Fraser Island, Brisbane, Byron Bay, Sydney!

Have got free internet access for a while now so can write a proper entry. Will start with Fraser Island, although the pictures sum up quite well what we got up to! On our first morning in Hervey Bay, we got up early to meet at 6:45am where we were put into our group of 10. With us 4 were 2 Canadians just out of high school, 2 older Dutch girls, a girl our age from Ipswich and a guy from NW London who Ashling soon realised knows a lot of people she used to go to school with! Small world. We all jumped into our 4x4 and hopped on the ferry over to the island. There are no roads, you drive on the sand so it is pretty bumpy at the back. Our first stop off on the way to camp was at a freshwater lake, finally free to swim about without tight lycra suits as there are no crocs or jellyfish in them. We then drove directly on the beach with the tide coming up on our side and drove for an hour to reach our camp. We set up the tents and got the bbq going for a really good meal. Everyone chipped in with the cooking and washing up apart from Mel (shes reading this over my shoulder). That evening we strolled onto the beach and the stars were amazing. Have never seen stars like that before, would love to have taken some pictures but really could have done with a telescope for that. On day two we drove to Indian Head where there are stunning views of the island and then found the champagne pools. This is a natural formation where the waves crash against the rocks and create a bubbly foam on the water, in a giant rock pool. We lazed about there for a few hours before the tides forced us back to camp. After a stroll on the beach with Ashling we cooked our pasta and minced meat. Went down very well, I take credit for all the food as I did the shopping for it all with one of the Canadian guys. That evening one of the other groups got their ipod speakers out and everyone had a dance on the picnic benches and the party continued onto the beach. We saw shooting stars and also this strange phosphorescent plankton stuff in the sand, basically glow in the dark sparkles when you brush your feet on the sand. Mel discovered it while competing in a wheel barrow race. Our final day took us to Lake Mackenzie, another freshwater lake which was really great fun. More crystal clear water and white sand to enjoy. We drove back to our hostel and spent the evening with the Fraser Island gang in the bar.

The next two days we spent in Brisbane after a six hour coach ride further south on 21st. That afternoon we strolled around the city taking in the markets and china town. Our hostel was above a English pub and we slept in a huge room with 11 bunk beds! Had a great night, ate a huge Chinese meal and then went out to a few bars to celebrate Sara's birthday. The next day we woke Sara up with a birthday cake and candles in our hands and got a picnic together for later that afternoon. Ashling and I checked out the museum and learnt about Torres Straight Islanders and Aborigines while Sara and Mel had a look around the art galleries. We found a really nice park overlooking the river and spent all afternoon there, ending the evening with a ride on the big wheel, showing us Brisbane at night. Was a very brief visit but enjoyed being in a city again.

Another trip on the greyhound early the next morning took us to Byron Bay. It is a typical Australian beach town with tacky shops and surfers everywhere, had a really great vibe about it. We walked around town and decided we should head straight to the beach! Our hostel had free bodyboard hire so we grabbed a couple and hit the waves. It was so much fun, I had never realised how much of a thrill you can get on the waves without having to surf. Ashling and I caught some quite big waves and they take you towards the beach and quite some speed! That evening we headed out to the main backpackers bar in town called Cheeky Monkeys and had a huge Thai curry for $5 including drinks. They do look after travellers out here! The next morning we lazed about in hammocks in our hostel's garden and then hired some bicycles (free again!). We followed a route up to Cape Byron, the most easterly point on mainland Australia, where there is a lighthouse and amazing views. The cycle was pretty tough in the heat, and it was uphill the whole way. We had to get off and push our bikes up the last few bends as they had no gears so once we stopped, it took too much effort to get going again! It was worth it though, was great walking around up there, took lots of photos. Sara didn't make it as she couldn't touch the ground from her bike! After a quick shower back at the hostel we had dinner at Cheeky Monkeys again ($2 this time!) and rushed over to the bus station.

Our final greyhound bus departed from Byron Bay at 9pm and travelled through the night, arriving in Sydney at 11am. We have now travelled 2720km from Cairns to Sydney, this picture puts that distance into perspective: http://www.electricscotland.com/australia/australia_europe.jpg, it just shows how huge this country is and how little of it I have actually seen! We only have 4 days in Sydney so we decided to get stuck in straight away. Our hostel is in Kings Cross (all the names of places over here are taken from England!) and is a 30min stroll from the centre of the city. We wandered around taking in the sights and shops of Sydney harbour bridge, Darling Harbour and ended at the Sydney Opera House for sunset as we thought it would be fun to see then. We were waiting for Liam (the 5th traveller of the group) so had a look inside to see what was showing. The next thing we knew, we were sitting in $250 dollar seats for Madame Butterfly (opera) which we paid $55 dollars for minutes before it started! We thought it was too good an opportunity to miss and the three of us that went really enjoyed it. None of us had seen an opera before and had to get used to craning our necks up to see the surtitles but it was very easy to watch and was only a couple of hours long. The set was pretty amazing too with sliding Japanese blinds and the main stage surrounded by water, and big star curtains and flowers dropping from the ceiling. Not sure I would go to another opera but not many people can see they have seen an opera in the Sydney opera house eh!? Today we finally met up with Liam after ditching him last night and he showed us around the places we hadn't discovered (he has been in Sydney for a couple of weeks by himself). We visited a cathedral, the botanical gardens, and saw the Queen Mary 2 boat docked (from Southampton). Ashling and I then caught a bus over to Bondi beach and we fell asleep on the sand watching the surfers and trainee lifeguards. Apparently the thing to do hear is have fish and chips, so we did! All day we had been deciding whether to go to the cinema or not as we really wanted to see Slumdog Millionaire and just as we were about to leave Bondi we saw a sign about an outdoor cinema, which just so happened to be showing that film tonight only! It was cheaper than the cinema and was fun watching it wrapped up in Ashling's sarong with the stars above us. Really enjoyed the film too. Tomorrow we are off to Taronga zoo to see some kangaroos and koalas and then we are going to meet up with Megan from uni (Ben lived with her in 1st year) who is living in Sydney now. Sorry for the long post, really hate having to pay for the internet so have been saving it up for when its free!

Fraser Island

Here are a few pictures of our trip to Fraser Island. Had a really great time and met a lot of cool people. We saw a dingo, stopped off at a shipwreck (an old japanese boat), swam in beatuiful crystal clear fresh water lakes (safe from cros and jellyfish for a change!!), had bbq's, had parties on the beach and saw amazing stars. Will give a full update soon! By the way Hayley we think it was a reef shark we saw, quite big but doesnt like eating people!

Back on Dry Land!

Since my last entry we got on the greyhound bus to take us overnight to airlie beach. At about 7am there was a bang and sparks rushed past our feet. The drivers microphone had shorted the electrics on the bus (leaving a nice burn shirt sleeve for him!) and cutting out the air-con. They had to stop as the heat was unbearable but they couldnt work out how to sort the problem so we strolled around the small town of Ayre, fortunately there was a Subway open so we had a nice breakfast! After a couple of hours the driver informed us that the roads had continued to get worse from the flooding and it would be unlikely we would get further south that day, still another 4hrs away from Airlie. But as always, it sorted itself out and we were back on the road within half an hour. Airlie beach is full of backpackers, all booked in to go out sailing so we fit in quite well. We boarded the boat the next morning and headed out into the ocean. It was an ex-racing maxi yacht called Broomstick for those interested in sailing boats! We helped lift the sails and had amazing weather with a strong breeze so were travelling at quite some speed. There were 26 of us staying on the boat, got on well with them all. Our first stop was in open water where we had a snorkle, was nothing compared to what we saw in Cairns but still good fun. Had great food on the boat, the crew cooked and washed up for us, was treated really well. On the first day, just as we were heading back in from our snorkel, a big fish jumped straight onto the boat and down below deck. It injured its fin so they decided to cook it! Was the freshest fish i have ever had, they were not entirely sure what it was though. Bed time was not quite as enjoyable, it was unbearably hot below deck on our little bunks and those that did sleep on deck soon came running inside when a storm hit us so we stayed inside both nights. The next day we jumped into the speed boat and landed at Whitehaven Beach on Hook Island, really stunning. The sand is extremely soft (something like 97% silicon) and was used by NASA to build the hubble space telescope. Had a great morning there swimming in the ocean, again in our lycra suits, and walking around on the sand. Later that afternoon we went for another snorkel, didnt see much at all and everybody else had got out the water but Ashling and I stayed a bit longer and found really nice coral, bright green and purple/yellow. In the evening we used a torch to look out into the water and saw a shark which everyone was very excited about, was probably about 3 or 4 feet long. The stars were amazing too, very relaxing lazing about on the deck at night looking up into the sky. We headed back to the mainland the next morning, not before spotting a couple of dolphins jumping out of the water, and stayed by the lagoon all day. We really love the lagoons, you are still right by the beach but can enjoy swimming without getting sand everywhere or worrying about jellyfish and crocodiles! A canadian girl travelling alone spent the day with us and we went out for dinner at a greek place before jumping on another night bus to take us to Hervey Bay. It started to rain heavily again and the bus was late but it did turn up and we watched Night in the Museum before sleeping. Arrived in Hervey Bay this morning and have just done some laundry, everything got pretty smelly on the boat from getting wet so often, my waterproof bag has got a lot of use though! Going to cook at our hostel tonight and we have an early start as we get taken over to Fraser Island with our 4x4. Will be camping on the beach with 8 others and have plenty of time to explore the island, people we have spoken to say it was better than the time they spent out at sea. It is great meeting so many people who are doing the same as us or or the opposite, its been great sharing stories and getting/giving advice. I think I have covered everything, finally able to upload some photos so here are a few. Ashling says hi to everyone.

Cape Tribulation

Have spent the past 3 days in the rainforest, living in a wooden hut right on the edge of the Daintree rainforest and Cape Tribulation beach. Has been an interesting experience! Because it has been raining so much, all of the spiders decided to take shelter in the leaves in our resort and these are BIG spiders. They were literally hanging off of every leaf and in all of the corners and some were as big my hand. Mel named one of them geoffrey, he hung around for a few days along with sticky the stick insect who lived on the hand rail near our room. The first day we stopped off on a river cruise and saw a tiny croc then had a guided walk through the rainforest, more spiders! The humidity was much greater than in Cairns, so that afternoon we had a long nap ready for our meal. They were serving kangaroo on the menu so i thought i had to give it a go! It was really tasty, like beef but softer, i really enjoyed it. The chef brought it over to the table and said "so whose having skippy!!"After that evening, Sara decided she had enough of the spiders and insects so got herself on the next bus back to Cairns. Ashling, Mel and I headed out on a 9k walk stopping off at various hotspots, ending at an amazing swimming hole. It was so refreshing getting in that water, me and Ashling got in using the rope swing off of the bank, had a really great time there. We also stopped off at a "bat house", sounded like fun. Ashling wisely decided not to pay the $4 entrance fee and waited outside while the guide lead Mel and I to one corner of the shed. There hanging was one single bat, he fed him a bit of banana and told us a bit about the bats and then sat back at his desk. It was not much of a bat house!! The walk back took us directly onto the beach, it was empty apart from the crabs. You cant go in the water up here at this time of year because of the crocs and jellyfish so we stuck to the sand! That night we decided to cook a huge pot of pasta but just as we had the gas lit, the whole place had a power cut. Could not see my hand in front of my face, and remember there are spiders hanging everywhere. We waited in the kitchen because there was a bit of light from the hob but we didnt have a torch on us so just had to wait around for about 15mins until it was sorted! Today we lazed by the pool before we were picked up and taken out from the rainforest back towards Cairns. Because of all the flooding, our only option was to travel further north because the major roads southbound from Cairns have all been closed, should be fine to travel tonight though. We dropped our bags off at the hostel we have been staying at, they know us all so were happy for us to hang out here which is great. Went for dinner at a local bar and had a dip in the beach-side lagoon while watching the bats fly over us. Off to catch the bus now, next stop is Airlie beach where we stay for one night before our sailing trip, i will be sure to take some travel sickness pills this time!

The Great Barrier Reef!

Yesterday was our trip out to the great barrier reef. It was an early start at the boat for 7:30 and we travelled for a couple of hours out into the ocean. It was a bit choppy on the way out and I got sea sick and just could not shift it. Tried all the tricks, watching the horizon and moving with the boat and everything. We eventually dropped the anchor out in the open water and got dressed into our one-piece lycra stinger suits, very attractive. I had put my name down to try out scuba diving, but they did that straight away and i needed some more time for my stomach to settle! We got in the water and it was perfectly calm and there were fish everywhere, mainly small ones in this part of the ocean. I swam about with ashling and mel and these tiny yellow fish followed us around everywhere coming right up into our faces and around our hands. Then we got back on board and they served a big buffet lunch. I was still feeling queezy so just had some fruit, bit annoying i missed out on the seafood! Then we travelled a lit bit further out to a sand island inhabited by hundreds of birds. A smaller boat transferred us all directly onto the island but here there were much bigger waves so it was quite hard getting into the water with the flippers on, had to walk backwards to stop getting knocked over. The reef was amazing at this part and there were much larger fish. At one point Ashing and I were swimming near out boat and they were throwing dead fish our way and these huge fish were coming straight at us, quite scary but fun. Mel saw a turtle but couldnt find us to show us and sara saw a shark. Still felt pretty rough on the way back and hadnt eaten much all day so we took full advantage of the meal vouchers our hostel gives us! Having a lazy day today, going to get some food now!

First Weekend

Not got long on here again so just a quick update! Today we walked into town, literally a 10min walk from everything and its a kind of beachy town with lots of shops and restaurants. We have booked to go snorkelling tomorrow on the great barrier reef which will be amazing. Then we booked a package for about 380 pounds which is incredible. Its a tour up in the rainforest for a few nights then driving down south and jumping on a big sailing boat which we sleep on (and can help to operate to) for 3 nights. Then go a bit further south and get another boat to fraser island where we are given a 4x4 to just exlpore the place, camping on the island for a few nights. Then back to mainland down to the gold coast with surfers paradise and brisbane before heading down to sydney where we will spend our last 4 days or so in Oz.

There has been lots of flooding in the area recently which just started to clear up but tonight it has just poured for the last couple of hours and the streets are like rivers. There are people swimming in the gutters and on their body boards riding on the roads. Its a really good atmosphere, everyone is out in the rain! Photos soon.

I made it!

Have only got a few minutes so just a quick update. The flights were all fine, went very quickly. Spent a night sleeping on the floor outside the airport as the terminal was shut, but made friends with an irish traveller which made it a bit more bearable! Arrived in Cairns a little bit later than planned and bumped into a familar face at arrivals, think i might stick around with her for a while! The girls booked an amazing hostel for us, the manager (bare-footed) picked us up from the airport and tonight we had an all you can eat bbq for $4 (2quid) which was great. I slept most of the afternoon as i havent had much sleep for the past couple of days. There is a lot of flooding up in this part of the country, its raining loads but its nice to have because its so humid. The cyclones that were about have moved on so it should all start clearing in the next few days. Are planning a snorkelling/ boat /rainforest / cable car trip for a few days, cant wait to get stuck in! So now it is 11:45pm and we are going to head back outside, having a history lesson from an australian bloke while all the tourists are out the front getting drunk on cheap wine!

I'm Ready!

Here are my bags packed and ready to go. The main backpack is very heavy, I think the built-in wheels will be getting a lot of use! I have an early start tomorrow as we are getting the tube to the airport to avoid any icy roads and traffic. Mum and Dad are both coming with me. It hasn't properly sunk in yet that I am going, although I'm sure it will when we arrive at the airport. I have had a look online and there are lots of good films showing on my flight to keep me entertained when I am not sleeping, which I plan on doing as much as possible! I arrive in Sydney Thursday evening (local time) and the next morning catch a quick flight to take me up to Cairns in Queensland where the journey begins...