Last night was a funny nights sleep as I woke up twice in the night desperately needing the toilet, something completely unusual for me. Despite this I still managed to get a good nights sleep in my 4 bed dorm with the others, aided by the nice breeze coming in from the open window. I think for the first time in Australia I was keeping cool through the natural elements, all be it I was high above sea level! Breakfast this morning was toast with preserves and cereal on an all you can eat basis, something I made the most out of!
Today had another busy days of activities planned, this time on a more physical basis. First stop of the day was the Curtain Fig Tree, like the one from yesterday but formed completely differently. This one used to be four trees but the vines strangled the trees and over many years formed another formation of tangled vines. You could see where one of the host trees was as the roots were exposed and it was lying on its side going into the vines!
Whilst we were here our new guide told us about how he was stung by a stinger plant a few years back, and that he can still feel the pain today when suddenly entering cold water or something! We were also shown these blue berry like things called bush ginger which we were allowed to try. When peeling away the skin this sour assortment of seeds was left behind. It wasn't delicious but edible lets say!
Once leaving here, the next stop was the Eacham roadhouse where we got ready for a bike ride over the tablelands. Due to the recent rainfall we were only allowed to cycle on the roads as the mountain biking tracks were closed to prevent erosion. The thing we had to be careful with on the roads were the hanging vines with the prickles we were shown yesterday, which apparently if caught on us could potentially take us off our bikes! I nearly became a victim of this when cycling to our first stop Lake Eacham, but luckily I just brushed it with my hand.
Continuing through the light rains we passed through lush green countryside, stopping every so often for rest stops. The girls in my group couldn't manage the hills, and I was pretty smug with myself when tanking it up the biggest hill of the day from the back, passing each person as they gave up! Some of the features en route included this old bus shelter which had been damaged in a cyclone, and this distinctive sign which had pictures of four Australian animals on including the legendary cassowary which can apparently run 50mph through the rainforest, as well as holding the title of the deadliest bird in the world!
By now it started raining a little more heavily, although our guide took us for a walk through a more less commercialised area of rainforest unlike the signposted one from yesterday. The dense canopy above acted as a really good shelter from the rain, although the paths were really slippery and muddy as we dodged the vines and clambered round fallen trees to Vision Falls, another impressive yet secluded waterfall. From here we hopped from rock to rock to another waterfall which we had to walk behind due to the high rainfall recently submerging the stepping stones. After getting a soaking and picture holding the vines by the waterfall, it was back round past this murky swimming hole before heading back to the bikes.
One thing I haven't mentioned about the rainforest is the leaches which were constantly getting themselves onto my legs somehow. When returning to the bikes I found one which when I removed made me bleed! Another nice thing was the fact we could feel many of the leaves whilst walking through which had so many weird textures. Before long we were back to cycling in the pouring rain, shortly arriving back to the roadhouse for lunch. I opted for fish and chips here and the portion was massive! I really miss proper English chip shop chips though!
After a short trip back to the hostel, the next stop of the day was the Allumbah Pocket where we saw this old swimming creek as well as a massive spider! We also tried looking for platypus here although the rain made it difficult to see any potential movement in the water. A short transfer from the creek, we got ready to go canoeing through the rainforest on a search for wildlife. When leaving however the rain turned into something ridiculously heavy, but we carried on in good spirits! We were basically canoeing in Lake Tinaroo which was formed through a dam in 1959. Apparently underneath the lake there is a small town still with cars and housing which was flooded to build the dam.
I won't go into much detail about the actual canoe trip through the rainforest, other than fact we got very wet. In terms of wildlife the best we saw were water dragons and ducks! It was typical that when returning however the sun came out, although when returning to the hostel we were like drowned rats! It was nice though that we were able to use the showers and dry off here before our lift back to Cairns. It wasn't long before todays day trip people arrived for afternoon tea like us yesterday, and from here we boarded the bus back.
On the way back the driver played lots of dance music, a different approach to our driver yesterday who played songs relevant to the situation we were in! Before long we completed the 237 turns back to the coast road, and by around half 7 it was finally back to Cairns after an exhausting few days. It was nice for a doorstep drop off here as well as the rain was torrential by this point. No word of lie, when checking into my room the path was flooded and I had to paddle in! There was even thunder at times.
The evening was spent in the common room in the end, although I eventually abandoned in the end as my phone was dieing, and I stayed in my room from here to avoid getting wet. I had another one of them weird moments here as well as when trying to write my blog I simply fell asleep! If you're wondering about dinner it was simply not worth going outside in the rain for supplies, it was that bad!
Saturday, 15 March 2014
March 11th... Atherton Tablelands Day 1
Due to the fact I had an early start this morning I was awoken by my alarm ready for a 2 day 1 night tour of the Atherton Tablelands. I packed light for this trip with just a couple of changes of clothes, wash kit and my charger, opting against my waterproof coat. After getting ready I quickly ate my remaining tiger rolls for breakfast before waiting outside my hostel to be picked up by the tour company, On the Wallaby.
As usual they were late picking me up, and after what felt like a guided tour of Cairns we had a minibus full of people ready to explore the tablelands. Out of the 21 people on the trip however, I was the only English person! When leaving Cairns we passed through the small outer suburb of White Rock where our guide showed us some wild wallabies. We then went to the service station in the outermost suburb of Cairns, Gordonvale for any last minute supplies, before heading into the clouded mountains full of trees.
The Atherton Tablelands is a collective name for the extensive rainforest and woodland area south of Cairns formed through volcanic activity many years ago. At around 900m above sea level in many places, we climbed very quickly up through the Gillie Mountains along a popular tourist route which has 237 turns! It was very appropriate we went up here with everyday is a winding road playing in the background! Before long our driver pointed out that the woodland we had travelled through had turned to rainforest, the change in tree formation being so evident! You could tell by all the vines and ferns to name a few things.
When reaching the top of the winding road, stopping off at this viewpoint en route to get views of the clouded woodland right out to sea below, we continued to the Cathedral Fig Tree. At about 500 years old and 44m in circumference, it would take about 25 people to link arms round the tree! It was very impressive having been formed through these vines strangling the previous trees to form a collective trunk of these tall winding vines. Our guide described it as the easiest tree to climb, and apparently people go up there and watch sunsets, although the large patches in ferns in the enclosed canopy above is home to large pythons!
Continuing on through lush green countryside, we soon re-entered the rainforest stopping at the car park for the large Lake Barrine. This was a freshwater lake filled with rainwater from a volcanic crater formed many years ago. It was here our guide took us for a walk through the ancient rainforest to show us some plants and wildlife. Most notable of the plants were these vines which had these sharp prickles in them which could stop you in your tracks, literally! There was a large vine hanging from the rainforest later on, and I couldn't resist swinging on it! It was not one of the aforementioned vines though! Another plant showed was this stinger plant which if put in contact with the skin would cause a lot of pain. Our guide was very interesting, showing us some past storm damage, and how it has affected the dense canopy above. During the walk however it started raining, although we were near the minibus by this time which didn't really matter.
The next stop of the day was Lake Eacham which was formed in the same way as Lake Barrine, and at 65m deep was our first swimming opportunity of the day. The water was actually warmer than the air outside, which was slightly cool due to our altitude. After a short swim I went to this viewing platform and saw some small turtles, along with the fish in the lake. Before long it was time for lunch which our guide prepared whilst we were swimming. It was basically rolls with various fillings, and due to the fact barely no one seemed to have a big appetite meant I ate very well!
The next stop of the day was the famous Millaa Millaa falls which has been used in adverts like Herbal Essences before. The water was lets say refreshing and we were we given to the chance to recreate the adverts famous hair flick. I then went in behind the sheer drop waterfall which was amazing to look up above, before doing one big push from the slippery rocks behind to go under it. The sheer force of the water as I went under was amazing!
After a fair while at the waterfall, the next stop of the day was Mount Hypipamee. It was here we went looking for things like Cassowary and Tree Kangaroos. Whilst looking we went to this volcanic crater which at around 50m below us was full of water. No one actually knows how deep it is, and some divers recently tried to find out but lost visibility at 76m! We then continued round the damp paths to Dinner Falls which was a cascade waterfall going down the many rock formations. Most of us opted out of a swim here as the weather really caved in, instead heading back to the minibus.
Throughout our time here we didn't see any wildlife other than a bush turkey, again!
The final stop of the day was Peterson Creek where we went platypus spotting. Once again we were without luck as the sunset, although there were lots of ripples in the still water which suggested something was there. From here we were transferred to the On the Wallaby lodge for afternoon tea of cookies and tropical fruits, although it was gone 6 by this time. It was here all the people on the day trip left, leaving just 4 of us behind for the second day!
Shortly after settling into our cosy dorm in the converted cottage in the village of Yungaburra, it was time for dinner. Dinner consisted of steak with onions, sausage, garlic bread, mash and salad, a brilliant home cooked meal to the end the busy day. In the evening we played table tennis and pool as this was free, meeting a guy from Leeds who was working in the hostel. Before long it started to rain once again which signalled my time for bed as it was such a busy day!
As usual they were late picking me up, and after what felt like a guided tour of Cairns we had a minibus full of people ready to explore the tablelands. Out of the 21 people on the trip however, I was the only English person! When leaving Cairns we passed through the small outer suburb of White Rock where our guide showed us some wild wallabies. We then went to the service station in the outermost suburb of Cairns, Gordonvale for any last minute supplies, before heading into the clouded mountains full of trees.
The Atherton Tablelands is a collective name for the extensive rainforest and woodland area south of Cairns formed through volcanic activity many years ago. At around 900m above sea level in many places, we climbed very quickly up through the Gillie Mountains along a popular tourist route which has 237 turns! It was very appropriate we went up here with everyday is a winding road playing in the background! Before long our driver pointed out that the woodland we had travelled through had turned to rainforest, the change in tree formation being so evident! You could tell by all the vines and ferns to name a few things.
When reaching the top of the winding road, stopping off at this viewpoint en route to get views of the clouded woodland right out to sea below, we continued to the Cathedral Fig Tree. At about 500 years old and 44m in circumference, it would take about 25 people to link arms round the tree! It was very impressive having been formed through these vines strangling the previous trees to form a collective trunk of these tall winding vines. Our guide described it as the easiest tree to climb, and apparently people go up there and watch sunsets, although the large patches in ferns in the enclosed canopy above is home to large pythons!
Continuing on through lush green countryside, we soon re-entered the rainforest stopping at the car park for the large Lake Barrine. This was a freshwater lake filled with rainwater from a volcanic crater formed many years ago. It was here our guide took us for a walk through the ancient rainforest to show us some plants and wildlife. Most notable of the plants were these vines which had these sharp prickles in them which could stop you in your tracks, literally! There was a large vine hanging from the rainforest later on, and I couldn't resist swinging on it! It was not one of the aforementioned vines though! Another plant showed was this stinger plant which if put in contact with the skin would cause a lot of pain. Our guide was very interesting, showing us some past storm damage, and how it has affected the dense canopy above. During the walk however it started raining, although we were near the minibus by this time which didn't really matter.
The next stop of the day was Lake Eacham which was formed in the same way as Lake Barrine, and at 65m deep was our first swimming opportunity of the day. The water was actually warmer than the air outside, which was slightly cool due to our altitude. After a short swim I went to this viewing platform and saw some small turtles, along with the fish in the lake. Before long it was time for lunch which our guide prepared whilst we were swimming. It was basically rolls with various fillings, and due to the fact barely no one seemed to have a big appetite meant I ate very well!
The next stop of the day was the famous Millaa Millaa falls which has been used in adverts like Herbal Essences before. The water was lets say refreshing and we were we given to the chance to recreate the adverts famous hair flick. I then went in behind the sheer drop waterfall which was amazing to look up above, before doing one big push from the slippery rocks behind to go under it. The sheer force of the water as I went under was amazing!
After a fair while at the waterfall, the next stop of the day was Mount Hypipamee. It was here we went looking for things like Cassowary and Tree Kangaroos. Whilst looking we went to this volcanic crater which at around 50m below us was full of water. No one actually knows how deep it is, and some divers recently tried to find out but lost visibility at 76m! We then continued round the damp paths to Dinner Falls which was a cascade waterfall going down the many rock formations. Most of us opted out of a swim here as the weather really caved in, instead heading back to the minibus.
Throughout our time here we didn't see any wildlife other than a bush turkey, again!
The final stop of the day was Peterson Creek where we went platypus spotting. Once again we were without luck as the sunset, although there were lots of ripples in the still water which suggested something was there. From here we were transferred to the On the Wallaby lodge for afternoon tea of cookies and tropical fruits, although it was gone 6 by this time. It was here all the people on the day trip left, leaving just 4 of us behind for the second day!
Shortly after settling into our cosy dorm in the converted cottage in the village of Yungaburra, it was time for dinner. Dinner consisted of steak with onions, sausage, garlic bread, mash and salad, a brilliant home cooked meal to the end the busy day. In the evening we played table tennis and pool as this was free, meeting a guy from Leeds who was working in the hostel. Before long it started to rain once again which signalled my time for bed as it was such a busy day!
Thursday, 13 March 2014
March 10th... Cairns
Today was one of those days where I had nothing planned, mainly due to the fact I was in a new town and I like to explore them first. Despite this I was still up early and hence took the opportunity to try and catch up on my blog which I keep getting behind on with all these tours without WiFi and in some cases electricity! After what was a relatively relaxing morning in the end I headed out into Cairns, heading straight down to the Esplanade getting my first insight into Cairns.
I studied Cairns and the surrounding areas in geography last year and it was exactly how I pictured it, a town which has expanded in recent years due to tourism. There is literally rainforest either side and then a town in the middle. Much of the infrastructure on the seafront was really modern, although the thing Cairns lacks is a beach due to the crocodile risk. The seafront is more of a salt marsh, although the boating industry is still massive being the countries main gateway to the barrier reef!
After the 15 minute or so walk from my hostel, I headed into the town centre where the shops were all dotted down various streets in a crossroad formation. It was here I found the local Woolworths and got my breakfast, tiger rolls and I also tried a mars choc loaded bar for the first time. I won't go into detail about Australian chocolate but they have it better over here!
It was then off to the travel agency to try and sort out my New Zealand part of the trip, although I was pretty annoyed when travel bugs who I have used all the way up the coast refused to help me because I booked my bus pass back home. I instead went to happy travels next door who helped me confirm everything and I also managed to book my first hostel in New Zealand there too. From there I headed onto their computers at first to look up New Zealand, and then to download some geocaches. I'll talk about how my Kiwi Experience bus pass works when I know more because I am still trying to work it all out!
With my GPS loaded with some caches I continued exploring the area, with my searches taking me to the big out of town shopping mall, railway station and the reef fleet terminal. This is where all the major boats leave from to explore the reef, a trip I am doing on Thursday. I then went back along the seafront passing the manmade lagoon before going back inland through the park and along the small creek flowing through the city, heading back to the hostel after finding nine caches.
Back at the hostel I sorted out my pile of postcards and a few other things ready to send home because today is arguably my only opportunity before leaving Cairns as I have a pretty full on five days after today! After eventually finding the post office, I headed off back along the seafront, this time further along to the botanical gardens which included a tropical palm forest walk and a rainforest swamp walk. The area was full of mosquitos however!
After a good look at all the plants and wildlife on show, I headed back into town, although when passing the mangroves this bird kept swooping down on me! I also got a glimpse of the airport which looked quite small, with pretty precarious take offs. All the planes were taking off west and then doing sharp u turns to turn around! From here instead of going back to the hostel I went straight to dominoes pizza, getting glimpses of the impressive 'bat' formation as the sunset. They are not actually bats but some bigger variant. There were literally hundreds!
When finally getting my bangers and beef pizza I headed down to the seafront in the now darkness and quickly devoured the pizza. It was then straight back to the hostel where I was so tired by this point. Despite this I relaxed in the common room for a while. After my uncomfortable night the night before I opted to change sleeping directions tonight which was kind of successful, although the biggest problem was the squeaking bunk.
I studied Cairns and the surrounding areas in geography last year and it was exactly how I pictured it, a town which has expanded in recent years due to tourism. There is literally rainforest either side and then a town in the middle. Much of the infrastructure on the seafront was really modern, although the thing Cairns lacks is a beach due to the crocodile risk. The seafront is more of a salt marsh, although the boating industry is still massive being the countries main gateway to the barrier reef!
After the 15 minute or so walk from my hostel, I headed into the town centre where the shops were all dotted down various streets in a crossroad formation. It was here I found the local Woolworths and got my breakfast, tiger rolls and I also tried a mars choc loaded bar for the first time. I won't go into detail about Australian chocolate but they have it better over here!
It was then off to the travel agency to try and sort out my New Zealand part of the trip, although I was pretty annoyed when travel bugs who I have used all the way up the coast refused to help me because I booked my bus pass back home. I instead went to happy travels next door who helped me confirm everything and I also managed to book my first hostel in New Zealand there too. From there I headed onto their computers at first to look up New Zealand, and then to download some geocaches. I'll talk about how my Kiwi Experience bus pass works when I know more because I am still trying to work it all out!
With my GPS loaded with some caches I continued exploring the area, with my searches taking me to the big out of town shopping mall, railway station and the reef fleet terminal. This is where all the major boats leave from to explore the reef, a trip I am doing on Thursday. I then went back along the seafront passing the manmade lagoon before going back inland through the park and along the small creek flowing through the city, heading back to the hostel after finding nine caches.
Back at the hostel I sorted out my pile of postcards and a few other things ready to send home because today is arguably my only opportunity before leaving Cairns as I have a pretty full on five days after today! After eventually finding the post office, I headed off back along the seafront, this time further along to the botanical gardens which included a tropical palm forest walk and a rainforest swamp walk. The area was full of mosquitos however!
After a good look at all the plants and wildlife on show, I headed back into town, although when passing the mangroves this bird kept swooping down on me! I also got a glimpse of the airport which looked quite small, with pretty precarious take offs. All the planes were taking off west and then doing sharp u turns to turn around! From here instead of going back to the hostel I went straight to dominoes pizza, getting glimpses of the impressive 'bat' formation as the sunset. They are not actually bats but some bigger variant. There were literally hundreds!
When finally getting my bangers and beef pizza I headed down to the seafront in the now darkness and quickly devoured the pizza. It was then straight back to the hostel where I was so tired by this point. Despite this I relaxed in the common room for a while. After my uncomfortable night the night before I opted to change sleeping directions tonight which was kind of successful, although the biggest problem was the squeaking bunk.
Wednesday, 12 March 2014
March 9th... From Townsville to Cairns
I woke up early this morning, beating my alarm clock by a matter of minutes, in order to leave the island early to maximise my time in Townsville before my bus to Cairns in the afternoon. I was confused however when waking up because the two German girls on the bunk next to me when falling asleep last night had gone, and instead these two random guys were in their place! It's probably because going to bed early last night meant I missed all the action!
After once again having toast for breakfast I checked out the hostel and walked over to the ferry terminal. When staying at hostels, some ask for a key deposit, and I hoping my hostel in Cairns doesn't ask for this as otherwise I will have some random Australian dollars before boarding my plane to New Zealand. According to the hostel there was a boat at 8.05, however upon arrival the 7.50 was just leaving and the next one was at 8.25 which was confusing! I think the fact there was a different timetable on Sundays was why they had written down the wrong time.
When finally boarding the ferry across the choppy waters, I soon arrived back on the mainland at Townsville. Before leaving the island however this guy changed the cyclone warning sign to "prepare for cyclone" which was worrying! They keep threatening cyclones though and all I've had is rain so far which is good I suppose. When disembarking the ferry I headed straight back over to Flinders Square in Townsville to get the free WiFi, managing to get the positive football result and many Facebook notifications!
After spending a while here catching up on things, I headed up to Castle Hill which is a large hill looking over the low lying city below. With a few caches installed onto my gps, I headed along roads following signs for the goat path. It was really muggy though which wasn't helped by the fact I had my backpack on me. I think the hill was something like 300m high climbing up at a rapid rate. After finding a couple of caches en route, the well defined rock steps met with a road and I followed this to the hilltop car park. Here I found another cache before hauling myself up the last few steps to the summit lookout which gave me impressive views of Townsville below, as well as Magnetic Island. I realised here as well that Townsville was actually a fair size with housing spanning right out from behind the hill.
When descending from the hill, feeling cooler air with each step, I went back to Flinders Square. Once here I took a look round the market I had passed just being set up when arriving in Townsville which sold foods and gifts primarily. I then settled down by the river with my lunch of pie and wafers which I had earlier purchased, before setting off back to the ferry terminal which is also where the greyhound buses stop. I found two caches en route, and when arriving at around 2 gave me just a half hour wait for the bus to Cairns.
The bus arrived early in the end, although it was frustrating as the driver was faffing about with making the bags look neat on the bus which meant we ended up leaving late. Shortly after leaving Townsville we swapped drivers who took us straight through to Cardwell, passing Ingham en route. It was in Cardwell we had one of our dinner breaks which was set in a nice area by the sea. There were warning signs not to swim in the sea because of crocodiles though!
Before long we set off again, getting another driver swap, although it was frustrating as there were road works along the road we were on and for large stretches only one lane was open. On more than one occasion we had to spend long periods stuck at a red light. En route to Cairns we passed through Tully which seemed like a really quirky place at the foot of the rainforest, with a big emu when entering the town, as well as a frog on wellington boot statue amongst the things on show! If that was weird, our next stop in Mission Beach had a big cassowary outside its shopping centre. The bus emptied out a bit here as well. I was tempted to stop here but apparently asides from the beach the only activities here were helicopter rides and skydives, two very expensive things.
Continuing along this winding road back onto the main road, we finally arrived into Cairns at around half 8, 15 minutes later than scheduled. Our driver was funny upon arrival like with all the way up from Cardwell making sarky comments about his weight and the air conditioning! When finally checking into the hostel at around 9, because it was just out of town, I took advantage of their free WiFi. Before long this turned into a skype session and in the blink of an eye it had gone 11. Due to the fact I had only dumped my stuff in my 6 bed dorm at Calypso backpackers, I just went straight to bed as I had a relaxing day planned for tomorrow. I was however covered in mosquito bites which was frustrating after only finding out after accidentally scratching myself!
After once again having toast for breakfast I checked out the hostel and walked over to the ferry terminal. When staying at hostels, some ask for a key deposit, and I hoping my hostel in Cairns doesn't ask for this as otherwise I will have some random Australian dollars before boarding my plane to New Zealand. According to the hostel there was a boat at 8.05, however upon arrival the 7.50 was just leaving and the next one was at 8.25 which was confusing! I think the fact there was a different timetable on Sundays was why they had written down the wrong time.
When finally boarding the ferry across the choppy waters, I soon arrived back on the mainland at Townsville. Before leaving the island however this guy changed the cyclone warning sign to "prepare for cyclone" which was worrying! They keep threatening cyclones though and all I've had is rain so far which is good I suppose. When disembarking the ferry I headed straight back over to Flinders Square in Townsville to get the free WiFi, managing to get the positive football result and many Facebook notifications!
After spending a while here catching up on things, I headed up to Castle Hill which is a large hill looking over the low lying city below. With a few caches installed onto my gps, I headed along roads following signs for the goat path. It was really muggy though which wasn't helped by the fact I had my backpack on me. I think the hill was something like 300m high climbing up at a rapid rate. After finding a couple of caches en route, the well defined rock steps met with a road and I followed this to the hilltop car park. Here I found another cache before hauling myself up the last few steps to the summit lookout which gave me impressive views of Townsville below, as well as Magnetic Island. I realised here as well that Townsville was actually a fair size with housing spanning right out from behind the hill.
When descending from the hill, feeling cooler air with each step, I went back to Flinders Square. Once here I took a look round the market I had passed just being set up when arriving in Townsville which sold foods and gifts primarily. I then settled down by the river with my lunch of pie and wafers which I had earlier purchased, before setting off back to the ferry terminal which is also where the greyhound buses stop. I found two caches en route, and when arriving at around 2 gave me just a half hour wait for the bus to Cairns.
The bus arrived early in the end, although it was frustrating as the driver was faffing about with making the bags look neat on the bus which meant we ended up leaving late. Shortly after leaving Townsville we swapped drivers who took us straight through to Cardwell, passing Ingham en route. It was in Cardwell we had one of our dinner breaks which was set in a nice area by the sea. There were warning signs not to swim in the sea because of crocodiles though!
Before long we set off again, getting another driver swap, although it was frustrating as there were road works along the road we were on and for large stretches only one lane was open. On more than one occasion we had to spend long periods stuck at a red light. En route to Cairns we passed through Tully which seemed like a really quirky place at the foot of the rainforest, with a big emu when entering the town, as well as a frog on wellington boot statue amongst the things on show! If that was weird, our next stop in Mission Beach had a big cassowary outside its shopping centre. The bus emptied out a bit here as well. I was tempted to stop here but apparently asides from the beach the only activities here were helicopter rides and skydives, two very expensive things.
Continuing along this winding road back onto the main road, we finally arrived into Cairns at around half 8, 15 minutes later than scheduled. Our driver was funny upon arrival like with all the way up from Cardwell making sarky comments about his weight and the air conditioning! When finally checking into the hostel at around 9, because it was just out of town, I took advantage of their free WiFi. Before long this turned into a skype session and in the blink of an eye it had gone 11. Due to the fact I had only dumped my stuff in my 6 bed dorm at Calypso backpackers, I just went straight to bed as I had a relaxing day planned for tomorrow. I was however covered in mosquito bites which was frustrating after only finding out after accidentally scratching myself!
Monday, 10 March 2014
March 8th... Magnetic Island Day 2
Without setting an alarm last night, I managed to get some kind of lie in waking up at gone 8. This was ok because the only official thing I had planned for today was a trip to the islands koala sanctuary in the afternoon. As I didn't really fancy toast this morning, I opted to use my free breakfast voucher. I also wanted to use it this morning so that I could get off the island early tomorrow to spend the morning in Townsville. Breakfast consisted of bacon, eggs and toast which was nothing substantial but it filled a hole.
This morning I took a walk south down to Cockle Bay to try and find a cache which I didn't have time for yesterday. I only headed north yesterday. Walking over the hill and past the Hawking's lookout path I walked up the first evening, I arrived in Picnic Bay, the southernmost village of the island. Here I looked at the derelict pier which gave me views back over towards Townsville. A short while later I went in search of the cache and after opting against going up and over the large rock boulders for a shortcut, headed down this gravel track covered in dead frogs to Cockle Bay.
Upon arrival at Cockle Bay which seemed like a derelict village with old housing and with what was actually a really nice beach, I followed the title of the cache which was "Clamber the Rocks at Cockle Bay" climbing up the cliff until I got to the final location. After all my efforts in getting here I got a DNF and instead got a few painful bites by these annoying green ant things. I don't think people go up here very often! There were good views like with so many other places on the island though.
After heading back over the hill to the hostel I caught the island bus over to Horseshoe Bay for the Koala Sanctuary. I took an early bus to have lunch before my 2.30 tour of the place. The bus took ages however as the driver only went as far as Nelly Bay and wanted his break, with no drivers to replace him. We eventually got a driver and I arrived at the sanctuary, buying my ticket, before heading down to Horseshoe Bay for lunch once again. It was only rolls, crisps and wafers like yesterday. I even managed to get another 5 minutes WiFi here which was more like 15 minutes, which kept me happy briefly!
After what was a relaxing lunchtime down on the northern shores of the island, I headed back to the sanctuary which was also a hostel, relaxing on the sofas before the tour started. I was going to stay here but the travel agent told me not to as they didn't pay for your ferry transfers whereas base did. Eventually it was time for my hands on session with the animals in this small animal centre. The first animal we got to see was this black parrot thing which I was able to feed seeds to with my mouth. He seemed to like my t shirt though as he kept nibbling it!
After seeing another parrot thing which was white and could swear in English and German, we got to see this wombat called Harry. Thought to be extinct, this northern hairy wombat was discovered by a farmer who donated his farm to science to promote the breeding of this animal. There are now around 200 of these endangered animals. We were only able to stroke the wombat though.
Next up was the reptile section where we got to see these freshwater crocodiles. Apparently they don't eat people and if you were to get into a lake with them they would swim away from you! I was then shown a saltwater crocodile which I was able to hold. Luckily it was only a baby as when fully grown, they would easily devour a human, with an average of two deaths a year to crocodiles in Australia. Whilst here I also got to hold a blue tongued lizard and a two headed skink, which decided to do its business all over my hand! I also had this random lizard which had a flappy neck which expanded to defend itself from predators put on my head!
After this we moved onto the Koala photo shoot where we were able to hold a koala for an additional fee. I got to hold this 18 month old baby which was just really soft and cuddly, although it just gripped on to me. Prior to holding the koala I was taught how to be a tree and my training paid off in the end! In terms of photos the actual sanctuary took some photos of us for a souvenir photo, then we were allowed some personal photos after. To finish off it was onto the snake handling, although we were stretched for time by this point so I was only able to hold the carpet python in the end, which was a lot smaller than the one I held in Thailand!
An additional perk of the afternoon tour was the fact you could feed the rainbow lorikeets after the main tour, and after having this honey and water soaked bread placed in my hand we had to wait for these birds to come down. It took ages for one to make the courage to come down but after one came down they all swooped down, settling on my arm and even my head at times for the food. After finally getting the bread off my hand, it was off to the bus stop to wait for my bus back to the hostel.
About a half an hour wait later a bus finally arrived and it seemed to take ages as the driver kept winding down the side streets at every opportunity! When finally arriving back at the hostel which wasn't until nearly 6 in the end I cracked straight on with dinner which this evening was beef stew and rice, and the fact I managed to cook rice without it sticking to the pan marked another improvement for me. The downside was I couldn't open my tin, although after getting everyone to try without success it felt better. In the end this German got a knife and opened it by stabbing it for me!
After a filling dinner, the evening was spent writing blogs and packing my bag ready for an early departure tomorrow. I also took the chance to sort out my folder of leaflets again, which is getting really heavy now! Before long I headed to bed which was now only 3 people for some reason. No complaints from me though!
This morning I took a walk south down to Cockle Bay to try and find a cache which I didn't have time for yesterday. I only headed north yesterday. Walking over the hill and past the Hawking's lookout path I walked up the first evening, I arrived in Picnic Bay, the southernmost village of the island. Here I looked at the derelict pier which gave me views back over towards Townsville. A short while later I went in search of the cache and after opting against going up and over the large rock boulders for a shortcut, headed down this gravel track covered in dead frogs to Cockle Bay.
Upon arrival at Cockle Bay which seemed like a derelict village with old housing and with what was actually a really nice beach, I followed the title of the cache which was "Clamber the Rocks at Cockle Bay" climbing up the cliff until I got to the final location. After all my efforts in getting here I got a DNF and instead got a few painful bites by these annoying green ant things. I don't think people go up here very often! There were good views like with so many other places on the island though.
After heading back over the hill to the hostel I caught the island bus over to Horseshoe Bay for the Koala Sanctuary. I took an early bus to have lunch before my 2.30 tour of the place. The bus took ages however as the driver only went as far as Nelly Bay and wanted his break, with no drivers to replace him. We eventually got a driver and I arrived at the sanctuary, buying my ticket, before heading down to Horseshoe Bay for lunch once again. It was only rolls, crisps and wafers like yesterday. I even managed to get another 5 minutes WiFi here which was more like 15 minutes, which kept me happy briefly!
After what was a relaxing lunchtime down on the northern shores of the island, I headed back to the sanctuary which was also a hostel, relaxing on the sofas before the tour started. I was going to stay here but the travel agent told me not to as they didn't pay for your ferry transfers whereas base did. Eventually it was time for my hands on session with the animals in this small animal centre. The first animal we got to see was this black parrot thing which I was able to feed seeds to with my mouth. He seemed to like my t shirt though as he kept nibbling it!
After seeing another parrot thing which was white and could swear in English and German, we got to see this wombat called Harry. Thought to be extinct, this northern hairy wombat was discovered by a farmer who donated his farm to science to promote the breeding of this animal. There are now around 200 of these endangered animals. We were only able to stroke the wombat though.
Next up was the reptile section where we got to see these freshwater crocodiles. Apparently they don't eat people and if you were to get into a lake with them they would swim away from you! I was then shown a saltwater crocodile which I was able to hold. Luckily it was only a baby as when fully grown, they would easily devour a human, with an average of two deaths a year to crocodiles in Australia. Whilst here I also got to hold a blue tongued lizard and a two headed skink, which decided to do its business all over my hand! I also had this random lizard which had a flappy neck which expanded to defend itself from predators put on my head!
After this we moved onto the Koala photo shoot where we were able to hold a koala for an additional fee. I got to hold this 18 month old baby which was just really soft and cuddly, although it just gripped on to me. Prior to holding the koala I was taught how to be a tree and my training paid off in the end! In terms of photos the actual sanctuary took some photos of us for a souvenir photo, then we were allowed some personal photos after. To finish off it was onto the snake handling, although we were stretched for time by this point so I was only able to hold the carpet python in the end, which was a lot smaller than the one I held in Thailand!
An additional perk of the afternoon tour was the fact you could feed the rainbow lorikeets after the main tour, and after having this honey and water soaked bread placed in my hand we had to wait for these birds to come down. It took ages for one to make the courage to come down but after one came down they all swooped down, settling on my arm and even my head at times for the food. After finally getting the bread off my hand, it was off to the bus stop to wait for my bus back to the hostel.
About a half an hour wait later a bus finally arrived and it seemed to take ages as the driver kept winding down the side streets at every opportunity! When finally arriving back at the hostel which wasn't until nearly 6 in the end I cracked straight on with dinner which this evening was beef stew and rice, and the fact I managed to cook rice without it sticking to the pan marked another improvement for me. The downside was I couldn't open my tin, although after getting everyone to try without success it felt better. In the end this German got a knife and opened it by stabbing it for me!
After a filling dinner, the evening was spent writing blogs and packing my bag ready for an early departure tomorrow. I also took the chance to sort out my folder of leaflets again, which is getting really heavy now! Before long I headed to bed which was now only 3 people for some reason. No complaints from me though!
Sunday, 9 March 2014
March 7th... Magnetic Island Day 1
Once again I was up early this morning, today for an early morning Skype session. It is really difficult organising these sometimes however due to the time differences and long replies which are caused by this. Today I simply had a day of geocaching planned to tie in with what are described as amazing walks round the island. They say the best way to explore the island is on foot because it is primarily national park.
After another round of toast for breakfast I was off by around half 8, leaving my hostel near Picnic Bay to go to Nelly Bay, the ferry terminal. I got a quick find here after the road walking, and after going into the supermarket and finding some cheap rolls and a Swiss roll, I continued along this newly constructed metal walkway to the next village Arcadia. Arcadia had a more island village feel to the place with its own little shops and houses, along with a couple of impressive looking hotels. I didn't actually explore inside the village, saving it for later when the Friday night markets were on.
Continuing round the beach named Geoffrey Bay next to Arcadia, I sidetracked of the main road to head down to Bright Point, finding a cache en route. It was here that I was told that the rock wallabies of the island live, and I was not disappointed seeing these small kangaroo like creatures below this ageing shelter. I had another find here, although in the process of climbing the rocks to find it a rock wallaby jumped out the rocks at me!
My next find was at the Spinx lookout, although getting there was another matter! I followed the road getting within 200m of the cache, but with no sign of a path up to the lookout. Eventually after getting another 800m out of my way I found the path which weaved its way through the dry and rocky formations to the lookout, presenting me with views over the island. When descending from the lookout, I somehow ended up on a completely different path as the path was so vague. Luckily it was an actual path as I bumped into a sign which told me I just 4km from the northern edge of the island. Simply using my gps and the vague map I was convinced I was heading in the right direction and after a sharp descent down the rocky terrain I emerged at the car park for the forts.
Described as the most popular walk on the island, the forts walk was a circuit taking in some ruins from the second world war. I don't really know the full history though. It just so happened there were two caches here as well. Following the well defined circuit, I finally came across a water point. I think I had already drank about 3l of water by that point due to the muggy heat! Before long the path started harshly rising in altitude, and I even saw two wild koalas en route, even if I was showed by others! When arriving up top, passing ruins described as the range finder and gun escarpment en route, I climbed these metal ladders to go on top of this old fort for amazing views over the island! I also found a cache here although it involved me clambering down this rock face of boulders. Luckily I found the cache.
Heading back the way came, getting my glory moment when showing some Germans a koala, I arrived back at the forts car park. Here I followed this private road past Arthur Bay to the Giants Rock, yet another viewpoint. The views here were more secluded and after a quick find I continued along the gravel road to Horseshoe Bay. The road soon became a track and then a woodland path, although before long it started harshly rising up these boulders before doing something similar when descending the northern most village of Horseshoe Bay. When looking at the map I realised I had taken the shortcut up and over the hill, instead of simply traversing round the coast.
After a quick find upon arrival in Horseshoe, I settled down on the seafront for what was a late lunch. I had bread, crisps and swiss roll here, and after managing to take advantage of a free five minute WiFi trial I continued on. If you're wondering why I sometimes go long periods without posting a blog, it's because I genuinely cannot get a connection to post it. After heading further into Horseshoe passing these little gift shops and cafes, I got another find by the villages solar power station. I think Magnetic Island is completely self sufficient in renewable energies. It was then off for another 2.5km detour for my final cache, which I luckily found after having to clamber over these slippery rocks up to this palm tree! Ten finds for the day.
By now it was around 4, so I headed back along the beach to Horseshoe Bay, and instead of walking the 10km back along the road to Picnic Bay I opted to catch the bus. It's funny passing the cars on the island because the hire cars are like Barbie cars! As the time was getting on I missed out the Arcadia market, although it only looked small anyway, getting off the bus at Nelly Bay so I could some batteries for my gps which had low batteries.
By around 6 I finally arrived back at the hostel on what was a really long day! As I had a free dinner voucher and I couldn't be bothered to cook I ate at the hostel, devouring a beef burrito and chips, along with my free complementary island sex on the beach cocktail. Come the evening it started to rain, and I was told it had rained earlier that day on the southern part of the island, so I was lucky to have sun all day being up north! Before long I was in the bedroom and I think you can guess what happened from there.
After another round of toast for breakfast I was off by around half 8, leaving my hostel near Picnic Bay to go to Nelly Bay, the ferry terminal. I got a quick find here after the road walking, and after going into the supermarket and finding some cheap rolls and a Swiss roll, I continued along this newly constructed metal walkway to the next village Arcadia. Arcadia had a more island village feel to the place with its own little shops and houses, along with a couple of impressive looking hotels. I didn't actually explore inside the village, saving it for later when the Friday night markets were on.
Continuing round the beach named Geoffrey Bay next to Arcadia, I sidetracked of the main road to head down to Bright Point, finding a cache en route. It was here that I was told that the rock wallabies of the island live, and I was not disappointed seeing these small kangaroo like creatures below this ageing shelter. I had another find here, although in the process of climbing the rocks to find it a rock wallaby jumped out the rocks at me!
My next find was at the Spinx lookout, although getting there was another matter! I followed the road getting within 200m of the cache, but with no sign of a path up to the lookout. Eventually after getting another 800m out of my way I found the path which weaved its way through the dry and rocky formations to the lookout, presenting me with views over the island. When descending from the lookout, I somehow ended up on a completely different path as the path was so vague. Luckily it was an actual path as I bumped into a sign which told me I just 4km from the northern edge of the island. Simply using my gps and the vague map I was convinced I was heading in the right direction and after a sharp descent down the rocky terrain I emerged at the car park for the forts.
Described as the most popular walk on the island, the forts walk was a circuit taking in some ruins from the second world war. I don't really know the full history though. It just so happened there were two caches here as well. Following the well defined circuit, I finally came across a water point. I think I had already drank about 3l of water by that point due to the muggy heat! Before long the path started harshly rising in altitude, and I even saw two wild koalas en route, even if I was showed by others! When arriving up top, passing ruins described as the range finder and gun escarpment en route, I climbed these metal ladders to go on top of this old fort for amazing views over the island! I also found a cache here although it involved me clambering down this rock face of boulders. Luckily I found the cache.
Heading back the way came, getting my glory moment when showing some Germans a koala, I arrived back at the forts car park. Here I followed this private road past Arthur Bay to the Giants Rock, yet another viewpoint. The views here were more secluded and after a quick find I continued along the gravel road to Horseshoe Bay. The road soon became a track and then a woodland path, although before long it started harshly rising up these boulders before doing something similar when descending the northern most village of Horseshoe Bay. When looking at the map I realised I had taken the shortcut up and over the hill, instead of simply traversing round the coast.
After a quick find upon arrival in Horseshoe, I settled down on the seafront for what was a late lunch. I had bread, crisps and swiss roll here, and after managing to take advantage of a free five minute WiFi trial I continued on. If you're wondering why I sometimes go long periods without posting a blog, it's because I genuinely cannot get a connection to post it. After heading further into Horseshoe passing these little gift shops and cafes, I got another find by the villages solar power station. I think Magnetic Island is completely self sufficient in renewable energies. It was then off for another 2.5km detour for my final cache, which I luckily found after having to clamber over these slippery rocks up to this palm tree! Ten finds for the day.
By now it was around 4, so I headed back along the beach to Horseshoe Bay, and instead of walking the 10km back along the road to Picnic Bay I opted to catch the bus. It's funny passing the cars on the island because the hire cars are like Barbie cars! As the time was getting on I missed out the Arcadia market, although it only looked small anyway, getting off the bus at Nelly Bay so I could some batteries for my gps which had low batteries.
By around 6 I finally arrived back at the hostel on what was a really long day! As I had a free dinner voucher and I couldn't be bothered to cook I ate at the hostel, devouring a beef burrito and chips, along with my free complementary island sex on the beach cocktail. Come the evening it started to rain, and I was told it had rained earlier that day on the southern part of the island, so I was lucky to have sun all day being up north! Before long I was in the bedroom and I think you can guess what happened from there.
March 6th... From Airlie Beach to Magnetic Island
Waking up at 7 this morning, I headed straight downstairs to my hostels common room to catch the second half of the football. I wanted to watch the England game but the fact I didn't set an alarm meant the Germans had already taken over so I was forced to watch the Germany game. Prior to today I was debating whether to catch the 7am or 9.20am bus out of Airlie to my next stop Townsville for Magnetic Island, and I opted for the 9.20am primarily to prevent faffing about with an early check out from the hostel. Everything actually worked out really well in the end.
After having a quick breakfast of toast, I collected the bag I had packed last night and checked out the hostel. I also made the painful decision of ditching my cowboy hat from Kroombit. I realised that it was unrealistic to carry an irregularly shaped item round me, and the fact it was already falling apart from being crushed from the previous greyhound bus meant it was time to say goodbye! I've still got my Kroombit bandana though! The real reason I checked out early however was to take advantage of the free WiFi outside McDonalds before heading down to the newly built bus terminal.
Arriving at the bus station a little early, a short while later the bus arrived bang on time and after boarding to a half empty bus with usb chargers, I was able to sit back and relax. I had nothing much more than get to Magnetic Island planned for the day. Passing through Bowen, the other gateway to the Whitsundays en route, we stopped off at the Delta Roadhouse for a dinner break. It was a little soon after breakfast for me so I just took to the chance to sit under the palm trees in the shade while the bus driver did the obligatory fuel and windscreen cleaning that needed doing every time we stop at these service stations.
By about 2 we arrived into Townsville after passing through the small towns of Home Hill and Ayr. I wasn't missing much in these places. Arriving at 2 was in fact half an hour earlier than scheduled, and instead of catching the ferry straight over to Magnetic Island I took the opportunity to take a look round Townsville, classed as the 3rd biggest city in Queensland. It was more like Newhaven to be honest though. The ferries over to Magnetic Island ran until around midnight so I was in no rush with my inclusive ferry ticket being fully flexible.
I headed into the city centre which was just a small high street with lots of cheaply priced shops. There were plenty of shops aimed for tourists although they looked stuck in the 90s. All I was looking for was a supermarket to get some food supplies before going over to the island, and I soon found a Woolworths getting enough meals for the next three days, although I do have an inclusive dinner and breakfast on the island! It was also nice that Townsville offered free WiFi. I'm planning to spend the morning here after I leave Magnetic Island as my bus to Cairns doesn't leave until 2.35pm.
Heading back to the ferry terminal, I made a perfect walk straight on the ferry connection boarding the ferry for a 3.45 departure. The trip over was on very choppy waters, and after the occasional splash of water I arrived on the island by 4.10. I was surprised when disembarking to see this heavily commercialised ferry terminal with impressive housing infrastructure and a large supermarket. The island is basically made up 4 villages called Picnic Bay, Nelly Bay, Arcadia and Horseshoe Bay. My hostel was somewhere between Picnic Bay and the ferry terminal at Nelly Bay.
About a half hour walk down the road I arrived at my hostel, although I probably should have caught the regular bus which links the four villages on the eastern side of the island. The west is all national park making up 70% of the island. Despite this there are still around 2000 people living on the island! After arriving at the hostel I dumped my stuff and headed out for a quick walk up the nearby Hawkings lookout to watch the sunset. I probably shouldn't have walked up the rocky path in sandals, but it was well worth the views back over to Townsville as well as seeing yet more lizards.
Dinner this evening was rice and vegetables which I cooked all by myself after inspiration from the Fraser island trip. I even used the absorption method of cooking rice, although it stuck to the pan afterwards. I am improving my cooking skills by the day though! In the evening the hostel ran a quiz night, although I was absolutely hopeless as I probably needed to be Australian to stand a chance. Afterwards I headed to my room which was full of ants for some reason, with a lizard on the roof for good measure. After unpacking my stuff into the big drawers they have in every Base hostels I headed to bed. I like unpacking my stuff as it feels like a wardrobe!
After having a quick breakfast of toast, I collected the bag I had packed last night and checked out the hostel. I also made the painful decision of ditching my cowboy hat from Kroombit. I realised that it was unrealistic to carry an irregularly shaped item round me, and the fact it was already falling apart from being crushed from the previous greyhound bus meant it was time to say goodbye! I've still got my Kroombit bandana though! The real reason I checked out early however was to take advantage of the free WiFi outside McDonalds before heading down to the newly built bus terminal.
Arriving at the bus station a little early, a short while later the bus arrived bang on time and after boarding to a half empty bus with usb chargers, I was able to sit back and relax. I had nothing much more than get to Magnetic Island planned for the day. Passing through Bowen, the other gateway to the Whitsundays en route, we stopped off at the Delta Roadhouse for a dinner break. It was a little soon after breakfast for me so I just took to the chance to sit under the palm trees in the shade while the bus driver did the obligatory fuel and windscreen cleaning that needed doing every time we stop at these service stations.
By about 2 we arrived into Townsville after passing through the small towns of Home Hill and Ayr. I wasn't missing much in these places. Arriving at 2 was in fact half an hour earlier than scheduled, and instead of catching the ferry straight over to Magnetic Island I took the opportunity to take a look round Townsville, classed as the 3rd biggest city in Queensland. It was more like Newhaven to be honest though. The ferries over to Magnetic Island ran until around midnight so I was in no rush with my inclusive ferry ticket being fully flexible.
I headed into the city centre which was just a small high street with lots of cheaply priced shops. There were plenty of shops aimed for tourists although they looked stuck in the 90s. All I was looking for was a supermarket to get some food supplies before going over to the island, and I soon found a Woolworths getting enough meals for the next three days, although I do have an inclusive dinner and breakfast on the island! It was also nice that Townsville offered free WiFi. I'm planning to spend the morning here after I leave Magnetic Island as my bus to Cairns doesn't leave until 2.35pm.
Heading back to the ferry terminal, I made a perfect walk straight on the ferry connection boarding the ferry for a 3.45 departure. The trip over was on very choppy waters, and after the occasional splash of water I arrived on the island by 4.10. I was surprised when disembarking to see this heavily commercialised ferry terminal with impressive housing infrastructure and a large supermarket. The island is basically made up 4 villages called Picnic Bay, Nelly Bay, Arcadia and Horseshoe Bay. My hostel was somewhere between Picnic Bay and the ferry terminal at Nelly Bay.
About a half hour walk down the road I arrived at my hostel, although I probably should have caught the regular bus which links the four villages on the eastern side of the island. The west is all national park making up 70% of the island. Despite this there are still around 2000 people living on the island! After arriving at the hostel I dumped my stuff and headed out for a quick walk up the nearby Hawkings lookout to watch the sunset. I probably shouldn't have walked up the rocky path in sandals, but it was well worth the views back over to Townsville as well as seeing yet more lizards.
Dinner this evening was rice and vegetables which I cooked all by myself after inspiration from the Fraser island trip. I even used the absorption method of cooking rice, although it stuck to the pan afterwards. I am improving my cooking skills by the day though! In the evening the hostel ran a quiz night, although I was absolutely hopeless as I probably needed to be Australian to stand a chance. Afterwards I headed to my room which was full of ants for some reason, with a lizard on the roof for good measure. After unpacking my stuff into the big drawers they have in every Base hostels I headed to bed. I like unpacking my stuff as it feels like a wardrobe!
Saturday, 8 March 2014
March 5th... The Whitsundays Day 3
I had another one of them so called lie ins this morning, although I was forced out of bed by the sunlight this morning as the hatch was left open all night. It was nice to have some air circulating in the lower deck though as I felt a little seasick down there when first going down there because the heat, probably caused by so many people being on what was really a small boat. When emerging from the lower deck our neighbouring boat was into the full flow of activities with an inflatable water slide amongst the activities at just half 7 in the morning! It made my boat look bad, although the Apollo which I was on is an old race boat.
Breakfast this morning was bacon, scrambled eggs, beans and bread, another cracking effort by our chef who deserves credit for keeping so many people with big appetites happy. We sailed off early this morning, the plan being to stop on the small Langford Island for the morning, before sailing back to Airlie Beach early afternoon. We soon arrived at Langford Island which was a small island connected to this large sand spit at low tide. It was nearby the five star resort we saw the other night, which apparently was used by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie recently. The Red Hot Chilli Peppers even stayed there once, and were kicked off for going into the restaurant for wearing just ties after being sent away for not wearing ties previously!
When getting transferred to the island, seeing the odd turtle, I unlike the others walked along the stony sand spit before the tide separated the sand island from the main island. Whilst doing this however I hit my large toe on a rock which had a blister, creating a lot of blood! When at the the other end of the spit which was fascinating seeing two different tides meet in the middle, I got in the water to snorkel back to the others.
Despite there being a strong current, the sunlight really made an impressive array of corals illuminating these yellow and green corals amongst the predominantly brown corals. There were also more blue and purple corals. In terms of fish there so many fish which were just unique with amazing colours and patterns. I like following a fish through the water. I was most impressed however by this massive group of grey fish which was quite daunting being above but just amazing seeing the sheer quantity of the fish!
After a while traversing through the warm waters I went back to shore, looking at the flappy bit of skin from my toe. I tried to ignore our captains comments on the first day about the salty waters here being bad for cuts. A short while later we were transported back to the main boat, seeing more turtles en route. It was disappointing not to see one whilst snorkelling though.
Shortly after boarding the boat we started sailing for home, and after a quick rain shower through the really windy channel we drifted through this sheltered area for lunch. Lunch today consisted of ham, rolls, rice and salad. The thing I like about these meals is that when I cater for myself the the components to the meal are limited, but here I get variety. It wasn't long before we re-entered the main channel which meant our captain put up the sail to catch the strong winds and gain some real speed. We passed this big cruise ship en route which was docked to transfer people to shore. We even got the ship to beep at our boat!
By about half 2 we returned back into the marina at Airlie Beach and after a quick evaluation form and goodbye I put on some footwear for the first time in three days to head back to the hostel. I think the bare feet did me good though. After checking into the hostel I maintained my philosophy that internet was more important than a much needed shower, although before long I was up to date with everything and relaxed in the hostel for the afternoon.
Come the evening I met up with some people from the trip at Beaches Bar, taking advantage of my $6.50 for a meal and drink deal as I was staying at Beaches hostel. I had the "kick ass" burger and chips, a greasy meal which did me good. After spending the evening with the group, I left them before they went clubbing, going back to my room via the local nightowl store for some freddos. I needed to try the peppermint and 100s/1000s ones! After a while in my room relaxing I eventually put my head down in the hope of catching the England game tomorrow!
Breakfast this morning was bacon, scrambled eggs, beans and bread, another cracking effort by our chef who deserves credit for keeping so many people with big appetites happy. We sailed off early this morning, the plan being to stop on the small Langford Island for the morning, before sailing back to Airlie Beach early afternoon. We soon arrived at Langford Island which was a small island connected to this large sand spit at low tide. It was nearby the five star resort we saw the other night, which apparently was used by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie recently. The Red Hot Chilli Peppers even stayed there once, and were kicked off for going into the restaurant for wearing just ties after being sent away for not wearing ties previously!
When getting transferred to the island, seeing the odd turtle, I unlike the others walked along the stony sand spit before the tide separated the sand island from the main island. Whilst doing this however I hit my large toe on a rock which had a blister, creating a lot of blood! When at the the other end of the spit which was fascinating seeing two different tides meet in the middle, I got in the water to snorkel back to the others.
Despite there being a strong current, the sunlight really made an impressive array of corals illuminating these yellow and green corals amongst the predominantly brown corals. There were also more blue and purple corals. In terms of fish there so many fish which were just unique with amazing colours and patterns. I like following a fish through the water. I was most impressed however by this massive group of grey fish which was quite daunting being above but just amazing seeing the sheer quantity of the fish!
After a while traversing through the warm waters I went back to shore, looking at the flappy bit of skin from my toe. I tried to ignore our captains comments on the first day about the salty waters here being bad for cuts. A short while later we were transported back to the main boat, seeing more turtles en route. It was disappointing not to see one whilst snorkelling though.
Shortly after boarding the boat we started sailing for home, and after a quick rain shower through the really windy channel we drifted through this sheltered area for lunch. Lunch today consisted of ham, rolls, rice and salad. The thing I like about these meals is that when I cater for myself the the components to the meal are limited, but here I get variety. It wasn't long before we re-entered the main channel which meant our captain put up the sail to catch the strong winds and gain some real speed. We passed this big cruise ship en route which was docked to transfer people to shore. We even got the ship to beep at our boat!
By about half 2 we returned back into the marina at Airlie Beach and after a quick evaluation form and goodbye I put on some footwear for the first time in three days to head back to the hostel. I think the bare feet did me good though. After checking into the hostel I maintained my philosophy that internet was more important than a much needed shower, although before long I was up to date with everything and relaxed in the hostel for the afternoon.
Come the evening I met up with some people from the trip at Beaches Bar, taking advantage of my $6.50 for a meal and drink deal as I was staying at Beaches hostel. I had the "kick ass" burger and chips, a greasy meal which did me good. After spending the evening with the group, I left them before they went clubbing, going back to my room via the local nightowl store for some freddos. I needed to try the peppermint and 100s/1000s ones! After a while in my room relaxing I eventually put my head down in the hope of catching the England game tomorrow!
Friday, 7 March 2014
March 4th... The Whitsundays Day 2
I had a nice lie in this morning if you can call waking up at 7 and lazing around in bed until 8 a lie in. The fact it was raining this morning as well and the fact you can't really go anywhere other than the boat meant I made the most of the time in bed. I did however get a slight soaking when they opened the hatch by my bed which signaled the time for breakfast. Breakfast this morning consisted of a fruit salad with cereals, bread and preserves. There was no toaster on the boat however which meant I was basically having jam sandwiches for breakfast!
Our captain set off swiftly after breakfast this morning and before long we arrived at our first stop, Luncheon Bay which was another part of Hook Island. The plan of action this morning was to get everyone their free dive done, as well as spending the rest of the time snorkelling and relaxing on the beach. I was put into group seven which was the last group meaning I had a little wait before my go as each diving session took about half an hour!
After getting transferred to the beach, which was a shingle beach full of shells and coloured rocks, I got straight into the snorkelling. I breathed in water to start with but I soon got the hang of it and managed to stay long periods looking in the clear waters. I didn't see the colourful corals I had envisaged, instead seeing these brown corals surrounded by colourful fish. Apparently the fact people look at these areas so frequently means that everything gets stirred up, and the limited sun didn't help either.
After a while exploring the reef, following random tropical fish every so often I returned to beach. I realised here that the water was actually really warm whilst laying on the stony beach. It started raining after a while and our captain decided to postpone my groups dive until after lunch, which was probably a good thing as rain makes the visibility in the water worse. Our captain let us jump off the boat when returning, although he chucked loads of bread at us which made these bat fish come frantically to the surface!
Before long lunch was ready which consisted of proper sausages, pasta, bread and salad. I was once again satisfied as we continued sailing through the high winds and now sun to Blue Point Bay just off Hayman Island. After another transfer to the beach it was time for my introductory dive where after a quick safety brief I was taught how to firstly use all the equipment, and then breath under water. This was just done in shallow waters. I was then shown how to take the oxygen piece out my mouth and reinsert it, as well as how to empty my goggles of water underwater.
This now meant I was ready for my dive, and using this button on my jacket, I was deflated and sank to the bottom, mainly because the tank was so heavy and that I was wearing a weight belt. I could inflate and deflate my jacket again at any time to control my level in the water. I found the breathing a little weird at first but I soon gained confidence and followed my guide round this rocky area full of discoloured corals. It was amazing being amongst the fish rather than looking down on them. After about 20 minutes under water my oxygen ran out which meant we went back up. I apparently went down 8m at the deepest, although my guide told me I wasn't very good at staying at one level which was a fair comment considering he kept pulling me up and down. He also told me I shouldn't have sat on the bottom. All in all though I did pretty well for my first dive.
When ditching all my diving equipment, I went out snorkelling round the area and this time saw some blue and purple corals as well as these rainbow jellyfish and other colorful fish. I was disappointed not to see a clownfish though, and Elvis who the captain said was some massive blue fish. The water was also far shallower in the places compared to the last reef which meant I had to be careful of the rocks below.
After a short time relaxing on the stony beach which was even more painful on my feet than the last one, it was back to the boat where our captain decided we would stay at Blue Point Bay for the night. He however took us out to sea a bit claiming it was dump sewage before returning a couple of buoys across to an area out of the wind. We passed another boat which docked up next to us, creating a bit of banter. It was nice however as we once again got a sunset into the sea horizon, this time with dolphins jumping out the water. We could also see the mainland once dark with the faint lights of Airlie Beach, and the occasional flash of lighthouses stretching right up the coast.
Dinner this evening was steak with potatoes, vegetables and garlic bread, and the fact there was enough for me to have another steak for seconds shows how well we were being fed. I once again spent most the evening on the lower deck due to the chill outside, reading a book about the Whitsundays before playing cards once until everyone one by one headed to bed. I eventually followed and was soon fast asleep.
Our captain set off swiftly after breakfast this morning and before long we arrived at our first stop, Luncheon Bay which was another part of Hook Island. The plan of action this morning was to get everyone their free dive done, as well as spending the rest of the time snorkelling and relaxing on the beach. I was put into group seven which was the last group meaning I had a little wait before my go as each diving session took about half an hour!
After getting transferred to the beach, which was a shingle beach full of shells and coloured rocks, I got straight into the snorkelling. I breathed in water to start with but I soon got the hang of it and managed to stay long periods looking in the clear waters. I didn't see the colourful corals I had envisaged, instead seeing these brown corals surrounded by colourful fish. Apparently the fact people look at these areas so frequently means that everything gets stirred up, and the limited sun didn't help either.
After a while exploring the reef, following random tropical fish every so often I returned to beach. I realised here that the water was actually really warm whilst laying on the stony beach. It started raining after a while and our captain decided to postpone my groups dive until after lunch, which was probably a good thing as rain makes the visibility in the water worse. Our captain let us jump off the boat when returning, although he chucked loads of bread at us which made these bat fish come frantically to the surface!
Before long lunch was ready which consisted of proper sausages, pasta, bread and salad. I was once again satisfied as we continued sailing through the high winds and now sun to Blue Point Bay just off Hayman Island. After another transfer to the beach it was time for my introductory dive where after a quick safety brief I was taught how to firstly use all the equipment, and then breath under water. This was just done in shallow waters. I was then shown how to take the oxygen piece out my mouth and reinsert it, as well as how to empty my goggles of water underwater.
This now meant I was ready for my dive, and using this button on my jacket, I was deflated and sank to the bottom, mainly because the tank was so heavy and that I was wearing a weight belt. I could inflate and deflate my jacket again at any time to control my level in the water. I found the breathing a little weird at first but I soon gained confidence and followed my guide round this rocky area full of discoloured corals. It was amazing being amongst the fish rather than looking down on them. After about 20 minutes under water my oxygen ran out which meant we went back up. I apparently went down 8m at the deepest, although my guide told me I wasn't very good at staying at one level which was a fair comment considering he kept pulling me up and down. He also told me I shouldn't have sat on the bottom. All in all though I did pretty well for my first dive.
When ditching all my diving equipment, I went out snorkelling round the area and this time saw some blue and purple corals as well as these rainbow jellyfish and other colorful fish. I was disappointed not to see a clownfish though, and Elvis who the captain said was some massive blue fish. The water was also far shallower in the places compared to the last reef which meant I had to be careful of the rocks below.
After a short time relaxing on the stony beach which was even more painful on my feet than the last one, it was back to the boat where our captain decided we would stay at Blue Point Bay for the night. He however took us out to sea a bit claiming it was dump sewage before returning a couple of buoys across to an area out of the wind. We passed another boat which docked up next to us, creating a bit of banter. It was nice however as we once again got a sunset into the sea horizon, this time with dolphins jumping out the water. We could also see the mainland once dark with the faint lights of Airlie Beach, and the occasional flash of lighthouses stretching right up the coast.
Dinner this evening was steak with potatoes, vegetables and garlic bread, and the fact there was enough for me to have another steak for seconds shows how well we were being fed. I once again spent most the evening on the lower deck due to the chill outside, reading a book about the Whitsundays before playing cards once until everyone one by one headed to bed. I eventually followed and was soon fast asleep.
Thursday, 6 March 2014
March 3rd... The Whitsundays Day 1
Waking up at half 6 this morning, I headed straight downstairs for breakfast as we had an 8am meeting time at the marina for my 3 day trip sailing round the Whitsundays. I just cleared my remaining bread and crisps, having toast once again like yesterday before heading back to my room to pack for the trip. It said in my brief that there were strictly no zipper bags allowed, which meant I had use my dry bags instead. They said this was to prevent bed bugs. I just packed a couple of changes of clothes, towel, toiletries and with hopeful thinking my phone charger. The brief recommended a few other things to pack but I opted for packing light in the end.
The fact I had already met some people on the trip meant I walked to the marina with them, although I was slipping everywhere in my sandals after the heavy rain the night before. After eventually finding the boat we had to fill out all this paperwork and by about 9 we finally boarded the Apollo! We were each given a stinger suit after the briefing as this reduces the risk of being stung by the potentially deadly creatures. A stingray killed Steve Irwin remember. We also got told to take our shoes off before boarding the boat as it can get slippery on board, which it was to be fair. It will probably do my feet good being bare foot for 3 days.
When finally setting off out of the large marina, our captain told us about the safety procedures, including that if we sink we load the alcohol on the safety boat first, then when landing on the island we can party before getting rescued! After dumping my stuff on a small bed, I headed back on deck to see us leave Airlie behind and start seeing some of the 70 or so Whitsunday Islands. Shortly after leaving however there was some really heavy rain, although the fact it was warm as well meant I didn't care. I soon realised it was going to be sunshine and showers again.
After hoisting up the front sail because the main sail was broken, we got some real speed up although I was sitting in a bad place as there were frequent waves soaking me every so often. The boat was swaying there strongly from side to side, and there wasn't really much to hold onto other than random ropes and stuff, with just metal wires protecting people from falling off. I also found out that my bed wasn't in such a good place as it was right next to the rear staircase which was initially open, and the fact it wasn't so easy to go to the toilet when the boat was moving!
After getting to a location more out of the strong winds, it was time for lunch which was a selection of cold meats with bread, pasta and salad. It was actually a very big buffet like spread and I wasn't hungry after, although it was still windy enough on deck for the odd bit of my lettuce to blow away. After lunch we continued through this windy channel with more big waves, although the sun quickly dried me off each time. It was funny seeing myself covered in salt each time I dried off.
There was no snorkelling or diving planned for today, and by early afternoon we stopped at a part of the large Whitsunday Island for a walk. Getting transferred over on this dingy, our guide took us through this rainforest setting to a viewpoint called Tongue Point. It was here we got stunning views of the white sands and crisp blue waters, as well as the obvious darker waters which contained corals. It was then down to the beach, called Whitehaven Beach where I walked on probably the purest sands I will ever walk on, being 96% pure. It was so fine it felt like powder on my feet, and on the wet sections my feet just sunk with no feeling other than the soft sands round my feet.
We spent a couple of hours here in the end, although I only paddled as I didn't bring my stinger suit. It was nice to relax under a palm tree afterwards as well! By about 4 we returned back through the rainforest, seeing many lizards en route to the boat, where our captain was getting worried about being stuck for the night due to the fast retreating tide. He eventually got everyone on the boat and we headed back round Whitsunday Island before anchoring up near Caves Cove just off Hook Island for the night. There were lights in the distance as well which were part of this five star holiday resort. We got an amazing sunset here as it sunk into the horizon, and to add to this we had these big bat fish round the boat which our captain was feeding.
Dinner this evening was chicken casserole and our chef once again produced a decent sized meal considering there was a 20 guy and 6 girl split, consisting a lots of Germans, a few English, a couple of Scots, and people from Netherlands, Sweden, Italy and France! I always like it when there is enough for seconds. The evening was spent playing our captains game the circle of love, which lets say finished with everyone linking arms between legs and shaking ourselves about! The brief recommended to bring clothes for the cool evenings, which I discounted, but the wind was actually quite chilly at times. Due to this I headed below deck and just played cards with a few others, until eventually I just had to go to sleep. It was nice though because the people on deck were fishing and caught some squid to try tomorrow.
The fact I had already met some people on the trip meant I walked to the marina with them, although I was slipping everywhere in my sandals after the heavy rain the night before. After eventually finding the boat we had to fill out all this paperwork and by about 9 we finally boarded the Apollo! We were each given a stinger suit after the briefing as this reduces the risk of being stung by the potentially deadly creatures. A stingray killed Steve Irwin remember. We also got told to take our shoes off before boarding the boat as it can get slippery on board, which it was to be fair. It will probably do my feet good being bare foot for 3 days.
When finally setting off out of the large marina, our captain told us about the safety procedures, including that if we sink we load the alcohol on the safety boat first, then when landing on the island we can party before getting rescued! After dumping my stuff on a small bed, I headed back on deck to see us leave Airlie behind and start seeing some of the 70 or so Whitsunday Islands. Shortly after leaving however there was some really heavy rain, although the fact it was warm as well meant I didn't care. I soon realised it was going to be sunshine and showers again.
After hoisting up the front sail because the main sail was broken, we got some real speed up although I was sitting in a bad place as there were frequent waves soaking me every so often. The boat was swaying there strongly from side to side, and there wasn't really much to hold onto other than random ropes and stuff, with just metal wires protecting people from falling off. I also found out that my bed wasn't in such a good place as it was right next to the rear staircase which was initially open, and the fact it wasn't so easy to go to the toilet when the boat was moving!
After getting to a location more out of the strong winds, it was time for lunch which was a selection of cold meats with bread, pasta and salad. It was actually a very big buffet like spread and I wasn't hungry after, although it was still windy enough on deck for the odd bit of my lettuce to blow away. After lunch we continued through this windy channel with more big waves, although the sun quickly dried me off each time. It was funny seeing myself covered in salt each time I dried off.
There was no snorkelling or diving planned for today, and by early afternoon we stopped at a part of the large Whitsunday Island for a walk. Getting transferred over on this dingy, our guide took us through this rainforest setting to a viewpoint called Tongue Point. It was here we got stunning views of the white sands and crisp blue waters, as well as the obvious darker waters which contained corals. It was then down to the beach, called Whitehaven Beach where I walked on probably the purest sands I will ever walk on, being 96% pure. It was so fine it felt like powder on my feet, and on the wet sections my feet just sunk with no feeling other than the soft sands round my feet.
We spent a couple of hours here in the end, although I only paddled as I didn't bring my stinger suit. It was nice to relax under a palm tree afterwards as well! By about 4 we returned back through the rainforest, seeing many lizards en route to the boat, where our captain was getting worried about being stuck for the night due to the fast retreating tide. He eventually got everyone on the boat and we headed back round Whitsunday Island before anchoring up near Caves Cove just off Hook Island for the night. There were lights in the distance as well which were part of this five star holiday resort. We got an amazing sunset here as it sunk into the horizon, and to add to this we had these big bat fish round the boat which our captain was feeding.
Dinner this evening was chicken casserole and our chef once again produced a decent sized meal considering there was a 20 guy and 6 girl split, consisting a lots of Germans, a few English, a couple of Scots, and people from Netherlands, Sweden, Italy and France! I always like it when there is enough for seconds. The evening was spent playing our captains game the circle of love, which lets say finished with everyone linking arms between legs and shaking ourselves about! The brief recommended to bring clothes for the cool evenings, which I discounted, but the wind was actually quite chilly at times. Due to this I headed below deck and just played cards with a few others, until eventually I just had to go to sleep. It was nice though because the people on deck were fishing and caught some squid to try tomorrow.
Wednesday, 5 March 2014
March 2nd... Airlie Beach
Surprisingly I got some sleep on the bus last night. I sat on the aisle seat this time and I found it better as I could stretch my legs out. The bus also had usb chargers, although the WiFi was down which was another reason I fell asleep. We stopped off at Mackay en route for one of the compulsory dinner stops, before making up time and arriving in Airlie Beach at around 7.
I again had nothing planned for today, as I had just booked a pre night here before my sailing trip round the Whitsundays, so I opted for a walk round the small town known also as the heart of the great barrier reef. The bus station was slightly out of town, so first stop was my hostel to check into my hostel and drop off my luggage, although I got the added bonus of having a room ready for me. I therefore took this opportunity to have a quick breakfast of toast and wafers here. If you're wondering why I always buy wafers, they are considerably cheaper than every other biscuit out here!
Airlie Beach basically consists of a large street full of shops, including McDonalds to get free WiFi, along with the majority of houses on the surrounding hillside. I headed for the seafront to find two caches, and also follow the Bicentennial walkway to the neighbouring town of Cannonvale. After a quick paddle in the manmade lagoon, I continued along this wooden walkway to find my first cache in this rocky garden area, not so easy in sandals!
I then continued round the walkway to Abel Marina, getting cracking views of the islands en route. This is where I leave for my sailing trip tomorrow. It was then past shingley beach, which was like it says in the name, before heading into the newly constructed botanic gardens. Airlie seems to be going through a lot of modernization as the bus station I arrived in was new, the marina is getting landscaped with additional car parks, and there is even a new big supermarket due to be opened soon. It was a very clean area the botanic gardens, and I found the other cache I wanted here.
I then headed back for Airlie, saving the other two caches for the afternoon. It was funny walking through the shops seeing people I at least recognised, and some people who remembered me! I had the same when both boarding and disembarking the bus earlier in the day. En route I stopped at the travel bugs for free internet, before getting back to hostel to get my long overdue laundry completed.
After an absolute mission trying to find some soap powder, I was finally able to sit back and relax as I waited for everything to be done. When finally leaving the laundry it was back to the hostel where I met some people also going on the sailing trip. I didn't really do much in the afternoon other than relax and walk round the town.
By about 4 I headed off in search of the other two caches, which needed to be found at low tide as I needed access to this island which was accessible by this sand strip at low tide. When arriving at Pigeon Island, which turned out to be really rocky, I headed round, seeing what was either a snake or eel en route before clambering up these rocks to find the cache. The other cache was a dnf, which was supposedly on this boat which sank offshore a couple of the years ago. I found the boat, which was packed with tourists looking at the boat which the owner claims he cannot afford to remove, but not the cache.
I then returned to the hostel for dinner which was once again pasta, the consequence of buying food to cook for one, before heading off for Skype. It was really difficult finding a working computer but I found one eventually. I'm tempted to download the Skype app to my phone and use WiFi. I then returned to my room which was an absolute tip. It was as if everyone had unpacked their stuff! I struggled to keep my eyes open when laying down, although it was funny seeing this German guy cutting his own hair as I drifted off.
I again had nothing planned for today, as I had just booked a pre night here before my sailing trip round the Whitsundays, so I opted for a walk round the small town known also as the heart of the great barrier reef. The bus station was slightly out of town, so first stop was my hostel to check into my hostel and drop off my luggage, although I got the added bonus of having a room ready for me. I therefore took this opportunity to have a quick breakfast of toast and wafers here. If you're wondering why I always buy wafers, they are considerably cheaper than every other biscuit out here!
Airlie Beach basically consists of a large street full of shops, including McDonalds to get free WiFi, along with the majority of houses on the surrounding hillside. I headed for the seafront to find two caches, and also follow the Bicentennial walkway to the neighbouring town of Cannonvale. After a quick paddle in the manmade lagoon, I continued along this wooden walkway to find my first cache in this rocky garden area, not so easy in sandals!
I then continued round the walkway to Abel Marina, getting cracking views of the islands en route. This is where I leave for my sailing trip tomorrow. It was then past shingley beach, which was like it says in the name, before heading into the newly constructed botanic gardens. Airlie seems to be going through a lot of modernization as the bus station I arrived in was new, the marina is getting landscaped with additional car parks, and there is even a new big supermarket due to be opened soon. It was a very clean area the botanic gardens, and I found the other cache I wanted here.
I then headed back for Airlie, saving the other two caches for the afternoon. It was funny walking through the shops seeing people I at least recognised, and some people who remembered me! I had the same when both boarding and disembarking the bus earlier in the day. En route I stopped at the travel bugs for free internet, before getting back to hostel to get my long overdue laundry completed.
After an absolute mission trying to find some soap powder, I was finally able to sit back and relax as I waited for everything to be done. When finally leaving the laundry it was back to the hostel where I met some people also going on the sailing trip. I didn't really do much in the afternoon other than relax and walk round the town.
By about 4 I headed off in search of the other two caches, which needed to be found at low tide as I needed access to this island which was accessible by this sand strip at low tide. When arriving at Pigeon Island, which turned out to be really rocky, I headed round, seeing what was either a snake or eel en route before clambering up these rocks to find the cache. The other cache was a dnf, which was supposedly on this boat which sank offshore a couple of the years ago. I found the boat, which was packed with tourists looking at the boat which the owner claims he cannot afford to remove, but not the cache.
I then returned to the hostel for dinner which was once again pasta, the consequence of buying food to cook for one, before heading off for Skype. It was really difficult finding a working computer but I found one eventually. I'm tempted to download the Skype app to my phone and use WiFi. I then returned to my room which was an absolute tip. It was as if everyone had unpacked their stuff! I struggled to keep my eyes open when laying down, although it was funny seeing this German guy cutting his own hair as I drifted off.
March 1st... Rockhampton
For perhaps the first time since leaving home, I wasn't hot last night and in fact got frequent chills as my bed with right next to this powerful air con. It was nice to be able to properly curl up for a change! I even woke up without my diarrhea after remembering I took the precaution before leaving home to pack some tablets in my first aid kit! I used up my last remaining three packs of noodles this morning which set me up nicely for the day as it was such a big portion. It was all a pretty relaxing morning in the end as my bus didn't leave until 12.40am which meant I had a lot of time to kill.
Due to the fact I had no tours planned for today I opted to go geocaching to explore the town of Rockhampton which lies on the Tropic of Capricorn. After using the hostels free WiFi I headed north of the river which was more away from the main town centre area. It was only 9 by the time I left but it was already really muggy and for some reason I kept getting fly's attracted to me. Despite high expectations for the day I only found one cache from my first six attempts. I can't really say much about the scenery however other than I navigating through streets with a gps and no map isn't easy.
When heading back to the hostel, I got views of the large Mount Morgan (I think) which is a large hill looking over the low lying town. I say I think because there were loads of signs saying mount something. I was tempted to walk up there but I opted for geocaching in the end as I wasn't sure how far it was. When continuing through the streets, entering another park I found a funny cache which I eventually worked out was a manmade pinball machine which used the cache like the ball!
The thing I was fast finding about Rockhampton was the fact it is not really a tourist friendly area, and more of a place to live. I probably should have guessed this as my lonely planet guide spoke more about the steak! There were plenty of warehouse like shops round the town, and I found this one place called the Stockland Centre which was packed with shops and food places. After a look round, I went to the Kershaw Botanic Gardens which included a big waterfall and many plants. It was here I found a further two caches, although I was more fascinated by this playground which had this big monorail piece of play equipment!
Passing the old railway line, I headed back to hostel to write down some more caches, this time south of the river. I didn't find any south of the river however, although I was able to see some of the more historical features of the town. There was this interesting marker which showed all the major flood heights in Rockhampton, and it was considerably higher than the road. It was nice to see this because I studied about Rockhampton and it's flooding problems in geography at school. Other things I saw was the town hall, and further shops. To give you an idea of how tourist friendly the town is, I was unable to get a map or postcard of the area anywhere, and I looked everywhere!
By now it was around 4, so after a look round some shops including this warehouse like staples, and target, I went into another Coles and bought food for tonight and the coming days, the cheap way of eating. Heading back across the river the hostel once again, I relaxed with the free WiFi before going to the kitchen to cook dinner, pasta in a bolognaise sauce. By the time I had finished dinner I just thought to myself what am I going to do until gone midnight waiting for my bus!
In the end I stayed in the hostel until around 9, before walking down to the bus station, where I went into the local hungry jacks, buying a mango sundae and frozen coke, which enabled me to have an excuse to sit in the air conditioned restaurant until around half 11 in the end! If you're wondering what I was doing, I was writing blogs. It was then down to the muggy heat of the bus station where the bus arrived late, although my driver was there. By about 1 I finally boarded the bus, being just 1 of 2 passengers boarding, hoping to get a better night sleep compared to my last night bus!
Due to the fact I had no tours planned for today I opted to go geocaching to explore the town of Rockhampton which lies on the Tropic of Capricorn. After using the hostels free WiFi I headed north of the river which was more away from the main town centre area. It was only 9 by the time I left but it was already really muggy and for some reason I kept getting fly's attracted to me. Despite high expectations for the day I only found one cache from my first six attempts. I can't really say much about the scenery however other than I navigating through streets with a gps and no map isn't easy.
When heading back to the hostel, I got views of the large Mount Morgan (I think) which is a large hill looking over the low lying town. I say I think because there were loads of signs saying mount something. I was tempted to walk up there but I opted for geocaching in the end as I wasn't sure how far it was. When continuing through the streets, entering another park I found a funny cache which I eventually worked out was a manmade pinball machine which used the cache like the ball!
The thing I was fast finding about Rockhampton was the fact it is not really a tourist friendly area, and more of a place to live. I probably should have guessed this as my lonely planet guide spoke more about the steak! There were plenty of warehouse like shops round the town, and I found this one place called the Stockland Centre which was packed with shops and food places. After a look round, I went to the Kershaw Botanic Gardens which included a big waterfall and many plants. It was here I found a further two caches, although I was more fascinated by this playground which had this big monorail piece of play equipment!
Passing the old railway line, I headed back to hostel to write down some more caches, this time south of the river. I didn't find any south of the river however, although I was able to see some of the more historical features of the town. There was this interesting marker which showed all the major flood heights in Rockhampton, and it was considerably higher than the road. It was nice to see this because I studied about Rockhampton and it's flooding problems in geography at school. Other things I saw was the town hall, and further shops. To give you an idea of how tourist friendly the town is, I was unable to get a map or postcard of the area anywhere, and I looked everywhere!
By now it was around 4, so after a look round some shops including this warehouse like staples, and target, I went into another Coles and bought food for tonight and the coming days, the cheap way of eating. Heading back across the river the hostel once again, I relaxed with the free WiFi before going to the kitchen to cook dinner, pasta in a bolognaise sauce. By the time I had finished dinner I just thought to myself what am I going to do until gone midnight waiting for my bus!
In the end I stayed in the hostel until around 9, before walking down to the bus station, where I went into the local hungry jacks, buying a mango sundae and frozen coke, which enabled me to have an excuse to sit in the air conditioned restaurant until around half 11 in the end! If you're wondering what I was doing, I was writing blogs. It was then down to the muggy heat of the bus station where the bus arrived late, although my driver was there. By about 1 I finally boarded the bus, being just 1 of 2 passengers boarding, hoping to get a better night sleep compared to my last night bus!
Sunday, 2 March 2014
February 28th... Kroombit Day 2
It was a very muggy night last night as the air con in the room was broken and we were unsuccessful in fixing it. My back was aching like hell when I got up, and I think it was caused by the horse riding according to the girls. They were experienced horse riders so their advice was probably correct. I think the mechanical bull pushed me over the edge as I kept going on it for more! Breakfast this morning was as of yesterday, although I ate lots of muesli with the beans and toast for some reason.
Today I opted to go out with some of the people working on the cattle ranch in the morning to see some of the things they get up to on a typical day. A short drive out into the outback over these rocky roads going up and down, we arrived at this water point which needed fixing. I had to take a back seat role here as the big guy who ran the place was doing the work. I played fetch with one of their dogs called 'Dog' instead.
My guide was determined to find me a snake this morning as we had a good chat about them over breakfast, where he even told me his friend once chopped one in half, and then went back for it an hour later and it was still alive and bit him! We were unfortunately unsuccessful but I still saw loads of wild kangaroos, a dingo, and of course lots of cattle!
Continuing through the outback, the next job was to collect wood, and despite not being trusted with the chainsaw, still played my part in collecting the wood. To make things interesting however, my guide decided he wanted to load this massive tree onto the truck we were travelling in! This involved using a chain one end, and a electrical tow the other, which came from the front. I controlled the electrical device whilst the other two guys I was with did all the heavy work. Like usual I was treated as the guest! When finally loaded I was told to sit on top of the log which was attached by two single loops of a chain either side. It was a very bumpy ride back home as it felt unstable. And every time he went over a hill I had to proper hold onto the car roof to avoid falling off!
When arriving back to the camp and unloading the logs into the wood pile which are used for the cooking, I went out for a little walk round the outside section looking at the vegetable garden, and the aquacktic centre which had things like chicken, geese and emus. Other animals out here were the likes of donkeys and goats. Upon returning to the camp after walking through the horse field and round the nearly constructed water hole, lunch was nearly ready. The girls also returned from their horse riding, which was too advanced for me!
Lunch was the same as yesterday which I took full advantage of being my last supper at Kroombit. Apparently the meals are all very similar each day using the locally produced meats and vegetables for food. Their cattle is apparently slaughtered by a butcher though as they get through so much meat at the farm!
After lunch through pure chance I was given the opportunity to prepare a duck, right from the first stage. Heading into the duck enclosure, my guide grabbed a duck and before I could blink he had broken its neck, twisted it about three times, and was left with two parts which were both still moving. He passed me the body which was headless and still frantically flapping, although he said it was simply just the nerve cells reacting to what had just happened. When bringing the ducks back to camp he hosed them down and plunged them into boiling hot water which loosens the pores where the feathers were. I then pulled off all the feathers, although I wasn't very good at getting all the fiddly bits. My guide then showed me where to cut the legs, anus and neck, from where I had to put my hand inside and gut the duck. It was then taken to the kitchen for further preparation!
I was told I was pretty good for my first go, I just needed spend more time plucking the little feathers. After cleaning myself up of all the blood on me, I went for another little walk, this time along the road to see the views. When returning I just relaxed in their bar area for the afternoon. I love how the place is literally a working cattle ranch and that everything is for real and not just put on for us. By about half 4 we left the farm after such an amazing experience ready for transfer back to Biloela.
On the coach from Biloela to Rockhampton they put on a film called the Sapphires which I had watched back home with my free cinema tickets, and it was well worth a second watch. By 7.45 I arrived back into Rockhampton and was picked up by the yha minibus which saved my legs walking back across town. I simply spent the evening relaxing from here, using their free WiFi and watching tv on the sofa to rest my aching back. It was also nice to air my feet out here as they were pretty well used throughout the farm stay. Before long I headed to bed, tempted to have a lie in due to the fact I have nothing major planned for tomorrow!
Today I opted to go out with some of the people working on the cattle ranch in the morning to see some of the things they get up to on a typical day. A short drive out into the outback over these rocky roads going up and down, we arrived at this water point which needed fixing. I had to take a back seat role here as the big guy who ran the place was doing the work. I played fetch with one of their dogs called 'Dog' instead.
My guide was determined to find me a snake this morning as we had a good chat about them over breakfast, where he even told me his friend once chopped one in half, and then went back for it an hour later and it was still alive and bit him! We were unfortunately unsuccessful but I still saw loads of wild kangaroos, a dingo, and of course lots of cattle!
Continuing through the outback, the next job was to collect wood, and despite not being trusted with the chainsaw, still played my part in collecting the wood. To make things interesting however, my guide decided he wanted to load this massive tree onto the truck we were travelling in! This involved using a chain one end, and a electrical tow the other, which came from the front. I controlled the electrical device whilst the other two guys I was with did all the heavy work. Like usual I was treated as the guest! When finally loaded I was told to sit on top of the log which was attached by two single loops of a chain either side. It was a very bumpy ride back home as it felt unstable. And every time he went over a hill I had to proper hold onto the car roof to avoid falling off!
When arriving back to the camp and unloading the logs into the wood pile which are used for the cooking, I went out for a little walk round the outside section looking at the vegetable garden, and the aquacktic centre which had things like chicken, geese and emus. Other animals out here were the likes of donkeys and goats. Upon returning to the camp after walking through the horse field and round the nearly constructed water hole, lunch was nearly ready. The girls also returned from their horse riding, which was too advanced for me!
Lunch was the same as yesterday which I took full advantage of being my last supper at Kroombit. Apparently the meals are all very similar each day using the locally produced meats and vegetables for food. Their cattle is apparently slaughtered by a butcher though as they get through so much meat at the farm!
After lunch through pure chance I was given the opportunity to prepare a duck, right from the first stage. Heading into the duck enclosure, my guide grabbed a duck and before I could blink he had broken its neck, twisted it about three times, and was left with two parts which were both still moving. He passed me the body which was headless and still frantically flapping, although he said it was simply just the nerve cells reacting to what had just happened. When bringing the ducks back to camp he hosed them down and plunged them into boiling hot water which loosens the pores where the feathers were. I then pulled off all the feathers, although I wasn't very good at getting all the fiddly bits. My guide then showed me where to cut the legs, anus and neck, from where I had to put my hand inside and gut the duck. It was then taken to the kitchen for further preparation!
I was told I was pretty good for my first go, I just needed spend more time plucking the little feathers. After cleaning myself up of all the blood on me, I went for another little walk, this time along the road to see the views. When returning I just relaxed in their bar area for the afternoon. I love how the place is literally a working cattle ranch and that everything is for real and not just put on for us. By about half 4 we left the farm after such an amazing experience ready for transfer back to Biloela.
On the coach from Biloela to Rockhampton they put on a film called the Sapphires which I had watched back home with my free cinema tickets, and it was well worth a second watch. By 7.45 I arrived back into Rockhampton and was picked up by the yha minibus which saved my legs walking back across town. I simply spent the evening relaxing from here, using their free WiFi and watching tv on the sofa to rest my aching back. It was also nice to air my feet out here as they were pretty well used throughout the farm stay. Before long I headed to bed, tempted to have a lie in due to the fact I have nothing major planned for tomorrow!
Saturday, 1 March 2014
February 27th... Kroombit Day 1
For perhaps the first time since leaving the UK, I was awoken by my alarm this morning which I set for half 5 so I had time to freshen up and get ready for the Kroombit cattle ranch. I definitely slept well but I could have certainly done with a few more hours asleep after not getting to bed until 1 the night before. I didn't really have much to pack this morning and just simply changed into some long sleeved clothes as suggested by the cattle ranch. It was nice as well because when I booked the hostel they said they would give me a lift back to the bus station which they kept telling me was a 2.5km walk.
After taking advantage of the free hostel WiFi and transferring to the bus station, I made the a swift transfer between minibus and coach which was going to Toowoomba. As we left Rockhampton, seeing the big cattle statue when leaving for which what the town is famed for, we headed out into more arid areas which I guess was more like the outback. There were many dried up rivers and towns with aboriginal names, although my favourite was the village of Banana!
By half 8 we arrived at Biloela to be greeted by a cowboy to give us a lift to Kroombit which was a further 35km from the bus. I also met the other members of my group, two girls from near Manchester. En route we stopped at the dump which was funny because to me everything was just junk, but to our guide he was seeing all this stuff he wanted for back home. He ended up buying a pile of random stuff including a helmet and mats. We continued along the road which become a gravel track going at speeds in excess of 100km/h. He even showed us the remains of this pipeline that has been laid to pump gas to the coast as part of a mega money deal with China.
Upon arrival I had an unexpected breakfast awaiting which was good as I missed it this morning. It was toast and beans, although they called it Kroombit caviar! It was cooked by the heat of open fires. There was nothing planned for the morning so after settling in my dorm I went for a swim in their chlorinated pool to cool off as I was really hot wearing trousers. The whole camp was very well set up with lots of little features including quotes, a bar made from a lorry, and tables made from large trees to name a few things.
By 12 it was time for lunch, and in one word, "wow". I was given this massive steak along with potato skins and vegetable patties all cooked on the metal bbq, with pasta, beetroot, salad and bread on the side. It was an all you can eat meal and I was stuffed by the end! Everything was homemade by the backpackers who were working there. We were basically called the "guests" and were looked after really well, mainly because we were completely outnumbered seeing there was just 3 of us! The people working here are working on a food and accomodation basis, so are not earning anything, but are gaining their 2nd year visa through doing the farm work.
After lunch it was off for a horse ride, guided by our cowboy and a couple of backpackers who in effect run the camp, especially when they have school trips. I was given a horse called Bob, and after a quick briefing on how to ride a horse we were off. It is actually quite simple as you just turn the head to turn, and pull back to stop, all done with a rope. My horse just followed the other more experienced riders anyway. After heading over rocky terrain going up and down, all on my dry land with dead trees, we were told to herd the 300 or so goats. Between the 6 of us out here we successfully got them all into this pen, and I was just riding separately as I had really got the hang of riding by now! We just had to almost surround the goats to keep them as a pack.
After leaving the goats, we headed back to the stables with the horses, and I was pretty glad I wore trousers as I was really dusty! After a quick break, we were then straight into the car to go back to the goats we herded for a rodeo. We had to practice lassoing round a pole first, and although quickly getting how to fold the rope I wasn't very good at the whole wrist action. Before starting the rodeo, we had a quick clay pigeon shooting session, which I wasn't too great at. I kept losing the disks and shooting wide.
It was then into the goat pen where we were timed into how long it took us to lasso a goat, put our legs round it and have our hands in the air. If we took over a minute we could do it by hand. Despite not being able to lasso one, I found one which which wasn't running away like the others and I had soon mounted the goat, although I wasn't the fastest person. Whilst up here it was funny seeing another item salvaged from the dump, an ironing board he had welded into a table!
When returning to camp we got ready to go up to the appropriately named sunset hill to watch the sunset. A short drive up the hill which was a very rocky ride, we clambered up these rocks to see the sun set into the horizon of the extensive outback. I also got my photo of me on a rock looking outwards which I've seen many backpackers get before. It was a fitting end to the day watching the sunset, beer in hand, whilst having a good chat with the other two.
After returning to camp again we had this meat covered in sauce with bread and we had to guess the meat. It turned out to be goat meat which was really nice. That was just pre dinner, and we were soon onto starter which was vegetable soup, again all cooked in big pans on an open fire like everything else. By dinner I was half full, and we were presented with plentiful supplies of corned beef, pumpkin mash, vegetables and potatoes. Everything on our plate like every other meal had been locally produced at Kroombit!
This evening we were taught how to crack the whip, which I got the hang of after mastering the hand movement. The whips were a fair size! Our guide then told us some stories including past bush fires, and also about this plane which crashed in 1945, and was only discovered in 1994 just 300m from a road. He was making the point that the surrounding outback land has still been largely unexplored due to the sheer size!
To finish the evening we were taught some aboriginal bush dances which were very energetic line dancing kind of songs. Before long we were dancing to the likes of 5, 6, 7, 8 and the cha cha slide. It was good because the speakers were attached to the toilets too, which was good for me as I had my first case of diarrhea since leaving home. After the dancing died out it was onto the bull ride where you had to stay on the moving bull one handed. I was awful at it, but the fact it was on a bouncy castle made it more comfortable. This did my back in so I lay in their dentist chair, which was again from the dump, and by about 10 headed to bed as I was exhausted after a such a long day.
After taking advantage of the free hostel WiFi and transferring to the bus station, I made the a swift transfer between minibus and coach which was going to Toowoomba. As we left Rockhampton, seeing the big cattle statue when leaving for which what the town is famed for, we headed out into more arid areas which I guess was more like the outback. There were many dried up rivers and towns with aboriginal names, although my favourite was the village of Banana!
By half 8 we arrived at Biloela to be greeted by a cowboy to give us a lift to Kroombit which was a further 35km from the bus. I also met the other members of my group, two girls from near Manchester. En route we stopped at the dump which was funny because to me everything was just junk, but to our guide he was seeing all this stuff he wanted for back home. He ended up buying a pile of random stuff including a helmet and mats. We continued along the road which become a gravel track going at speeds in excess of 100km/h. He even showed us the remains of this pipeline that has been laid to pump gas to the coast as part of a mega money deal with China.
Upon arrival I had an unexpected breakfast awaiting which was good as I missed it this morning. It was toast and beans, although they called it Kroombit caviar! It was cooked by the heat of open fires. There was nothing planned for the morning so after settling in my dorm I went for a swim in their chlorinated pool to cool off as I was really hot wearing trousers. The whole camp was very well set up with lots of little features including quotes, a bar made from a lorry, and tables made from large trees to name a few things.
By 12 it was time for lunch, and in one word, "wow". I was given this massive steak along with potato skins and vegetable patties all cooked on the metal bbq, with pasta, beetroot, salad and bread on the side. It was an all you can eat meal and I was stuffed by the end! Everything was homemade by the backpackers who were working there. We were basically called the "guests" and were looked after really well, mainly because we were completely outnumbered seeing there was just 3 of us! The people working here are working on a food and accomodation basis, so are not earning anything, but are gaining their 2nd year visa through doing the farm work.
After lunch it was off for a horse ride, guided by our cowboy and a couple of backpackers who in effect run the camp, especially when they have school trips. I was given a horse called Bob, and after a quick briefing on how to ride a horse we were off. It is actually quite simple as you just turn the head to turn, and pull back to stop, all done with a rope. My horse just followed the other more experienced riders anyway. After heading over rocky terrain going up and down, all on my dry land with dead trees, we were told to herd the 300 or so goats. Between the 6 of us out here we successfully got them all into this pen, and I was just riding separately as I had really got the hang of riding by now! We just had to almost surround the goats to keep them as a pack.
After leaving the goats, we headed back to the stables with the horses, and I was pretty glad I wore trousers as I was really dusty! After a quick break, we were then straight into the car to go back to the goats we herded for a rodeo. We had to practice lassoing round a pole first, and although quickly getting how to fold the rope I wasn't very good at the whole wrist action. Before starting the rodeo, we had a quick clay pigeon shooting session, which I wasn't too great at. I kept losing the disks and shooting wide.
It was then into the goat pen where we were timed into how long it took us to lasso a goat, put our legs round it and have our hands in the air. If we took over a minute we could do it by hand. Despite not being able to lasso one, I found one which which wasn't running away like the others and I had soon mounted the goat, although I wasn't the fastest person. Whilst up here it was funny seeing another item salvaged from the dump, an ironing board he had welded into a table!
When returning to camp we got ready to go up to the appropriately named sunset hill to watch the sunset. A short drive up the hill which was a very rocky ride, we clambered up these rocks to see the sun set into the horizon of the extensive outback. I also got my photo of me on a rock looking outwards which I've seen many backpackers get before. It was a fitting end to the day watching the sunset, beer in hand, whilst having a good chat with the other two.
After returning to camp again we had this meat covered in sauce with bread and we had to guess the meat. It turned out to be goat meat which was really nice. That was just pre dinner, and we were soon onto starter which was vegetable soup, again all cooked in big pans on an open fire like everything else. By dinner I was half full, and we were presented with plentiful supplies of corned beef, pumpkin mash, vegetables and potatoes. Everything on our plate like every other meal had been locally produced at Kroombit!
This evening we were taught how to crack the whip, which I got the hang of after mastering the hand movement. The whips were a fair size! Our guide then told us some stories including past bush fires, and also about this plane which crashed in 1945, and was only discovered in 1994 just 300m from a road. He was making the point that the surrounding outback land has still been largely unexplored due to the sheer size!
To finish the evening we were taught some aboriginal bush dances which were very energetic line dancing kind of songs. Before long we were dancing to the likes of 5, 6, 7, 8 and the cha cha slide. It was good because the speakers were attached to the toilets too, which was good for me as I had my first case of diarrhea since leaving home. After the dancing died out it was onto the bull ride where you had to stay on the moving bull one handed. I was awful at it, but the fact it was on a bouncy castle made it more comfortable. This did my back in so I lay in their dentist chair, which was again from the dump, and by about 10 headed to bed as I was exhausted after a such a long day.
February 26th... From Rainbow Beach to Rockhampton via Agnes Water
I was once again up early this morning, today to ensure I was all sorted for an early morning Skype session. Due to the fact I had a proper dell computer I was able to back up photos during this time and also upload some pictures to Facebook after my recent trips with no WiFi has prevented me doing this. This mornings breakfast was simply toast as I just wanted something simple, and the hostel actually had a toaster which others lacked. The hostel even had a free food section so I got some jam to add to it!
I had nothing serious planned for today other than a sizeable bus journey up the coast that would bring me to Rockhampton by midnight. This meant I just went down the beach after checking out the hostel to take in the views for a while, and simply relax. En route back I looked round some of the shops, taking advantage of this shop which sold drinks for $1! I also used the free internet in travel bugs to compose a blog post without my phone for once.
I then returned to the hostel and sorted out my paperwork which seems to be increasing by the day with leaflets. I also had a good read of my booking confirmations to make sure I was on top of everything. It is like a game trying to get rid of the pile of paper as I do things! I do have to ring some places which is frustrating when I have a British sim in Australia. It was funny though because I got my welcome to Australia text from Vodafone at this point!
After a few games of the free pool, it was onto the bus from Rainbow Beach to go Agnes Water. As Rainbow Beach is off the main greyhound route, greyhound offer limited services out of here, and mine seemed to be a slow one. I passed many places en route including Maryborough which was an old town, with a cheesecake shop an appealing feature. I was then through Hervey Bay where much of the bus emptied. I was considering stopping here for a whale watching trip but the timings didn't work out as my Kroombit trip tomorrow only operates 3 days a week.
After leaving Hervey Bay we passed through Childers which had a cowboy feel to it, before stopping off at Apple Tree Creek for a compulsory meal break. It was a tad too early for me after having jam sandwiches for lunch after my similar breakfast! It was then onto Agnes Water, passing Bundaberg en route. This is where my bus terminated and there was a three hour connection for my next bus at 9, allowing me some time to explore the area.
As it was around 6 I headed to the beach before the sunset, and wasn't disappointed as the sky swiftly changed colours. The sands were darker here with little rocks, along with cliffs forming a headland off the beach. There were these guys however who were like hippies trying to get me to join their beach party, but I didn't really trust them. I then headed back to the shopping area, looking round the shopping area for something warm to eat without luck. The IGA seems to be the more expensive, and the smallest of the major supermarkets in Oz.
I therefore went to the service station by the bus station and purchased a sausage and chips meal which was actually quite a generous portion. I did bump into more of these hippie guys however. By 8 I was more or less done with the small Agnes Water, sitting by the service station using their free WiFi. Prior to 9 all these minibuses arrived transporting people from the nearby town of 1770, which I was considering going to. I had the dilemma of a surfers beach or a cattle ranch, and opted for the latter when booking at travel bugs.
By 9 the bus to Rockhampton arrived, and I was really excited when it was one with free WiFi and usb chargers. This meant I was kept busy on Facebook en route and the time until midnight flew by. The majority of the people on the bus was going to Airlie Beach, and when disembarking at Rockhampton only 3 people got off! My hostel was inconveniently situated out of town which meant I had to walk through the darkness over the big river to the hostel. It wasn't until about 1 I finally managed to find the safe which stored my key for my room, and I was straight to bed here, as my bus to Bileola for Kroombit left at half 6 the following morning!
I had nothing serious planned for today other than a sizeable bus journey up the coast that would bring me to Rockhampton by midnight. This meant I just went down the beach after checking out the hostel to take in the views for a while, and simply relax. En route back I looked round some of the shops, taking advantage of this shop which sold drinks for $1! I also used the free internet in travel bugs to compose a blog post without my phone for once.
I then returned to the hostel and sorted out my paperwork which seems to be increasing by the day with leaflets. I also had a good read of my booking confirmations to make sure I was on top of everything. It is like a game trying to get rid of the pile of paper as I do things! I do have to ring some places which is frustrating when I have a British sim in Australia. It was funny though because I got my welcome to Australia text from Vodafone at this point!
After a few games of the free pool, it was onto the bus from Rainbow Beach to go Agnes Water. As Rainbow Beach is off the main greyhound route, greyhound offer limited services out of here, and mine seemed to be a slow one. I passed many places en route including Maryborough which was an old town, with a cheesecake shop an appealing feature. I was then through Hervey Bay where much of the bus emptied. I was considering stopping here for a whale watching trip but the timings didn't work out as my Kroombit trip tomorrow only operates 3 days a week.
After leaving Hervey Bay we passed through Childers which had a cowboy feel to it, before stopping off at Apple Tree Creek for a compulsory meal break. It was a tad too early for me after having jam sandwiches for lunch after my similar breakfast! It was then onto Agnes Water, passing Bundaberg en route. This is where my bus terminated and there was a three hour connection for my next bus at 9, allowing me some time to explore the area.
As it was around 6 I headed to the beach before the sunset, and wasn't disappointed as the sky swiftly changed colours. The sands were darker here with little rocks, along with cliffs forming a headland off the beach. There were these guys however who were like hippies trying to get me to join their beach party, but I didn't really trust them. I then headed back to the shopping area, looking round the shopping area for something warm to eat without luck. The IGA seems to be the more expensive, and the smallest of the major supermarkets in Oz.
I therefore went to the service station by the bus station and purchased a sausage and chips meal which was actually quite a generous portion. I did bump into more of these hippie guys however. By 8 I was more or less done with the small Agnes Water, sitting by the service station using their free WiFi. Prior to 9 all these minibuses arrived transporting people from the nearby town of 1770, which I was considering going to. I had the dilemma of a surfers beach or a cattle ranch, and opted for the latter when booking at travel bugs.
By 9 the bus to Rockhampton arrived, and I was really excited when it was one with free WiFi and usb chargers. This meant I was kept busy on Facebook en route and the time until midnight flew by. The majority of the people on the bus was going to Airlie Beach, and when disembarking at Rockhampton only 3 people got off! My hostel was inconveniently situated out of town which meant I had to walk through the darkness over the big river to the hostel. It wasn't until about 1 I finally managed to find the safe which stored my key for my room, and I was straight to bed here, as my bus to Bileola for Kroombit left at half 6 the following morning!
Friday, 28 February 2014
February 25th... Fraser Island Day 3
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!
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!
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!
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