Thursday, March 01, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Stop 16 - Cairns
Well after a 2,700km journey we have finally arrived in Cairns!! However, in total since leaving Sydney we've actually driven almost double this!!
We're not planning on staying here long as we're heading off further north, up to Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation (home to the worlds oldest rainforest), spending a couple of days in each. Afterwards we'll head back down to Cairns for some much needed relaxation and to sell our car hopefully!!!
Well we went up to the amazing Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation. Actually both weren't so inspiring in the torrential rain!! We did spend a few hours in each, however, and went for a short, wet walk in the oldest rainforest in the world!! As good as it was, there's only so many trees you can look at in one day!! One other thing we did do was go in search of the wild crocodiles that apparently inhabit the area...surprisingly enough we didn't find any!
Cape Tribulation
Port Douglas
We'll now be in Cairns until we leave Oz next Friday.
We're not planning on staying here long as we're heading off further north, up to Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation (home to the worlds oldest rainforest), spending a couple of days in each. Afterwards we'll head back down to Cairns for some much needed relaxation and to sell our car hopefully!!!
Well we went up to the amazing Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation. Actually both weren't so inspiring in the torrential rain!! We did spend a few hours in each, however, and went for a short, wet walk in the oldest rainforest in the world!! As good as it was, there's only so many trees you can look at in one day!! One other thing we did do was go in search of the wild crocodiles that apparently inhabit the area...surprisingly enough we didn't find any!
Cape Tribulation
Port Douglas
Prior to leaving Cairns, we spent a fair bit of time advertising our car everywhere imaginable including phone boxes, bill-boards etc! Not sure on the legalities, but hey, we've not been imprisoned just yet!! Fortunately our efforts paid off this afternoon, when a keen, young Ozzie sprinted to the bank to withdraw a rather large sum of money for us, in exchange for our little beauty of a car!! We did forget to mention to him the presence of a rather concerning clunking noise, which started just a few days ago!! Oops!
Now we've made some money, we're off to the bars and clubs to celebrate! The rest of our money, we're hoping to buy another car and do the same in New Zealand!!
Now we've made some money, we're off to the bars and clubs to celebrate! The rest of our money, we're hoping to buy another car and do the same in New Zealand!!
We'll now be in Cairns until we leave Oz next Friday.
Well we've finally got round to adding some photos as you'll see! Last week we took a trip out to the Great Barrier Reef, which was quite a mad experience given that overall the reef is larger than New Zealand! The major highlight of it had to be Louise spotting a giant turtle swimming towards us, and it getting so close I could touch it!!
The mighty Great Barrier Reef!
Stop 15 - Mission Beach
Mission Beach really didn't have much to offer, except a lovely beach (not!) which was full of jellyfish! Even more concerning was a stinger enclosure, also full of jellyfish!! It was a nice overnight stop but there really wasn't an awful lot to see or do here, except go in search of the rather brutal cassowary, which apparently can disembowel a human with its toe-nail!! Perhaps it's fortunate that we didn't come across any!
Stop 14 - Townsville/Magnetic Island
Another couple of hours of driving brought us to Townsville, the capital of Tropical North Queensland where we stayed for 3 nights. Townsville is much the same as many of the other locations we've visited i.e Mackay, Rockhampton etc etc - just another town but nice at the same time.
One of our reasons for stopping in Townsville was to visit the so-called "tropical island paradise" called Magnetic Island, which is not only supposed to be like paradise, but also be Australias biggest natural Koala bear habitat. After a 20 minute ferry ride we arrived on Magnetic Island where nature greeted us by opening the skies and chucking it down for much of the morning. Magnetic Island itself was a fairly small island made up of 4 main parts. After visiting all of these, neither of us were too impressed with what the island had to offer, especially the stinger enclosures which we took one look at and decided we definitely weren't going swimming in them!! Basically they offer very little protection against the deadly jellies present this time of year!!
Luckily come the afternoon the sun came out and we went for a spot of wildlife spotting through the bush. You've guessed it, we went in search of wild koalas!! Worryingly, this island is also meant to be home to the deadly death addar snake!!! Fortunately we didn't come across any snakes but surprisingly enough, we did manage to spot one rather friendly koala bear sitting low down in the tree and literally about 1 metre from us!!!! Unfortunately he didn't greet us with a "g'day mate", but he did manage a good few poses for the camera!!
One of our reasons for stopping in Townsville was to visit the so-called "tropical island paradise" called Magnetic Island, which is not only supposed to be like paradise, but also be Australias biggest natural Koala bear habitat. After a 20 minute ferry ride we arrived on Magnetic Island where nature greeted us by opening the skies and chucking it down for much of the morning. Magnetic Island itself was a fairly small island made up of 4 main parts. After visiting all of these, neither of us were too impressed with what the island had to offer, especially the stinger enclosures which we took one look at and decided we definitely weren't going swimming in them!! Basically they offer very little protection against the deadly jellies present this time of year!!
Luckily come the afternoon the sun came out and we went for a spot of wildlife spotting through the bush. You've guessed it, we went in search of wild koalas!! Worryingly, this island is also meant to be home to the deadly death addar snake!!! Fortunately we didn't come across any snakes but surprisingly enough, we did manage to spot one rather friendly koala bear sitting low down in the tree and literally about 1 metre from us!!!! Unfortunately he didn't greet us with a "g'day mate", but he did manage a good few poses for the camera!!
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Stop 13 - Airlie Beach/Whitsunday Islands
After a couple of hours of driving up the coast, we arrived in Airlie Beach, a small but big party resort and the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands. Our hostel where we stayed was set in tropical rainforest, which although seemed like paradise, we quickly learnt to keep our eyes open for the snakes! Within our first ten minutes of arriving we spotted two of these slithery critters!!
After 2 days in Airlie Beach we boarded our catamaran where we were to spend the next 2 days sailing around the Whitsunday Islands, located in tropical pacific waters!!! After 5 hours of sailing we reached our first overnight stop where the partying began!!
An early start the next day took us to Whitehaven Beach (see photo below) for a swim and relaxing on the long white sandy beach and our first experience with putting on and taking off stinger suits!! Unfortunately they were mandatory given that the waters were apparently riddled with box jelly fish which can kill you within 3 minutes of being stung!! Whilst there we also went on a mini bush-walk, which ended swiftly upon coming across a number of spiders!!! It seems there's nowhere around here you can escape these dodgy creatures!!After a couple of hours there we ventured on for a spot of snorkelling. Unfortunately there wasn't anything of excitment down there, just the usual fish but luckily no encounters with any box jelly fish!
After 2 days in Airlie Beach we boarded our catamaran where we were to spend the next 2 days sailing around the Whitsunday Islands, located in tropical pacific waters!!! After 5 hours of sailing we reached our first overnight stop where the partying began!!
An early start the next day took us to Whitehaven Beach (see photo below) for a swim and relaxing on the long white sandy beach and our first experience with putting on and taking off stinger suits!! Unfortunately they were mandatory given that the waters were apparently riddled with box jelly fish which can kill you within 3 minutes of being stung!! Whilst there we also went on a mini bush-walk, which ended swiftly upon coming across a number of spiders!!! It seems there's nowhere around here you can escape these dodgy creatures!!After a couple of hours there we ventured on for a spot of snorkelling. Unfortunately there wasn't anything of excitment down there, just the usual fish but luckily no encounters with any box jelly fish!
The second night we gatecrashed another yacht's toga party which needed livening up anyway! Later that night 3 drunk (but extremely funny) Brazilian guys on our boat took out their guitar (named babe!) and sung hilarious songs to us all which sounded great with the bongo drums our skipper stole from the other yacht! Later on, these guys decided it was time to take charge of the boat and insisted they were sailing us to Fiji via the bottle shop for more alcohol!!! Given that a few drinks later they had passed out, we never made Fiji!!!!
Once on dry land we all got together for a totally crazy after party dancing into the wee hours!!!
Once on dry land we all got together for a totally crazy after party dancing into the wee hours!!!
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Stop 12 - Mackay
Nothing much to say about this place. Once again it was just another stop-over with nothing exciting to do really! Needless to say, we moved on after one night!
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Stop 11 - Rockhampton via Agnes Water/Town of 1770
Well our plan was to stay the night in a place called Agnes Water, just near the Town of 1770 (named so because apparently Captain Cook came here then). However, upon arrival the place was like a ghost town, with nothing much there at all! We soon decided that we would continue our journey to the next port of call, Rockhampton.
On our way here we saw our first roadsign with Cairns on it...only another 1300km to go, meaning that we're actually not that much more than half way from Sydney!!
There's not much to say about Rockhampton as again there's not too much here, but a few more shops etc than Agnes Water! There are apparently freshwater crocodiles in the water so we might head off there later for a quick dip!! Tomorrow we're heading off to Mackay for a couple of nights, en-route to a place called Airlie Beach, gateway to the Whitsunday Islands...
On our way here we saw our first roadsign with Cairns on it...only another 1300km to go, meaning that we're actually not that much more than half way from Sydney!!
There's not much to say about Rockhampton as again there's not too much here, but a few more shops etc than Agnes Water! There are apparently freshwater crocodiles in the water so we might head off there later for a quick dip!! Tomorrow we're heading off to Mackay for a couple of nights, en-route to a place called Airlie Beach, gateway to the Whitsunday Islands...
Monday, February 05, 2007
Stop 10 - Bundaberg
Well we've been here a couple of nights now and about to head off for our next stop. Although Bundaberg was a relatively small place, it was not quite as small as the previous couple of stops and somewhat more scenic!
Yesterday we took the mandatory tour of the Bundaberg Rum distillery, which is never a good idea with a hangover! You've probably never heard of Bundaberg rum since it's only sold out here at the moment but it tastes good anyway as we found out having a couple of mid-afternoon drinks!
We read before we arrived that there was a turtle rookery (place where wild turtles come from the sea to the beach to lay their eggs) nearby Bundaberg. However they only do it between dusk and dawn. We thought we'd best pay it a visit so we arrived at about 6pm. Only at about 11pm did the turtles arrive on the beach!! It was worth the wait though, watching a huge 1metre long turtle come and dig a nest on the beach and lay it's eggs before returning to the sea! It was like being David Attenborough for a night!!
The baby turtles that we saw were just an hour or so old. There must have been a few dozen of them which they released into the sea for the very first time since they'd hatched!! All in all quite a mad experience!
Yesterday we took the mandatory tour of the Bundaberg Rum distillery, which is never a good idea with a hangover! You've probably never heard of Bundaberg rum since it's only sold out here at the moment but it tastes good anyway as we found out having a couple of mid-afternoon drinks!
We read before we arrived that there was a turtle rookery (place where wild turtles come from the sea to the beach to lay their eggs) nearby Bundaberg. However they only do it between dusk and dawn. We thought we'd best pay it a visit so we arrived at about 6pm. Only at about 11pm did the turtles arrive on the beach!! It was worth the wait though, watching a huge 1metre long turtle come and dig a nest on the beach and lay it's eggs before returning to the sea! It was like being David Attenborough for a night!!
The baby turtles that we saw were just an hour or so old. There must have been a few dozen of them which they released into the sea for the very first time since they'd hatched!! All in all quite a mad experience!
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Stop 9 - Hervey Bay
Well the car is still going strong and got us to Hervey Bay for an overnight stop. Unfortunately there was absolutely nothing to do here. Hervey Bay is a very small town where many people go to Fraser Island from. Having already visited the island, we decided that one night was enough time here and we caught up on some sleep!!!!
Stop 8 - Rainbow Beach/Fraser Island
After a couple of hours drive we arrived in Rainbow Beach. Our first impressions were that there was absolutely nothing to do, however we were (only just!) proven wrong. Our first evening we paid a visit to the Carlos Sandblows (big sand dunes!) to watch the sunset. However, the main reason for stopping in Rainbow Beach was for a day trip to Fraser Island.
Fraser Island is the worlds largest sand island, with apparently more sand than the Sahara Desert, and you can only get around the island in a 4x4. We went on a guided day-trip and after morning tea, our first stop was Lake McKenzie (below, top left), a large lake apparently created years and years and years ago by a puddle of rain water! During the course of the day we also visited a ship wreck, Eli Creek (below, top right) and many other sites on the island, including a 75mile beach (below, bottom left). We were even fortunate enough (believe it or not!) to see a dingo (below, bottom right)!! The first bit of wildlife we've seen!!!
After a hectic day out, we decided to spend the evening downing a few jugs of beer and entering in a "killer pool" competition! Out of 30 people taking part, I managed to come fourth, even beating Ian (I did come 5th though!)!!!
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Stop 7 - Noosa (Sunshine Coast)
Well we're here just chilling out in our hostel with a rather nice, ice cold jug of beer! It's nearly 10pm and what a busy couple of days we've had. After a rather long drive from Brisbane, going via the Glasshouse mountains (yep, we'd never heard of them either....and pretty much wish we hadn't wasted a good couple of hours off the beach!) we arrived in the small coastal town of Noosa, on Australia's Sunshine Coast. We'd read that their National Park was home to wild Koala's and Kangaroos (a claim that almost everywhere in Australia makes) so we thought we'd pay a visit. Unfortunately we saw nothing of any interest...except the sign stating not to enter in the dark. Due to our rather slow walking pace the night started to set in, leaving us in the middle of the forest with hardly any light and not knowing what dodgy spiders and snakes etc might be lurking. Needless to say we legged it out as soon as we could!
On our first full day we decided it might be safer to put our surfing skills into practice. However, our visit to the local beach with no waves sent us in hunt of some good surf down the coast. We found a beach with what looked to be good surf from the road, only to find the waves were about 2metres high...and the sea riddled with stingers (jellyfish!)...In true British style we didn't let that bother us too much and so we hit the surf on our boards looking like proper pros! Luckily this time neither of us were stung!
On our first full day we decided it might be safer to put our surfing skills into practice. However, our visit to the local beach with no waves sent us in hunt of some good surf down the coast. We found a beach with what looked to be good surf from the road, only to find the waves were about 2metres high...and the sea riddled with stingers (jellyfish!)...In true British style we didn't let that bother us too much and so we hit the surf on our boards looking like proper pros! Luckily this time neither of us were stung!
Later that day we thought we'd hire a boat and cruise round the local waterways, which are apparently world-renowed around here. After a good few tinnies they did look alright as far as rivers go and looked even better after catching a few fish!!
Tomorrow we head off to a place called Rainbow beach, which is apparently a tiny town home to just a 1000 people or so. From their we head off to Frazer Island, the worlds largest sand island and home to more 'apparent' wild-life!
Friday, January 26, 2007
Stop 6 - Surfers Paradise (Gold Coast)
....yet again car is still going strong with, as yet, no callouts to the local RAC!!!!
Upon arriving in Queensland we immediately noticed the difference to New South Wales - the scenery no longer looked like the UK, but instead like an Australian Las Vegas, minus the casinos!!! Having said this place is an amazing area and apparently the most popular Australian holiday destination!
Upon arriving in Queensland we immediately noticed the difference to New South Wales - the scenery no longer looked like the UK, but instead like an Australian Las Vegas, minus the casinos!!! Having said this place is an amazing area and apparently the most popular Australian holiday destination!
Upon arriving we met up with Alan, from back home (see photo below on right of him trying to dance..haha!), whom we spent a week with here, with many a heavy night partying in various bars and clubs! The first night we were here we went on a backpackers club crawl, which was absolute carnage thanks to the free drinks enroute!!!
We also spent many a day relaxing on the 42km stretch of white, sandy beaches. However, due to the bluebottle jellyfish, which nicely stung my leg, we also spent some time relaxing in the sub-tropical waters of our hostel swimming pool!!! At least the little critters couldn't get sting us there!!
Stop 5 - Byron Bay
Well it's been a little while since we were here due to our appauling web-site updating! Car still amazing, touch wood and to be honest i'd be surprised if it doesn't make it to Cairns and make us a small fortune!
Byron bay was an amazing place - so chilled, friendly and relaxing. Having said that we did manage a good few nights of partying, mainly in the infamous 'Cheeky Monkeys' nightclub where we met up with some friends we met in Coffs Harbour!
After relaxing for a few days on the beach, we took to the challenge of a surfing lesson, where if you can't surf after just 2 hours you get your money back! Fortunately for our surfing skills (and unfortunately for our bank accounts) we rather spectacularly both managed to surf in like pros on a good few waves! Due to us both surfing we didn't manage to get any pics so you'll just have to believe us on that!!
We also took a day trip to a place called Nimbin, where everyone is even more chilled out than in Byron. Most are so chilled they can't even get the energy together to wash, shave, cut hair etc. etc. For those of you that have been there or heard of it, you'll know what we mean! After Nimbin we went to some great waterfalls then headed off for a nice barbie (BBQ!).
Byron bay was an amazing place - so chilled, friendly and relaxing. Having said that we did manage a good few nights of partying, mainly in the infamous 'Cheeky Monkeys' nightclub where we met up with some friends we met in Coffs Harbour!
After relaxing for a few days on the beach, we took to the challenge of a surfing lesson, where if you can't surf after just 2 hours you get your money back! Fortunately for our surfing skills (and unfortunately for our bank accounts) we rather spectacularly both managed to surf in like pros on a good few waves! Due to us both surfing we didn't manage to get any pics so you'll just have to believe us on that!!
We also took a day trip to a place called Nimbin, where everyone is even more chilled out than in Byron. Most are so chilled they can't even get the energy together to wash, shave, cut hair etc. etc. For those of you that have been there or heard of it, you'll know what we mean! After Nimbin we went to some great waterfalls then headed off for a nice barbie (BBQ!).