Day 1: A girl called Binx was the OZ Driver for this trip as we headed down the coast to Byron Bay, one of Australia's most famous areas. Also onboard were Jasen (Bulgaria) and Jodie & Mike (UK) and we all got chatting on the day-long trip down to Byron.
We arrived early evening and myself, Jodie and Mike had booked into a seperate hostel to Jasen. We checked in and then caught up with him later at a bar called Cheeky Monkey, which had fairly cheap drinks and even cheaper meals, something of a rarity in Australia. We all headed over and took full advantage, with Binx also there as well.
One of the other benefits of travelling with OZ Experience is that you often get free drinks in these bars on the days you arrive. This was also the case here and Binx got us a couple of Jugs in. When they arrived, a random guy appeared at our table, adament that he had been on our bus that day and was therefore entitled to free drinks also. Given there were only us 4 on the bus, we knew he was trying it on and, at first, it just seemed as though he was joking around just trying his luck.
When he discovered he wasn't going to get anywhere though, he turned quite aggressive towards Binx when she told him he would need to leave the table (he was pretty hammered). This continued for a while, him still adament that he was entitled to drinks, to the point where Binx had to get one of the bouncers over to have a word with him. He managed to avoid getting kicked out somehow and was warned off coming over to our table again. The lengths some travellers will go to for a free drink!
Jodie, Mike and Binx left later in the night, leaving me and Jasen still partying it up in Cheeky Monkey, which was a pretty cool bar. There were a number of competitions running throughout the night for free drinks and, in Jasen's case - a free Bungee Jump. He gave it away to some random guy on the dancefloor because it needed to be in Cairns, where he wouldn't be heading. The guy thought Christmas had come early I think.
Day 2: Jodie & Mike headed off for a day trip to Nimbin, which I wasn't that bothered about since I don't smoke Marijuana (basically the whole point of going there I gather). As it was a nice day, I took a walk around Byron Bay and along the beach, which is pretty nice. The afternoon was spent catching some rays on there and taking my T-Shirt off and on about 7 times because the Sun kept disappearing.
In the evening, I met up with Jordan & Lindsay, the canadian couple I had met in Koh Tao, Thailand. We had become really good friends over there and had kept in touch ever since so I knew they were living in Byron now. Jasen also joined us as we had several beers and laughed the evening away. Three of their canadian friends were also there as we hung around in one of the locals bars. It was great to see them, although I think Jordan was even more pleased than me since it gave him the opportunity to talk some sports again! He's been travelling with just girls the whole trip so was grateful for the male company I think. Myself and Jasen were happy to oblige with the sports chat. We did talk to Lindsay as well though, honest. It was a cool night hanging out with them and I was glad we caught up since it will be the last time for a while.
Day 3: Jasen & I met up with Jodie & Mike and we took a walk up to the Lighthouse, which overlooks Byron Bay. It took us a couple of hours and we built up more of a sweat than we were expecting getting up there as it was quite a tough walk. Probably just the Beer coming out.
We reached the Lighthouse early afternoon and walked into some drama as a guy had fallen half-way down the cliff behind it. We couldn't get that close but could see well enough that 3 paramedics were down the cliff and putting the guy into a stretcher to be taken back up, so we assumed he was still alive. A few stories were doing the rounds as to how he ended up there - ''his cat had run down and he had gone after it'' OR ''he had climbed over the fence to get a better view''. We never found out the true story but either way, he was lucky to be alive and to have stopped just half way down the cliff. A few more meters more and he wouldn't have been so lucky. In any case, he didn't look in very good shape as they got him into the Ambulance.
After taking in the views for a bit and visiting the site that is apparently the most easterly point in Australia, we took the long walk back down to the town. The 4 of us then got some Pizza and went to one of the local pubs for a bit because the weather turned really nasty. Afterwards, I had to get back to my hostel to get my stuff together for the overnight bus to Sydney. I met the guys once more for a few drops of Goon and then boarded the bus that evening. 12 hours to get there but I was really looking forward to Sydney, after hearing so many good things from other travellers and from Bru.
Sydney, here I come.
Sunday, 22 April 2012
Noosa
Day 1: I bumped into Jeff (our Fraser guide) as I was waiting for my OZ bus that morning so I had a good catch up with him and thanked him again for his part in our fantastic trip. His response was the very aussie ''Too easy mate'', which apparantly means ''you're welcome''. I like that one.
Lugsy was the OZ driver for the trip and it was just me and him on the bus as we headed down the coast towards Noosa. Lugsy is a good lad so we had a laugh on the journey as he told me some stories of previous OZ experience passengers. Prior to arriving in Noosa, we stopped off at a look-out point, which gave us some great views over the small town.
When we arrived, Kat and Luke were there at the bus stop waiting to board the bus. Since I was getting off in Noosa, I caught up with them briefly on their time there and on Fraser Island. A shame I couldn't tag-along with them again for a few more days but they were on an even tighter schedule than me. Plus, I was keen to check Noosa out for a couple of days.
After finding a hostel, I took a walk down to Noosa Beach. It was a nice day so the beach was packed as I took a walk along it towards the National park, famed for it's abundance of Wildlife apparently. I took a walk along one of the trails to see if that was the case - it wasn't, I didn't see anything wildlife-wise unfortunately. It was a nice walk though, concluding on the top of a cliff-face with some good views over another nearby beach.
After the walk, I spent the rest of the afternoon sunbathing back on Noosa Beach, which is really nice. In the evening, I just took a walk around the small town, which didn't take very long.
Day 2: Up early for a day at Australia Zoo - home of the late, great Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin. I've already been to Saigon Zoo and the fantastic Singapore Zoo so far on the trip so wasn't really expecting this one to better them. However, I was keen to check out the Australian animals I was yet to see. Also, being the home of such a legend, I couldn't really skip this one out.
The bus journey showed a video of the legend himself, trying to catch all manner of Crocs and Lizards, which drew laughs from everyone onboard. The zoo was really good and gave me the opportunity to see those native animals I was hoping for - Koalas, Kangaroos, Wallabies, Kookaburras, Cassowaries (you don't want to mess with them by the sounds of it), Wombats, Dingoes, Echidnas and Tasmanian Devils. There were also some cool shows, including one that involved a huge Bengal Tiger leaning on the trainer's shoulders, while taking a drink of milk. Rather him than me!
Also there were Steve Irwin's family - Terri, Bindi and Robert, who were the presenters for a Crocodile and Bird show inside the zoo's Crocoseum. This was quite entertaining, although the Croc feeding parts weren't half as impressive as what I'd seen at Koorana Crocodile Farm at Emu Park. It was still a good show though and I had an enjoyable day walking around the zoo. I think I'm done with zoos for this trip now though.
Off to Byron Bay the next morning. Motoring down the coast now!
Lugsy was the OZ driver for the trip and it was just me and him on the bus as we headed down the coast towards Noosa. Lugsy is a good lad so we had a laugh on the journey as he told me some stories of previous OZ experience passengers. Prior to arriving in Noosa, we stopped off at a look-out point, which gave us some great views over the small town.
When we arrived, Kat and Luke were there at the bus stop waiting to board the bus. Since I was getting off in Noosa, I caught up with them briefly on their time there and on Fraser Island. A shame I couldn't tag-along with them again for a few more days but they were on an even tighter schedule than me. Plus, I was keen to check Noosa out for a couple of days.
After finding a hostel, I took a walk down to Noosa Beach. It was a nice day so the beach was packed as I took a walk along it towards the National park, famed for it's abundance of Wildlife apparently. I took a walk along one of the trails to see if that was the case - it wasn't, I didn't see anything wildlife-wise unfortunately. It was a nice walk though, concluding on the top of a cliff-face with some good views over another nearby beach.
After the walk, I spent the rest of the afternoon sunbathing back on Noosa Beach, which is really nice. In the evening, I just took a walk around the small town, which didn't take very long.
Day 2: Up early for a day at Australia Zoo - home of the late, great Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin. I've already been to Saigon Zoo and the fantastic Singapore Zoo so far on the trip so wasn't really expecting this one to better them. However, I was keen to check out the Australian animals I was yet to see. Also, being the home of such a legend, I couldn't really skip this one out.
The bus journey showed a video of the legend himself, trying to catch all manner of Crocs and Lizards, which drew laughs from everyone onboard. The zoo was really good and gave me the opportunity to see those native animals I was hoping for - Koalas, Kangaroos, Wallabies, Kookaburras, Cassowaries (you don't want to mess with them by the sounds of it), Wombats, Dingoes, Echidnas and Tasmanian Devils. There were also some cool shows, including one that involved a huge Bengal Tiger leaning on the trainer's shoulders, while taking a drink of milk. Rather him than me!
Also there were Steve Irwin's family - Terri, Bindi and Robert, who were the presenters for a Crocodile and Bird show inside the zoo's Crocoseum. This was quite entertaining, although the Croc feeding parts weren't half as impressive as what I'd seen at Koorana Crocodile Farm at Emu Park. It was still a good show though and I had an enjoyable day walking around the zoo. I think I'm done with zoos for this trip now though.
Off to Byron Bay the next morning. Motoring down the coast now!
Saturday, 21 April 2012
Rainbow Beach (Part 2)
Day 1: It was just a normal coach that brought me back down to Rainbow Beach overnight, so opportunities for getting some sleep we fairly limited. I managed to get a bit though and had only planned a fairly chilled day in Rainbow anyway.
After checking back into the hostel, I took a wander down to the beach, since I hadn't had the chance to do it on my previous visit. It's pretty nice (not rainbow coloured though) but my walk was spoiled by the heavens opening and heavy rainfall for the rest of the morning and the early part of the afternoon. Gave me an opportunity to get some laundry done though. Great!
Late afternoon, the hostel had a free bushwalk organised up to Carlo Sand Blow so I got involved. Our guide was an Aussie guy called Jed, who we had met prior to our Fraser trip. Really nice guy who led us on the hour-long walk up to the natural sandblow, which was also named by Captain Cook.
Once we got there, we all had a chance to try Sandboarding and Boomerang throwing. The Sandboarding was really hard but good fun as you lay on the board and go head first down the steep Sand-Dunes. I managed to stay on for a while before hitting a slight hump, which threw me off the board and gave me a nice meal of sand, which I was still spitting out well into the evening. Not very tasty let me tell you. It was a good laugh though because the same thing happened to most people.
The Boomerang throwing was just as difficult and often involved us all diving for cover when it went wrong and started hurtling towards us. Three of us managed to catch it on it's return though and earned ourselves a free Beer back on the hostel. Don't mind if I do. We then walked back down to Rainbow.
A fairly quiet evening at the hostel, where I picked up my free Beer, met another Irish lad called Dan and watched a game of Aussie Rules that was on the TV. It's a terrible game if you've never watched it - such a mess of a game.
That's me done with Rainbow Beach. Off to Noosa first thing in the morning.
After checking back into the hostel, I took a wander down to the beach, since I hadn't had the chance to do it on my previous visit. It's pretty nice (not rainbow coloured though) but my walk was spoiled by the heavens opening and heavy rainfall for the rest of the morning and the early part of the afternoon. Gave me an opportunity to get some laundry done though. Great!
Late afternoon, the hostel had a free bushwalk organised up to Carlo Sand Blow so I got involved. Our guide was an Aussie guy called Jed, who we had met prior to our Fraser trip. Really nice guy who led us on the hour-long walk up to the natural sandblow, which was also named by Captain Cook.
Once we got there, we all had a chance to try Sandboarding and Boomerang throwing. The Sandboarding was really hard but good fun as you lay on the board and go head first down the steep Sand-Dunes. I managed to stay on for a while before hitting a slight hump, which threw me off the board and gave me a nice meal of sand, which I was still spitting out well into the evening. Not very tasty let me tell you. It was a good laugh though because the same thing happened to most people.
The Boomerang throwing was just as difficult and often involved us all diving for cover when it went wrong and started hurtling towards us. Three of us managed to catch it on it's return though and earned ourselves a free Beer back on the hostel. Don't mind if I do. We then walked back down to Rainbow.
A fairly quiet evening at the hostel, where I picked up my free Beer, met another Irish lad called Dan and watched a game of Aussie Rules that was on the TV. It's a terrible game if you've never watched it - such a mess of a game.
That's me done with Rainbow Beach. Off to Noosa first thing in the morning.
Agnes Water / 1770
Day 1: I had to skip Agnes Water on the way down the east coast because Dave and I had already booked our Fraser trip. After enjoying Fraser so much, I was actually glad I couldn't rearrange but still wanted to head back up the coast to do a couple of things up there.
Dan & Sharron were heading there too as they were beginning work for the next 3 months so we decided to go together. The initial plan was to get a bus but then we had a bit of a result after discovering that 2 other lads from our Fraser trip, Job & Peter (Holland) were driving up there. They were happy to take us so we spent the day making our way back up the coast.
The drive took most of the day and involved myself and Dan getting mauled by a Mosquito trapped inside the car. Pretty annoying but hilarious at the same time - there aren't many funnier sights than seeing Dan getting attacked, constantly scratching himself and complaining in his rich irish accent. The rest of us were highly amused.
We arrived into Agnes Water early evening and I checked into the hostel that the guys would be starting working at. The dutch lads went off to find a campsite so we said goodbye to them and the 3 of us spent the evening having a few beers at the hostel.
Day 2: After discovering that Jones had arrived and was staying there as well, I met up with him and we headed down to the beach for the morning while Dan and Sharron stayed and sorted some things out at the hostel. Jones is french and trying really hard to improve his english so I helped him out a bit while we were down the beach. We also bumped into Steph briefly (also from the Fraser trip).
That afternoon, myself and Jones went off to do the activity I had most wanted to come up to Agnes Water for - Scooteroo. This is a pretty unique activity, which allows you to dress up and ride around as a biker all day on your own Chopper. It's voted one of the best experiences in Australia and sounded really cool so we were keen to get involved.
When we arrived at Scooteroo HQ, we met up with Erik and Jo, who we knew were also doing it. We then each got kitted out in our Helmets, Flamed Leather Jackets and fake Tattoos before being assigned our bikes. These are only automatics, meaning anyone with a driving licence can ride them but they genuinely look the business and have an engine roar to match. After a few laps around their practice circuit, we hit the road for 3 hours Chopper riding. Bring it on!
The ride took through the hills of Agnes Water and into the small town of 1770 - so named because this was the year that Captain Cook discovered it. The bikes are quality and can reach speeds of around 80km per hour. The ride was really enjoyable but spoiled a little bit by the stop/start nature of the trip. There were around 40 of us doing it and you have to follow each other in single-file but because they allow people who haven't riden Bikes or Scooters before, this meant that everyone had to be pulled over to the side of the road every time we reached a busy junction. It got quite frustrating when all we wanted to do was ride around the town.
We made our way to 1770 and watched the sunset there before heading back to HQ. I did enjoy the experience but it wasn't as relaxed as I had hoped given all the Scooter rides I did across Asia. The Choppers are really cool though and we got some awesome photos. Also a little bit overpriced in my opinion but I was still glad I did it. Not every day you get the opportunity to ride a Chopper.
Another pretty relaxed evening at the hostel with Dan and Sharron. Agnes Water is tiny so there isn't a huge amount to do besides have a few beers and play cards. Fine by me!
Day 3: Dan and Sharron started work in the morning - Sharron on reception and Dan doing ''lad'' work, meaning he had to sweep around the premises. I, on the other hand, spent the morning soaking up the sun by the hostel pool and occasionally giving Dan a wave to see if he was enjoying the sweeping, while I chilled out. Suffice to say, I got the expected Irish response, which I can't repeat on here. Haha.
In the afternoon, the 2 of us went for a round of Golf at a course nearby. He had played there once before but aside from that, we both hadn't played for several months and weren't expecting too much in terms of a quality game. We surprised ourselves though and somehow, both found form right from the offset and had decent rounds on what was a really nice course. The owner told us they don't get that busy throughout the year so I was surprised at what good condition he had kept the course in. It was a close battle between me and Dan for a while but I emerged victorious in the end. We also saw a big Kangaroo hopping across the 18th as we finished our round - an added bonus.
That evening, there was a BBQ on at the hostel so we took full advantage of that, whilst meeting some of the other staff there and sharing a few more Beers. Then it was time for me to say goodbye to the guys as I had an overnight bus booked to take me back down the coast to Rainbow Beach. Sad to leave them both as we had had a great laugh on Fraser and for those few days up in Agnes Water. Definately hoping to meet up with them again if they ever return to the UK.
No more northern excursions for me from now on, it's straight south towards Sydney.
Dan & Sharron were heading there too as they were beginning work for the next 3 months so we decided to go together. The initial plan was to get a bus but then we had a bit of a result after discovering that 2 other lads from our Fraser trip, Job & Peter (Holland) were driving up there. They were happy to take us so we spent the day making our way back up the coast.
The drive took most of the day and involved myself and Dan getting mauled by a Mosquito trapped inside the car. Pretty annoying but hilarious at the same time - there aren't many funnier sights than seeing Dan getting attacked, constantly scratching himself and complaining in his rich irish accent. The rest of us were highly amused.
We arrived into Agnes Water early evening and I checked into the hostel that the guys would be starting working at. The dutch lads went off to find a campsite so we said goodbye to them and the 3 of us spent the evening having a few beers at the hostel.
Day 2: After discovering that Jones had arrived and was staying there as well, I met up with him and we headed down to the beach for the morning while Dan and Sharron stayed and sorted some things out at the hostel. Jones is french and trying really hard to improve his english so I helped him out a bit while we were down the beach. We also bumped into Steph briefly (also from the Fraser trip).
That afternoon, myself and Jones went off to do the activity I had most wanted to come up to Agnes Water for - Scooteroo. This is a pretty unique activity, which allows you to dress up and ride around as a biker all day on your own Chopper. It's voted one of the best experiences in Australia and sounded really cool so we were keen to get involved.
When we arrived at Scooteroo HQ, we met up with Erik and Jo, who we knew were also doing it. We then each got kitted out in our Helmets, Flamed Leather Jackets and fake Tattoos before being assigned our bikes. These are only automatics, meaning anyone with a driving licence can ride them but they genuinely look the business and have an engine roar to match. After a few laps around their practice circuit, we hit the road for 3 hours Chopper riding. Bring it on!
The ride took through the hills of Agnes Water and into the small town of 1770 - so named because this was the year that Captain Cook discovered it. The bikes are quality and can reach speeds of around 80km per hour. The ride was really enjoyable but spoiled a little bit by the stop/start nature of the trip. There were around 40 of us doing it and you have to follow each other in single-file but because they allow people who haven't riden Bikes or Scooters before, this meant that everyone had to be pulled over to the side of the road every time we reached a busy junction. It got quite frustrating when all we wanted to do was ride around the town.
We made our way to 1770 and watched the sunset there before heading back to HQ. I did enjoy the experience but it wasn't as relaxed as I had hoped given all the Scooter rides I did across Asia. The Choppers are really cool though and we got some awesome photos. Also a little bit overpriced in my opinion but I was still glad I did it. Not every day you get the opportunity to ride a Chopper.
Another pretty relaxed evening at the hostel with Dan and Sharron. Agnes Water is tiny so there isn't a huge amount to do besides have a few beers and play cards. Fine by me!
Day 3: Dan and Sharron started work in the morning - Sharron on reception and Dan doing ''lad'' work, meaning he had to sweep around the premises. I, on the other hand, spent the morning soaking up the sun by the hostel pool and occasionally giving Dan a wave to see if he was enjoying the sweeping, while I chilled out. Suffice to say, I got the expected Irish response, which I can't repeat on here. Haha.
In the afternoon, the 2 of us went for a round of Golf at a course nearby. He had played there once before but aside from that, we both hadn't played for several months and weren't expecting too much in terms of a quality game. We surprised ourselves though and somehow, both found form right from the offset and had decent rounds on what was a really nice course. The owner told us they don't get that busy throughout the year so I was surprised at what good condition he had kept the course in. It was a close battle between me and Dan for a while but I emerged victorious in the end. We also saw a big Kangaroo hopping across the 18th as we finished our round - an added bonus.
That evening, there was a BBQ on at the hostel so we took full advantage of that, whilst meeting some of the other staff there and sharing a few more Beers. Then it was time for me to say goodbye to the guys as I had an overnight bus booked to take me back down the coast to Rainbow Beach. Sad to leave them both as we had had a great laugh on Fraser and for those few days up in Agnes Water. Definately hoping to meet up with them again if they ever return to the UK.
No more northern excursions for me from now on, it's straight south towards Sydney.
Thursday, 19 April 2012
Rainbow Beach & Fraser Island
Day 1: A really long bus journey with Tommy down to Rainbow Beach. It took us pretty-much all day.
To break the journey up a bit, we stopped in a town called Bundaburg along the way and paid a visit to the factory where Australia's most famous Rum is made (Bundaburg Rum surprisingly enough). I'd not heard of it personally but it's apparently a very popular drink in OZ and we were keen to check the place out and take a break from the bus.
The tour itself was pretty short and basically involved us reading wall posters to get the history of the place and details of how the Rum is made. It was quite interesting though. We finished up getting samples of 2 different types of Rum that they make. I went for the traditional one to begin with, followed by a ginger-beer mixed version, which was much nicer. Not a big fan of Rum myself and I don't think anyone else was particularly either, since we were all requesting drinks that would hide the taste of it! A good way of breaking up the day though.
We arrived at Rainbow Beach that evening and checked into our hostel. Dave and I had booked our Fraser Island trip to start the following morning, meaning we had a desperate last minute dash to the convenience store to stock up on Goon before they shut. Don't worry, we made it. We then had dinner at the hostel with a nice girl called Kelly, who we had met on the bus that day.
Day 2 (Fraser Island: Day 1): Up early for our safety briefing, ahead of the 3 day / 2 night Fraser Island trip. For those that don't know, Fraser Island is one of the main places to visit in Australia. It's the largest sand island in the world (the size of Wales apparently) and it requires driving 4WD vehicles across and over it. The package we had booked was a driving tag-along trip, meaning there would be one lead vehicle and us driving 3 others that would be following. Hence the need for a safety video, instructing how to drive the Jeeps on sand and also how to avoid Dingos, Australian dog-lookalikes that have been known to kill people on the island in the past. Needless to say, we listened intently to all of it.
After the video, we made sure all our food and camping equipment was ready and then met everyone else on the trip. In my Jeep were; myself, Dave, Jenny & Tasha (Norn Iron), Jones (France), Dan & Sharron (Rep of Ireland) and Emma (Winchester), who all seemed really nice and a good laugh. After we had all met and made sure our Jeep was fully stocked, it was time to meet our guide, Jeff, who gave us his own safety briefing prior to departure. He outlined the best ways to drive the Jeeps over sand and how to avoid getting stuck in it. He also outlined the potential charges we could expect if we didn't drive them properly and gave us an example of a guy who ended up having to shell out $4000 after driving straight into a wall before they had even left the hostel! If Jeff's briefing was designed to scare us, it worked as we weren't exactly crawling over each other to be the first one in the driving seat. Dan stepped up to the plate though and off to Fraser we went. Looking forward to this.
Jeff also had his own piece of advice in case of a Dingo confrontation. Whereas the video suggested we should back away slowly with our arms crossed, Jeff offered a different approach - kick sand right into their eyes. We were hoping that neither approach would be required but I was more convinced by his advice than that offered on the video.
It took us about 20 mins to get to the Ferry crossing and onto the island. From here, we had a long drive down the beach, where we began to appreciate the size of the island. After a while, we stopped for a picnic and had an opportunity to meet some of the other people on the trip - Erik (Holland), Jo & Nick (England), Dimitri (Beligium), Andreas & Matthias (Germany) and Lindon (US). All really nice so we seemed to have a good crowd of people. 32 of us there in total so it was pretty hard to meet everyone initially.
After the picnic, Jones took over the driving and we headed to Lake Mckenzie, which is probably Fraser's most famous site. Once we arrived, we could see why - crystal clear freshwater and some stunning white sand beaches. We even ventured a bit deeper to find our own private beach, which was ace. Not so much for the couple that had it to themselves before us though - they promptly left. We spent a couple of hours there soaking up the sun and swimming before following Jeff back down to the main beach to set up camp for the night. Dave was at the wheel for this trip.
We pitched up for the night and everyone helped out with the preparation and cooking of dinner (or in my case, the washing up afterwards). Unlike some people on the Whitsundays trip, everyone was getting involved here and helping each other out, which was nice to see. Jeff had told us before we left Rainbow that he had nothing to do with our food and that it was down to us to get all the cooking and cleaning done. Fine by us though and we all clubbed together. Fair play to those cooking as well - really nice meal.
After dinner, the Goon drinking got into full flow (Still no-one knows why it's called that) and we all got pretty pissed. A few of us ventured down to the beach to watch the stars as well, where we came across our first set of Dingos. Thankfully, there were lots of us down there so they kept a fair distance away. Given their appearance, they don't look particularly threatening but the locals informed us that they were. Safety in numbers for the rest of the trip. We got to know Jeff much better as the evening went on as well and he had an abudance of crazy stories to tell us, mainly of antics and accidents from previous Fraser trips.
Day 3 (Fraser Island: Day 2): An early start to day 2 and many of us woke with some pretty heavy hangovers. The Goon is pretty nice when you're drinking it but it does make you feel pretty rough the next day. I felt so bad when I first woke up that I fell straight over when first leaving the tent. After a sneaky look around, luckily no-one saw!
After breakfast, our action packed day began with Emma at the wheel and a visit to Eli Creek AKA ''Hangover Creek'' according to Jeff. He assured us it would sort us out and, to be fair, he was spot on. It's basically a really nice, clear stream that you can float down but it was so refreshing that it cleared the hangovers in no time.
After a couple of floats down, we were preparing to leave when a huge, red water snake started swimming up the stream. Luckily, I was out of the water by this point and couldn't believe my eyes when we saw Jeff preparing to grab it. It was a pretty tense moment for everyone, all wondering what the hell he was doing.
Basically, him and his mate fooled us all. And I mean everyone. The snake was made of rubber, as we saw with our own eyes when he dived on it and raised it into the air. His mate was further up the stream pulling on an invisible piece of string to make it move, leaving us all pretty terrified. It was really funny though and we joined in the laughs when they played the same trick on another group, who weren't so in-the-know. He had us all totally fooled the first time around though and I would have crapped myself if I'd been floating down towards it.
After Eli, Jenny took over the driving and we headed down the beach to find the Maheno Shipwreck, which is pretty cool. Jeff gave us all the information about how it ended up there and for how long - quite a while looking at the state of it.
Myself and Sharron shared the next bit of driving, which took us up to Indian Head - a huge cliff-face we climbed up to that gave us some spectacular views over the whole Island. We chilled up there for a bit getting some good photos before heading off to the next spot - Champagne Pools. This was another cool spot that gave us all the opportunity for some more swimming, while the waves crashed over the top of the surrounding rocks. Some amazing sites all over the island and we were all loving it.
The final trip of the day took us to Lake Allom. Prior to the drive, Jeff wanted a confident driver in each Jeep because the track to get up there was apparently quite tricky. I was the only lad in our car who hadn't got to drive over the tracks yet and was keen to do it. Jenny and Emma were happy enough driving along the beach, where it was a bit more road-like. Jeff then warned all the drivers of the dangers to watch out for on the tracks - namely tree roots that stick out and have been known to knock the tyres off. Bring it on!
The drive was awesome - so much fun. We were basically bouncing all over the place, while I was trying to keep it within some very skinny tracks. Really enjoyable but it also required a lot of concentration on my part. I was pretty pleased with my efforts because it wasn't easy.
Unfortunately, the driver in Jeep 3 (Dimitri) wasn't so lucky. He hit one of the roots Jeff was talking about and knocked one of his tyres off and came to a halt. As we were in Jeep 4, this also meant we were stuck behind them, while Jeff's lead Jeep and Number 2 drove off without us. It took him about 20 minutes to come back, when he sent a couple of us off to fetch the jack so he could change the tyre.
No Jack - he had forgotten it! This basically meant we were stranded in the middle of the island, blocking the track in both directions. Luckily for us, another guy turned up who had one and, after quite some time (not easy changing a tyre on a skinny sand track), they had it changed. That guy saved the day for us really because we would have had to wait ages for Jeff to go and fetch one and would have therefore missed out on Lake Allom, which we evetually made it to.
This is also a beautiful lake, surrounded by dense forest and containing water that has been known to heal wounds according to Jeff. Prior to us all getting in for a swim, we saw loads of small turtles coming up to the edge and Jeff caught a few so we could take it in turns holding one, which was awesome. We then went for a brief swim before heading back to camp with Dan at the wheel. He also did a great job navigating the tracks on the way back and also getting us along the beach towards camp before the tide came in completely. The tyre delay meant we were going back much later than planned and we only just made it before the whole beach was covered in water. It all added to the experience to be honest and we had a great laugh throughout the day in our Jeep.
Back at camp for another heavy night on the Goon. We got to know some more people on the trip, namely Sinead, Sarah and Cat (Rep of Ireland - Australia is swamped with Irish) and also Steph (Germany). We also spent the night calling Jeff ''Jack'' after his earlier calamity. Some revenge on all our parts after the snake stunt.
This day was without doubt the best single day of my entire trip. Our Jeep was awesome - all amazing people and we had such a good laugh throughout the day and into the night. We also visited some stunning sites and amazing scenery around Fraser and I love the island. Jeff / ''Jack'' also made a huge difference because he was brilliant, so laid back and had so many stories, making the experience all the more enjoyable for everyone. One more day at Fraser and I don't think any of us wanted the trip to end.
Day 4: (Fraser Island: Day 3). I managed to get out of the tent without falling on my face this time (but still feeling just as rough) and made my way to breakfast to be shocked by Jenny and Tasha boasting about getting up for the sunrise. I was pretty convinced they wouldn't make it so they were more than happy to rub that in my face.
After breakfast, we packed all the tents and equipment up and then headed to our final port of call on the island - Lake Wabby. Jones was back in the hot-seat for this drive and we arrived at the lake mid-morning. Prior to walking up, we had another briefing from Jeff, warning us against getting lost and against causing ourselves spinal injuries when entering the lake! To conquer this, he told us a sidewards roll into the lake was required. We were intrigued!
After a long walk, we reached Lake Wabby and were all blown away by it. It's amazing and in my opinion, the best site on all of Fraser Island. Huge Sand-Dunes cover one side of the lake and dense forest covers the other - it's so nice. Jeff's entry recommendation was because the sand runs into the lake at a pretty steep angle and has apparently caused injuries in the past. However, a slow walk would have been safe enough - the real reason he wanted the sidewards roll was to laugh at us trying to stand up after it. So dizzy and I regretted it after about 2 rolls with the hangover I had. It was funny though. We hung around there for a couple of hours, listening to more of Jeff's crazy stories. Then it was back on the Jeeps and off of the island, all pretty devastated about it as well.
Dave drove us back to Rainbow Beach, where we had to stop off for a quick clean-up operation and so the mechanics could check all the vehicles. No charges for anyone thankfully, not even Jeep 3, which had taken a bit of a battering across the 3 days. We then went back to the hostel.
I absolutely loved the 3 days we spent on Fraser Island and it was easily the highlight of my whole trip so far. The Island itself is amazing - so many beautiful sites and the trip was made even better by the people I met and a brilliant guide. We were all gutted to be back and I for one could have stayed over there for much longer. Although I'm not sure my liver would have been as keen. An amazing trip and I loved every minute.
Back at the hostel, our pain of returning was eased slightly when finding out that all 8 of us would be sharing the same dorm room that night, meaning we could delay everyone going their seperate ways for a bit longer. We took full advantage by polishing off our left-over Goon out the front of our hostel and singing the evening away to the sound of this random guy's guitar (he just turned up). A fitting end to a fantastic few days.
To break the journey up a bit, we stopped in a town called Bundaburg along the way and paid a visit to the factory where Australia's most famous Rum is made (Bundaburg Rum surprisingly enough). I'd not heard of it personally but it's apparently a very popular drink in OZ and we were keen to check the place out and take a break from the bus.
The tour itself was pretty short and basically involved us reading wall posters to get the history of the place and details of how the Rum is made. It was quite interesting though. We finished up getting samples of 2 different types of Rum that they make. I went for the traditional one to begin with, followed by a ginger-beer mixed version, which was much nicer. Not a big fan of Rum myself and I don't think anyone else was particularly either, since we were all requesting drinks that would hide the taste of it! A good way of breaking up the day though.
We arrived at Rainbow Beach that evening and checked into our hostel. Dave and I had booked our Fraser Island trip to start the following morning, meaning we had a desperate last minute dash to the convenience store to stock up on Goon before they shut. Don't worry, we made it. We then had dinner at the hostel with a nice girl called Kelly, who we had met on the bus that day.
Day 2 (Fraser Island: Day 1): Up early for our safety briefing, ahead of the 3 day / 2 night Fraser Island trip. For those that don't know, Fraser Island is one of the main places to visit in Australia. It's the largest sand island in the world (the size of Wales apparently) and it requires driving 4WD vehicles across and over it. The package we had booked was a driving tag-along trip, meaning there would be one lead vehicle and us driving 3 others that would be following. Hence the need for a safety video, instructing how to drive the Jeeps on sand and also how to avoid Dingos, Australian dog-lookalikes that have been known to kill people on the island in the past. Needless to say, we listened intently to all of it.
After the video, we made sure all our food and camping equipment was ready and then met everyone else on the trip. In my Jeep were; myself, Dave, Jenny & Tasha (Norn Iron), Jones (France), Dan & Sharron (Rep of Ireland) and Emma (Winchester), who all seemed really nice and a good laugh. After we had all met and made sure our Jeep was fully stocked, it was time to meet our guide, Jeff, who gave us his own safety briefing prior to departure. He outlined the best ways to drive the Jeeps over sand and how to avoid getting stuck in it. He also outlined the potential charges we could expect if we didn't drive them properly and gave us an example of a guy who ended up having to shell out $4000 after driving straight into a wall before they had even left the hostel! If Jeff's briefing was designed to scare us, it worked as we weren't exactly crawling over each other to be the first one in the driving seat. Dan stepped up to the plate though and off to Fraser we went. Looking forward to this.
Jeff also had his own piece of advice in case of a Dingo confrontation. Whereas the video suggested we should back away slowly with our arms crossed, Jeff offered a different approach - kick sand right into their eyes. We were hoping that neither approach would be required but I was more convinced by his advice than that offered on the video.
It took us about 20 mins to get to the Ferry crossing and onto the island. From here, we had a long drive down the beach, where we began to appreciate the size of the island. After a while, we stopped for a picnic and had an opportunity to meet some of the other people on the trip - Erik (Holland), Jo & Nick (England), Dimitri (Beligium), Andreas & Matthias (Germany) and Lindon (US). All really nice so we seemed to have a good crowd of people. 32 of us there in total so it was pretty hard to meet everyone initially.
After the picnic, Jones took over the driving and we headed to Lake Mckenzie, which is probably Fraser's most famous site. Once we arrived, we could see why - crystal clear freshwater and some stunning white sand beaches. We even ventured a bit deeper to find our own private beach, which was ace. Not so much for the couple that had it to themselves before us though - they promptly left. We spent a couple of hours there soaking up the sun and swimming before following Jeff back down to the main beach to set up camp for the night. Dave was at the wheel for this trip.
We pitched up for the night and everyone helped out with the preparation and cooking of dinner (or in my case, the washing up afterwards). Unlike some people on the Whitsundays trip, everyone was getting involved here and helping each other out, which was nice to see. Jeff had told us before we left Rainbow that he had nothing to do with our food and that it was down to us to get all the cooking and cleaning done. Fine by us though and we all clubbed together. Fair play to those cooking as well - really nice meal.
After dinner, the Goon drinking got into full flow (Still no-one knows why it's called that) and we all got pretty pissed. A few of us ventured down to the beach to watch the stars as well, where we came across our first set of Dingos. Thankfully, there were lots of us down there so they kept a fair distance away. Given their appearance, they don't look particularly threatening but the locals informed us that they were. Safety in numbers for the rest of the trip. We got to know Jeff much better as the evening went on as well and he had an abudance of crazy stories to tell us, mainly of antics and accidents from previous Fraser trips.
Day 3 (Fraser Island: Day 2): An early start to day 2 and many of us woke with some pretty heavy hangovers. The Goon is pretty nice when you're drinking it but it does make you feel pretty rough the next day. I felt so bad when I first woke up that I fell straight over when first leaving the tent. After a sneaky look around, luckily no-one saw!
After breakfast, our action packed day began with Emma at the wheel and a visit to Eli Creek AKA ''Hangover Creek'' according to Jeff. He assured us it would sort us out and, to be fair, he was spot on. It's basically a really nice, clear stream that you can float down but it was so refreshing that it cleared the hangovers in no time.
After a couple of floats down, we were preparing to leave when a huge, red water snake started swimming up the stream. Luckily, I was out of the water by this point and couldn't believe my eyes when we saw Jeff preparing to grab it. It was a pretty tense moment for everyone, all wondering what the hell he was doing.
Basically, him and his mate fooled us all. And I mean everyone. The snake was made of rubber, as we saw with our own eyes when he dived on it and raised it into the air. His mate was further up the stream pulling on an invisible piece of string to make it move, leaving us all pretty terrified. It was really funny though and we joined in the laughs when they played the same trick on another group, who weren't so in-the-know. He had us all totally fooled the first time around though and I would have crapped myself if I'd been floating down towards it.
After Eli, Jenny took over the driving and we headed down the beach to find the Maheno Shipwreck, which is pretty cool. Jeff gave us all the information about how it ended up there and for how long - quite a while looking at the state of it.
Myself and Sharron shared the next bit of driving, which took us up to Indian Head - a huge cliff-face we climbed up to that gave us some spectacular views over the whole Island. We chilled up there for a bit getting some good photos before heading off to the next spot - Champagne Pools. This was another cool spot that gave us all the opportunity for some more swimming, while the waves crashed over the top of the surrounding rocks. Some amazing sites all over the island and we were all loving it.
The final trip of the day took us to Lake Allom. Prior to the drive, Jeff wanted a confident driver in each Jeep because the track to get up there was apparently quite tricky. I was the only lad in our car who hadn't got to drive over the tracks yet and was keen to do it. Jenny and Emma were happy enough driving along the beach, where it was a bit more road-like. Jeff then warned all the drivers of the dangers to watch out for on the tracks - namely tree roots that stick out and have been known to knock the tyres off. Bring it on!
The drive was awesome - so much fun. We were basically bouncing all over the place, while I was trying to keep it within some very skinny tracks. Really enjoyable but it also required a lot of concentration on my part. I was pretty pleased with my efforts because it wasn't easy.
Unfortunately, the driver in Jeep 3 (Dimitri) wasn't so lucky. He hit one of the roots Jeff was talking about and knocked one of his tyres off and came to a halt. As we were in Jeep 4, this also meant we were stuck behind them, while Jeff's lead Jeep and Number 2 drove off without us. It took him about 20 minutes to come back, when he sent a couple of us off to fetch the jack so he could change the tyre.
No Jack - he had forgotten it! This basically meant we were stranded in the middle of the island, blocking the track in both directions. Luckily for us, another guy turned up who had one and, after quite some time (not easy changing a tyre on a skinny sand track), they had it changed. That guy saved the day for us really because we would have had to wait ages for Jeff to go and fetch one and would have therefore missed out on Lake Allom, which we evetually made it to.
This is also a beautiful lake, surrounded by dense forest and containing water that has been known to heal wounds according to Jeff. Prior to us all getting in for a swim, we saw loads of small turtles coming up to the edge and Jeff caught a few so we could take it in turns holding one, which was awesome. We then went for a brief swim before heading back to camp with Dan at the wheel. He also did a great job navigating the tracks on the way back and also getting us along the beach towards camp before the tide came in completely. The tyre delay meant we were going back much later than planned and we only just made it before the whole beach was covered in water. It all added to the experience to be honest and we had a great laugh throughout the day in our Jeep.
Back at camp for another heavy night on the Goon. We got to know some more people on the trip, namely Sinead, Sarah and Cat (Rep of Ireland - Australia is swamped with Irish) and also Steph (Germany). We also spent the night calling Jeff ''Jack'' after his earlier calamity. Some revenge on all our parts after the snake stunt.
This day was without doubt the best single day of my entire trip. Our Jeep was awesome - all amazing people and we had such a good laugh throughout the day and into the night. We also visited some stunning sites and amazing scenery around Fraser and I love the island. Jeff / ''Jack'' also made a huge difference because he was brilliant, so laid back and had so many stories, making the experience all the more enjoyable for everyone. One more day at Fraser and I don't think any of us wanted the trip to end.
Day 4: (Fraser Island: Day 3). I managed to get out of the tent without falling on my face this time (but still feeling just as rough) and made my way to breakfast to be shocked by Jenny and Tasha boasting about getting up for the sunrise. I was pretty convinced they wouldn't make it so they were more than happy to rub that in my face.
After breakfast, we packed all the tents and equipment up and then headed to our final port of call on the island - Lake Wabby. Jones was back in the hot-seat for this drive and we arrived at the lake mid-morning. Prior to walking up, we had another briefing from Jeff, warning us against getting lost and against causing ourselves spinal injuries when entering the lake! To conquer this, he told us a sidewards roll into the lake was required. We were intrigued!
After a long walk, we reached Lake Wabby and were all blown away by it. It's amazing and in my opinion, the best site on all of Fraser Island. Huge Sand-Dunes cover one side of the lake and dense forest covers the other - it's so nice. Jeff's entry recommendation was because the sand runs into the lake at a pretty steep angle and has apparently caused injuries in the past. However, a slow walk would have been safe enough - the real reason he wanted the sidewards roll was to laugh at us trying to stand up after it. So dizzy and I regretted it after about 2 rolls with the hangover I had. It was funny though. We hung around there for a couple of hours, listening to more of Jeff's crazy stories. Then it was back on the Jeeps and off of the island, all pretty devastated about it as well.
Dave drove us back to Rainbow Beach, where we had to stop off for a quick clean-up operation and so the mechanics could check all the vehicles. No charges for anyone thankfully, not even Jeep 3, which had taken a bit of a battering across the 3 days. We then went back to the hostel.
I absolutely loved the 3 days we spent on Fraser Island and it was easily the highlight of my whole trip so far. The Island itself is amazing - so many beautiful sites and the trip was made even better by the people I met and a brilliant guide. We were all gutted to be back and I for one could have stayed over there for much longer. Although I'm not sure my liver would have been as keen. An amazing trip and I loved every minute.
Back at the hostel, our pain of returning was eased slightly when finding out that all 8 of us would be sharing the same dorm room that night, meaning we could delay everyone going their seperate ways for a bit longer. We took full advantage by polishing off our left-over Goon out the front of our hostel and singing the evening away to the sound of this random guy's guitar (he just turned up). A fitting end to a fantastic few days.
Thursday, 12 April 2012
Emu Park & Kroombit Cattle Station
Day 1: The bus picked us up early and we met out second OZ Experience driver - a nice girl called Fairy (apparently they all have nicknames). Nothing much else to report from the day as it was all spent on the bus to Emu Park. We met a English lad called Luke on there, who had already been travelling for 8 months and has a very similar itinerary to me for the remaining 4.
We arrived at Emu Park that evening just in time for a cheap curry, which was gladly devoured by all. The 4 of us then spent the evening playing Darts and Table-Tennis at the hostel. Nothing much else to do at Emu Park as it's just a stop-over for us before heading to Kroombit the following morning.
Day 2: Our third OZ driver, Lugsy, took us on the journey over Mount Morgan (famous for its gold-mining), into the outback to get to Kroombit Cattle Station, where we would basically be spending the day as Cowboys and Cowgirls. This trip was another extra, only available to those on OZ Experience so we were even more glad we had taken that option. There were 3 Scottish lads on the bus with us (Will, Murray and Duncan) and a young Essex couple (Ryan and Jess). We arrived at the Cattle Station just after midday.
Upon arrival, we met the main Cowboy - Jonathan, who would be calling the shots for the rest of the day. He was without doubt the most straight talking person I've ever come across and it became clear early on that you didn't want to get on the wrong side of him. None of us were sure if it was just part of the Cowboy image or if it was how he really was. Straight to the point, swearing every other word and letting his opinions be known to everyone, whether they wanted them or not. Luke found this out the hard way when saying he was contemplating the Quad Biking option over mustering up goats on horseback. Jonathan was not exactly amused and let it be known. Needless to say, Luke chose the horse-riding option in the end along with the rest of us. No-one was quite sure how to take Jonathan to begin with.
Anyway, after a lovely steak lunch, we each got our Cowboy hats and Bandanas and then headed over to the stables to get paired up with our horses. This was a first for me as I've never done Horse-Riding before so was quite looking forward to it. When the stable girls each called out our names, the questions were "have you ever ridden a horse before?" (no), followed by "are you nervous?" (no..should I be?). I got put with a female horse called Muse and picked up the basic commands easy enough. She was quite obedient when we were still at the stables.
We then headed out in single-file to get used to the horses before we had to muster up the goats. Gradually, Muse started obeying me less and less to the point where she wasn't doing anything I asked. The girls told us that we had to kick them in the side to get them to do it but I didn't realise how hard the kick would need to be. Then one of them told me I could kick as hard as I could and it wouldn't hurt her. After that, sure enough we started to get along and she did what she was told. At this point they told me that Muse was notoriously stubborn with new riders - cheers for that. Eventually, we were on the same wavelength though and it was pretty fun.
Once we had all got used to it, we had the job of mustering up about 100 goats and getting them into their pen. The tip from the girls was to make lots of noise and a sound of "EY-UP-UP-UP" to get them moving. When we started doing this, they did start moving but I'm pretty sure it was more to do with the huge horses behind them rather than the noises we were making. It was really good fun though and we got them into the pen pretty quick - myself and Murray were naturals. Dave had a bit of trouble getting his horse to move throughout - quite funny to watch.
After this was done, we returned to the stables before being taught how to use a lasso and also each had the opportunity for some clay-pigeon shooting with a shotgun. I gave this a miss as it was pretty expensive. Instead, my time was spent practicing the Lasso in preparation for the goat rodeo we had to finish. I got pretty good in practice, meaning that would be my role in the rodeo.
For the rodeo, we were in teams of 3. My job was to Lasso the goat and then pull it towards me by the horns. Dave would then have to hold it in place before this girl called Emma could fake-brand it. All good fun but competitive nonetheless.
Unfortunately, my skills abandoned me when it came to the rodeo and, after a minute of throwing and missing (a lot harder throwing over a load of running goats than it is with a stationary pole), me and Dave had to chase them around until we caught one and it could be branded. Needless to say, our time wasn't the best and we didn't win. Good fun though.
Back at the Station, Jonathan (who we were now all warming to) served up some goat for us to try - absolutely delicious. We basically stood by while he cut up huge chunks of meat for us. I realised that is now one of my favourite hobbies and I think me and the Scottish lads could have stood there eating all day if we hadn't run out of meat. The funniest was Kat, who entered Kroombit as a vegetarian of 8 years. By the time we left, she had eaten as much meat as the rest of us. Hard to resist when you're at a Cattle Station.
After devouring that and the nice roast dinner that followed, it was time to get on the cheap wine (nicknamed "Goon" but no-one seems to know why) before trying our hand at cracking a whip and riding a mechanical bull. Whereas we were all terrible on the bull (no-one made it past round 2), I was good with the whip and managed to get the loud sound that we were looking for. Also good fun but not so much when you miscue slightly and hit yourself on the leg, hand or back - Ouch.
A quality day being a Cowboy, which was a lot of fun. Aside from the rodeo, I was pretty pleased with my efforts too and we all came to quite like Jonathan in the end. His straight talking approach definately added to the experience and we all had a cool day. Not every day you get to pretend to be a Cowboy is it!
Short and sweet but we all loved Kroombit. I could easily have spent a few more days cracking the whip, mustering goats and eating different meats. Not a bad life as a Cowboy I'd say!
The following morning, we were back on the bus bright and early for the trip back to Emu Park. One of the downsides of OZ Experience is that you sometimes don't have a choice over where you spend the night and this was the case here. There were no buses heading south until the following morning, meaning we had an afternoon to kill at Emu, where there didn't appear to be a great deal to do.
How wrong we were! After returning to the hostel, I asked the staff what was going on in the area and the local Crocodile Farm seemed to be the best option. I've seen quite a few Crocs in the zoos I've been to but they don't really do much except just lay around there. This place has over 3000 and you could apparently see them being fed so I decided to go check it out that afternoon.
I was joined by one of the hostel employees, Cat (Bristol), who was required to shuttle me down there and therefore got to visit the farm for free (alright for some). We arrived and met the owner, a really nice guy who had been running it for over 30 years. He gave us a long introduction about history of the place before showing us a DVD of the time the farm had been on Aussie TV. Then he brought out a baby Croc, that had hatched about 2 days previously so it was seriously tiny. We then began our tour of the farm.
If there is anything this guy doesn't know about Crocodiles, I would suggest it isn't worth knowing! He told us an unbelievable amount about them as we were walking around and the tour was really interesting. As we walked, he threw pieces of meat into all the ponds so we could see the lightning-fast reactions of the Crocs lingering below the water. They rely heavily on their stealth when going after other animals and you could see how effective it would be as we had no idea where they were until the meat hit the water or the ground by the side. The highlight was the biggest Croc he had - 5.4m long and weighing over 850Kg!!! It was absolutely massive and made many of the others look pretty harmless in comparison. He also told us that they can reach speeds of over 40km per hour and the theory that you need to run in zig-zags to get away from them is apparently a complete myth. Get out of their territory as quick as you can was his advice. We were all happy enough the other side of the fencing. Only 2 escapes in 30 years apparently - all of us hoping it stayed that way.
The tour was excellent and I was really glad I went to check the place out. We finished up each having the opportunity to hold a small Croc (with his jaw taped shut) and get some pictures taken, which was awesome. This one was only a couple of years old I think and didn't seem too bothered being passed around. Before we left, Cat and I sampled a Crocodile Pie each as well. Very tasty if you haven't tried it.
The rest of the day was spent hanging out at the hostel pool with Kat, Dave, Luke and Greta, a german girl we had all met at Kroombit. A group of 8 Aussie women turned up that afternoon for a hen party so that livened things up a bit. Quite a strange choice of venue though we all thought - not a great deal of nightlife around.
That evening, we chilled out playing cards at the hostel and then met our driver for the following morning - Tommy (so named because she apparently dropped a glass bottle of tomato ketchup, whilst using it to dye her hair in the shower. Seriously. She cut her legs up pretty badly and has been stuck with that nickname ever since). Never a dull moment with these guides to be fair.
That's it for Emu Park. Looonnnnnngggg bus journey down to Rainbow Beach the following day. Bring on Fraser Island!!!
We arrived at Emu Park that evening just in time for a cheap curry, which was gladly devoured by all. The 4 of us then spent the evening playing Darts and Table-Tennis at the hostel. Nothing much else to do at Emu Park as it's just a stop-over for us before heading to Kroombit the following morning.
Day 2: Our third OZ driver, Lugsy, took us on the journey over Mount Morgan (famous for its gold-mining), into the outback to get to Kroombit Cattle Station, where we would basically be spending the day as Cowboys and Cowgirls. This trip was another extra, only available to those on OZ Experience so we were even more glad we had taken that option. There were 3 Scottish lads on the bus with us (Will, Murray and Duncan) and a young Essex couple (Ryan and Jess). We arrived at the Cattle Station just after midday.
Upon arrival, we met the main Cowboy - Jonathan, who would be calling the shots for the rest of the day. He was without doubt the most straight talking person I've ever come across and it became clear early on that you didn't want to get on the wrong side of him. None of us were sure if it was just part of the Cowboy image or if it was how he really was. Straight to the point, swearing every other word and letting his opinions be known to everyone, whether they wanted them or not. Luke found this out the hard way when saying he was contemplating the Quad Biking option over mustering up goats on horseback. Jonathan was not exactly amused and let it be known. Needless to say, Luke chose the horse-riding option in the end along with the rest of us. No-one was quite sure how to take Jonathan to begin with.
Anyway, after a lovely steak lunch, we each got our Cowboy hats and Bandanas and then headed over to the stables to get paired up with our horses. This was a first for me as I've never done Horse-Riding before so was quite looking forward to it. When the stable girls each called out our names, the questions were "have you ever ridden a horse before?" (no), followed by "are you nervous?" (no..should I be?). I got put with a female horse called Muse and picked up the basic commands easy enough. She was quite obedient when we were still at the stables.
We then headed out in single-file to get used to the horses before we had to muster up the goats. Gradually, Muse started obeying me less and less to the point where she wasn't doing anything I asked. The girls told us that we had to kick them in the side to get them to do it but I didn't realise how hard the kick would need to be. Then one of them told me I could kick as hard as I could and it wouldn't hurt her. After that, sure enough we started to get along and she did what she was told. At this point they told me that Muse was notoriously stubborn with new riders - cheers for that. Eventually, we were on the same wavelength though and it was pretty fun.
Once we had all got used to it, we had the job of mustering up about 100 goats and getting them into their pen. The tip from the girls was to make lots of noise and a sound of "EY-UP-UP-UP" to get them moving. When we started doing this, they did start moving but I'm pretty sure it was more to do with the huge horses behind them rather than the noises we were making. It was really good fun though and we got them into the pen pretty quick - myself and Murray were naturals. Dave had a bit of trouble getting his horse to move throughout - quite funny to watch.
After this was done, we returned to the stables before being taught how to use a lasso and also each had the opportunity for some clay-pigeon shooting with a shotgun. I gave this a miss as it was pretty expensive. Instead, my time was spent practicing the Lasso in preparation for the goat rodeo we had to finish. I got pretty good in practice, meaning that would be my role in the rodeo.
For the rodeo, we were in teams of 3. My job was to Lasso the goat and then pull it towards me by the horns. Dave would then have to hold it in place before this girl called Emma could fake-brand it. All good fun but competitive nonetheless.
Unfortunately, my skills abandoned me when it came to the rodeo and, after a minute of throwing and missing (a lot harder throwing over a load of running goats than it is with a stationary pole), me and Dave had to chase them around until we caught one and it could be branded. Needless to say, our time wasn't the best and we didn't win. Good fun though.
Back at the Station, Jonathan (who we were now all warming to) served up some goat for us to try - absolutely delicious. We basically stood by while he cut up huge chunks of meat for us. I realised that is now one of my favourite hobbies and I think me and the Scottish lads could have stood there eating all day if we hadn't run out of meat. The funniest was Kat, who entered Kroombit as a vegetarian of 8 years. By the time we left, she had eaten as much meat as the rest of us. Hard to resist when you're at a Cattle Station.
After devouring that and the nice roast dinner that followed, it was time to get on the cheap wine (nicknamed "Goon" but no-one seems to know why) before trying our hand at cracking a whip and riding a mechanical bull. Whereas we were all terrible on the bull (no-one made it past round 2), I was good with the whip and managed to get the loud sound that we were looking for. Also good fun but not so much when you miscue slightly and hit yourself on the leg, hand or back - Ouch.
A quality day being a Cowboy, which was a lot of fun. Aside from the rodeo, I was pretty pleased with my efforts too and we all came to quite like Jonathan in the end. His straight talking approach definately added to the experience and we all had a cool day. Not every day you get to pretend to be a Cowboy is it!
Short and sweet but we all loved Kroombit. I could easily have spent a few more days cracking the whip, mustering goats and eating different meats. Not a bad life as a Cowboy I'd say!
The following morning, we were back on the bus bright and early for the trip back to Emu Park. One of the downsides of OZ Experience is that you sometimes don't have a choice over where you spend the night and this was the case here. There were no buses heading south until the following morning, meaning we had an afternoon to kill at Emu, where there didn't appear to be a great deal to do.
How wrong we were! After returning to the hostel, I asked the staff what was going on in the area and the local Crocodile Farm seemed to be the best option. I've seen quite a few Crocs in the zoos I've been to but they don't really do much except just lay around there. This place has over 3000 and you could apparently see them being fed so I decided to go check it out that afternoon.
I was joined by one of the hostel employees, Cat (Bristol), who was required to shuttle me down there and therefore got to visit the farm for free (alright for some). We arrived and met the owner, a really nice guy who had been running it for over 30 years. He gave us a long introduction about history of the place before showing us a DVD of the time the farm had been on Aussie TV. Then he brought out a baby Croc, that had hatched about 2 days previously so it was seriously tiny. We then began our tour of the farm.
If there is anything this guy doesn't know about Crocodiles, I would suggest it isn't worth knowing! He told us an unbelievable amount about them as we were walking around and the tour was really interesting. As we walked, he threw pieces of meat into all the ponds so we could see the lightning-fast reactions of the Crocs lingering below the water. They rely heavily on their stealth when going after other animals and you could see how effective it would be as we had no idea where they were until the meat hit the water or the ground by the side. The highlight was the biggest Croc he had - 5.4m long and weighing over 850Kg!!! It was absolutely massive and made many of the others look pretty harmless in comparison. He also told us that they can reach speeds of over 40km per hour and the theory that you need to run in zig-zags to get away from them is apparently a complete myth. Get out of their territory as quick as you can was his advice. We were all happy enough the other side of the fencing. Only 2 escapes in 30 years apparently - all of us hoping it stayed that way.
The tour was excellent and I was really glad I went to check the place out. We finished up each having the opportunity to hold a small Croc (with his jaw taped shut) and get some pictures taken, which was awesome. This one was only a couple of years old I think and didn't seem too bothered being passed around. Before we left, Cat and I sampled a Crocodile Pie each as well. Very tasty if you haven't tried it.
The rest of the day was spent hanging out at the hostel pool with Kat, Dave, Luke and Greta, a german girl we had all met at Kroombit. A group of 8 Aussie women turned up that afternoon for a hen party so that livened things up a bit. Quite a strange choice of venue though we all thought - not a great deal of nightlife around.
That evening, we chilled out playing cards at the hostel and then met our driver for the following morning - Tommy (so named because she apparently dropped a glass bottle of tomato ketchup, whilst using it to dye her hair in the shower. Seriously. She cut her legs up pretty badly and has been stuck with that nickname ever since). Never a dull moment with these guides to be fair.
That's it for Emu Park. Looonnnnnngggg bus journey down to Rainbow Beach the following day. Bring on Fraser Island!!!
Airlie Beach & The Whitsunday Islands
Day 1: We arrived into Airlie Beach early evening and myself and Dave immediately tried to get a package booked to start sailing The Whitsunday Islands the following day. Airlie is full of different providers but many were closed by the time we had arrived and, both being on quite a tight schedule, we were keen to get something booked ASAP. Luckily, the hostel we checked into had just 2 places left on a catermeran called Wings 2, which was departing the following morning. The boat seemed nice and we managed to negotiate a good deal so booked it straight away. Kat had already got her whole east coast trip planned and she was booked on a different boat departing the same day so we agreed to meet up with her again after the trips.
After we had booked up and checked in with the Wings people, the 3 of us headed to the bar next door for some cheap meals and a few drinks with Kelly, Bud and his Aussie mate Carl. Stayed in there for a few hours hanging out with them before saying our goodbyes. Bud was heading south while we were at the Whitsundays. Hopefully, we will have him as our driver again before we're finished in Australia.
Day 2: Dave and I headed for the meeting point to begin our 3 day / 2 night sailing trip. Somehow, we managed to get lost along the way and had to wake up this girl sleeping in her garden so we could ask for directions. After telling us the way, she then gave us some additional information to pass onto one of the crew members (Ian), who happened to be her boyfriend. Unfortunately, I can't repeat the message she wanted us to pass on but let's just say she wasn't too happy with the state he had left the house in that morning! Not a dispute we really wanted to get in the middle of.
Thankfully, we made it to the meeting point and even had time to get some beers in for the trip. We met the crew - Ian (we didn't say a word), Rachel (South Africa) and our skipper for the 3 days, Tom (New Zealand) and then boarded the boat to get underway.
There were 28 people on the trip and the first thought of many (certainly me) after getting on the boat would have to have been "where are we all going to sleep?". The catermeran wasn't exactly big and there was no indication of where 28 people would fit. Thankfully, after a long safety briefing, we were all shown to our rooms (the dining room in mine and Dave's case). Nice and cosy for everyone but all part of the fun. Tom also warned us all about the strong possibility of seasickness. A few hours later, we knew exactly what he meant.
Some cool people on the boat - Johnny and Chris (Wales), Andre and Sylvie (Canada), Laura (UK), Theresa (Finland), Matthieu (France), Sebastian (Switzerland), Ivo (Holland) and Heath ( (Australia). Also there was a group of Danes, who spoke to no-one but each other throughout the trip and some other French and Swiss girls we talked to a bit. Hard to get to know everyone in just 3 days. Everyone we did meet initially seemed really nice and we all got on well. A good start to the trip as we headed to our first sight for some Snorkelling.
Sylvie and Andre did some diving at the first sight but I wanted to check the visibility before shelling out and getting involved myself (although it's hard to say no when you have your licence). Decided to snorkel to begin with and we saw quite a lot, despite the visibility not being ideal. Laura claimed to have seen a Shark (no-one believed her) and myself and Johnny saw a huge Mauri Wrasse (named Priscilla by the crew) and we followed her for ages before finding ourselves miles away from everyone else. An enjoyable Snorkelling session, even if the water was pretty cold throughout.
Back on the boat and we started to see what the seasickness warnings had been about. Tom didn't exactly hold back taking the Carermeran across the ocean which, combined with strong winds and pretty big waves, meant lots of concentration from all of us to not be the first one to spew. Thankfully, we all made it...for now.
Eventually, we anchored up for the night and settled down for dinner. Throughout the trip, I've seen how much you can learn about people when it comes to food and this was illustrated again by this Danish girl, who always positioned herself at the front of the queue when it came to meal times. She was pretty rude to anyone who was in her way and had no hesitation taking massive portions with no regard for the 27 other people behind her. We didn't make a big deal of it and laughed it off mostly - especially when she confronted Johnny the time he had the cheek to be in front of her. Quite unbelievable. Mind you, with the expression she had on her face, it would take a brave man to get in her way.
We spent the rest of the evening chilling out with some beers, while Tom and the crew detailed where we were in relation to the islands.
Day 3: The anchor came up at 5.30am (5.30!!!!), which was basically a loud wake-up call to everyone on the boat. If that didn't do the trick, the waves smashing off the side of the boat definately did as we set off again - Tom didn't really hang around.
Then, much to mine and everyone else's amusement, Dave was the first one to succumb to the seasickness as he gave us all an entertaining show at the back of the boat. Funny for us but I was sure he wouldn't be the only one.
First stop of the day was Whitehaven Beach - the main attraction and most famous beach of the Whitsundays. Having seen photos, we were all pretty excited about going there and hoping for better weather than groups had had in the previous couple of weeks. Tom and the crew said it had been loads of rain and a pretty brown beach recently.
Thankfully, we got lucky and the rain just about held off so we could appreciate what is a stunning beach. Soft White sand contrasted with crystal clear blue water makes for a beautiful beach and some quality photos as we spent a couple of hours there. Wetsuits were required for swimming (lots of Jellyfish around) but we didn't mind. There were also Stingrays swimming close to the shore. We then spent ages messing about for jumping photos and pyramids - was a good laugh. We just managed to get away before the rain came and were all pretty blown away by the beach. It's supposedly the 2nd best beach in the world so I'd like to see which beats it. Unfortunately, no-one seems to know what number 1 is!
Back on the boat and we headed to Mantaray Bay for some more Snorkelling or, in mine, Heath's and Andre's case, Diving! (I just can't resist). The dive wasn't ideal for me because I couldn't stop my mask fogging it - very annoying. Thankfully, I could see enough to witness the biggest Turtle I've ever seen, who was chilling on the bottom long enough for us to each swim right behind him for some underwater snaps and we could even touch his shell. The previous day, Ian had told us that Turtles tend to eat Jellyfish, which leaves them feeling lethargic and pretty-much stoned. That was definately the case with this guy who wasn't moving for anyone. Poor visibility and a fogged up mask but you can't really complain when you see a Turtle this big. Awesome.
We then anchored for the evening and got in line behind the Danish girl to get some dinner. Rachel did a really good job considering the amount she was cooking for. We then had a look through the day's photos - including our sweet underwater snaps, before getting back on the beers and watching the stars from the front of the boat. Myself, Johnny, Chris and Laura ended up getting pretty wrecked and having a cool night.
Day 4: Final day on the boat and we were up really early again for more Snorkelling and Diving (tiring business this travelling lark you know!). Another good dive with more Turtle sightings (seems to be loads in Aus) and also another huge Wrasse and a Stingray. Myself, Heath and Andre thought the dive was ok but nothing spectacular. Ian, on the other hand, thought it was amazing. I told him he needs to get over to Borneo - that's amazing.
We then headed back to the mainland to finish the trip. All had an awesome time and were very grateful to the 3 crew members for their part in it. A few showers across the 3 days and some seriously choppy waters but we still got pretty lucky in comparison to previous groups by the sounds of it. A thoroughly enjoyable few days and more great people met.
That afternoon, a few of us went down by the lagoon in Airlie hoping to sunbathe and relax for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, the weather wouldn't let us as it kept changing it's mind every 5 minutes until we all gave up. We then said our goodbyes and went our separate ways as most of them were continuing north or heading home. Myself and Dave met up with Kat again that evening and just chilled at the hostel.
Long bus journey to Emu Park the following morning.
After we had booked up and checked in with the Wings people, the 3 of us headed to the bar next door for some cheap meals and a few drinks with Kelly, Bud and his Aussie mate Carl. Stayed in there for a few hours hanging out with them before saying our goodbyes. Bud was heading south while we were at the Whitsundays. Hopefully, we will have him as our driver again before we're finished in Australia.
Day 2: Dave and I headed for the meeting point to begin our 3 day / 2 night sailing trip. Somehow, we managed to get lost along the way and had to wake up this girl sleeping in her garden so we could ask for directions. After telling us the way, she then gave us some additional information to pass onto one of the crew members (Ian), who happened to be her boyfriend. Unfortunately, I can't repeat the message she wanted us to pass on but let's just say she wasn't too happy with the state he had left the house in that morning! Not a dispute we really wanted to get in the middle of.
Thankfully, we made it to the meeting point and even had time to get some beers in for the trip. We met the crew - Ian (we didn't say a word), Rachel (South Africa) and our skipper for the 3 days, Tom (New Zealand) and then boarded the boat to get underway.
There were 28 people on the trip and the first thought of many (certainly me) after getting on the boat would have to have been "where are we all going to sleep?". The catermeran wasn't exactly big and there was no indication of where 28 people would fit. Thankfully, after a long safety briefing, we were all shown to our rooms (the dining room in mine and Dave's case). Nice and cosy for everyone but all part of the fun. Tom also warned us all about the strong possibility of seasickness. A few hours later, we knew exactly what he meant.
Some cool people on the boat - Johnny and Chris (Wales), Andre and Sylvie (Canada), Laura (UK), Theresa (Finland), Matthieu (France), Sebastian (Switzerland), Ivo (Holland) and Heath ( (Australia). Also there was a group of Danes, who spoke to no-one but each other throughout the trip and some other French and Swiss girls we talked to a bit. Hard to get to know everyone in just 3 days. Everyone we did meet initially seemed really nice and we all got on well. A good start to the trip as we headed to our first sight for some Snorkelling.
Sylvie and Andre did some diving at the first sight but I wanted to check the visibility before shelling out and getting involved myself (although it's hard to say no when you have your licence). Decided to snorkel to begin with and we saw quite a lot, despite the visibility not being ideal. Laura claimed to have seen a Shark (no-one believed her) and myself and Johnny saw a huge Mauri Wrasse (named Priscilla by the crew) and we followed her for ages before finding ourselves miles away from everyone else. An enjoyable Snorkelling session, even if the water was pretty cold throughout.
Back on the boat and we started to see what the seasickness warnings had been about. Tom didn't exactly hold back taking the Carermeran across the ocean which, combined with strong winds and pretty big waves, meant lots of concentration from all of us to not be the first one to spew. Thankfully, we all made it...for now.
Eventually, we anchored up for the night and settled down for dinner. Throughout the trip, I've seen how much you can learn about people when it comes to food and this was illustrated again by this Danish girl, who always positioned herself at the front of the queue when it came to meal times. She was pretty rude to anyone who was in her way and had no hesitation taking massive portions with no regard for the 27 other people behind her. We didn't make a big deal of it and laughed it off mostly - especially when she confronted Johnny the time he had the cheek to be in front of her. Quite unbelievable. Mind you, with the expression she had on her face, it would take a brave man to get in her way.
We spent the rest of the evening chilling out with some beers, while Tom and the crew detailed where we were in relation to the islands.
Day 3: The anchor came up at 5.30am (5.30!!!!), which was basically a loud wake-up call to everyone on the boat. If that didn't do the trick, the waves smashing off the side of the boat definately did as we set off again - Tom didn't really hang around.
Then, much to mine and everyone else's amusement, Dave was the first one to succumb to the seasickness as he gave us all an entertaining show at the back of the boat. Funny for us but I was sure he wouldn't be the only one.
First stop of the day was Whitehaven Beach - the main attraction and most famous beach of the Whitsundays. Having seen photos, we were all pretty excited about going there and hoping for better weather than groups had had in the previous couple of weeks. Tom and the crew said it had been loads of rain and a pretty brown beach recently.
Thankfully, we got lucky and the rain just about held off so we could appreciate what is a stunning beach. Soft White sand contrasted with crystal clear blue water makes for a beautiful beach and some quality photos as we spent a couple of hours there. Wetsuits were required for swimming (lots of Jellyfish around) but we didn't mind. There were also Stingrays swimming close to the shore. We then spent ages messing about for jumping photos and pyramids - was a good laugh. We just managed to get away before the rain came and were all pretty blown away by the beach. It's supposedly the 2nd best beach in the world so I'd like to see which beats it. Unfortunately, no-one seems to know what number 1 is!
Back on the boat and we headed to Mantaray Bay for some more Snorkelling or, in mine, Heath's and Andre's case, Diving! (I just can't resist). The dive wasn't ideal for me because I couldn't stop my mask fogging it - very annoying. Thankfully, I could see enough to witness the biggest Turtle I've ever seen, who was chilling on the bottom long enough for us to each swim right behind him for some underwater snaps and we could even touch his shell. The previous day, Ian had told us that Turtles tend to eat Jellyfish, which leaves them feeling lethargic and pretty-much stoned. That was definately the case with this guy who wasn't moving for anyone. Poor visibility and a fogged up mask but you can't really complain when you see a Turtle this big. Awesome.
We then anchored for the evening and got in line behind the Danish girl to get some dinner. Rachel did a really good job considering the amount she was cooking for. We then had a look through the day's photos - including our sweet underwater snaps, before getting back on the beers and watching the stars from the front of the boat. Myself, Johnny, Chris and Laura ended up getting pretty wrecked and having a cool night.
Day 4: Final day on the boat and we were up really early again for more Snorkelling and Diving (tiring business this travelling lark you know!). Another good dive with more Turtle sightings (seems to be loads in Aus) and also another huge Wrasse and a Stingray. Myself, Heath and Andre thought the dive was ok but nothing spectacular. Ian, on the other hand, thought it was amazing. I told him he needs to get over to Borneo - that's amazing.
We then headed back to the mainland to finish the trip. All had an awesome time and were very grateful to the 3 crew members for their part in it. A few showers across the 3 days and some seriously choppy waters but we still got pretty lucky in comparison to previous groups by the sounds of it. A thoroughly enjoyable few days and more great people met.
That afternoon, a few of us went down by the lagoon in Airlie hoping to sunbathe and relax for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, the weather wouldn't let us as it kept changing it's mind every 5 minutes until we all gave up. We then said our goodbyes and went our separate ways as most of them were continuing north or heading home. Myself and Dave met up with Kat again that evening and just chilled at the hostel.
Long bus journey to Emu Park the following morning.
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Townsville & Magnetic Island
Day 1: Up bright and early to catch my first OZ Experience bus. Almost a nightmare start as it nearly went without me after I went just around the corner from the actual meeting point. Luckily, the driver got my attention as I was walking past and I got on. It was only about a minute after the meeting time so it was probably a good time for me to learn this lesson before heading down the coast - if you're late, they don't hang around.
Once onboard, I met our driver (Bud) and also Dave (Manchester) and Kat (Sheffield) and that was it, the rest of the bus was empty. The OZ buses hold up to 21 people so I was expecting more but I'm sure it will be more full as we move down the coast. Thankfully, the 3 of us and Bud all got on right away and had a good laugh as we started our journey down the east coast.
A lot of travellers on the east coast tend to either use OZ Experience or Greyhound Buses. Whereas Greyhound is purely a bus service going from A to B (something I'm very used to), OZ Experience offers more of a guided tour and stops off at lots of different destinations on each journey. Given I've only got a month over here, this was what I was looking for.
We saw the benefits straight away as Bud took us across the Atherton Tablelands and gave us lots of information about the area. After this, our first stop was Lake Eacham - a picturesque sight where we stopped and took a break. From here, we went to check out a cool Curtain Fig Tree that was as interesting as it was unusual.
The final stop before reaching Townsville was a stop at The Milla Milla Waterfall, famous for being the scene for Peter Andre's "Mysterious Girl" video. None of us were expecting to go here so it was another added bonus given it's a really nice place. After some initial hesitation (it was freezing cold), we all went in for a dip (Bud included) and then got as close as we could to the waterfall. Pretty hard considering how powerful it is and Bud had to quickly turn back after thinking he was going to drown - I think he was being a bit of a drama queen to be honest and we had a laugh about it afterwards. The rest of us stayed in the water and posed for some Peter Andre style photos in front of the waterfall.
Then it was straight through to Townsville and to catch the ferry over to Magnetic Island for the evening. We were joined by another english girl called Kelly, who had something going on with Bud. We caught the ferry over early evening and had the night over there before continuing our trip south the following morning. No time to explore the island unfortunately so we spent our night getting drunk instead. Once again, Bud was fully involved with this, which I think is another advantage to OZ Experience. We were hoping he wouldn't get too wasted though, considering he would be driving us to Airlie Beach the following morning. All in all, an enjoyable and very boozy evening, enhanced by Bud getting us all numerous free drinks. A shame we didn't have any time to see the island but we're all on a tight enough schedule as it is.
The following morning, myself, Dave and Kat got an early ferry back to Townsville to go check out Reef HQ, a small aquarium with an artificial reef inside. It was a tiny place but loads to see including a Nurse Shark, Leopard Shark, Hammerhead and a big Sawfish. We weren't there long but it was well worth checking out. Will be nice if I can see something similar when I'm next diving.
After Reef HQ, we met Bud, Kelly and some others back at the bus and embarked on the next leg of our journey south. This time, it took us all afternoon to get down to Airlie Beach - gateway to the famous Whitsunday Islands. There wasn't as much to see on the way but it didn't stop Bud talking to us and dishing out the banter for most of the journey so we all had a good laugh. There's something like 10 different drivers for OZ Experience on the east coast so here's hoping they are all as entertaining and friendly as him.
Once onboard, I met our driver (Bud) and also Dave (Manchester) and Kat (Sheffield) and that was it, the rest of the bus was empty. The OZ buses hold up to 21 people so I was expecting more but I'm sure it will be more full as we move down the coast. Thankfully, the 3 of us and Bud all got on right away and had a good laugh as we started our journey down the east coast.
A lot of travellers on the east coast tend to either use OZ Experience or Greyhound Buses. Whereas Greyhound is purely a bus service going from A to B (something I'm very used to), OZ Experience offers more of a guided tour and stops off at lots of different destinations on each journey. Given I've only got a month over here, this was what I was looking for.
We saw the benefits straight away as Bud took us across the Atherton Tablelands and gave us lots of information about the area. After this, our first stop was Lake Eacham - a picturesque sight where we stopped and took a break. From here, we went to check out a cool Curtain Fig Tree that was as interesting as it was unusual.
The final stop before reaching Townsville was a stop at The Milla Milla Waterfall, famous for being the scene for Peter Andre's "Mysterious Girl" video. None of us were expecting to go here so it was another added bonus given it's a really nice place. After some initial hesitation (it was freezing cold), we all went in for a dip (Bud included) and then got as close as we could to the waterfall. Pretty hard considering how powerful it is and Bud had to quickly turn back after thinking he was going to drown - I think he was being a bit of a drama queen to be honest and we had a laugh about it afterwards. The rest of us stayed in the water and posed for some Peter Andre style photos in front of the waterfall.
Then it was straight through to Townsville and to catch the ferry over to Magnetic Island for the evening. We were joined by another english girl called Kelly, who had something going on with Bud. We caught the ferry over early evening and had the night over there before continuing our trip south the following morning. No time to explore the island unfortunately so we spent our night getting drunk instead. Once again, Bud was fully involved with this, which I think is another advantage to OZ Experience. We were hoping he wouldn't get too wasted though, considering he would be driving us to Airlie Beach the following morning. All in all, an enjoyable and very boozy evening, enhanced by Bud getting us all numerous free drinks. A shame we didn't have any time to see the island but we're all on a tight enough schedule as it is.
The following morning, myself, Dave and Kat got an early ferry back to Townsville to go check out Reef HQ, a small aquarium with an artificial reef inside. It was a tiny place but loads to see including a Nurse Shark, Leopard Shark, Hammerhead and a big Sawfish. We weren't there long but it was well worth checking out. Will be nice if I can see something similar when I'm next diving.
After Reef HQ, we met Bud, Kelly and some others back at the bus and embarked on the next leg of our journey south. This time, it took us all afternoon to get down to Airlie Beach - gateway to the famous Whitsunday Islands. There wasn't as much to see on the way but it didn't stop Bud talking to us and dishing out the banter for most of the journey so we all had a good laugh. There's something like 10 different drivers for OZ Experience on the east coast so here's hoping they are all as entertaining and friendly as him.
Cairns
I had an early afternoon flight from Singapore, which took 7 hours to reach Brisbane. Once there, I had another 6 hours waiting around before my flight to Cairns. I managed to get some sleep in the airport though so it wasn't too bad.
I arrived mid-morning into Cairns and, after some tips from people on the plane, headed straight for the esplanade. This was where all the main backpacker places were and I managed to find one that wasn't as expensive as I was expecting. Throughout my time in Asia, I've had constant warnings about how expensive Australia is so I could hardly have been surprised. Thankfully, this hostel wasn't too bad but I'm also told it gets worse the further down the coast you go. We shall see.
After checking in, getting some breakfast and feeling surprisingly fresh considering I'd been flying all night, I went to explore Cairns. A smaller place than I was expecting so it didn't take me long to get a feel for the place and find my bearings. It was a nice day so I also took a long walk along the esplanade for some nice photos.
That afternoon, I joined the masses in chilling by the lagoon right out the front of my hostel. Met a couple of Essex girls (Jordana and Hayley) and hung around with them for a few hours. The rest of the time was spent soaking up the sun. Have had lots of rain in Borneo and Bali over the past month so was nice to have some heat again. Here's hoping it continues.
That evening, I decided to try my hand at some Knee-Boarding and Wake-Boarding at a place just outside Cairns. It's basically a small lake, with cables going round in a circle to pull you along. Met a cool Aussie guy called Jake and a fellow Englishman called Ed.
Upon arrival, the advice from the staff was to try Knee-Boarding first to get used to the cables, before attempting Wake-Boarding. Whereas the other guys ignored this and went straight into it, I took their advice and could instantly see why they had said it. The others were falling off instantly whereas I got the hang pretty quickly and managed to stay on for a few Laps. Quite tough on the arms but really good fun.
Once I'd got the hang of it, I was ready to give Wake-Boarding a try (some of the others were now trying Knee-Boarding at this point - haha). Unfortunately, my kneeboarding skills didn't really help much though because I wasn't able to stay up long enough to put them into practice. Wakeboarding is really tough and it's very hard to get your balance as we all found out the hard way over the next hour. Good fun trying though and it's much more enjoyable failing at that than it is at Surfing. I'd like to give it another try at some point. A cool evening and a really good laugh. A quality first day in Australia.
Day 2: Another glorious day and therefore another day spent sunbathing and relaxing by the lagoon. Be rude not to really wouldn't it!
A chilled evening in preparation for the start of my OZ Experience pass the following morning. This is a guided tour and hop on / hop off bus service that runs down the coast to Sydney. Supposedly a good way to see the coast on a short time-frame and also a lot of fun. Let's hope so.
I arrived mid-morning into Cairns and, after some tips from people on the plane, headed straight for the esplanade. This was where all the main backpacker places were and I managed to find one that wasn't as expensive as I was expecting. Throughout my time in Asia, I've had constant warnings about how expensive Australia is so I could hardly have been surprised. Thankfully, this hostel wasn't too bad but I'm also told it gets worse the further down the coast you go. We shall see.
After checking in, getting some breakfast and feeling surprisingly fresh considering I'd been flying all night, I went to explore Cairns. A smaller place than I was expecting so it didn't take me long to get a feel for the place and find my bearings. It was a nice day so I also took a long walk along the esplanade for some nice photos.
That afternoon, I joined the masses in chilling by the lagoon right out the front of my hostel. Met a couple of Essex girls (Jordana and Hayley) and hung around with them for a few hours. The rest of the time was spent soaking up the sun. Have had lots of rain in Borneo and Bali over the past month so was nice to have some heat again. Here's hoping it continues.
That evening, I decided to try my hand at some Knee-Boarding and Wake-Boarding at a place just outside Cairns. It's basically a small lake, with cables going round in a circle to pull you along. Met a cool Aussie guy called Jake and a fellow Englishman called Ed.
Upon arrival, the advice from the staff was to try Knee-Boarding first to get used to the cables, before attempting Wake-Boarding. Whereas the other guys ignored this and went straight into it, I took their advice and could instantly see why they had said it. The others were falling off instantly whereas I got the hang pretty quickly and managed to stay on for a few Laps. Quite tough on the arms but really good fun.
Once I'd got the hang of it, I was ready to give Wake-Boarding a try (some of the others were now trying Knee-Boarding at this point - haha). Unfortunately, my kneeboarding skills didn't really help much though because I wasn't able to stay up long enough to put them into practice. Wakeboarding is really tough and it's very hard to get your balance as we all found out the hard way over the next hour. Good fun trying though and it's much more enjoyable failing at that than it is at Surfing. I'd like to give it another try at some point. A cool evening and a really good laugh. A quality first day in Australia.
Day 2: Another glorious day and therefore another day spent sunbathing and relaxing by the lagoon. Be rude not to really wouldn't it!
A chilled evening in preparation for the start of my OZ Experience pass the following morning. This is a guided tour and hop on / hop off bus service that runs down the coast to Sydney. Supposedly a good way to see the coast on a short time-frame and also a lot of fun. Let's hope so.
Singapore (Part 2)
One day back in Singapore and it was a day that really illustrates what travelling is all about in terms of meeting people.
My taxi pick-up was 4am in Kuta and I found myself sharing with a nice Canadian couple - Vanessa and Daryl, who were also catching the same flight to Singapore. We got on really well and arranged to meet up after the flight so I could show them into the city and to the place I was staying. Vanessa told me she "loved" turbulence, which I found quite strange. Lucky for her, the flight had lots but Air Asia were faultless yet again.
After taking the guys into the city and them checking into the same guesthouse, the 3 of us headed to Singapore Zoo for the day. Luckily, I had the whole day to kill because my flight to Aus wasn't until the day after. My travel book described the Zoo as world class so I was keen to go check it out, as were Vanessa and Dayrl.
It's an absolute trek to get to - 2 lines on the subway followed by a long bus journey, but it was well worth it. World class is definately correct and it's without doubt the best Zoo I've ever been to. Vanessa was on map duty and got us lost a few times (sorry Ness) but the place is so massive that it was easily done. Took us all day to see the whole place.
The amount of different animals there is unreal and it puts Saigon Zoo in it's place, along with most others I imagine. Lots I'd seen before but also loads I hadn't. After Borneo, I thought I had a good grasp of the many different species of Monkeys and Apes but this place made me realise how wrong I was. On show were; Crested Macaque's, Columbus Monkeys, Capuchins, Patas Monkeys, Douc Langurs and Spider Monkeys.
The zoo also had; Siamangs, False Ghavials, Tamarins, Tapirs, Babirusas, Hamadryas Baboons, Nubian Ibex's, Manatees, African Penguins, Mandrills, Flying Foxes, Ring-Tailed Lemurs, Nyalas and Meerkats, all of which, were a first for me. The whole place is amazing - so much to see. As zoos go, this one takes some beating I reckon.
Once we had finished the Zoo, we had some dinner before the Night Safari, which takes place at the same site. Given the amount we had seen through the day, we couldn't imagine what else there could be and, more to the point, where they would keep it. We were surprised again because the Night Safari is like a whole other Zoo only in the dark and whilst riding on a Shuttle Bus (something our aching legs were grateful for). We saw many of the day animals in their night environment and also a Hyena, which I had also never seen before. A good end to an exhausting yet really enjoyable day out. Singapore Zoo is well worth a visit.
All in all, a fun day with a couple that I had met in a different country that very morning. By the end of the day, I felt like we had known each other much longer. That's what travelling is all about.
In stark contrast to Kuta, I love Singapore and would definately come back. My first 2 days there were great and it's only been enhanced by that extra day at the Zoo. The locals are really friendly and, unlike those in Kuta, they know tourism and how to treat visitors into their country. My whole time there I felt welcome and very much at home. A great place to visit.
That's me done with South-East Asia. I really enjoyed my time there but was also ready to move on. Next stop - Australia. Let's throw another shrimp on the Barbie!
My taxi pick-up was 4am in Kuta and I found myself sharing with a nice Canadian couple - Vanessa and Daryl, who were also catching the same flight to Singapore. We got on really well and arranged to meet up after the flight so I could show them into the city and to the place I was staying. Vanessa told me she "loved" turbulence, which I found quite strange. Lucky for her, the flight had lots but Air Asia were faultless yet again.
After taking the guys into the city and them checking into the same guesthouse, the 3 of us headed to Singapore Zoo for the day. Luckily, I had the whole day to kill because my flight to Aus wasn't until the day after. My travel book described the Zoo as world class so I was keen to go check it out, as were Vanessa and Dayrl.
It's an absolute trek to get to - 2 lines on the subway followed by a long bus journey, but it was well worth it. World class is definately correct and it's without doubt the best Zoo I've ever been to. Vanessa was on map duty and got us lost a few times (sorry Ness) but the place is so massive that it was easily done. Took us all day to see the whole place.
The amount of different animals there is unreal and it puts Saigon Zoo in it's place, along with most others I imagine. Lots I'd seen before but also loads I hadn't. After Borneo, I thought I had a good grasp of the many different species of Monkeys and Apes but this place made me realise how wrong I was. On show were; Crested Macaque's, Columbus Monkeys, Capuchins, Patas Monkeys, Douc Langurs and Spider Monkeys.
The zoo also had; Siamangs, False Ghavials, Tamarins, Tapirs, Babirusas, Hamadryas Baboons, Nubian Ibex's, Manatees, African Penguins, Mandrills, Flying Foxes, Ring-Tailed Lemurs, Nyalas and Meerkats, all of which, were a first for me. The whole place is amazing - so much to see. As zoos go, this one takes some beating I reckon.
Once we had finished the Zoo, we had some dinner before the Night Safari, which takes place at the same site. Given the amount we had seen through the day, we couldn't imagine what else there could be and, more to the point, where they would keep it. We were surprised again because the Night Safari is like a whole other Zoo only in the dark and whilst riding on a Shuttle Bus (something our aching legs were grateful for). We saw many of the day animals in their night environment and also a Hyena, which I had also never seen before. A good end to an exhausting yet really enjoyable day out. Singapore Zoo is well worth a visit.
All in all, a fun day with a couple that I had met in a different country that very morning. By the end of the day, I felt like we had known each other much longer. That's what travelling is all about.
In stark contrast to Kuta, I love Singapore and would definately come back. My first 2 days there were great and it's only been enhanced by that extra day at the Zoo. The locals are really friendly and, unlike those in Kuta, they know tourism and how to treat visitors into their country. My whole time there I felt welcome and very much at home. A great place to visit.
That's me done with South-East Asia. I really enjoyed my time there but was also ready to move on. Next stop - Australia. Let's throw another shrimp on the Barbie!
Kuta (Part 2)
Day 1: Morning bus from Ubud back down to Kuta. I wasn't exactly overwhelmed with excitement after the last time but was keen to give surfing another go and it's also nice and close to the airport.
We arrived late morning, checked into the same place we stayed before and then hired a couple of boards (without the sandpaper top this time). The waves were fairly decent for surfing but it still made no difference to me. Clearly, this is not my thing.
Then, late in the afternoon when I was literally just about to give up (probably forever), somehow I managed to stand and stay on the board all the way into shore. I'm not sure how I did it but was obviously delighted, as demonstrated by my triumphant scream of "YESSSS" to the random people on the beach. A lot of frustration put into that let me tell you. Unfortunately, Jay missed my moment of triumph as he was too busy getting pissed off with the waves again.
Needless to say, it must have been a complete fluke because I had no further luck for the rest of the day and was back to face-smashing the water. Something to build on hopefully though.
That evening, Jay and I headed out to check out Kuta's nightlife by going to a club called Skygarden. Being St Patrick's day, the place was heaving and we took full advantage of the green pints on offer. Olivier was also in there and we all ended up getting suitably wasted. Well earned after a hard day trying to surf and was a quality night from what I can remember.
Day 2: Both feeling pretty ropey, we managed to make breakfast before going our separate ways. Jay was heading down to a surf camp in the south of Bali for the remainder of his trip while I had one more day in Kuta before my flight to Singapore. A quality couple of weeks with him and we had a great laugh cruising around the island.
I spent the rest of the day on the beach trying to surf one final time. Olivier was also down there so we got some boards and got involved. No luck again though and the waves were far too strong and powerful for a beginner like me. The rip-current was so strong that people were being swept out to sea needing rescue from the guys on the beach. A Russian guy near me was screaming his head off but I had no idea what he was saying and was having enough trouble trying to stop myself being swept away. Not a good day for surfing - probably just as well.
While back on the beach, which was completely covered in litter by the way, I was amazed to see that the guy selling the Crossbow and Arrows had actually convinced a couple of guys to buy it! I couldn't believe my eyes. Guess that's why they are so persistent - they know they will find someone stupid enough eventually.
After handing my board back in, thinking to myself that it could well be the last time I hire one (surfing is clearly not for me), I then had to walk the gauntlet of street sellers that had aggravated me so much the last time. Needless to say, they were just as annoying but it was made worse by one of them grabbing me as I walked past. I can handle them saying whatever to try and make a sale but this was one step too far and I didn't take kindly to it.
Walking around a different area that evening sorting out a few last minute bits, the same thing happened again with another guy and he got the same reaction from me. I literally cannot stand these guys.
Unfortunately, it's no exaggeration for me to say that I hated Kuta and have absolutely no desire to go back there. The town is pretty grubby, the beach is filthy and the sellers are enough to test anyone's patience. I hated walking around and the fact they actually resort to grabbing you is out of order in my opinion. Horrible place.
Thankfully, my experience of Kuta hasn't tarnished my view of Bali as a whole and I'm really pleased we based ourselves in Ubud and saw so much of the island. A really stunning, scenic place that is definately best explored on a motorbike. If you ever come to Bali, make sure you don't spend all your time in Kuta because it won't give you the correct impression of the whole island. Aside from those few days, I really enjoyed it here.
Next, up at 4am to get a flight back to Singapore - one of my favourite places so a nice way to wash Kuta off. One day there, then it's the end of my time in Asia and onto Australia.
We arrived late morning, checked into the same place we stayed before and then hired a couple of boards (without the sandpaper top this time). The waves were fairly decent for surfing but it still made no difference to me. Clearly, this is not my thing.
Then, late in the afternoon when I was literally just about to give up (probably forever), somehow I managed to stand and stay on the board all the way into shore. I'm not sure how I did it but was obviously delighted, as demonstrated by my triumphant scream of "YESSSS" to the random people on the beach. A lot of frustration put into that let me tell you. Unfortunately, Jay missed my moment of triumph as he was too busy getting pissed off with the waves again.
Needless to say, it must have been a complete fluke because I had no further luck for the rest of the day and was back to face-smashing the water. Something to build on hopefully though.
That evening, Jay and I headed out to check out Kuta's nightlife by going to a club called Skygarden. Being St Patrick's day, the place was heaving and we took full advantage of the green pints on offer. Olivier was also in there and we all ended up getting suitably wasted. Well earned after a hard day trying to surf and was a quality night from what I can remember.
Day 2: Both feeling pretty ropey, we managed to make breakfast before going our separate ways. Jay was heading down to a surf camp in the south of Bali for the remainder of his trip while I had one more day in Kuta before my flight to Singapore. A quality couple of weeks with him and we had a great laugh cruising around the island.
I spent the rest of the day on the beach trying to surf one final time. Olivier was also down there so we got some boards and got involved. No luck again though and the waves were far too strong and powerful for a beginner like me. The rip-current was so strong that people were being swept out to sea needing rescue from the guys on the beach. A Russian guy near me was screaming his head off but I had no idea what he was saying and was having enough trouble trying to stop myself being swept away. Not a good day for surfing - probably just as well.
While back on the beach, which was completely covered in litter by the way, I was amazed to see that the guy selling the Crossbow and Arrows had actually convinced a couple of guys to buy it! I couldn't believe my eyes. Guess that's why they are so persistent - they know they will find someone stupid enough eventually.
After handing my board back in, thinking to myself that it could well be the last time I hire one (surfing is clearly not for me), I then had to walk the gauntlet of street sellers that had aggravated me so much the last time. Needless to say, they were just as annoying but it was made worse by one of them grabbing me as I walked past. I can handle them saying whatever to try and make a sale but this was one step too far and I didn't take kindly to it.
Walking around a different area that evening sorting out a few last minute bits, the same thing happened again with another guy and he got the same reaction from me. I literally cannot stand these guys.
Unfortunately, it's no exaggeration for me to say that I hated Kuta and have absolutely no desire to go back there. The town is pretty grubby, the beach is filthy and the sellers are enough to test anyone's patience. I hated walking around and the fact they actually resort to grabbing you is out of order in my opinion. Horrible place.
Thankfully, my experience of Kuta hasn't tarnished my view of Bali as a whole and I'm really pleased we based ourselves in Ubud and saw so much of the island. A really stunning, scenic place that is definately best explored on a motorbike. If you ever come to Bali, make sure you don't spend all your time in Kuta because it won't give you the correct impression of the whole island. Aside from those few days, I really enjoyed it here.
Next, up at 4am to get a flight back to Singapore - one of my favourite places so a nice way to wash Kuta off. One day there, then it's the end of my time in Asia and onto Australia.
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