The Great Ocean Road
Loch Ard Gorge – incredible!
The best way to experience the Great Ocean Road, so we’d heard, was to hire a car – so that’s what we did!
I think Olly had visions of hiring a Ferrari or Porsche and so was slightly disappointed to hear that we were ‘on a budget’ and couldn’t quite stretch that far. We did manage to hire a nice big shiny automatic car though, which suited us just fine.
We picked up the car in central Melbourne and the first big task was to maneuver it out of the multi-storey car park it was parked in and negotiate Melbourne city centre traffic at rush hour, whilst avoiding the crazy turn left to turn right tram ways, with a GPS unit that was built in the stone age. Naturally, I was nervous, driving somewhere new is always scary. A consequence of this was that I became the worst backseat driver, thankfully Olly, the actual driver (there was no way I was driving let alone parking that beast on roads I’d never driven on before) was calm as can be, a real pro, even when our GPS unit started blurting out ‘U turn when necessary’ as it showed us rocketing through fields. Clearly these roads hadn’t been built back in 1990 when the GPS was made.
About an hour out of Melbourne we hit the Great Ocean Road. A windy, weaving piece of tarmac that runs along the southern coast line, it’s like something from the movies. Breathtaking views reveal themselves with every twist and turn of the corner. Olly loved it, especially when he realised that the car had a special sport mode – we were zooming along. I have to say I was quite relieved at points when ‘captain slow’ pulled out in front of us, slowing us down by some considerable speed, it gave my stomach a rest for a brief moment.
Along the road there are a number of places to stop off for pictures, walks along the beach, or a cup of coffee and a piece of chocolate mud cake (naturally we participated in all of the above). Many of the beaches have very few people on them so it really feels like you have discovered the beach, making the whole experience that much more rewarding.
The pinnacle of the Great Ocean Road is the Twelve Apostles, twelve giant sandstone pillars towering majestically out of the sea. We’d seen pictures, but to see them in real life was something else. They rise up out of the sea like enormous columns, especially when you see them from the bottom of the Gibson Steps, just down the road. Our highlight, however, was the Loch Ard Gorge. After a quick walk down the steps to the beach you can find yourself completely cut off from the world. We were lucky in that we managed to arrive in between the coach parties so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. It feels like the kind of place they might have filmed The Beach, had it only been set in Australia.
The only thing that marred the experience was the abundance of flies, which unlike te flies back home, like to land on your face and munch on the salt from your sweat – lovely! They are very persistent and can’t be budged, you have no choice but to spend the whole time waving your hands about your head.
After stopping for a delicious dinner, we set off back to Melbourne at about 8pm. The quickest way back was to take he highway, I thought it would be a giant road with lanes and lanes of traffic, but no, as the sun set we drove along the straightest roads I have ever seen, through beautiful forests and farmland, for at least the first hour we saw absolutely no traffic at all, it was like we owned the road.
For anyone contemplating whether to do a coach tour or drive the Great Ocean Road themselves, I’d say go for the car. That way you’re in control of where you go and where you stop and if you have a wannabe racing driver to drive the car like Olly, they will have the time of their lives (if you’re a passenger though you may want to take some travel sickness tablets, especially if you’ve been out drinking the night before, like I had).
Everybody needs good neighbours
Outside the Bishops house
Although I havn’t seen an episode of Neighbours since uni I was desperate to see what Ramsay Street looked like in the flesh. Astonishingly, Olly had never even seen an episode of Neighbours before, I was shocked! Thankfully he agreed to come along to see the street that I grew up watching. As the tour started it became increasingly clear that most people on the tour had fallen a bit out of touch with the show as well. In contrast, our tour guide seemed to be a Neighbours genius, he talked at us for hours about this character and that, their comings and goings, affairs and deaths, and often seemed a bit put out when we didn’t share his enthusiasm for the show.
When we got to Pin Oak Court, otherwise known as Ramsay Street, it was quite a shock. It’s much smaller than it appears on screen, but most surprisingly of all, it’s a real street, real people live there! Amazing!! I want to buy a house there, I thought. How cool having your house on TV! It soon emerged that it wasn’t perhaps as cool as we’d first imagined, the street is closed for filming during the week which means access to the houses is limited. What’s more, the residents have had to employ 24 hour security due to a recent spate of drunken tourists knocking on the doors inquiring as to the whereabouts of Madge and Harold Bishop! We were allowed to have a mosey around the street and have the obligatory photo with the Ramsay Street sign, which I have to say, I loved. Even Olly said it may inspire him to perhaps watch an episode when we get back, if only so he can say ‘I’ve been there!’.
During the second half of the tour we were taken to ‘meet the star’. With visions of pulling up to a swanky hotel and shaking the hand of the legend that is Harold Bishop, you can imagine my disappointment when the bus pulled up on the side of the road outside a closed theatre and announced that we would be meeting Dylan Timins, who???!!! The bus went silent, I don’t think anyone was that impressed (maybe if we’d watched it recently we would have known who Dylan was). Anyway, I must say, Damien (his real name) made the day for me, he sprinted onto the bus and welcomed everyone with open arms. He had charm, he had charisma, within seconds all the women on the bus were transfixed. How could we have not known who Dylan was, he is so lovely! We chatted to him for a few minutes afterwards and had some photos taken, one of which he got me to climb on his and Olly’s back to make a pyramid (yes, I got to kneel on Dylan Timins back girls!!)
Overall the trip was short and was effectively a bus ride to a street called Pin Oak Court followed by a meet up on the side of a road with a star I’d never heard of. It did turn out to be a lot of fun though. I was ’stoked’ to have been to Ramsay Street!
Marvelous Melbourne
Soaking up the culture in Melbourne
Melbourne is fantastic. A funky city with a European vibe and a cafe culture to die for. We booked to stay in Melbourne for 5 nights and ended up staying for 10, that was how good it was.
We stayed in a fantastic hostel called ‘Vic Hall’ right in the centre of town, it was a newly opened flashpackers, with widescreen TV and aircon in our room it was more like staying in a hotel than a hostel. It even had a gym and cinema room, although we hardly had time to use them, we were too busy soaking up everything this glorious city had to offer.
Brunswick Street was our favourite place to be and we had planning to do, so we packed the laptop and set up camp in one of the many funky dining halls. With local beer and wine on tap, we were only to happy to ‘plan’ for most of the afternoon! A tip off from the receptionist at our hostel led us to DeGraves Street, a wonderful little lane, crammed with cafes selling pitta bread overflowing with delicious fillings. We made ourselves at home in one one Saturday afternoon and sipped ice coffee whilst watching a string quartet play jazz, what a life! And we didn’t stop there, one of my favourite evenings was spent on Smith Street, in the same area as funky Brunswick street. We wandered one evening into a cafe called Bebida in which a band were playing 1930’s French folk music, we could have been in France. We sat on a table next to the mother of the lead singer and learnt about the band whilst sipping on fine wine.
A friend had recommended that whilst we were in Melbourne we should make a trip to Philip Island to watch the penguins come in from the sea at night, so we did! We booked a tour with Go West, and all in all, it was s great day. As Philip Island was quite a drive out of Melbourne the bus made many stops along the way. Whilst entry to the chocolate museum and Australian garden was included in the tour price they were more like time fillers than anything else. By the time evening came and we reached the beach I was tired and my expectations were quite low – I was not disappointed though, it turned out to be one of the most magical experiences of the trip so far.
The beach was set up with viewing platforms, tourists packed to the rafters, bum to bum, all trying to get a better view. As night time fell, our eyes stared, fixated on the sea.
The penguins leave their nests on the shore in the morning, an hour before sunrise and they return just before night. At the end of a hard days fishing the penguins group together out at sea, waiting for the sun to go down. One penguin, the lead, takes it upon themselves to swim to shore to check the coast is clear, once this is established, he will go back and get the rest of the group and bring them ashore.
Sure enough, as we stared, the first penguin swam in, it took about five minutes of swimming back and forth before suddenly, seven penguins emerged and made themselves known. Carefully, they made their way out of the sea and began their mammoth journey accross the beach and back to their nests. It was absolutely amazing. All along the beach groups of penguins were emerging, I have no idea how they orchestrated it, but each of the penguins in the groups looked after each other, occasionally one penguin would lose his nerve, turn and run back to the safety of the water, sometimes causing a mass retreat. There they would have to build up their courage before making another assault on the beach, so sweet.
Once all the penguins were in, we walked along the broadwalk amongst the nests. Outside the nests chicks were standing, calling for their parents, waiting to be fed. My favourite sight was two penguins, I assume a mother and father, standing side by side outside their nest, watching the other groups waddle by, it looked so romantic. Unfortunately no photos were allowed so we don’t have any images of the cute six inch high birdies waddling home after a hard days fishing, but I have the memories, and they are fantastic.
For anyone going to Australia on holiday, I would say, don’t be put off by the distance from Sydney to Melbourne, grab a cheap flight from Jetstar and get yourself down there. Its a fantastic city with an incredible amount to offer. If you like food, art, and live music, you’ll love it!
The Blue Mountains
The Three Sisters rock formation
I didn’t really have any expectations of the Blue Mountains, I’d heard that they were doable by day trip from Sydney, but Olly and I had three days and we couldn’t afford to spend them in Sydney so we headed for the hills.
What a fantastic surprise! When we arrived in the pouring rain and checked into our six person dorm in our hostel I must say I was not in a great mood. I’d been given a bed above a Scottish guy who spent his days watching Ali G on his laptop, his evenings drinking and his nights farting, literally like a fog horn, in his sleep, so loud that they woke me up, twice! Olly was luckier than me, the guy below him didn’t say much but had a tendency to jump up in the middle of the night and proceed to search for things with his torch, I’d love to know what he was looking for. Luckily the girl opposite us slept so deeply that she missed all of this, instead she added to the nights entertainment by screaming out in her sleep ‘no!’ and then breathing unusually loudly. Honestly, you could have sold tickets.
The weather proceeded to be dreary for the next day, thankfully Olly and I had forked out quite a lot of dosh for new rain jackets before we came out here so we were grateful for the opportunity to wear them. Unfortunately, despite being bought separately, they are exactly the same, so when they are worn we look like one of those couples who match all their clothes. This doesn’t bother me so much but I think Olly is concerned it’s damaged his street cred a bit.
We set out from Katoomba, where we were staying, to Echo Point, where we could get a fantastic view of the majestic ‘Three Sisters’ standing proud above the valley, or that’s what we thought! As we approached the lookout point there was literally nothing to see, an impenetrable mist laid over the valley and all we could see was white fog, a rather eerie view, it felt like the setting for the next Avatar movie.
We decided to embark on one of the many walks on offer through the mountains, one which took us to the Worlds steepest railway, as we walked deeper into the trees the mist started to clear and gradually the breathtaking scenery was unveiled. It was truly beautiful.
We reached the railway and after a few moments of fearful hesitation, decided to give it a go. If the three year old in the queue in front of me can do it, surely I have the guts to do it too?! Well, at 52 degrees, you almost plunge vertically (face down) down the mountain. No seat belt, I had to hold my hands out and cling onto the seat in front of me to keep me in. Thankfully, after four minutes we arrived at our destination and I was pleased to hear there was a cable car to take us back up, there was no way I was doing that again!
The next day the sky had cleared and the sun came out, we took the train to Blackheath and did a strenuous walk up and down the cliff top to Evans lookout. It certainty gave my walking boots a work out. The views were incredible.
New Year goes off with a bang
The New Year explodes into Sydney
OK, so it’s nearly February, but hey, we’ve been busy! Where else in the world would you want to be to welcome in the New Year than overlooking the fireworks above Sydney Harbour Bridge?
That’s what we thought too, every year we are treated to a glimpse of Sydney in celebrations whilst we shiver under layers of jumpers too cold to venture out and light a spark. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch the harbour go up in lights.
It took a military style planning meeting to decide where to go to watch the fireworks. Setting up camp in the local ‘Easy Internet’ cafe we embarked on a 2 hour discussion with Andy and Jules of the various viewing points (of which there were over 40!) and of which some had alcohol restrictions, some had transportation restrictions. We finally decided on the age old secret ballot method of ‘write your favourite location on a piece of paper and the most popular wins’.
We settled on Balmain. At the rear of the harbour bridge we wouldn’t be able to see the Opera House but we’d get an awesome view of the bridge. We would meet at 10am new years eve, in order to get the best spot possible, it was a date!
In order to prepare for our 14 hour day of waiting until midnight, Olly and I made a visit to the local supermarket for the most fun food shopping we’ve ever had. All budgets went out of the window, this was New Years Eve and we were going to treat ourselves. We raided the deli counter and loaded up with chocolate, it took all our will power not to tuck into the food there and then.
The day came and there was a real buzz in the air, as early as 8 am we watched as people set off to their viewing spots loaded up with wine and food. We made it to Balmain at 11 am and were shocked at the amount of people already there, a lot of the good spots were already taken, luckily there was one left, right at the front of the harbour which looked out over the water to the Harbour Bridge, pretty special!
We had a fantastic day with Andy and Jules, playing cards, sipping wine and beer, eating hummus and chewing over the philosophies of life, time flew by. Before we knew it it was 9pm and the first set of fireworks went up–incredible!
The crowd grew larger and more alcohol fuelled, footballs were being thrown around, beer filled backpackers were diving naked into the water. A south American drum band set up camp next to us and drummed some fantastic beats, creating a great atmosphere as the riot squad marched through, making their presence known.
It had been a long wait, but as we stood there, now leaning up against the barrier, the anticipation grew enormously, checking our watches every minute, just 5 minutes to go! Suddenly the fireworks began, with no formal countdown it was difficult to fathom whether it was January 2010 or still December the previous year, hearing the crowds reaction though, it was obvious, this was it.
The fireworks were amazing, synchronised and spectacular, we were treated to 12 minutes of dancing night sky, we had no opportunity to wish each other a Happy New Year as we stared fixated at the sky letting out the continual and obligatory ‘oooohs’ and ‘aaaaahhhs’.
As the fireworks ended the four of us crossed arms and welcomed in the new year with our rendition of ‘Auld Lang Syne’. Welcome to 2010 everybody,
Happy New Year! It’s gonna be a good’un!
Christmas in Sydney
Christmas approaches in Sydney
It’s fair to say that I just had the best Christmas of my life, ever. In a bit of a dream, fresh from a night in a hostel and a two and half hour Greyhound ride Olly and I arrived in Sydney Central Station and headed straight for The Rocks. Little did we know, The Rocks, is THE place to be in Sydney, the further we ventured down George Street, the posher the buildings became. Finally we arrived at our hotel, yes, a hotel!! Loaded with food bags and backpacks we checked in, no key deposit was required and no linen was handed over, as happens in all good hosteling establishments. We were given our room key (card) and whooshed upstairs in the elevator for a rekkie of the room.
The first thing that struck me was the little card waiting for us on the bed entitled ‘pillow menu’, I’ve heard about these things, but I’ve never experienced one, incredible! We had our very own bathroom, no sharing with smelly backpackers for the next 5 days! We even had our own balcony. I had had word that my parents had landed so I ventured out of the room to seek them out. As I looked over the inner balcony in the hotel I saw them wander in, it was emotional! I ran along the corridor as they ran to the lift and we met with an enormous hug and few tears. Even though it’s been just three months since I’ve seen them, it feels like a lifetime, the amount that Olly and I have done, been through and experienced is incomprehensible and I wanted to tell them all about it! It was fantastic to see them again.
We headed over to Darling Harbour on Christmas Eve to watch Carols by Candlelight. In a rather funny set up, we watched the Christmas Tree light up with illuminated kangaroos, as a choir of 5 sang the old favourites such as ‘Skippy is coming to town’.. There was no candlelight to be seen, but as the sun set, the fireworks were set off. A fantastic menagerie of music and fireworks combined to amazing affect, if the firework display was anything to judge new year fireworks by, New Year is going to be amazing! We met our friends Jules and Andy and the six of us stood with mouths dropped whilst we watched the fireworks pop in sync to the Christmas tunes.
As is tradition, I woke up at 4am on Christmas morning. No presents, no snow, not even a chill in the air, it still felt like it was Christmas and Christmas is exciting, especially when your parents are visiting. After watching the traffic zoom over the Harbour Bridge and boats meander through the water around the Opera House, all from our rooftop pool, we headed for a walk around the Opera House and the Botanical Gardens. From circular Quay we caught the ferry to Darling Harbour, donned our santa hats and tucked into an Aussie Christmas dinner, delicious! We ended our Christmas dinner, as anyone would, with a trip around Sydney Aquarium. With tummies full of Christmas Turkey and wine, we watched as the sharks soared above our heads and sting rays floated by, I think they knew it was Christmas too. Unfortunately, the heavens did open on Christmas day and we saw the first rain since entering Australia one and a half months ago, it didn’t matter though, it didn’t matter one bit, Christmas day was magic.
Sozzled in the valley
Don't eat the grapes, they taste awful
Absolutely sozzled by 10am, that’s what happens to you on a wine tour! What a fantastic way to spend a day.
We booked a wine tasting tour from Newcastle, Newcastle Australia that is! Historically this is where the worst behaved convicts were sent, you can find it two hours north of Sydney. It’s a former steel town and also the biggest exporter of coal in the world. It has plenty of history, but to be honest we were drawn to it because of the easy access to the Hunter Valley and some of the best Shiraz and Semillon you have ever tasted!! I didn’t even know what they were until I did the tour, and in case you don’t either we’re talking wine here, bottles and bottles of lovely wine.
Tex was our guide, he picked us up bright and early at 9am and promised to take us to some of the best vineyards on offer. An amusing giant of 6′5″, he soon had us in stitches, this was going to be a good day. Neither of us had ever been wine tasting before, so we had no idea what to expect, but Tex instantly put us at ease.
As you enter the Hunter Valley you are presented with fields upon fields of grapes, all anticipating the carefully chosen moment that they will be picked and turned into fine alcoholic specimens. It wasn’t long before we arrived at our first vineyard, Lindemans, I actually felt a little bit nervous. Was I meant to spit the wine out? Do you sniff it? I’ve seen Oz Clarke spin his glass around to look at the colour, am I meant to do that? Argh! Thankfully, Lindemans were used to us novice wine tasters and they gave us all the help we needed. After 10 tasting of sparkling wine, white wine, red wine and port, I left the showroom and unsurprisingly, my worries had disappeared! I don’t think I’ve ever drunk so much wine so quickly. What a great marketing tactic: get your customers drunk and you’re sure to get a sale. The more we drunk the more we liked the wine, the more we wanted to buy, and the more ‘expert’ (we thought) we became. We learnt the difference between a Semillon and a Chardonnay, we tasted sweet sparkling red wine, white port and even chilli schnapps.
On top of the wine tastings a lot of the vineyards offer Cheese and mayonnaise tastings too. Anyone who knows Olly will understand his elation when we walked through the door and saw free cheese and mayonnaise. At home, Olly eats this strange combination with everything, pasta, sausages, chilli, anything! He was disappointed when he found out the cost of a jar of mayonnaise here though. At a whopping £8 a pop, our traveling budget just could not stretch that far, no matter how tasty it was!
As we rolled out of the final vineyard the gallons of free wine, food and Hunter Valley sunshine took it’s toll, as one by one we all fell asleep. A lovely end to the perfect day.
Port Macquarie
Maree, our guide... I think
Port Macquarie is a small town, holidayed by Australians with money. A great place to go if you enjoy walking or want to lose lots of weight walking, because walking is what you have to do if you want to get to anywhere! Most things are a good 40 minutes away from most other things, so if nothing else, if you choose to eat at one of the expensive restaurants here, at least you know you’ll have walked off the meal by the time you reach bed (not that we could afford to do such a thing on our teeny tiny traveling budget)
My highlight of Port (as they call it) was the Koala hospital, the only one of its kind in the whole world. Injured Koalas are bought here, checked in and given their own yard where they are lovingly cared for by volunteers who nurse them back to full health. Not sure what to expect and half expecting koalas to be laid up in hospital beds connected to the nearest drip with bandages across their heads and crutches by their sides, we were pleasantly surprised. We were shown around the hospital by Maree, the most enthusiastic volunteer I have ever met. A small woman of at least 60 years of age, she loved the koalas so much so that she almost looked like a koala herself. It was great to see the cuddly bears close up , and awake (they sleep for 20 hours a day). I was almost tempted to steal one and bring it traveling with us.
Coffs Harbour, more than just a big banana
Mutton Bird island
You come to Coffs Harbour to see the big banana, one of Australia’s many infamous ‘big things’ . After passing it on the Greyhound as we entered the town, we chose not to revisit it. I’m not sure what we expected from the big banana, other than just that, a big banana, but luckily we soon learned that there’s more to Coffs Harbor that a large yellow fruit.
One morning we hired a canoe and rowed up and down the creek, only seeing one other person we were completely alone (this would have been lovely had Olly not raised the question of whether there were any crocodiles lurking in the murky creek waters). Every log I saw floating along was to me a potential near death experience.
After canoeing we headed for the beach to do some body boarding. I have never been on such a windy beach, the dry sand flew all the way across the wet sand, it looked great but my god did it hurt the ankles. Olly spent the afternoon battling the waves whilst I found a sheltered part and watched the most incredible kite surfing ever, the kite was literally lifting the guy up into the sky, what a feeling!
On our final day at Coffs we did the walk up to Mutton Bird Island, a tiny Island with a look out point from which you get a great view of all the beaches around Coffs Harbour. The path runs right through the nests of thousands of mutton birds, luckily they weren’t home at the time. The view was stunning, a great end to a chilled out few days.
Anything but paradise
Surfers 'Paradise'
Everyone told us not to bother going to Surfers Paradise, or ‘Surfers’ as it is known by the locals, but did we listen? No! We went straight ahead and booked a night there, just one, so that we could experience it for ourselves.
Being my usual organised self, I had done quite a bit of research into where to stay. There were two hostels recommended in the lonely planet, one called The Islander which had an OK write up but said stay clear in December as it’s full of schoolies (17 year olds fresh out of school and on the alcohol). The hostel below was called Sleeping Inn, it had great reviews and what topped it off for me was that the hostel picks you up from the greyhound station in a White limo – classic!! We have to do it!
I started to get a little bit concerned when we turned up at the bus station and there was no white limo, don’t worry Olly, I said, they’ll be here to pick us up soon. Then I realised, looking back at the booking, I’d booked us into the wrong hostel, we now had a night in a 5 bed dorm room at the Islander, great! I felt terrible, Olly was not best impressed.
Off we trundled to our hostel (minus limo) and then to our room. When we opened the door the stench hit us first, it smelt like a teenage boys bedroom. we were confronted by two guys, both in their boxers, engrossed in watching American sitcoms on their laptop. They weren’t the friendliest, or most normal of people – I instantly wanted to check out, it’s only for one night I thought, we can do it.
In order to calm my nerves Olly took me for a romantic stroll along the beach. Beautiful white sand, stretching on for miles is towered over by enormous sky scrapers and crowded by endless bars and restaurants. It reminded me of a European holiday destination, a bit like Blackpool but with sun. I hated it.
Despite the surroundings we had a lovely stroll and topped the night off with drinks with our friends Andy and Jules in a small Irish pub not far from our hostel.
When midnight came it was time to head back to the room, it could not be avoided any longer. As we walked in, and settled ourselves into our beds, we noticed a used condom lying on the floor beside the bed, eugh! The guys in the room informed us the room hadn’t been cleaned in over 2 weeks. Our attention was drawn from the condom when we noticed the small circular brown creatures wandering out of the walls and towards our beds – bed bugs!!!!! Argh! I would have given anything to be able to leave right there and then. Olly killed as many as he could see and it was then that the longest night began, lying on the bed in the dark knowing the bed bugs were there and there was nothing we could do. I spent most of the night scratching my skin in deep paranoia.
You can imagine my relief at making it through the night and going straight to reception to check out. We didn’t have the best experience in Surfers and I know a lot of that is to do with the hostel, but I wouldn’t recommend it, what a dive!
Brisvegas
The 12 days of Christmas, apparently
We were so excited when we reached Brisbane (or Brisvegas as it’s known by the locals), our first proper city in Australia. As the Greyhound pulled in to the bus terminal we saw high rise buildings, sky scrapers… and people!… in suits!!
We liked Brisbane because it was cheap. Completing the Lonely Planet walking tour, we managed to have a day of activity and spend nothing at all. We caught the lift up to the town hall clock tower (largest in Australia – but tiny compared to Big Ben), took a boat across the river (for which we weren’t charged as we got on it and went the wrong way!), had a tour of the Parliament Building and saw jaw dropping modern art at GOMA (Gallery of Modern Art).
We even managed to catch a free showing of ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’, as interpreted by a local dance company. We had front row seats to a strange dramatisation of the well known carol, which included three rubber chickens posing as french hens, teenage mutant ninja turtle doves and a rather hairy partridge in a wooden pear tree. It was fun though and put us right in the Christmas spirit.
What better to top off our festive walk than a trip to the local brewery! We decided to venture down to the XXXX Brewery to see how it’s made, but mainly because you get four free beers after the tour. Whilst the route looked simple on the map, it so turned into an enormous trek down a four lane highway in 28 degree heat. We checked with our hostel whether they could book a tour for us but they assured us this was not necessary and we could just turn up. So after a grueling 45 minute hike, and a bit of searching for the entrance we discovered it was ‘closed for a function’, I think Olly almost passed out, the thought of free beer was all that had kept him going.
Quite a small and sadly not particularly beautiful city, Brisbane is covered in a couple of days. I’d recommend it as part of a tour up or down the East coast of Australia, just make sure that if you visit the brewery you check it’s open first!
Funky little Noosa
Kite boarding in Noosa
Hi, Olly here, Lau’s asked me to take the reigns for this one. Our next stop was the funky surf town know as Noosa. As it was our first stop without Tom for three weeks, we treated ourselves to a double room in what turned out to be a fantastic hostel, Noosa Backpackers.
Things now had to get a bit more real. We had massivily overspent whilst Tom was here, all in the name of a good time, but this had left our finances somewhat battered. So, we set a new, worryingly low, budget and set about buying ingredients for our new healthy and cheap lifestyles. We now joined the legions of backpackers with blue Woolworths cool bags and settled into our new way of living.
Fortunately for the budget the hostel hired free surf boards, so I took full advantage and took one down to the beach for the day. I thought after my last lesson in 1770 that I would at least be able to stand up, but I was wrong. Surfing is pain. My arms, my back, my whole body ached from the effort of trying to ride the waves, but it was impossible. The conditions were rough and for a beginner like me they were exhausting.
Things were desperate, so I persuaded Lau to agree to a bottle of wine on the beach, we just wouldn’t tell the new budget. I had hoped the Pinot Grigio might aid my surfing skills, but surprisingly it offered no benefits, other than perhaps dulling the pain a little. Whilst this may sound odd, I still had a really good time, though more practice was definitely needed.
The next day we walked along the coast, through the National Park. What a beautiful walk! As we strolled right along the cliff edge our eyes were greeted by either the fierce sea crashing into rocks, or sublime beaches speckled with bronzed sunbathers. We stopped for a while to watch the kite boarders skipping along the waves, looked like a lot of fun, but I thought I best master the board on it’s own first before I introduce a kite as well!
I left Noosa thinking it was one of the few places I would like to live sometime. I loved the funky atmosphere, the cafés and the bars (although we could no longer afford to visit them!)
Fantastic Fraser Island
Cruising the sands of Fraser Island
An island made entirely of sand, rugged, teeming with wildlife, steeped in natural beauty and aboriginal history. Just off the coast from Hervey bay on the East coast of Australia, it’s only a short ferry ride to this island of adventure.
A popular way to discover the island amongst the ‘youngsters’ is to hire a 4 wheel drive vehicle, get together 10 friends and set off into the wilderness. The thought of being driven around by drunken 18 year olds for two days with no means of escape didn’t really appeal so we opted for a two day tour on a 4×4 bus with Fraser Explorer.
As we boarded our bus our driver came around and ordered us to put our seat belts on “this is Fraser Island, not a theme park, seat belts must be warn”. This is not an uncommon request in Australia as it’s compulsory to wear seat belts all the time, so we thought nothing of it, clicked into place and waited for our journey to begin.
As the bus set off we were jumping out of our seats from the start, the roads were made completely of sand, the uneven surface meant that however good the suspension was on the bus, it would not save us from being bounced around like toys. I was only saved from hitting my head on the roof by my recently secured seat belt.
There were trees growing up from the sand everywhere, on one side of the bus there was a sheer drop down into the valley. Sand not being the most sturdy of surfaces, we were constantly aware of the possibility of the tyres slipping and the bus hurtling right down the hill side.
The most famous attraction on Fraser Island has to be 75 mile beach, aptly named because it is in fact 75 miles long. 75 miles of solid sand, you can speed down at your hearts content, so much so that it is in fact an official highway of Australia. You just have to be careful to judge the tides right as getting trapped and washed out to sea is a distinct possibility and with wild digos prowling the shore and sharks roaming the waters, you would very likely end up as someones dinner.
We visited some incredible sights on Fraser island, including Lake Wabby. Despite the 5k trek on sand to get there, in which you are advised by your guide to ‘give way to snakes’, it was definitely worth it. As our journey reached fruition we were presented with an enormous sand blow nestled next to a large emerald green lake, and that was just the start. Lake Mackenzie was similarly beautiful, a clear blue lake effectively a massive ‘rain puddle’ in the middle of the island, but so beautiful it rivals Whitehaven beach in it’s splendor. I could have lounged there for hours.
On two occasions the varied wildlife choose to show itself to us. The first time was a Red Belly Black snake which appeared across a path at night in the complex we were staying in, a bite from which, our tour guide informed us, is ’sort of fatal’. The second time a large dragon lizard popped its head out from the bushes whilst we were all eating lunch at Lake Mackenzie. Everyone ran away leaving it with its pick of food on the table. Had it not been for the wildlife I could definitely have stayed longer on Fraser Island, it has so much to offer in such a compact (and bumpy!) space.
Merry Christmas from down under!
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas everyone from a sunny Australia! Hope you’ve all been good this year and Santa brings you everything you want (assuming he hasn’t been hit by the credit crunch too).
Hope you’ll join us for more posts in 2010.
xx
A town called 1770
Scooteroo anyone?
Stepping off the Greyhound at 9.00am after a grueling 13 hour overnight journey from Airlie Beach, we were whisked off to our lovely hostel in the customary mini bus. Southern Cross Tourist Retreat was to be our base for the next day and sprawling out, like it does, over several acres it appeared more like a ski chalet village than a hostel. Things were already looking good to our tired eyes.
With only one night in 1770 we were determined to make the most of it, so with no time to shower and refresh, the boys were booked onto a 3 hour surf lesson down at the beach which started at 10am. Inspired by the blonde haired Australian beef cakes that make standing on a surfboard look as easy as downing a schooner of Tooheys New, they were sure that by the end of the three hours they would be pros.
After 3 hours of being punished by unrelenting waves and gathering a rather impressive collection of rather enormous bruises it was time to move on to the day’s second activity – Scooterooing!
Undoubtedly one of the best things we’ve done in Australia, riding Scooteroos (mini Harley Davidsons) through the roads of 1770, was like nothing we’ve done on the trip so far. We were led by Rod, a real biker, 2 pronged beard and bandana tied around his head, Rod was born to scooteroo.
As I only had one working arm, I rode on the back of Rods bike. Blimely was that scary. I’ve never been on the back of a bike before, so I have no point of coparison, but clining on with one hand whilst Rod rode, hell for leather, down the empty roads was both exhilirating and terrifying. I was always amazed to arrive at each destination in one piece. We rode through the roads, kangaroos leaping out infront of us and standing and watching as we drove by, paws in the air. The ride culminated in stopping off at the coast to watch the sun set over the sea, before driving back in the fading light of dusk.
We ended the day at 9pm, where we retired to our beds, exhausted. Ready for a 9am bus to Hervey Bay and our Fraser Island adventure.
White-heaven
Ah Whitehaven... we never wanted to leave!
Before I start this post, I want to say that no amount of pixels or paragraphs can ever do justice to the incredible majesty of Whitehaven beach (or White-heaven as we like to call it), in the Whitsunday Islands. That being said, this is our best effort…
Imagine the whitest, softest sand you have ever seen. Like the finest silk, it welcomes every footstep you take with a smooth embrace. It’s so pure that it never heats up, so white that it almost blinds you, and so luxurious that you can’t help but yearn to wallow in it for days. At 98% silica it’s some of the purest in the world, you can’t even legally take any off the beach: it’s protected by law. Lapping up onto the sand are the warmest, most turquoise waters imaginable. Forming two perfect blues, one dark and rich, the other brilliant cyan, it’s the kind of sea you think only exists in the world of paintings. Not only that but it possesses such clarity that you’ll hardly believe it’s there at all, I’ve never seen water so clear. When the two intermix, it creates a stunning marbled effect of bath like pools and glorious sand that literarily takes your breath away. This is paradise, this is Whitehaven.
Even the wildlife is out to impress here. As if not to be outdone by the scenery, sting rays effortlessly skim past your ankles as you amble through the shallow waters, trying make sure you don’t meet the same fate as Steve Irwin (who, incidentally, they love out here!).
On our way to the lookout point, to take the picture you see above, I thought the ground had started to move away from us. Upwards of 1,000 solider crabs emerged from sand all at once and began scuttling away en-mass. We must have disturbed them because they scattered in a panic, frantically burrowing back into the ground when they didn’t have the pace to outrun us (Olly was chasing quite a few with the camera at this point).
Whitehaven beach can be found on Whitsunday island, the largest island of the group. With little time before Tom had to fly back to sunny England we need to fit the islands in pretty quick. The ‘thing to do’ here is sail around over two or three days on a sailing ship or catamaran. Unfortunately there were no spaces available on those trips so we did two day trips instead, one on a raft and another on a luxurious Catamaran. We were not disappointed!
First up was Ocean Rafting. A high speed cruise on a semi-rigid inflatable. When the boat went out we were warned that the seas were getting high, with my arm in a sling I was told to sit at the back of the boat, hang on with one hand and get Olly and Tom to sit either side of me and wedge me in. What have a got myself into?! I thought, this is meant to be a peaceful relaxing day! Smashing into the waves on a small bright yellow raft we felt like we were on Baywatch, the water splashed in and we got soaked, but the day was great fun, especially as the raft could speed straight through the shallow waters and right up to Whitehaven Beach.
Our second day trip was completely the opposite to the previous day. Relaxed, up market and stylish (well apart from the colour of the catamaran we were on, I mean, who paints a catamaran purple?!) The whole day was all inclusive, you can imagine what happens when you give poor backpackers a day of free stuff, yes, we ate and drank almost everything on board!
We’ve seen a lot of beaches on this tour, but nothing has come within a tenth of this little stretch of heaven, I don’t think anything will ever compare.
Magnetic Island safari
These little koalas are suprisingly hard to find!
Welcome to Australia! I arrived here a couple of weeks ago with one good arm and a chin full of stitches. Not the greatest assets when you’re starting in Cairns, seemingly the adrenaline capital of Queensland.
Unable to join in I sat and watched as the boys went extreme sports crazy. In just under a week they covered bungy jumping, scuba diving, snorkeling, sky diving and white water rafting. Sadly adventure sports and an SLR do not make good company, so rather like me, the camera had to take a few days off. After all that activity we boarded the Greyhound to ‘recharge’ in Mission Beach. Unfortunately, it’s a small town and on the one day we had there it rained almost continuously (yes rain in Australia, I was shocked too!). So aside from a wonderful deli we don’t have much to report from there either. However, have no fear, we soon got back on track. May I present Magnetic Island…
A tiny island just off the coast of Townsville, named by Captain Cook for upsetting his compass as he sailed by. Luckily we had no such problems on the ferry over and quickly set about exploring. We only had one full day there so were going to have to jam pack everything in. Hiring a small ‘topless’ car we zoomed around the islands 12km of tarmac, hunting down the best beaches and encounters with local wildlife.
First up were the beaches, Horseshoe bay and Picnic Bay, both feature the all important stinger net. Swimming in these parts without one is to gamble with your life, what with Irukandji and Box Jellyfish roaming the waters.
After a brief tour of the Island we set up camp at a local backpacker bar, we had heard that at around 4pm you can come here and feed the birds. Not the most exciting activity, but it’s free and that makes it good enough for us! We expected to do a tour of bird tables feeding the manky coloured birds you find in England, but oh no, this was different. At 4pm, the birds know it’s feeding time, and by the deafening levels of squawking you quickly do too. The brightly coloured, blue headed, feathered creatures descend on the grounds. Their voices at full volume begging for food.
They are completely wild and can be found all over the island. We had previously stalked a solitary bird in a carpark, trying in vain to get it’s picture, an act that now seemed a bit silly as we were surrounded by hundreds of them! The birds will land on anything they can find, your head, your bag, your shoulders, your arm, they have no fear! It was a very strange sensation having a bird perched on top of my head. As is inevitable with any swarm of birds, one lovely creature did leave me with a present on my shoulder, I’ve heard that this is lucky though?!
After bird feeding we headed straight to the fort walk for koala spotting. The fort walk is a footpath which takes you through the forests of Magnetic Island and around some old fort buildings. Wild koalas live up high in the trees which surround the route, but finding one is harder than you might think. Asleep for 20 hours a day they’re ridiculously difficult to spot but when you do see one, its a real achievement. Before you embark on the walk you are met with a sign which states ‘beware, death adders’, great! Immediately I had to weigh up the excitement of seeing a wild koala with the absolute horror of seeing a wild death adder! The boys managed to persuade me I’d be fine and off we went. Happily, I can report that we saw three koalas that afternoon and no death adders.
We ended the day at the most ‘local’ of village fetes. Upon a tiny village green the locals had set up the Friday food market, where stalls sell foods from around the world and neighbours chat about the weeks happenings. It was a wonderful thing to stumble across, I think my favourite quote I heard whilst we were there was a woman who said “I’ve got three daughters, most of them are girls”, as I said it was very ‘local’ Australia!
All the paragraphs are by Lau, all the pixels are by Olly. Hope you enjoyed it! You can read more about us on the