Australia - Catch Up

Hi,

We are so sorry that we have got so far behind on our blog. We have been writing individual blogs for every place that we have been to, but with very limited internet to be able to put them on the blog. When we do manage to get the internet the speed is so slow that it take an age to put the blog online.

We have discovered that we now quite a few to put online, so to enable us to get the blog up to date with everything that we have been doing we have written this shortish blog with a summary of what we have been up to at each place. Please don’t worry though we will be able to tell you all about each place in more detail when we get home.

Noosa:

Noosa is a lovely up market seaside town on the Sunshine coast. We decided to make this one of our coastal stop overs as we work our way down the east coast. We arrived late on Monday afternoon. We were staying slightly outside of town so we decided to take a walk into the town to see what was on offer. We found the most beautiful bay and beach and a hell of a lot very posh restaurants. As the sun set we headed back to the van to cook a nice meal before heading to bed. In the morning we work to another beautiful sunny blue skied day. We had read about Noosa national park which is situated on the hill tops overlooking the coast line, so decided to give this a go. We walked up to the park and were told about all the wildlife that we could see including Koalas, Dolphin, Sharks, Whales as well as all sorts of Birds and Insects. I'm pleased to write that our curse of failing to see wildlife continued and we didn’t see a thing. Once we had finished the walk we went to get a hand made ice cream before heading back to the camp to have dinner and sleep. Unfortunately during the night I had the most horrendous cramps in my stomach, so bad that Amber had to play Ambulance driver and drive me to the hospital where I was diagnosed with Gastroenteritis. A fantastic way to finish Noosa.

Noosa Beach

Views from walk in National Park

Gold Coast:

Not a planned stop but after finding out that some friends from University were in the gold coast it seemed silly not to stop and have a beverage or two with them. It was great to see Charlotte and Liz again and a night of drinking and kebabs made it a night to remember.


Byron Bay:

The true backpacker destination and one that we really wanted to visit while in Australia. Having missed all the whales during their ‘Great Migration’, we were told that we could see them if we went up to the Lighthouse on top of the cliff. We decided to take a drive up there and sure enough out at sea you could see the Whales as they travelled past Byron Bay. The following day we went to the beach and had a picnic. Sadly the weather was horrendous and this was quite short lived. We went to have a look around the town and could see instantly why this was a massive hit with backpackers. Very hippy with lots of VW Campers. Needless to say that I was in my element looking at all the vans. Our hostel was designed for the hippy, with a double decker bus in the back garden and massive TeePee for people to stay in.

Byron Light House

Part of Byron Bay

Armindale:

See Armindale Blog with Waterfall Way.

 Canberra:

The next major stop on our journey was the capital of Australia Canberra. This is fairly young capital, only celebrating its 100 birthday later this year. We arrived early in the morning and decided to head straight for the Australian Mint. It was incredible to see the process that goes into making all the money in Australia. Not only did this mint make the money for Australia but is also employed to make money for most of the South East Asia nations. They also made the Olympic medals for the Sydney 200o games. After the mint we went to see the National War Museum. This truly is a very moving  place to visit and learn about the conflict that Australia has been involved in. It was so good that two days latter we would return to do a full tour of the museum. In particular it was very interesting to hear about the ANZACS.

National War Museum

The following day we wanted to do the typical tourist attractions and paid a visit to the Australia House of Parliament. We were lucky enough to be visiting on a day when the house was actually sitting. We managed to get some tickets thanks to a old security guard who slipped us two tickets. It was fantastic to watch and hear all the banter that takes place. Overall Canberra is a nice city but because it is a purpose built it didn’t really have a city feel to it. Its nice but I don’t think we would return in a hurry.

New Parliment House

Melbourne:

We booked into a campsite for four nights and boy were we glad that we did. Melbourne is a very European city, represented by all types of cultures and architecture. There is so much to see and do in Melbourne that we really could have stayed here a week. On the day we arrived Amber was desperate to have her hair cut so this was the main priority. After her treatment we went o see Chinatown. This road is filled with Chinese restaurants, lanterns and smells delicious with all kind of characters trying to get you into their restaurants. We opted against a Chinese and instead went to the CBD and aimed for an Indian restaurant that had been recommended by the tour book.  Boy were they right, the curry as amazing.

Chinatown

Our second day saw us really trying to see the city. We got in early and our first stop was the Queen Victoria Market. This really is a market beyond all proportions. Anything that you can think of that can be sold, I’m pretty sure that you will be able to find it. Next stop was the Victoria Parliament building where we had a tour and was told about how state government works and how it is different to federal government which we found interesting after Canberra. After the Victoria Parliament, we jumped on the free tram that loops around the CBD. We opted to get off at the Docklands and had cake and coffee overlooking the harbour.

Victoria House of Parliment

Mr Speaker for the day

The third day saw us visit the set of Neighbours. Not only did we get to see ‘Ramsey Street’ but also got to visit the set of Lassiters. It really was more fun than we thought it would be and at least we can now say that we have been there. That was Amber's choice of activity and so to make things equal I decided to take her to Albert Park home to the Australian F1 track. Later in the evening we went to St Kilder where our bad luck with wildlife continued. We went to see the famous Blue ‘Little’ Penguins that live in the rocks / beach around the harbour. There are meant to be hundreds of them but on the night we went we only managed to see two. Still, better than none.

Ramsey Street (Neihbours)

Celebrating at Albert Park (Asutralia F1)

On our last day in Melbourne we went to go and see the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) and ended up on a tour of the stadium. As a cricket fan this is an incredible experience. I can only imagine the atmosphere when the Ashes are played there in front of 80,000 people. They also have a Sports Museum at the ground however this is predominantly about Australia’s sport history so we found this a little boring. Feeling hungry we went back to Chinatown where we found a lovely all you can eat (within an hour) and started to tuck in.

MCG

Top two Bowlers and Batters at MCG

Great Ocean Road:

Leaving Melbourne was hard as there was still so much we wanted to do. However what laid ahead was just as special. We decided to drive along the Great Ocean Road, which every year is voted in the top 10 drives in the world. The road really is incredible and not only does it drive along the very rough coast line in the cliffs, but also goes slightly inland and see’s some of the Rainforest. One of the highlights was stopping to see the  Twelve Apostles which are giant pointy rocks that have been carved out of the land by the ocean.



The Twele Apostles

 Adelaide:

Arriving in Adelaide we were shocked to find that where we had booked to stay in our campervan was literally a small run down car park located just off a street in the centre of the city. We were only staying for three nights as we were using this as a stopover before beginning to venture into the Desert. Adelaide, compared to other cities in Australia is very small. Quite modern, with lots of shopping centres. We decided to pay a visit to the food market in the centre of town before heading to the Hays Chocolate factory and having a tour. Once we finished in the city we went to the Barossa Valley where we had a tour around the Jacobs creek Vineyard and Amber managed to do some wine tasting. I personally tried a little but I was driving after Amber had been so kind and let me drink when we were on the rum tour a few weeks earlier.

At Jacobs Creek

Since Adelaide we have been to the centre of the desert to visit Uluru and Kings Canyon. This however can not be summarised in a paragraph so we will write a blog about that which will soon be up.

Our trip to Armidale

After leaving Byron Bay it was time for us to start heading south, this meant things were about to get a lot colder. For two English people the cold is not normally an issue but for two English backpackers who had spent 6 months in the tropics of Queensland Australia, 3 months enjoying the heat of south east Asia and a British summer before leaving, it’s fair to say we were going to feel the chill. We had over 16 months of enjoying temperatures which rarely dropped below 20 degrees; our blood had thinned a lot.

We had planned our route through New South Wales with the help of Graham while we were staying with them in Queensland. He recommended we take the Waterfall highway and Putty Road to get to Canberra and to avoid Sydney. We were so pleased we took his advice as the drive was just stunning. We stopped for lunch in the picture-perfect Bellingen by a creek we were able to sit and enjoy a bit of sunshine. We then continued the drive to Dorrigo where we stopped and took some photos of Dangar falls.

The drive after Dorrigo was sensational, we drove through mountain roads which twisted and turned. Then out of nowhere down the side of a cliff would be a beautiful waterfall rushing under the road. We had waterfalls to look at on one side and on the other side were views over the magnificent country side, it was very special.

Our next stop was to see Ebor falls which was another beautiful waterfall, there was a walking track to the bottom of this waterfall but unfortunately we had begun to feel the cold and opted to just view it from the lookout at the top.

The final waterfall which we wanted to see was to be the most spectacular however it took a bit of finding. It was a waterfall which our lonely planet guide recommended so we did not want to miss it. We took a few wrong turns and were thinking of giving up when we kept driving and eventually saw a signpost for it. It was the most amazing waterfall I had ever seen, despite the fact we were seeing it at a time when the rivers were low due to little rainfall; it was still incredible. This was a waterfall which wasn’t very kind to Jonny’s vertigo as it fell into a 260m drop. It felt like something had put a huge hole in the earth and from a crack in the side came the waterfall. The photos do not do this one justice. 

Our stop for the night was in a town called Armidale. We were expecting a small village as we were a long way from anything and had driven almost 3 hours without seeing another real town. We were shocked when we could see the lights in the distance as we came over a hill; this big town had come from nowhere. We imagine it is similar but on a smaller scale to going through the desert in America and then seeing the lights off Las Vegas appearing.

When we arrived at the campsite we were told that the temperature was due to hit a chilly minus 6 during the night. It was a rather rude wake up call for us. I wore 2 pairs of socks and pyjamas while Jonny decided to “be a man” and wear just shorts. The next morning he was still “being British” and insisted on wearing his shorts with no top and flip-flops on the frosty grass, anyone who saw him felt cold for looking. We tried to wash up our breakfast things in the campsites outside kitchen but the water that had been left in the kettle had turned to ice inside. We tried to fill it up with water from the outside tap but this to have frozen up so no water was available. My fingers and toes had literally turned to ice by the time we packed up the campavan. Jonny had finally given in and decided a coffee was in order.

Fraser Island, Queensland - Australia

I almost chickened out of our day trip to Fraser Island as I woke up feeling rather rough. I had a rubbish cold and didn’t think rocking around in the back of a 4x4 all day would make me feel any better. However we were too late to cancel and unless we wanted to pay twice and go the next day I had to man up and try to enjoy the ride.
The day started foggy, so foggy in fact we couldn’t even see the island which was only 8km away. It was a shame as the journey over the sea would normally involve whale watching and spotting dolphins. The trip on the ferry was quick, just half an hour and we had arrived on the largest sand island in the world. It was from this moment the day got better as the fog started to lift and the sun started shining through the trees. 

Our first stop was Lake McKenzie we travelled through thick rainforest to get there on roads (sand tracks) that even 4x4 cars were struggling with. It seemed like we had travelled to the middle of nowhere when this huge lake which covered 150 hectares appeared from between the trees. We were blown away, it was the clearest water we had ever seen, it looked a beautiful blue which was the reflection of the sky onto the white sand that lined the lake. Jonny managed to dip his toes in and the water was freezing, there was a couple of dare devils that went for a swim but they soon came out shivering.

Jonny being brave at Lake McKenzie

Lake McKenzie

We then had morning tea while listening to a person from the indigenous tribe of Fraser Island, the tribe was known as the Butchulla People. He explained about the islands history, his tribe and he performed a traditional dance and song, it felt really special due to the environment that we were in. What we learnt about the relationship between the indigenous people and the European settlers was really disturbing. It is thought that the Butchulla People lived on the land of Fraser Island for up to 15,000 years and during those years when there was plenty of food supplies there was a population of 2,000 people.  When the European settlers arrived they began using resources that the Butchulla People relied upon, food cycles changed and supplies they needed to survive suffered and disease spread as a result. Our guide told of one occasion when the Butchulla People were very hungry, they became desperate for food and starting stealing small amounts of flour so they could make bread. The European settlers soon realised what was happening so they put poison in the flour which ended up killing many of the the Butchulla People.  Many similar incidences and conflicts took place. Logging of the island was introduced in 1863 which further affected the lifestyle of the Butchulla People. Logging was stopped on the island in 1991 when the area was named a World Heritage Site but by this time it was far too late for the tribes who had already moved away.

From the Butchulla tribe

The next point on our tour started on the 75 mile beach. It was amazing, we drove from a dense rainforest on to a beautiful beach. This beach was unlike one we had ever visited before as it also acted as I highway where cars travels at 80km an hour, It was also a runway for aircraft. We whizzed along the beach admiring the view, looking out to sea trying to spot a whale. Unfortunately it was not to be are day for seeing wildlife, the only whale we saw was dead. The tour guide explained that this particular whale had died the previous week when Bull Sharks chased it and it beached itself. There was a large group of people who saw what had happened and tried to help save the whale but their efforts were in vain as the Whale was just too large to be moved.

The beach highway

The beach highway which also worked as a runway

75 Mile Beach

The next spot of interest for us was The Maheno ship wreck. The ship has been beached since 1935. The Maheno was originally used on routes from Sydney to Auckland, it was then used in World War One as a hospital ship in Europe. After the war the Japanese brought the boat from the Australia to melt down as scrap. They began towing it back to Japan when a storm hit and the tow line snapped with the engines having previously been taken out there was no way of rescuing the boat. It therefore drifted and beached itself on Fraser Island where it remains today.

The Maheno

Indian Heads was the place where we stopped for lunch but no food was eaten before a hike up the cliffs to admire the fabulous view of the bays and surrounding forests. After lunch we went to a part of the island they have named Champagne Pools which are actually just very large rock pools. The area was given its name a s someone decided the bubbling effect of the sea over the rocks looked like Champagne being poured.

View from Indian Heads

Standing on the beach bellow Indian Heads

Champagne Pools

No trip to Fraser island would be complete without seeing a Dingo and we stumbled across a small pack of 5/6 strolling along the beach. We could not believe such friendly looking animals can be such vicious predators and so dangerous for humans. They just looked completely harmless.

One of a few Dingo's we met

Our route home took us past a tree called Stinay, it is a huge Syncarpia Hillii which is 215cm in diameter and is estimated to be at least 500 years old. This particular tree was also known as the Spirit Tree. It was given its nick-name as years ago when a young descendant from one the indigenous tribes went on a tour of the island and took a photo of this tree. When the photo was developed there was a huge figure the sizeof the tree standing next to it. Since this photo there have been many other similar photos taken showing spirits around the tree. This is something that did not surprise me having heard of the troubled history of the island and knowing just how old the tree was and what it could have seen there was a spiritual atmosphere.

"The Spirit Tree"

The whole day was quite magical, we managed to see and learn so much. I am so pleased we went despite feeling so ill in the morning, it as it is a trip that we will never forget.

Bundaberg, Queensland - Australia

Our next destination after Airlie beach was going to be Bundaberg but we decided we needed to stop overnight somewhere to break up the journey. We chose to stay in Rockhampton.  Unfortunately we did not have enough time to see much of the town but the campsite kept us entertained. We camped next to signs warning that we shared the river bank with crocodiles. Having seen many crocs in the wild on the Daintree River we did not question these signs and opted for a fairly early night.

Our stay in Bundaberg was again fairly brief however we did find time to squeeze in a trip to the Bundaberg Rum Distillery. Being the rum fan that Jonny is, it was something he had been looking forward to since we touched down in Australia back in December. The tour did not disappoint. Our tour guide was the most enthusiastic person about rum I have ever met; her energy levels were incredible considering it was only 10am on a Saturday morning. The tour involved taking us through every step and process right from farming the ingredients to the bottling process, branding and marketing of the rum. The best part for Jonny was the favourite part for most people - the tasting. Being the good girlfriend, I decided to drive. I realised it is in my best interest as when we get to South Australia and go on many wine tasting tours, it will be turn to drink and his turn to drive. Anyway as I was driving it meant Jonny not only got his 2 free rums but he also got my 2 and at 11am in the morning it is a nice wake up call. I did manage a sip of one drink that the knowledgeable staff recommended; it is one they called a girl’s best friend. Liquor with dark rum, chocolate, cream, vanilla and coffee. They served this over ice with a splash of milk and it was delicious, like a grown up milk shake with a kick. Unfortunately it is exclusive to their Bundaberg store which was rather disappointing but I am hopeful come Christmas time when in the UK we may be able to find this gorgeous Bundaberg liquor on Ebay????

After the tour in Bundaberg I drove us to Hervey Bay, the small town where I lived for a short time, nine years ago. I was not surprised to see that the town had hardly changed at all. Our old house still looked the same, the front garden just looked greener and the school I went to was exactly the same. One difference to the bay was the new addition of a rather nice bar and bistro by the pier where we spent a lovely evening with an old friend of mine and his partner. The main reason tourist visit Hervey Bay is because it is the best place in the world to see the Humpback Whales migrate. However we had sadly miss timed our visit and were at least 2 weeks too early to spot any passing by. Hervey Bay does have a second purpose for its tourists and that is because they are a gateway to Fraser Island. This is a tour we booked ourselves on to and will tell you about soon.

Airlie Beach - The Whitsunday Islands

One of the things we had been told that we must do while in Queensland is visit the Whitsunday Islands. One of the best ways to see the Whitsundays is to sail around them on varying length cruises that are on the market. However as we have discussed before our time line is very tight so having a multiday trip was out of the question. Luckily for us there was a one day tour on a 500hp RIB. It would stop at everything that other tours would stop at, the difference is that this trip would involve getting wet & cold, as opposed to topping the tan up as you sailed through the tropical seas on a luxury sailing ship.

The tour was fantastic and everything that we hoped it would be. We were collected early and taken to the dock where we were served tea’s and coffees before boarding the boat. The two hosts that skippered the boat were absolutely hilarious and made the day that little bit more special. A particular point of interest was a small group of Japanese tourists, who managed to delay the tour at every point due to them not listening or choosing not to understand. The two host made the most out of having some banter with them.

Our first stop was at a small reef on the northern side of Whitsunday Island, where we could snorkel. We were all offered the option of wearing a wetsuit to keep ourselves warm.  All the Australian, Japanese and American tourists opted to take the wetsuit and the crew were amazed that none of the British and Irish tourists would wear them. I mean the sea was like taking a warm bath, why would we need wetsuits? Amber decided that she was going to stay on the boat and make the most of the sunshine as she had not been feeling 100% for the last few days. I think in the long run this was the better option, I jumped in, the snorkeling was good, but having been lucky enough to swim in the Great Barrier Reef only a week before hand it didn’t really compare. I was lucky enough however to swim into a pack of Jelly Fish. I took one look at a group of about 10, and very quickly returned back to the boat to join Amber in the sun.

The next stop was really what we had gone on the trip to see, Whitehaven Beach. This has been voted the second best beach in the world and it was clear to see why. The sands are the whitest I have ever seen and the water was so clear you could see the bottom even when about 15 meters deep. The sea wildlife was amazing and we were lucky enough to see stingray, however we learnt that this was not that uncommon as 35,000 stingrays travel to the islands each year to breed. The sand on Whitehaven beach is 98% pure sand and when you walk on it, it squeaks underneath your feet which is a very surreal experience. It is so pure that you can actually use the sand to polish jewellery. We took a short walk up to a viewing point, where our tour guide explained that originally the Whitsundays were inhabited by Aboriginals. During the 1800’s the white man pushed them off the islands and they no longer have anything to do with them. In fact the Aboriginals now actually consider the Whitsundays to be bad luck. The Whitsundays have now been placed under a World Heritage site which means that no construction will ever be allowed to take place. At the viewing point we had some photos taken. It was explained to us that this is in the top 5 most photographed places in Australia.

Lunch was served on the southern side of Whitehaven Beach. This could have possibly been the most beautiful and romantic lunch location had it not been for the 30 seagulls that decided to invite themselves along. I was not very happy as they seemed to have it in for my plate of food and not Amber, who just sat there and laughed at me.

After lunch we boarded the boat that was to take us back to the mainland. While on the journey home we passed Hamilton Island, a very posh and exclusive island which has been designed for the honeymoon couple. On the way back the skipper decided to have some fun with another boat, where they used each other’s wake to jump the boats and power slide them. Before the final big power slide we were asked to all hold on tight (something the Japanese decided not to listen to). The skipper power slide the boat so hard that two of Japanese who were not holding on flew across the boat and I’m sorry to say copped a face full of my elbow. I think they may listen next time!!!

The Whitsundays are incredible and our only real regret is that we didn’t have longer to see them. If we return to the area we will definitely be booking ourselves onto a two or three day sailing cruise.