Oz Day 28 Camper

Today we left Townsville and headed into the Girrigun National Park where we spent a couple of hours walking through the bush down to Wallaman Waterfall. The tallest waterfall in Australia. It was a bit of a hike, but once we were there, it was worth the effort... only trouble was, we had to come back up which was exhausting on the knees! Jen even went for a little dip in the chilly water while I tried to protect the camera from the constant mist/rain.

On the way up the bush walk, a snake crossed my path.... didn't manage to get the camera out but googled it and found the sucker below.. A red bellied snake... venomous!!!


Anyway, after we crawled back to the camper we headed to Mission Beach and arrived about 18:00 .... ready for grub and beer.... and kip.

Also, as Australia is in the midst of Lottery Fever, we purchased a ticket for tonight's record $90 million draw... If we win, we shall be flying home by our Lear Jet.

SD

Oz Day 25, 26 and 27 - Whitsunday Island Special

Day 25, in the big camper house.

We woke up and shifted our motorhome to the town car park, and spent a couple of hours relaxing by the town pool. Due to the danger of Jellyfish in the sea, it is highly recommended that you swim in the public pool (next to the sea) instead of actually in the ocean, unless you are wearing a "stinger suit" which still does not protect you completely.

Anyway, after chilling for while, we made our way to the marina, where we packed our bags, hid our valuables and made our way onto the boat.

Once we had settled into our cabin, which was a tad on the small side, we left port heading for the outer regions of the Great Barrier Reef. We had dinner and retired.

During the night the weather turned a bit ugly, so the crew made the decision to not go for the outer reef, and instead anchor down in a bay for the rest of the night.


The next morning, we woke and had breakfast early before taking a dive in the bay. This was our 1st proper dive in Australia, and we were both left very unimpressed. The visibility was less than 5 metres, there was a severe lack of sealife, and the coral was severely damaged or dying. We took part in another dive later that day, at a different spot and the conditions were pretty much the same. The only highlight of the dives was 2 turtles spotted on the 2nd dive. The water temperature was 24 degrees which is pretty chilly, and having to wear a full length "stinger suit" as well as wetsuit, was quite restricting. But a dive is a dive.... and I'm sure the water will improve on our next boat trip in a few days.

We slept well that night...going to bed at 9.30pm (!!!)



Waking the next day, we were dropped off at Whitehaven Beach for a couple of hours. This beach is 99.89 % silica, which makes the sand extremely white, squeaky to walk on, very good for the skin, and it never gets hot in the sun.... very nice not to do the usual stupid "burning feet dance" as you run for shade.

That afternoon we headed to another bay, where we spent about half an hour snorkelling (it was all I could take cos it was sooo cold!). Again, it was bad visibility and a lack of anything that excited us. Then we relaxed for the rest of the day.



Today, we woke early (again!) and were dropped off on South Molle Island. We then walked a few kms to a viewpoint over the Whitsundays. Then we walked back and got on the boat.... finally chilling on the top deck before returning to Airle Beach.

We then motored North, back in our faithful camper, to Townsville.... no plans as yet for tomorrow... all we do know is we have to be in Cairns by Thursday night to prepare for our next boat ride!

OZ Day 24 Camper

We arrived at midday to Airlie Beach, and proceeded to spend shedloads of money booking stuff for the rest of our trip.

We are off tomorrow on a ship called the Whitsunday Magic (see pic) to sail around the Whitsunday Islands for 3 days and 3 nights.

Sailing, diving, snorkelling and generally having a good time are all part of the agenda. Staying on the boat for 3 nights, so I shall be posting a special report on our return.

We also booked up for next week in Cairns, a trip with Taka Dive. 5 days and 4 nights on a boat heading out to Osprey Reef, to feed some sharks. Should make some good footage?!

May have time for a quick post tomorrow before we leave, if not... see you on the next post!

OZ Day 23 Camper

Woke up in the bush, and drove to Rubyvale, an even smaller town a few km up the road.

Here we did an underground mine tour showing where they mine and process the sapphires, after which we had another go at fossicking. This time we didn't have much luck. So we headed back to the coast. Pretty uneventful really, just a straight road for hours and hours and hours!

Now camped at a town called Mackay, nothing here to speak of, just a pit stop on our way to Airlee Beach tomorrow.!

Sorry for the lack of photos, but the little blog camera has memory card holder is screwed, and we can't transfer the photos... bugger... guess we shall have to switch to the big boy camera for blog pics.

Total distance travelled in OZ so far.... 4500kms...


SD

OZ Day 22 Camper

Today, we hit the road West into outback. After 4 hours we reached our destination of Sapphire. We then went fossicking for the little gems, and after 3 hours of scraping through dirt, washing rocks, and generally not knowing what to look for, we managed to bag a couple of the beauties!

Jens is the larger one in the pic. It weighs 4.68 carats, and is a green sapphire. NICE!!! I wonder what it will look like when we get it cleaned and cut back home...

So, tonight we are camped in the middle of nowhere, ready for another warm day tomorrow...

SD

OZ Day 21 Camper

Another day, and after the rain while we were sleeping, it turned out to be a nice sunny day.

We set off to a place called Mount Hay Gem Park, which was in the middle of nowhere. Here they allow you to mine "Thundereggs". Thundereggs are formed out of lava pushing gas into rocks, and then over thousands of years the holes are filled with other minerals. On the outside they look like a normal rock, but as you can see by the pics, when you cut them open, you get some very pretty sights.

So, after mining for a couple of hours, we set off to another campsite, where we are chilling, before heading inland a few hours to a place called Sapphire. Guess what you can mine there! So, we are going to spend the day doing that and see what we can find!

SD

OZ Day 20 Camper

Today, we woke up early and had a game of tennis (which Jen won!) before making breakfast and setting off.

We headed 3 hours further North to a small town called Agnes Waters. This town is the last of the surfing beaches in Queensland, so we hired a couple of bodyboards and zoomed into the sea. The waves were ENORMOUS! We were getting battered by the breaking surf, and at first it was a bit too much for Jen... the waves hold you down for a while, it is like a washing machine when you get caught underwater.

Jen pushed on, and after an hour or so, she caught her first wave.... big beaming smile!

At one point, I was a bit too far from shore, and had to really work hard to get back in... the power of the ocean is humbling sometimes.

After nearly 3 hours, we were drained, so got changed and drove a few kms down the road to a town called 1770 (weird name or what?). We are parked at a camp by a beach, and will be setting off again in the morning.

Oz Day 18 +19 - 4x4 Fraser Island Special

Fraser Island Report.

So we woke up yesterday at the crack of dawn, and got our kit ready. We then parked up the caravan, and loaded up our 4 wheel drive Toyota before heading to the ferry to get across to the island.

10 minutes later and we had arrived at Fraser Island, where we departed the ferry onto the beach and proceeded to drive up 75 mile beach (it really is 75 miles). What a strange experience! Driving along at 50 miles an hour with small dunes, freshwater inlets and rocks to avoid was disconcerting but man... what fun!!!..

Once we arrived at the end of the beach, we could go no further, and walked up to Indian Head.... a viewpoint of the island, where we looked out into the sea, and saw a couple of whales migrating past! Awesome!!

Time was closing in, as the tide was rising so we left Indian Head and drove back down the beach about 30km, reaching the SS Maheno.... a cruise liner, turned into a hospital ship in World War 1 and then finally scrapped and sold to Japan, but a cyclone pushed it ashore during the tow to Japan in 1935. Very impressive to see the remains, but the 3 other levels that are now below the sand would have been even more impressive.

Tide was coming up fast, so we zoomed down the beach and found an inland road (if thats what you would call it!) and travelled into the centre of the island which is covered in rainforest. We pitched our tent just before the heavens opened and snugged up for the night (whilst sipping a few beers).

Waking early this morning, I put the kettle on and then the sun came out! (Nice!). We packed up our tent and drove through the rainforest to Lake Mackensie.... a freshwater lake in the centre of the island. We had a nice (but FREEZING!) swim in the lake which has a lower PH level than normal making your skin and hair shine and your jewellery sparkling!

Once we had finished our swim, we ventured South of the island, and through some bush, before ending up at another Lake where some wild dingoes were hanging around. These dingoes are to be respected as they are apparently very aggressive, being the purest dingoes in the world. Also, having killed a boy in 2001, there are severe fines for leaving food, or enticing them in any way. Typical me, I jumped out with the camera to get some footage of them, and to my surprise they seemed quite timid.. not that I would trust them!.

Dingo filming over, we jumped back on to the main highway (the beach!) and headed back down to the ferry back to the mainland to return our very different looking jeep (caked in the sh@t that we had driven through).

Anyway, 4x4 returned, camper back... and looking forward to a comfy sleep!

More tomorrow.!

SD

Oz Day 17 Camper

Uneventful day.... It was showery weather today, and we drove a couple of hours North to Rainbow Beach. The reason for this is we have decided to abandon the camper for a day or 2.

We have organised a 4WD vehicle which we shall pick up at dawn tomorrow, and ferry across to Fraser Island. Then we plan to drive the 4WD all the way up the East side of the island. 75 miles along the beach.... as long as the tide is out!!

At the top of the island there is a place where we may be able to spot whales and dolphins etc. then we shall head into the rainforest area where we shall camp our tent for the night. Watching out for aggressive dingoes and estuary crocodiles, plus no swimming in the ocean cos of sharks and rip currents, it could be quite an adventure!

Due to the location of the island and the nature of the trip, we shall be out of contact for the next 2 days and hence no blog posts. So please don't worry and we shall make it up to you when we get back with an extra special Fraser Island Report..!

Early to bed now!

Night Night!

SD

OZ Day 16 Camper

We both woke up a bit sore from yesterdays monkey climbing session, so decided to give the rock climbing a miss, and shot straight through Brisbane, arriving at Australia Zoo (the late Steve Irwin's home) where Jen (see photo) got some directions from Kenny the Kangaroo, while I had a kip with the ladies..!

We both agreed it was a very well maintained zoo with a big focus on conservation... a great legacy that Steve Irwin has left behind.

Anyway, an afternoon there, and it was off back to the coast where we are camped at a small place near Noosa Heads. Waiting for the morning to see what the weather brings before deciding on our next destination...

SD

OZ Day 15 Camper

Today, saw us leave Surfers faster than the wind could carry us. We headed West in to the Gold Coast Hinterland, and up to a mountain called Tambourine, where we messed around on a treetop adventure park for a few hours.. Lovely and sunny, and good fun (see vids).

After that it was time to shoot back down the mountain and we found a caravan site 25km South of Brisbane. Managed to play a couple of sets of tennis before light darkened... Its winter here so the sunset is about 17:30...

Now we are going to chill in the caravan for the evening before searching Brisbane for something to do tomorrow. Jen has read about some rock climbing on some pink(?) cliffs, so if can find that we may get some climbing action in! Yeah!

OZ Day 15 Camper

Today, we rose to a cloudy dismal day at Byron Bay and headed to Warner Movie Studio Theme Park..

It was fun doing the rides such as the Batman SlingShot and the SuperMan Escapes ... the live Stunt Driver show was also pretty cool, with cars doing skids and wheelie etc.

Then we motored to Surfer's Paradise. I have to point out now that whoever named this placed was either taking the mickey or needs to be shot! Think of Birmingham with all its high rises and plonk it next to a beach. Thats Surfers Paradise, and we shall be straight off in the morning to places with a bit more culture and a bit less concrete.!

SD

OZ Day 14 Camper

Another sunny day to wake up to..! And greeting us outside our camper were 4 kangaroos!

We headed out of the campsite and down the road to visit "The Big Banana"... cheesey or what! (or should I say bananery!!) Then we hit the road for a couple of hours before stopping at a small town called Lennox Head. Jen made a lovely lunch, and we got off the beaten track to visit a waterfall called Killen Falls. It was a bit of a trek over quite difficult terrain, but it made it worthwhile. We even managed to walk behind the falls in a small inlet... very nice.

Just down the road from the waterfall, was Byron Bay.. named after the grandfather of the Poet Lord Byron (apparently!?)

We are now camped, and may venture out for a few bevvies! Next stop tomorrow is Surfers Paradise.

SD

OZ Day 12 + 13 Camper

Well good news!

Jen took her 4 hour exam yesterday for the final Instructor qualification, and SHE PASSED!!!!

Once all the paperwork is sorted she will be a bonafide genuine Instructor. She has earned it through some hard grafting, studying for 3 hours every single day for the last month.... I for one will not miss going through her mock exams every night... (and the occasional discussion over correct answers).

It was tough, but we have achieved what we came to do. Now.... who wants to learn how to Scuba Dive??? Anyone?

After sleeping off the stress headaches, we upsticks and drove 650km North, stopping only for fuel and to see a tower that locals call "The Big Willy"..

We have ended up at Coffs Harbour, home of the Big Banana! Cheesiest tourist attraction ever! Tomorrow we head 4 hours (ish) North to Surfers Paradise....

SD

OZ Day 11 Camper

Today, we went diving again!! For the 1st time in nearly 4 weeks.... how lovely...

The conditions were a bit different from what we have been used to... Temperature was 14 degrees instead of our usual 30 degree... As you can see from the pics, we were well wrapped up!

This was an unusual dive, since it was in an aquarium! I can hardly call it a dive, since we were just weighed down so we could waddle along the floor... the footage shown is all we could get since I was not given permission to film... Gits!

Good fun though.... !

OZ Day 10 Camper

Today, we headed back into Sydney for a whale watching trip.

It was so choppy that I was unable to film due to the waves splashing over us. It was also very choppy and there was a shedload of pukers onboard!

Anyway, 4 hours of choppy water and pukers, and we saw some whales... Not super spectacular (cos I wasn't diving with them!) but nice.

One whale breached the water, just like the example photo above... That was pretty cool.

Then we returned to a camper for more study...