vouchers. I thought I would try and use one today for a free lunch but after searching everywhere found out it was a club which opened in the evening. I therefore went to the gourmet pie shop and had a chunky steak pie which I had been eyeing since arrival. Throughout my exploration of the shops I found an Aldi as well which was even cheaper than Woolworths.
From here I spent the afternoon in the hostel, making full use of the swinging chairs and hammocks, as well as the beach. I even wrote my name in the sand which will almost certainly become my cover photo on Facebook! I ended up losing track of time and a few hours later down the beach at about half 4 I headed back and collected my stuff together for a slow walk to the bus stop to transfer to my next stop Surfers Paradise.
Prior to my 6 departure I went into travel bugs to check out my hostel location, as well as things to do in Surfers, which seems infinite! I also bumped into another Saints here. The bus arrived on time and after a smooth journey I arrived in Surfers at 6.45, the clock went back an hour as I crossed the state border. After checking into my new hostel called Backpackers in Paradise where I'm in a 20 bed dorm, I headed into the darkness to explore the lively area.
Where I'm staying is definitely the most tourist based area of the Gold Coast, home to many high rise buildings and modern shopping/bars which opened late. I just had a basic look round as it was getting late, but I was amazed by sheer amount of things to do in the Surfers area of the Gold Coast. This meant I had to be selective in choosing what to do tomorrow and the morning of the 15th before I leave for Brisbane. I decided to sleep on it after getting a taste of the beaches, shops and amusements in the area, ready to set off early the next morning to do what I do best... explore the area!
I was originally going to book a surfing lesson for today, but the best that I could get was surf board hire and I didn't think it was a good idea for me to teach myself! I also had a little disaster with my photos which meant I lost my photos from the afternoon of the 10th to the afternoon of the 11th. I cleared my memory card assuming they'd be on my skydrive but I forgot to check prior. To avoid losing pictures of the stunning Cape Byron and surrounding beaches I decided to head back up to the lighthouse and retake pictures.
After again buying a random bag of food from the supermarket for breakfast, wafers are becoming a firm favourite, I headed back to the hostel to watch the second half of the Arsenal Man U game which was nothing exciting. Just talking about football for a second, Southampton are now 8th just 3 points behind Man U! After confirming a trip I am doing to the Noosa Everglades next week, I checked out the hostel, although the woman was really nice and said I could use the facilities for the rest of the day and store my bag here. I therefore took advantage of this to hire a bike, and I swiftly cycled to the car park at the base of Cape Byron. I would have cycled up but I don't trust the breaks on the bike.
After walking back past Wategos Beach and heading onto the rocky outlet where I found the most easterly cache in Australia, I headed back up to the official eastern point sign and then to the lighthouse. I was doing the loop round Cape Byron the other way today. I was getting plenty of pictures along the way. Whilst at the lighthouse I got speaking to this woman who came from England, and the next thing I knew was that she came from Steyning which was funny! She recommended this little bush walk I could do back to the car park, but also warned me a snake had been seen in the area too! I decided to take this alternative route along the sandy paths through the noisy forest which took me straight out to the car park where I locked the bike.
When previously walking up here I got views of Tallow beach which was the next beach from Byron. I decided to cycle down here as this is where I got glimpses of dolphins the other day. I couldn't see any today however. It was straight back to the hostel from here as you can only hire the bikes for three hours at a time. All in all I probably got a better set of photos, especially ones of me which made me happy after the previous disappointment.
Since arriving in Australia I have been using a company called Travel Bugs to help me along the way because they have travel centres all along the east coast. They have been really helpful, and when booking things I have received lots of vouchers. I thought I would try and use one today for a free lunch but after searching everywhere found out it was a club which opened in the evening. I therefore went to the gourmet pie shop and had a chunky steak pie which I had been eyeing since arrival. Throughout my exploration of the shops I found an Aldi as well which was even cheaper than Woolworths.
From here I spent the afternoon in the hostel, making full use of the swinging chairs and hammocks, as well as the beach. I even wrote my name in the sand which will almost certainly become my cover photo on Facebook! I ended up losing track of time and a few hours later down the beach at about half 4 I headed back and collected my stuff together for a slow walk to the bus stop to transfer to my next stop Surfers Paradise.
Prior to my 6 departure I went into travel bugs to check out my hostel location, as well as things to do in Surfers, which seems infinite! I also bumped into another Saints here. The bus arrived on time and after a smooth journey I arrived in Surfers at 6.45, the clock went back an hour as I crossed the state border. After checking into my new hostel called Backpackers in Paradise where I'm in a 20 bed dorm, I headed into the darkness to explore the lively area.
Where I'm staying is definitely the most tourist based area of the Gold Coast, home to many high rise buildings and modern shopping/bars which opened late. I just had a basic look round as it was getting late, but I was amazed by sheer amount of things to do in the Surfers area of the Gold Coast. This meant I had to be selective in choosing what to do tomorrow and the morning of the 15th before I leave for Brisbane. I decided to sleep on it after getting a taste of the beaches, shops and amusements in the area, ready to set off early the next morning to do what I do best... explore the area!
Thursday, 13 February 2014
February 12th... Nimbin
I finally got a good night sleep in the small 4 bed dorm, mainly because of the fact I was genuinely tired after the night bus and the hostel by the road before. Despite the very high amount of backpackers in Byron with it's nightlife tailored towards these people it is still a really quiet and peaceful place. I got up early this morning to follow the Saints game which kicked off at 6.45. It was frustrating however because the common room which had the channel which aired the game live didn't open until 7.30.
I therefore went down the local Woolworths supermarket and bought lots a fruit, and also wafers for breakfast. This led to me sitting down on a bench in town where I knew I could get free WiFi constantly refreshing my twitter feed for updates. It was then back to the hostel and it turned out there was a Hull fan in attendance which you tell by his accent! We watched the 2nd half together and luckily I was the one with bragging rights by the end!
Today I treated myself to another tour simply entitled "Nimbin". When booking this tour I didn't really know much about it other than Nimbin was a colourful place. I also didn't realise that the tour was a full day which was an added bonus for me! I knew more about it after talking to people in Sydney though! After being instructed to meet at 10, this old bus turned up painted in rainbow colours and booming with music to give us a lift to the small town. We then followed these country roads full of potholes, stopping off via an outback bar, to the edge of the town. I still don't really understand the full history of Nimbin, but as far as I can make out aboriginals moved here with the belief that things like cannabis should be legal. It was here our scruffy looking guide joked about the weed and cookies sold in Nimbin, and also the fact that it was illegal in New South Wales, winking whilst saying it.
We then entered the town to this aboriginal music about marijuana before stopping at the end of this colourful street. We were given an hour and a half here to look round. All in all there were these quirky little shops and cafes, and also this museum which baffled me as it had so much going on like chopped in half camper vans and the Mona Lisa smoking weed. Nimbin was the kind of place which took half an hour to look round and you come to end of the street and you're like "wow". The thing that got me however was the fact people were selling weed and cookies in the street, making it so obvious who it was because they were aboriginal, yet the local police were just letting people including people from my tour group buy this stuff! It will be interesting to read into this small town in more detail when I get home, the whole experience was a complete culture shock for me.
After leaving the town we headed off to Rous Water, going via another outback bar where I opted for a couple of local beers. I got a local one from Byron Bay called Stone Wood, and also a Tooheys. After driving through more remote country roads and heading upwards, we arrived at the country park ready for a bbq lunch. The area included a large lake and a dam, surrounded by woodland which made it a brilliant area for lunch. I forgot to mention that I bumped into someone from the Blue Mountains on this tour amongst the group. We then all tucked into burgers and at last proper sausages compared to what I ate in Thailand, although we were joined by this large lizard. I keep seeing lizards everywhere out here. I forgot to mention I bumped into one whilst walking to Cape Byron yesterday.
After finishing lunch we headed off along this very bumpy dirt track into the rainforest to visit the Minyon falls. It has been so dry in Australia that the flow off here has now stopped, so we were left with this damp cliff overlooking the dense rainforest below. Listed as 100m, apparently an abseiler once took this literally and took 100m of rope and found himself dangling about 20m from the bottom whilst trying to abseil it! On our way back to the minibus we picked up two extra passengers who had got stranded here!
We arrived back in Byron by 6 after an interesting ride home with a few people high on marijuana from the cookies. From here I spent some time on the computer in the hostel, before heading into town for dinner which was one of them supermarket meals after our late lunch. It was then time to relax in my room. A lot of people have come out here to drink, but I don't really want to do that too often out here as I want to try and do as many tours as possible!
I therefore went down the local Woolworths supermarket and bought lots a fruit, and also wafers for breakfast. This led to me sitting down on a bench in town where I knew I could get free WiFi constantly refreshing my twitter feed for updates. It was then back to the hostel and it turned out there was a Hull fan in attendance which you tell by his accent! We watched the 2nd half together and luckily I was the one with bragging rights by the end!
Today I treated myself to another tour simply entitled "Nimbin". When booking this tour I didn't really know much about it other than Nimbin was a colourful place. I also didn't realise that the tour was a full day which was an added bonus for me! I knew more about it after talking to people in Sydney though! After being instructed to meet at 10, this old bus turned up painted in rainbow colours and booming with music to give us a lift to the small town. We then followed these country roads full of potholes, stopping off via an outback bar, to the edge of the town. I still don't really understand the full history of Nimbin, but as far as I can make out aboriginals moved here with the belief that things like cannabis should be legal. It was here our scruffy looking guide joked about the weed and cookies sold in Nimbin, and also the fact that it was illegal in New South Wales, winking whilst saying it.
We then entered the town to this aboriginal music about marijuana before stopping at the end of this colourful street. We were given an hour and a half here to look round. All in all there were these quirky little shops and cafes, and also this museum which baffled me as it had so much going on like chopped in half camper vans and the Mona Lisa smoking weed. Nimbin was the kind of place which took half an hour to look round and you come to end of the street and you're like "wow". The thing that got me however was the fact people were selling weed and cookies in the street, making it so obvious who it was because they were aboriginal, yet the local police were just letting people including people from my tour group buy this stuff! It will be interesting to read into this small town in more detail when I get home, the whole experience was a complete culture shock for me.
After leaving the town we headed off to Rous Water, going via another outback bar where I opted for a couple of local beers. I got a local one from Byron Bay called Stone Wood, and also a Tooheys. After driving through more remote country roads and heading upwards, we arrived at the country park ready for a bbq lunch. The area included a large lake and a dam, surrounded by woodland which made it a brilliant area for lunch. I forgot to mention that I bumped into someone from the Blue Mountains on this tour amongst the group. We then all tucked into burgers and at last proper sausages compared to what I ate in Thailand, although we were joined by this large lizard. I keep seeing lizards everywhere out here. I forgot to mention I bumped into one whilst walking to Cape Byron yesterday.
After finishing lunch we headed off along this very bumpy dirt track into the rainforest to visit the Minyon falls. It has been so dry in Australia that the flow off here has now stopped, so we were left with this damp cliff overlooking the dense rainforest below. Listed as 100m, apparently an abseiler once took this literally and took 100m of rope and found himself dangling about 20m from the bottom whilst trying to abseil it! On our way back to the minibus we picked up two extra passengers who had got stranded here!
We arrived back in Byron by 6 after an interesting ride home with a few people high on marijuana from the cookies. From here I spent some time on the computer in the hostel, before heading into town for dinner which was one of them supermarket meals after our late lunch. It was then time to relax in my room. A lot of people have come out here to drink, but I don't really want to do that too often out here as I want to try and do as many tours as possible!
Wednesday, 12 February 2014
February 11th... Byron Bay
Stopping off at places like Newcastle, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie and funnily enough Port Stephens for a dinner break for anybody who needed it en route, we finally arrived into Byron Bay by about half 7. I had an awful nights sleep if you can call it sleep, as the limited leg room and also the fact there was big gap between the window and seat meant I struggled to get into any sleepable position throughout the night. There were brilliant views of the coast as we entered the small town of Byron Bay.
After almost the whole coach emptied, I think everyone had the same idea, I sat down on the nearby bench just getting myself completely organised before walking off in search of my hostel without any idea of where I was going. After walking down what felt like every street, I finally asked someone and they pointed me in the right direction. I was lucky upon arrival as well as I managed to check in straight away, which meant I could leave my stuff in the room before going out to explore Byron Bay.
My plan for the day was always to go geocaching and I had planned to find the 6 geocaches here prior to leaving Sydney. I always think geocaching is a good way to explore an area as it takes you to places you wouldn't otherwise go, and it also allows me to enjoy a day out for very little money. It is one of my favourite hobbies after all. One of the many things included staying in my new hostel was free bike hire, so I hired this very basic bike, first stop Belongil Creek which was more out of town. Upon arrival I got a brilliant view of the river and railway line, picking up my first cache in the process, before setting back into town. On the way back I went down to the beach and experienced the stoney white sands for the first time, getting views of the lighthouse in the distance.
Byron Bay basically revolves around a roundabout, with shops and restaurants going off this, and then the accomodation surrounding this. It used to be a quiet town, before being discovered by tourists, but despite this influx of people has kept its small buildings and has prevented any serious development. For my next cache I headed to the railway, which is now derelict although there are lots of petition signs to reopen it, and made a swift find. It was then further out of town for my next cache, and after winding through the residential roads, my gps device took me 300m away at the foot of a hill. I decided to tie the bike up here and walk. Walking through sandy paths and grasses, I soon found the cache which came with aerial views off the town. It was so quiet here and it just reminded me of the reason I went geocaching today because I wouldn't have otherwise come here.
I then headed back into town, going via the travel company I am booking things with to book a few more hostels up the east coast. I am now sorted until the 26th, fingers crossed! I was also told that tours didn't run in my next two stops, Gold Coast and Brisbane so god knows what I am doing in the coming days, probably beaching it up! I then dropped off the bike back at the hostel, as it was annoying me because it had no gears and the brakes worked by pedalling backwards. From here I started to walk up to Cape Byron. One thing I haven't mentioned is the fact I've got blisters on my toes, which remains a mystery as they won't go away.
Following the winding road up to the lighthouse, and finding a cache en route, I was treated to many brilliant views of of Byron Bay below, and also the coast in the other direction. I also managed to see dolphins from up top! After a quick look round the visitor centre and lighthouse, I headed down to what was the most easterly point of Australia. It felt very surreal standing here thinking about how far I've come over the last few weeks. It was then down the rocks below for my 5th cache find of the day, again getting brilliant views of the area this time from a lower perspective.
After a short walk along the paths which were full of diverse plants, I found my 6th and final cache, this time taking me up through these palm tree woods to another peak! Once getting back down I headed along the sandy beach, and then past the shops for a quick browse back to the hostel in what turned out to be quite a jam packed day! By now it was late afternoon so I spent this time relaxing in the hostel which has hammocks and quite a modern common room, and I also checked out the beach which could be accessed straight from the hostel.
I then headed back into town for the evening, realising at this time I'm not going to see a sunset as I'm on the east, to find out dominoes did a cracking $5 deal on pizza. I had to take advantage of this as this was cheap compared to most of what I've seen since arriving in Oz. Sitting on the beach I managed to get myself completely stuffed with food for the first time since Thailand, before heading back to the hostel via the local supermarket for a couple of things. I stayed at the backpackers inn which has 4 bed dorms, my smallest yet! Due to my lack of sleep on the bus I was feeling zonked out by now, so swiftly fell asleep ready for another busy day tomorrow.
After almost the whole coach emptied, I think everyone had the same idea, I sat down on the nearby bench just getting myself completely organised before walking off in search of my hostel without any idea of where I was going. After walking down what felt like every street, I finally asked someone and they pointed me in the right direction. I was lucky upon arrival as well as I managed to check in straight away, which meant I could leave my stuff in the room before going out to explore Byron Bay.
My plan for the day was always to go geocaching and I had planned to find the 6 geocaches here prior to leaving Sydney. I always think geocaching is a good way to explore an area as it takes you to places you wouldn't otherwise go, and it also allows me to enjoy a day out for very little money. It is one of my favourite hobbies after all. One of the many things included staying in my new hostel was free bike hire, so I hired this very basic bike, first stop Belongil Creek which was more out of town. Upon arrival I got a brilliant view of the river and railway line, picking up my first cache in the process, before setting back into town. On the way back I went down to the beach and experienced the stoney white sands for the first time, getting views of the lighthouse in the distance.
Byron Bay basically revolves around a roundabout, with shops and restaurants going off this, and then the accomodation surrounding this. It used to be a quiet town, before being discovered by tourists, but despite this influx of people has kept its small buildings and has prevented any serious development. For my next cache I headed to the railway, which is now derelict although there are lots of petition signs to reopen it, and made a swift find. It was then further out of town for my next cache, and after winding through the residential roads, my gps device took me 300m away at the foot of a hill. I decided to tie the bike up here and walk. Walking through sandy paths and grasses, I soon found the cache which came with aerial views off the town. It was so quiet here and it just reminded me of the reason I went geocaching today because I wouldn't have otherwise come here.
I then headed back into town, going via the travel company I am booking things with to book a few more hostels up the east coast. I am now sorted until the 26th, fingers crossed! I was also told that tours didn't run in my next two stops, Gold Coast and Brisbane so god knows what I am doing in the coming days, probably beaching it up! I then dropped off the bike back at the hostel, as it was annoying me because it had no gears and the brakes worked by pedalling backwards. From here I started to walk up to Cape Byron. One thing I haven't mentioned is the fact I've got blisters on my toes, which remains a mystery as they won't go away.
Following the winding road up to the lighthouse, and finding a cache en route, I was treated to many brilliant views of of Byron Bay below, and also the coast in the other direction. I also managed to see dolphins from up top! After a quick look round the visitor centre and lighthouse, I headed down to what was the most easterly point of Australia. It felt very surreal standing here thinking about how far I've come over the last few weeks. It was then down the rocks below for my 5th cache find of the day, again getting brilliant views of the area this time from a lower perspective.
After a short walk along the paths which were full of diverse plants, I found my 6th and final cache, this time taking me up through these palm tree woods to another peak! Once getting back down I headed along the sandy beach, and then past the shops for a quick browse back to the hostel in what turned out to be quite a jam packed day! By now it was late afternoon so I spent this time relaxing in the hostel which has hammocks and quite a modern common room, and I also checked out the beach which could be accessed straight from the hostel.
I then headed back into town for the evening, realising at this time I'm not going to see a sunset as I'm on the east, to find out dominoes did a cracking $5 deal on pizza. I had to take advantage of this as this was cheap compared to most of what I've seen since arriving in Oz. Sitting on the beach I managed to get myself completely stuffed with food for the first time since Thailand, before heading back to the hostel via the local supermarket for a couple of things. I stayed at the backpackers inn which has 4 bed dorms, my smallest yet! Due to my lack of sleep on the bus I was feeling zonked out by now, so swiftly fell asleep ready for another busy day tomorrow.
Tuesday, 11 February 2014
February 10th... Bondi
Once again the night consisted of many squeaks of the bunks and the droning of cars passing my hostel, although my tiredness took me through to the morning. I had nothing serious planned this morning, so I just decided to take things leisurely today. I can't afford to do tours everyday so I need to find some cost effective things to do instead as well! After getting ready I went for my free breakfast from the hostel, I missed out on this yesterday because of my tour. It was just toast and jams which was nice enough but nothing substantial.
After packing up all my remaining stuff and leaving the hostel I headed out for a quick look round the area. I mentioned yesterday that I found the local supermarket, well this was part of a shopping centre and there were other shops like Dollar King and cheap food places. I went to Australia Post however where I sent a few things home, although it was a little more expensive than I expected. I think I will stick to postcards next time! I then headed down to the main central station where I managed to find a free internet place, although the actions on it were limited. This aided me throughout the rest of the day however. The other thing I was getting worried about was my photos as my memory card was nearly full on my phone (my camera broke if I didn't already mention it) so I needed to back up my files somewhere. My efforts at buying a memory stick and everything were unsuccessful however.
By now I was just wanted to get out and do something, so I caught the train to Bondi Junction to go down to Bondi Beach. I was baffled however at how a single 5 stops to the airport was $16.40 when I arrived, but a return 5 stops to Bondi Junction was only $5.00, I'm not complaining. I would have caught the bus down there but I haven't got my head round their system yet. The main station of Bondi was a about a mile from the beach, so I walked down past all these gift shops and food places before finally seeing a sea view in front of me. After heading down some steps and going through this rock formation, I was presented with that iconic image of Bondi Beach. It is actually a really big area! I decided to walk past the shops to start with, going through the park to do this. I then headed to the other outermost point of the beach to get a view of the beach from the other angle, just as impressive. I was pleased in finding my first Australian geocache here too!
After walking along the warm white sands of the beach, which was not very busy because it was a bit overcast today. It was still warm though as I was gasping for water the whole time. Australia is very good with water though because they have this "refill not landfill" scheme which means there are water fountains everywhere you look. I then headed further along the coast through Hunter Park to get a view of the Tamarama and Bronte beaches which were the other side. The coastal path here was very beautiful with all the rocks and plant life on the side. After taking in the view of the smaller beaches, and seeing the constant stream of planes coming in, I headed back through Marks Park to the road to head back to the station.
Upon arrival at the station I looked round the local Westfield centre which had many shops. The shopping centres out here are always massive. After having a look round a few of the shops, I went into Coles to pick up a few bits for lunch and also dinner this evening as I was taking the night bus. It was then onto the train, I still love how they are double decker, for the short trip back to the central station. It was empty when I boarded, but by the end it was full of school kids! Upon arrival back I went down the Cockle Bay and Darling Harbour to have another look round at the fountains, park and shopping centre. Sydney is such a clean area which is why I love it so much. I then headed to the greyhound terminal, although I arrived about an hour early just so I could sit down!
After a short wait for the bus, it finally arrived and when everyone had showed their tickets and they had packed our bags in, it was off to Byron Bay. It was 7pm by this time. The journey here was scheduled to take 12h 50m! I decided there wasn't much else between other than historical towns, and surfing hotspots/beaches. Speaking to people on the bus most people were doing the same. The bus said that it had free wifi, but this didn't work to the frustration of the people on board. To add to this about an hour after leaving it started to rain! I then ate the random items I bought from Coles earlier today, and just sat back and relaxed trying to sleep... easier said than done.
After packing up all my remaining stuff and leaving the hostel I headed out for a quick look round the area. I mentioned yesterday that I found the local supermarket, well this was part of a shopping centre and there were other shops like Dollar King and cheap food places. I went to Australia Post however where I sent a few things home, although it was a little more expensive than I expected. I think I will stick to postcards next time! I then headed down to the main central station where I managed to find a free internet place, although the actions on it were limited. This aided me throughout the rest of the day however. The other thing I was getting worried about was my photos as my memory card was nearly full on my phone (my camera broke if I didn't already mention it) so I needed to back up my files somewhere. My efforts at buying a memory stick and everything were unsuccessful however.
By now I was just wanted to get out and do something, so I caught the train to Bondi Junction to go down to Bondi Beach. I was baffled however at how a single 5 stops to the airport was $16.40 when I arrived, but a return 5 stops to Bondi Junction was only $5.00, I'm not complaining. I would have caught the bus down there but I haven't got my head round their system yet. The main station of Bondi was a about a mile from the beach, so I walked down past all these gift shops and food places before finally seeing a sea view in front of me. After heading down some steps and going through this rock formation, I was presented with that iconic image of Bondi Beach. It is actually a really big area! I decided to walk past the shops to start with, going through the park to do this. I then headed to the other outermost point of the beach to get a view of the beach from the other angle, just as impressive. I was pleased in finding my first Australian geocache here too!
After walking along the warm white sands of the beach, which was not very busy because it was a bit overcast today. It was still warm though as I was gasping for water the whole time. Australia is very good with water though because they have this "refill not landfill" scheme which means there are water fountains everywhere you look. I then headed further along the coast through Hunter Park to get a view of the Tamarama and Bronte beaches which were the other side. The coastal path here was very beautiful with all the rocks and plant life on the side. After taking in the view of the smaller beaches, and seeing the constant stream of planes coming in, I headed back through Marks Park to the road to head back to the station.
Upon arrival at the station I looked round the local Westfield centre which had many shops. The shopping centres out here are always massive. After having a look round a few of the shops, I went into Coles to pick up a few bits for lunch and also dinner this evening as I was taking the night bus. It was then onto the train, I still love how they are double decker, for the short trip back to the central station. It was empty when I boarded, but by the end it was full of school kids! Upon arrival back I went down the Cockle Bay and Darling Harbour to have another look round at the fountains, park and shopping centre. Sydney is such a clean area which is why I love it so much. I then headed to the greyhound terminal, although I arrived about an hour early just so I could sit down!
After a short wait for the bus, it finally arrived and when everyone had showed their tickets and they had packed our bags in, it was off to Byron Bay. It was 7pm by this time. The journey here was scheduled to take 12h 50m! I decided there wasn't much else between other than historical towns, and surfing hotspots/beaches. Speaking to people on the bus most people were doing the same. The bus said that it had free wifi, but this didn't work to the frustration of the people on board. To add to this about an hour after leaving it started to rain! I then ate the random items I bought from Coles earlier today, and just sat back and relaxed trying to sleep... easier said than done.
February 9th... The Blue Mountains
I still haven't got a good night sleep in a hostel, and once again I was the first one up. The problem was the bunks squeaked really loudly when you moved, and in addition to this my room was right next to the road so I had the noise of both cars and bars coming into the room until the early hours. To make things even worse when I went to the toilet in the morning to get ready for the day, I forgot my key so got locked out. Luckily I managed to get back in, but I think that shows you how tired I feel!
Today I booked another tour, this time into the Blue Mountains to explore various parts of this world heritage site and the surrounding areas. It was a 7.45 start today outside Base (my first hostel), but I went to early just to collect my booking for a couple of nights in Byron Bay, which they knew nothing about which made me a little worried. We then all crammed onto this minibus which was full, a change from yesterdays tour where it was a half empty luxury coach! The group was primarily made up of young people, although many of the people were not English which made any decent conversations a little bit difficult. En route to the Blue Mountains we stopped outside this enclosure which was protected land for the kangaroo population of Sydney. The actual city centre of Sydney is actually quite compact, but Sydney's residential catchment is growing at a rapid rate which is bad for the local kangaroo population. We saw a few of these creatures, but not close up.
Next stop was for morning tea at Glenbrook village, which was a small village home to all the local services you would expect, just with a large number of bakeries. I got a sausage roll here, as the prices were noticeably cheaper than Sydney. Lets hope this trend continues as I travel up the East Coast! We then arrived at a car park in the Blue Mountains, and a short walk from the minibus was an amazing view from the lookout showcasing the sandstone cliffs and dense forests, along with the many waterfalls weaving their way through the middle. It was simply breathtaking. Our guide was very good because he grew up in the Blue Mountains which meant he had done many of the trails in his childhood, and again you could tell he loved his job.
We then began a two hour hike or so to the bottom of one of the waterfalls. We started going through dirt paths through the forest, before reaching some stepping stones between two waterfalls. This was one of many good views we got of the valley en route. It was then onto this mountain path, which must have taken years to construct with each step being carved into the side of the mountain. It was rather tough on the legs this section but worth it for the views and also the alternative terrain I was walking on! We then arrived at the bottom of the waterfall where he showed us this love heart that was embedded on the rock above. Despite being at the "bottom", the valley kept going down for a much longer way yet and apparently it can take days to properly explore this part of the mountains.
We then went back up the same we came, before turning off down a trail which Charles Darwin supposedly walked again when writing his book. Our guide was very good at showing us basic survival skills, and other interesting things along the way. At one point he extracted these rocks from this small stream, and after rubbing them frantically created this clay based stuff in both a red and yellow colour. He also showed us a plant which is used in bath products, which had such a strong smell! There was also the nail file plant and the toilet roll plant, but I won't go into much detail there! We then emerged back at the car park after a simply stunning walk in terms of the scenery and terrain!
After re boarding the mini bus we made our way to the small village of Leura to collect lunch, and also visit this beer shop which sold endless amounts of worldwide imported beers. Spread over a cellar and fridges upstairs, there was a massive choice! I bought a bottle of James Squire The Chancer Golden Ale here to sample at our next stop. We then got given our lunch on the minibus for the next stop, but everyone kind of ate it before we got there because we were so hungry! There was another brilliant viewpoint here however, this time spanning over into open outback too.
Our final stop for the day was a trip to Scenic World to ride of the worlds steepest railway. It was a good idea, but to get there we had to walk down to the bottom of railway deep in the valley. It was very steep! En route we passed the famous three sisters rocks where he told us an aboriginal myth related to their formation. He also told us about drop bears which I still don't understand? I couldn't work out is he was joking or if they actually were a Koala gone wrong. After getting many views of the valley on our way down to the railway, and also seeing the cable car which went over the valley, we finally arrived, and it baffled me how the railway even functioned. Going at a 52 degree gradient at the steepest, it ran simply on rails from what I could make out. After a short wait we entered this compact carriage, looking down over the valley before going upwards into the air to the Indiana Jones theme. It was very surreal as we went through these natural tunnels and saw the tree tops below us. It only lasted a couple of minutes before we were back at the top ready to board the minibus back home.
On the way home we passed the Olympic Park, nearly 14 years ago for those of you who remember it, before arriving back in Sydney by about 5.30. I finally managed to collect my Byron Bay booking which relieved my stress levels a bit. It has been very stressful going from everything being organised for me in Thailand, to effectively having to make sure I am booked into places each night and also book tours early enough in advance. I also collected my Fraser Island and Whitsundays booking which were fixed dated so I had dates and locations to aim for. Everything was coming together now, kind of, as I had to get my head round the paper work. After a rather long Skype session, and going out to daylight at 8pm, I love the summer, I headed for a little walk round Sydney to try and clear my mind from everything. Hostels, tours, bus reservations, blog, and most of all photos have all been causing me problems so the fresh air did me good.
On the way back I finally found a supermarket right opposite my hotel, so I bought what most of you would probably describe as "crap", and headed back to the hostel, barely keeping my eyes open! After a good chat with the the people in my room who were not out drinking, it was off to bed where I crashed out straight away which was good!
Today I booked another tour, this time into the Blue Mountains to explore various parts of this world heritage site and the surrounding areas. It was a 7.45 start today outside Base (my first hostel), but I went to early just to collect my booking for a couple of nights in Byron Bay, which they knew nothing about which made me a little worried. We then all crammed onto this minibus which was full, a change from yesterdays tour where it was a half empty luxury coach! The group was primarily made up of young people, although many of the people were not English which made any decent conversations a little bit difficult. En route to the Blue Mountains we stopped outside this enclosure which was protected land for the kangaroo population of Sydney. The actual city centre of Sydney is actually quite compact, but Sydney's residential catchment is growing at a rapid rate which is bad for the local kangaroo population. We saw a few of these creatures, but not close up.
Next stop was for morning tea at Glenbrook village, which was a small village home to all the local services you would expect, just with a large number of bakeries. I got a sausage roll here, as the prices were noticeably cheaper than Sydney. Lets hope this trend continues as I travel up the East Coast! We then arrived at a car park in the Blue Mountains, and a short walk from the minibus was an amazing view from the lookout showcasing the sandstone cliffs and dense forests, along with the many waterfalls weaving their way through the middle. It was simply breathtaking. Our guide was very good because he grew up in the Blue Mountains which meant he had done many of the trails in his childhood, and again you could tell he loved his job.
We then began a two hour hike or so to the bottom of one of the waterfalls. We started going through dirt paths through the forest, before reaching some stepping stones between two waterfalls. This was one of many good views we got of the valley en route. It was then onto this mountain path, which must have taken years to construct with each step being carved into the side of the mountain. It was rather tough on the legs this section but worth it for the views and also the alternative terrain I was walking on! We then arrived at the bottom of the waterfall where he showed us this love heart that was embedded on the rock above. Despite being at the "bottom", the valley kept going down for a much longer way yet and apparently it can take days to properly explore this part of the mountains.
We then went back up the same we came, before turning off down a trail which Charles Darwin supposedly walked again when writing his book. Our guide was very good at showing us basic survival skills, and other interesting things along the way. At one point he extracted these rocks from this small stream, and after rubbing them frantically created this clay based stuff in both a red and yellow colour. He also showed us a plant which is used in bath products, which had such a strong smell! There was also the nail file plant and the toilet roll plant, but I won't go into much detail there! We then emerged back at the car park after a simply stunning walk in terms of the scenery and terrain!
After re boarding the mini bus we made our way to the small village of Leura to collect lunch, and also visit this beer shop which sold endless amounts of worldwide imported beers. Spread over a cellar and fridges upstairs, there was a massive choice! I bought a bottle of James Squire The Chancer Golden Ale here to sample at our next stop. We then got given our lunch on the minibus for the next stop, but everyone kind of ate it before we got there because we were so hungry! There was another brilliant viewpoint here however, this time spanning over into open outback too.
Our final stop for the day was a trip to Scenic World to ride of the worlds steepest railway. It was a good idea, but to get there we had to walk down to the bottom of railway deep in the valley. It was very steep! En route we passed the famous three sisters rocks where he told us an aboriginal myth related to their formation. He also told us about drop bears which I still don't understand? I couldn't work out is he was joking or if they actually were a Koala gone wrong. After getting many views of the valley on our way down to the railway, and also seeing the cable car which went over the valley, we finally arrived, and it baffled me how the railway even functioned. Going at a 52 degree gradient at the steepest, it ran simply on rails from what I could make out. After a short wait we entered this compact carriage, looking down over the valley before going upwards into the air to the Indiana Jones theme. It was very surreal as we went through these natural tunnels and saw the tree tops below us. It only lasted a couple of minutes before we were back at the top ready to board the minibus back home.
On the way home we passed the Olympic Park, nearly 14 years ago for those of you who remember it, before arriving back in Sydney by about 5.30. I finally managed to collect my Byron Bay booking which relieved my stress levels a bit. It has been very stressful going from everything being organised for me in Thailand, to effectively having to make sure I am booked into places each night and also book tours early enough in advance. I also collected my Fraser Island and Whitsundays booking which were fixed dated so I had dates and locations to aim for. Everything was coming together now, kind of, as I had to get my head round the paper work. After a rather long Skype session, and going out to daylight at 8pm, I love the summer, I headed for a little walk round Sydney to try and clear my mind from everything. Hostels, tours, bus reservations, blog, and most of all photos have all been causing me problems so the fresh air did me good.
On the way back I finally found a supermarket right opposite my hotel, so I bought what most of you would probably describe as "crap", and headed back to the hostel, barely keeping my eyes open! After a good chat with the the people in my room who were not out drinking, it was off to bed where I crashed out straight away which was good!
Sunday, 9 February 2014
February 8th... Port Stephens and Nelson Bay
Like last night I was first up again at the crack of dawn, although I had already packed the night before ready for the morning. As Base was fully booked for tomorrow I booked in a further two nights at a place called Central Perks Backpackers for the next two nights. This meant I had to leave my stuff in one of the big lockers in base, better safe than sorry! I also took the chance this morning to book a couple of nights in my next location, Byron Bay. I will be getting there on the 11th.
Today I had a trip entitled "Port Stephens and Nelson Bay" which took me to a few places near the industrial town of Newcastle. After meeting at a random hotel for pick up which was really confusing as I was the only one there, I was transferred to the coach terminal to pick up my group. My group was primarily made up of older people and families, although there were perhaps a few other backpackers amongst the group.
After our coach driver/tour guide gave us a running commentary as we passed things going out of Sydney, we stopped at Australia Reptile Park to look at a variety of Australian based animals. After a park ranger brought out an alligator to show us, don't worry it was a baby, we got an hour to look round the park. I managed to get a picture with a Koala although apparently there is a state law in New South Wales preventing people from holding them. There was also an open enclosure where we could feed the kangaroos and emus. The kangaroos were pretty friendly but I'm not sure if I trusted the emus! Other animals on show in the park included Crocodiles, Alligators, Dingoes, Tasmanian Devils, Platypus, and also a large reptile and spider centre including snakes.
It was then off to Port Stephens, passing Newcastle and the famous wine making region of Hunter Valley along the way. We had chance to have lunch in Port Stephens, although I was forced to have subway as the other places were so expensive. I can't eat out in restaurants every night like in Thailand, so I am going to have to rely more on take aways and shop food.
After lunch we boarded this boat and left the harbour of Port Stephens for a dolphin watching cruise. Before long we had these wild bottlenose dolphins jumping out the water beside our boat! Our cruise gave us brilliant views of the surrounding Nelson Bay. After the dolphins had gone we were given the chance to go into the boom net which was a large net in the water which you sit in whilst the boat was moving. After about an hour and a half of dolphin watching and observing the beautiful beaches of Nelson Bay, we docked back into the harbour of Port Stephens and after a final quick look round the area we were off to our next destination.
Our third and final destination was the Stockton Bight which were these massive sand dunes on the coast. It looked like a desert, and I found out that camels actually originated in Australia after seeing some in the sand. We then took a 4x4 bus like vehicle over the dunes which was a very rocky ride before being dropped off somewhere in the middle to have a go at sand boarding. Once I worked out how to steer the board I was actually really good it, however I wasn't so good at standing up on them. By the end of the session there was sand everywhere!
It was then back off to Sydney after another jam packed day. En route home I kept thinking how the roads were constructed because they were carved into rock in some places. Apparently if you follow the signs for the A1 in Australia you will do a whole lap of the country.
Getting back at around half 7, I collected my stuff from base and checked into my new hostel which was a little lively. It was filled with people who have basically come to Australia to drink. I did however bump into a Southampton fan who was fully kitted out! After getting myself freshened up and sorted out, I relaxed in my room, having a good chat with this Irish guy who had come from Cairns. A few hours later after a little walk to the station and back, it was off to bed. The people in this hostel seemed to stay up later than in Base which was good for me. By 11 the lights were out and I was swiftly asleep.
Today I had a trip entitled "Port Stephens and Nelson Bay" which took me to a few places near the industrial town of Newcastle. After meeting at a random hotel for pick up which was really confusing as I was the only one there, I was transferred to the coach terminal to pick up my group. My group was primarily made up of older people and families, although there were perhaps a few other backpackers amongst the group.
After our coach driver/tour guide gave us a running commentary as we passed things going out of Sydney, we stopped at Australia Reptile Park to look at a variety of Australian based animals. After a park ranger brought out an alligator to show us, don't worry it was a baby, we got an hour to look round the park. I managed to get a picture with a Koala although apparently there is a state law in New South Wales preventing people from holding them. There was also an open enclosure where we could feed the kangaroos and emus. The kangaroos were pretty friendly but I'm not sure if I trusted the emus! Other animals on show in the park included Crocodiles, Alligators, Dingoes, Tasmanian Devils, Platypus, and also a large reptile and spider centre including snakes.
It was then off to Port Stephens, passing Newcastle and the famous wine making region of Hunter Valley along the way. We had chance to have lunch in Port Stephens, although I was forced to have subway as the other places were so expensive. I can't eat out in restaurants every night like in Thailand, so I am going to have to rely more on take aways and shop food.
After lunch we boarded this boat and left the harbour of Port Stephens for a dolphin watching cruise. Before long we had these wild bottlenose dolphins jumping out the water beside our boat! Our cruise gave us brilliant views of the surrounding Nelson Bay. After the dolphins had gone we were given the chance to go into the boom net which was a large net in the water which you sit in whilst the boat was moving. After about an hour and a half of dolphin watching and observing the beautiful beaches of Nelson Bay, we docked back into the harbour of Port Stephens and after a final quick look round the area we were off to our next destination.
Our third and final destination was the Stockton Bight which were these massive sand dunes on the coast. It looked like a desert, and I found out that camels actually originated in Australia after seeing some in the sand. We then took a 4x4 bus like vehicle over the dunes which was a very rocky ride before being dropped off somewhere in the middle to have a go at sand boarding. Once I worked out how to steer the board I was actually really good it, however I wasn't so good at standing up on them. By the end of the session there was sand everywhere!
It was then back off to Sydney after another jam packed day. En route home I kept thinking how the roads were constructed because they were carved into rock in some places. Apparently if you follow the signs for the A1 in Australia you will do a whole lap of the country.
Getting back at around half 7, I collected my stuff from base and checked into my new hostel which was a little lively. It was filled with people who have basically come to Australia to drink. I did however bump into a Southampton fan who was fully kitted out! After getting myself freshened up and sorted out, I relaxed in my room, having a good chat with this Irish guy who had come from Cairns. A few hours later after a little walk to the station and back, it was off to bed. The people in this hostel seemed to stay up later than in Base which was good for me. By 11 the lights were out and I was swiftly asleep.
February 7th... Sydney Harbour Bridge
For my first proper night in a hostel I actually slept really well, all be it I probably kept one eye open all night. The fact my room was at the back of the hostel, and that no one snored helped too! Everyone was asleep when I woke up, and I was again in complete darkness which meant I couldn't really access my big bag without waking everyone up. After going to the local off license for breakfast and just being left open mouthed by the price, it was off to the harbour bridge to do the bridge climb.
The thing I have noticed about Sydney is the large Chinese community. Along with this there are so many people in suits. I think Sydney must be the main business area of Australia with it's stunning skyline to add to this. After a quick look at the morning market at the rocks, the area with all the little shops and food places, it was off to the bridge climb. After booking in I was given the chance to look round a small exhibition which gave a detailed history into the whole bridge, which was very interesting. There was also a little cinema and I saw an interesting film which featured footage of its opening in 1932.
I had booked the 10.15 climb prior to leaving the UK, and I was soon ready to start, first thing to be done all the paper work and a breathalyzer test, which I passed! We then preceded into this room where we had to change into these overall suit things. The guide suggested we go bare under them, but I didn't particularly want to! After a short safety talk, and walking through a metal detector to check no one was taking cameras or phones up, we went to a room where we prepared for the climb. First thing was to put a harness on, and then we got kitted out with a radio and headphones to listen to the guide up top, and also a handkerchief and a cap for the weather, although it was only mid 20s today.
After getting fully kitted out, we had to practice climbing up and down the steps on a mini little staircase thing. It was easy enough. It was then onto the real thing. On our harness we had this tube thing which slid onto the wire on the bridge. We were to be attached to this for the full duration of the climb. We started out by walking along these mesh walkway's below the road, getting views of the building site and some of the nearby hotels and villas on the harbour. Apparently they cost around 7 million dollars, and the hotel next to the opera house costs over 1000 dollars a night. Lady Gaga stayed there once as well.
We then had to climb these ladders to road level and above to the start of the arch. It was here we started our ascent of the arch, which was basically one big staircase. After getting many photos taking by our guide en route up top, we reached the summit. Our guide was brilliant because you could tell he just loved his job. He showed us this small clock tower in the skyline, which was apparently the tallest building when it was first built, how times have changed!
After taking in the panoramic 360 degree views we started our descent down another staircase on the other side of the arch. Despite not being the longest bridge of it's kind in the world, it it by far the widest with 8 car lanes, a railway and public paths. After going down the staircase, and then these ladders, we continued back along the mesh walkways back to the start. There was this toilet below with no roof you could see into! We finally reached the end of the wire about 3 hours after starting, and after getting unchanged and debriefed, I collected my photos which I purchased back in the UK. I guess that makes them more money, because 50% of the money they make goes to the government as a condition for them opening. I was then finally back on solid ground after one of the greatest experiences of my life!
As part of my bridge climb ticket, I got a free ticket for the pylon lookout. This was the chance to climb over 200 steps to the top of one of the brick structures at the end of the arch. So after having chicken schnitzel and rice for lunch at the rocks and I headed up and got further views of the harbour, and also the climb I had earlier completed.
En route back to the hostel, I stopped off at the Sydney Observatory which was a free attraction. It was interesting seeing all the space and geographical related stuff on show. I also liked the fact there were lots of hands on things to do! I then proceeded down to Darling Harbour which was a smaller area just off the main harbour. Here I passed attractions like the zoo, aquarium and Madame Tussauds, and after crossing the bridge over the harbour saw lots of military related ships docked in. There was also a shopping centre selling things at more reasonable prices to some places I've seen. It was still more expensive than home, though apparently people earn more in Australia which is why its more expensive.
It was then back off to the hostel after such a busy day! I also got the chance to sort out my stuff properly as I was on my own in the room, although a Swiss girl came in at one point. I haven't really had a chance to properly get to know anyone yet as people are all doing different things and heading in different directions. This evening I headed to a travel centre to try and book some firm dates on a few trips so I am not just aiming for Cairns on the 16th March. I am returning on Monday morning to finalise the details. It was then straight off to bed after another busy day, although the light was still on which meant I could talk to the guys from London for a bit, and also met a girl from Sheffield, and a Japanese pair who had poor English, before going to sleep.
The thing I have noticed about Sydney is the large Chinese community. Along with this there are so many people in suits. I think Sydney must be the main business area of Australia with it's stunning skyline to add to this. After a quick look at the morning market at the rocks, the area with all the little shops and food places, it was off to the bridge climb. After booking in I was given the chance to look round a small exhibition which gave a detailed history into the whole bridge, which was very interesting. There was also a little cinema and I saw an interesting film which featured footage of its opening in 1932.
I had booked the 10.15 climb prior to leaving the UK, and I was soon ready to start, first thing to be done all the paper work and a breathalyzer test, which I passed! We then preceded into this room where we had to change into these overall suit things. The guide suggested we go bare under them, but I didn't particularly want to! After a short safety talk, and walking through a metal detector to check no one was taking cameras or phones up, we went to a room where we prepared for the climb. First thing was to put a harness on, and then we got kitted out with a radio and headphones to listen to the guide up top, and also a handkerchief and a cap for the weather, although it was only mid 20s today.
After getting fully kitted out, we had to practice climbing up and down the steps on a mini little staircase thing. It was easy enough. It was then onto the real thing. On our harness we had this tube thing which slid onto the wire on the bridge. We were to be attached to this for the full duration of the climb. We started out by walking along these mesh walkway's below the road, getting views of the building site and some of the nearby hotels and villas on the harbour. Apparently they cost around 7 million dollars, and the hotel next to the opera house costs over 1000 dollars a night. Lady Gaga stayed there once as well.
We then had to climb these ladders to road level and above to the start of the arch. It was here we started our ascent of the arch, which was basically one big staircase. After getting many photos taking by our guide en route up top, we reached the summit. Our guide was brilliant because you could tell he just loved his job. He showed us this small clock tower in the skyline, which was apparently the tallest building when it was first built, how times have changed!
After taking in the panoramic 360 degree views we started our descent down another staircase on the other side of the arch. Despite not being the longest bridge of it's kind in the world, it it by far the widest with 8 car lanes, a railway and public paths. After going down the staircase, and then these ladders, we continued back along the mesh walkways back to the start. There was this toilet below with no roof you could see into! We finally reached the end of the wire about 3 hours after starting, and after getting unchanged and debriefed, I collected my photos which I purchased back in the UK. I guess that makes them more money, because 50% of the money they make goes to the government as a condition for them opening. I was then finally back on solid ground after one of the greatest experiences of my life!
As part of my bridge climb ticket, I got a free ticket for the pylon lookout. This was the chance to climb over 200 steps to the top of one of the brick structures at the end of the arch. So after having chicken schnitzel and rice for lunch at the rocks and I headed up and got further views of the harbour, and also the climb I had earlier completed.
En route back to the hostel, I stopped off at the Sydney Observatory which was a free attraction. It was interesting seeing all the space and geographical related stuff on show. I also liked the fact there were lots of hands on things to do! I then proceeded down to Darling Harbour which was a smaller area just off the main harbour. Here I passed attractions like the zoo, aquarium and Madame Tussauds, and after crossing the bridge over the harbour saw lots of military related ships docked in. There was also a shopping centre selling things at more reasonable prices to some places I've seen. It was still more expensive than home, though apparently people earn more in Australia which is why its more expensive.
It was then back off to the hostel after such a busy day! I also got the chance to sort out my stuff properly as I was on my own in the room, although a Swiss girl came in at one point. I haven't really had a chance to properly get to know anyone yet as people are all doing different things and heading in different directions. This evening I headed to a travel centre to try and book some firm dates on a few trips so I am not just aiming for Cairns on the 16th March. I am returning on Monday morning to finalise the details. It was then straight off to bed after another busy day, although the light was still on which meant I could talk to the guys from London for a bit, and also met a girl from Sheffield, and a Japanese pair who had poor English, before going to sleep.
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