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.