Soo, we’ve bitten the bullet and decided to pay for some super speedy wifi to enable me to finally post my second blog on Australia! I’d be lying if I said we didn’t fall in love with the country… It was just so beautiful & we had such fantastic weather even though we were travelling in their WINTER season! Although it is a chilly one for us both in New Zealand right now, it goes without saying that we are loving every moment of our road trip in this beautiful place! We’ve had a busy few weeks travelling the South Island in our campervan, but we still have lots of exciting adventures planned for the next few days… Skiing being one of them!
For those of you who would like to read about the second half of our trip to Australia…. Here we go –
Saturday 21st May 2016 / Surfers Paradise – we visited the famous “Wet N Wild Waterpark”, which for those of you who don’t know, is the Waterpark that Jay, Simon and Neil visited in the Inbetweeners Movie 2! It was awesome & we certainly had our share of adrenaline rush! One of the rides that we went on called “Aqua Loop” was crazy! Before you were able to join the que the lifeguard had to weigh you to make sure you would be heavy enough to complete the loop! You were then given a back and neck support board to strap to yourself…. That’s when you know things are getting serious!!! When you got to the top you could pretty much see the whole of the Waterpark and what was scariest was that we were right next to the highway! The ride required you to enter a cage and lean against a wall with your arms and legs crossed. The lifeguard then locked the door shut and shortly after pressed a button, which gave a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 PAUSE countdown before the platform that you were standing on dropped and you went zooming down a sheer drop and then the force pushed you up to complete the loop! It was petrifying!!! Harry on the other hand loved it! We also went on the good ole log flumes that every Waterpark has & of course the head first racers… Oh you can’t beat them! We were very lucky in that it was pretty quiet, so we did not have to que for long at all!
In the evening, we relaxed with a game of cards, followed by a few ciders and our very own antipasto.
Sunday 22nd May 2016 / Surfers Paradise – Brisbane – we spent the morning walking along the beach at Surfers Paradise and then stopping by at a few shops!
In the afternoon we got the Greyhound bus to Brisbane and arrived at around 3pm! After we had checked into our Air Bnb we went for a bike ride and did a bit of food shopping! In the evening we productively booked some tours and planned out our trip in rough! Our Air Bnb was so lovely, as we pretty much had the place to ourselves… Because of the freedom and how cosy the Queenslander apartment (the dream Australian home) was we decided to extend our stay by one extra night!
Monday 23rd May 2016 / Brisbane – we had a very pleasant surprise when our lovely friends Hattie & Mike, who we met at our Air Bnb in Byron Bay, came to join us! It was by chance that they had booked into the same apartment!
We had a throughly enjoyable day wandering around the city of Brisbane & we even got to have a little look in H&M (my favourite clothing store!) – they had a superb sale & so I couldn’t resist treating myself to a tweed blazer at 50% off, as well two woolly scarves!! Harry also brought a few bits, so it wasn’t just me!
After our shopping fix, we walked through the beautiful city and then across to South Bank where there was a man made beach and fresh water pools…. How cool is that?! There were heaps of families sitting together by the beach, children playing and eating ice creams, but most of all enjoying the glorious sunshine that they are blessed with throughout the year! (I want to move to Australia already!!) We also went along the river on the free city hopper ferry & managed to catch a great view of the city’s magnificent sky scraper buildings! On the way back we called into BWS and brought a cheeky crate of Strongbow cider! I know you’re probably turning your noses up at the word “Strongbow”, but trust me I’m a fuzzy drinker as some of you may know & the Australian Strongbow is completely different to the yucky stuff we have back at home!! It’s not bright orange for one!!!
In the evening I cooked fajitas for us both & we enjoyed catching up with our friends!
Tuesday 24th May 2016 / Brisbane – we had a rather lazy morning, watching Netflix and sorting Oz tours, but it was nice to just chill out for a bit!
In the afternoon we took the bikes out and cycled along the river, which went around the whole city. We also biked through the beautiful Botanical Gardens, around Southbank and then along the impressive “Story Bridge”!
Wednesday 25th May 2016 / Brisbane – Mooloolah – after breakfast & a delicious late, courtesy of the rather snazzy “Breville Coffee Machiene”, we got an Uber taxi to the Bus terminal where we caught the 7.45am Greyhound bus (seconds to spare) to Australia Zoo. Poppy’s childminder, Sue, has a daughter who lives in Queensland & she very kindly offered to have Harry & I stay! When we arrived at the zoo bus stop, we were collected by Bec & beautiful little Kaia! After dropping our bags at their lovely home in Mooloolah, impressively built in only 11 weeks, we then drove to Mooloolaba where we were able to kick back and relax on the beach!! We both enjoyed building ‘Princess’ sand castles with Kaia! I think Harry and I were having more fun than little one was! It was so nice to be around children again & I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss my two younger sisters, as well as the rest of my crazy family of course!
We had a delicious lunch at a cafe by the beach… We both went for a grilled chicken burger and then shared a HUGE bowl of sweet potato fries with Aioli sauce! After lunch, Bec went and collected Lucas from school whilst we stayed at home with a very sleepy Kaia! In the evening Lucas had football training and on the way Bec dropped us off at a Dam where we were able to kayak and catch the beautiful sunset! Bec cooked a delicious Spaghetti Bolognaise for dinner and when the children went to bed, the four of us – Bec, Mike, Harry & I enjoyed comparing travel stories! (They too had taken time out to travel!)
Thursday 26th May 2016 / Mooloolah – We had a fantastic day spent at Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo! As we arrived at the zoo we were greeted by various animals, such as Camels, Snakes and a beautiful Eagle! I highly recommend visiting the zoo for those of you who are planning a trip to Queensland, it is a must! We started off by feeding kangaroos… Some a little hungrier than others, particularly the aggressive one, which went to bite Harry, ha!!! For 2 AUD you can buy Kangaroo food and you get to feed them in their huge enclosure, even the baby ones! Well I say enclosure, it’s not really an enclosure, as they have masses of space and it’s as if they are in the wild! We personally are not massive fans of Zoo’s, but Steve Irwin’s Zoo is fantastic! It was initially built to home the injured wild animals that were rescued and then increase their ability to return to their natural environments in the wild.
We saw many other animals including Koala’s, Snakes, a Red Panda, Giraffes, Camels, Limas, Lizards, Crocodiles, Zebras, Tortoises and many others! At midday we went to the “Croc Show”, which was incredible!! They started the show by introducing several of their rather well trained birds! They showed a parrot, which collected a 5 dollar note from the audience and then returned it…. It was very impressive! After the birds, the zoo keepers brought out a rather hungry looking salt water crocodile & gave a talk, as well as a food demonstration, showing how quickly you can put yourselves at risk.
After the croc show we had a bite to eat before attending a talk on Koala’s. It was very interesting and we even got to see a cute baby Koala tucked up in their mothers pouch! A few facts for you all:
> Koala’s sleep for 18-20 hours per day (I hope to reincarnate as a Koala… Lucky buggers!) – A common perception of Koala’s is that they are lazy, but the food they eat is very low in energy, hence they need to sleep so much!
> Koala’s eat 500g of Ukelipsis a day and 70% of their intake of water comes from the leaves.
> Their two main senses are smell & hearing, which makes up for their poor vision. A Koala can smell up to 1km away and can hear another Koala up to 2km away
> They are most protected when they are up in trees away from prey and domestic animals, such as cats and dogs, which are a huge threat to them
> Females live 10-12 years, whilst males live for 8-10 years
> The females are pregnant for 35 days
Later on, Bec kindly collected us from the zoo and we went back & had a few glasses of wine followed by a delicious Risotto for dinner!
Friday 27th May 2016 / Noosa – After a fantastic few nights spent with the lovely Green family we said our goodbyes & Bec & the children dropped us off at the Zoo where we caught the 9am Greyhound bus to Noosa! We arrived in Noosa at around 11am and Suzie, our Air Bnb host kindly collected us from the bus station! After we had checked into our room, Suzie dropped us into Noosa Heads and then we sat and had a delicious Caramel Late and a chocolate brownie at a cafe on Hastings Street.
In the afternoon we walked to Noosa’s stunning National Park and admired the beautiful scenery along the coastal walk. We stopped for lunch at a small beach and then continued walking a couple of kilometres to ‘Dolphin Point’, where we got our towels out and laid in the sun!
In the evening, Cormac another backpacker arrived and we had a fantastic evening chatting about our travels! Not to forget the case of cider, beer and bottles of wine that went with it!! I loved hearing about Suzie’s life stories and her travels… How amazing is it to be able say that you have worked as a chef in over 30 counties, cooked for the Queen, Barack Obama, Mariah Carey, Sarah Ferguson and many other famous people?! Pretty cool if you ask me?! We instantly fell in love with Suzie; she is such an inspirational woman who certainly has some stories to tell!
Saturday 28th May 2016 / Noosa – after a pretty heavy night of drinking, it was safe to say that we were both feeling the aftermath!! We spent most of the day having a chilled one, which ticked the box really!
In the afternoon we did indeed venture out to get some fresh air! We walked to the Laguna Lookout & watched the most beautiful sunset! It was worth the long walk!!
Sunday 29th May 2016 / Noosa – Tin Can Bay – After an amazing nights sleep, we were both back on form & were feeling 100 x better! In the morning we went to the ‘Noosa Food Markets’ with lovely Suzie and enjoyed trying a whole range of delicious and fresh foods! Before leaving we brought a ‘Spinach, feta and mozzarella Turkish Gozleme’ to have for our dinner! It was similar to a naan bread but with yummy fillings!
Before catching our bus to Tin Can Bay, the four of us met for lunch at the ‘Village Bicycle’. The Village Bicycle is the cutest little restaurant ever ~ you’ll see on the photos below & I’m sure you’ll agree / wish you could go there yourself! Harry & I both went for tacos… I ordered the vegetarian ones with feta, spinach, red peppers and sweet potatoes whilst Harry ordered pull pork ones! We did indeed share but we both agreed the vegetarian ones were the yummiest!! Although BOTH absolutely 100% delicio! If only we could go back and order more tacos…..!
As I mentioned, we caught the 1pm Greyhound bus to Tin Can Bay, which was 3 hours from Noosa (Greyhound bus speed, probably half the time in a car). A lot of people asked us why we wanted to go to Tin Can Bay & if there was even a bus route there…. But when researching the East Coast we happened to stumble across a webpage on dolphin feeding & according to the site, Tin Can Bay is one of only 3 places (the rest are in Western Australia) in the whole of Australia that you can feed Dolphins; so of course I made sure that we could squeeze this into our trip! It was definitely worth it!
When we arrived at Tin Can Bay it did live up to the impressions from the Auzzies, as yes it was incredibly quiet & it indeed reminded us of something from the 50’s!!! It felt like we had stepped back 60 or so years!!! Weird hey!? There was only one backpackers accommodation but given the cheap prices we booked to stay in a double room! We were however very surprised to see that there was a *wait for it* ‘drive through bottle shop’… Now apparently these are pretty common in Australia, but we were both pretty shocked, considering the police often sit on highways and randomly breathalyse drivers for alcohol & drugs. Are you sure thinking what we were?! Surely ‘drive-through bottle shops’ encourage drink driving?! Well it all seems very backwards on that one!!
Monday 30th May 2016 / Tin Can Bay / Hervey Bay – the alarm went off at 6.15am, so we quickly got up and dressed and then walked a couple of miles to the Dolphin Centre! The morning was a little cooler, so we wrapped up warm in our hoodies!! We can’t blame Australia for their chilly mornings, as after all it is there winter, which I find hard to believe given the sunny days!
Anyhow, we arrived at the Dolphin Centre just before they opened at 7am! One of the Dolphins had already swam in & was waiting for its 8am feed. Shortly after another two Dolphins arrived & they all swam around playfully! I was so excited to be able to get up close to them! They are such beautiful animals and were very friendly given that they live in the wild! At 8am, we were each given a bucket with a small fish to feed a Dolphin! Harry & I fed a male dolphin called “Squid” who was only 4 years old!! The other Dolphins were: Ella ~ 37 years old and mother to Squid and Patch ~ a 29 year old male. It was great fun being able to feed the Dolphins & yes another thing ticked off my bucket list!! After we had finished feeding the Dolphins, they all went out to the river & we both had a delicious Bacon & Egg Muffin at Barnacles cafe! Whilst we were eating, another Dolphin arrived, so the volunteers quickly went off to grab some more fish!! It was the Alpha Male and apparently he had been missing for a few days, so they were delighted to have him back!
The Dolphin Centre is run by kind volunteers who give their time every morning to feed the Dolphins and monitor them for any injuries, which are then recorded in a book and the Dolphins are monitored. The Dolphins are fed 3kg of fish every morning by the Centre, which is as per the Queensland regulations and is set in order to keep the animals hunting for their food in the wild. The Dolphins at Tin Can Bay are called “Australian Humpback Dolphins”, which are a special breed that live around the river and do not go to the ocean or depths of more than 20m. The Humpback Dolphins live in Pods of up to 12 Dolphins. Their diet consists of crabs, fish and octopus and after they are fed at shore they then go out to the river to hunt for more food.
After, we returned back to our accommodation and spent the rest of the day sunbathing on the balcony! At 4.30pm we got the Greyhound bus to Hervey Bay where we were collected by our host Rob.
Tuesday 31st May 2016 / Hervey Bay – Fraser Island – unfortunately due to being short on time towards the end of our trip, we could only spend one night in Hervey Bay. It would definitely be a place that we would have liked to spend a full day at if we had longer, but hey we didn’t so there’s no point getting worked up about it!! Apparently there is a free Waterpark area in Hervey, which sounds pretty cool! Anyhow, it was another early start for us both, as we were collected at 7.20am to start our 4 day, 3 night Fraser Island tour! Eeek!!
It was probably the best 3 nights and 4 days of my life & we met some of the most amazing people too! We caught the 9am ferry from Hervey Bay to Fraser Island, famously known as the worlds largest sand island! When we arrived at the island we got the shuttle bus across to Kingfisher Bay Resort where we spent the majority of the day laying on sun loungers by the pool! It was so relaxing! We even treated ourselves to a ‘Peanut butter, honeycomb and white chocolate muffin’ ~ aaaahhmazing! I am definitely going to bake some of these delicious treats when I’m home!!
In the evening we decided to scrap our backpackers budget & treat ourselves to a bit of luxury! We sat and watched the sunset at the jetty with a glass of champagne and an antipasto platter!! It was heaven!! But whilst I’m on the topic, we would just like to take the opportunity to say a HUGE thank you to Harry’s family friends ~ Andy & Merry, for kindly giving us currency for each of our travel destinations to buy a few drinks! The Australian dollars that you gave us went towards our rather fine champagne evening!!
Wednesday 1st June 2016 / Fraser Island – we had breakfast at the Dingo bar with our new friends ~ Matt & Liv who we met last night & happened to be sharing a room with! I was delighted to see such a great variety of cereals & anyone who knows me well enough would know how excited I get over a bowl of cereal!! Yes I really do…. Anyhow, after the largest bowl of cereal and a few cups of coffee, we were set for our first day of touring Fraser Island! We met our tour guide Davey at the jetty and unfortunately the heavens opened & it poured it down of rain! I believe it was the first bit of rainfall since their winter last year, as the East Coast have had an extended summer by 6 weeks… (You can’t complain)….. So as you can imagine rain was certainly welcomed by the locals, although not by us who had a rather outdoorsy day ahead, no waterproofs & were dressed in strapless tops and shorts! Never mind & as Davey quite rightly put it “you can’t get worked up by stupid sh*t like rain!!” So there you have it!!! All 23 of us on the tour were in high spirits and were determined to not allow the rain to get the better of us!! We climbed on board Davey’s 4WD truck and started day one of 3 crazy days of fun, laughter, adventure & booze!
You’d have thought with a bit of rain it would flatten the ground but not today! We had the bumpiest drive EVER & it literally felt like we were riding on a rollercoaster! Davey cranked up the tunes & we just knew then that we would have the best 3 days! Our first stop was at ‘Lake Mackenzie’ where you can find silica sand, which is known to be used for exfoliating your skin or washing jewellery with! We went for a dip in the lake & it was freeeeeeezing but Harry gave me a nice back massage, which of course was worth the cold shock! After, we went to ‘Lake Basin’, which is the second largest lake on Fraser Island. The Lake is black because of the tea tree oils that come off the trees nearby.
For lunch we had a delicious cold meat & salad buffet; it was so nice to be eating healthy!! As the weather started to turn stormy again we quickly packed up and drove to our next stop, which was walking through the rainforest! I suppose you could say that the weather was rather applicable for this?! What more could you ask for?! Mind you the rain did hit a new level and all of us were entirely drenched through from head to toe!! Aside from the yucky weather, the rainforest was beautiful! There is a creek that runs through the rainforest & is so pure that you can fill a bottle of water to drink from. After we had completed the walk, Davey made us all a tea / coffee and so we sat in the bus in the warm drinking our hot drinks & eating cookies!
In the evening we went to the Dingo Bar for dinner & I have to say considering how many people the chef caters for, the food was so freshly cooked & delicious! After dinner we went back to our lodge & played a few games of cards with Matt & Liv and a Scottish couple also joined in later on!
Thursday 2nd June 2016 / Fraser Island – we had an early start to the day with breakfast at 7am & our tour commencing at 7.30am! We drove to a place called Euong, which is on the Eastern side of Fraser Island and is where the Ocean Highway starts! We drove along the 75 mile beach, which felt very out of the ordinary with the sea just steps away from us, but it was an awesome adventure! It was rather a bumpy ride going over rocks and around the sea water and it was obvious that only a 4WD could handle it!! Along the highway we stopped at the “Pinnacles Coloured Sand”, which was a bright orange colour and looked like caramel!
Harry very kindly treated me to a flight over Fraser Island for an early birthday present! It was the most incredible experience and you got a great birds eye view of the island’s sand dunes and stunning rainforests! It was a one off experience, as it is one of the only places in Australia to fly directly from the beach! After an amazing flight, we then climbed up to “Indian Head” where we got a great view of the Pacific Ocean & it was there that we were especially lucky to spot multiple pods of Dolphins, as well as a few humpback whales!! From there we visited the stunning “Champagne Pools” & we were were able to bathe in the crystal clear heated waters! Thankfully they were much warmer than the chilly lakes yesterday! They get their name, “Champagne Pools”, from the fizz of the water, which enters the rock pools and looks similar to champagne fizzing!
We had a delicious picnic lunch on the beach, consisting of chicken and salad wraps! Once we had filled our stomach with delicious food, we drove to “Maheno Shipwreck”. The Maheno Vessel back in its day weighed 5000 tonne and it held a 25 year record for being the fasted boat to sail from Sydney to Auckland! It was used as a medical ship during WW1 and was responsible for returning dead and injured soldiers back to England and New Zealand. The boat did survive the war effort and was returned to Australia where it was then sold to the Japanese. The Japanese people also brought another boat at the same time, but it was then that they realised they had run out of money to get both boats back to their country! As a result, they sold the propellers on the Maheno, however on the journey to Japan they hit a nasty storm, causing the boat to sink. Years later the Maheno Shipwreck was brought to shore on Fraser Island.
Our final stop of the day was at “Eli Creek” and on the way there we spotted a white breasted Sea Eagle carrying a live snake! It was the most bizarre thing!! Davey was over the moon, as in 10 years of being a tour guide, he’s only ever witnessed this twice!! It was a rare sighting and one I have certainly never seen before!! Eli Creek is the largest creek on the eastern side of the island with a flow of 80 million litres of water a day. We tubed through the rather chilly clear waters and it was sooo fun! After tubing, we all played a game of beach volleyball & then I enjoyed reading a bit of my book before it was time to go! I must not forget to mention our ‘coffee & biscuit break’ though!!! We tried “Anzac Biscuits”, which are an Auzzie favourite and for those of you who don’t know, they are made out of maple syrup, coconut and oats…. Delicious!! On the ride back to Kingfisher Bay Resort (where we were staying) some of us played Davey’s game of “Drink / Don’t Drink”…. Basically, the aim of the game is not to spill your drink! Davey would shout “DON’T DRINK” or “DRINNNNNNK” as we go over a huge bump!!! It’s was great fun & a bit of a laugh of course!!
Friday 3rd June 2016 / Fraser Island – so it was the final day of our Fraser Island tour and I think it’s fair to say that we had the best time with the most amazing people & that we will not forget the fun we had, particularly with our 10/10 legend of a tour guide! Our first stop of the day was at a viewpoint overlooking “Stonetool Sand-blow” (it gets its name from the Aboriginal artefacts found in the area). Interestingly, the Sand-blow rises over 125m above sea level and stretches to more than 2km inland! New sand-blows develop when stabilising plant cover is damaged by fire, vehicles or pedestrian traffic. It was an impressive sight!
Our next stop was at “Hammerstone Sand-blow” where you got to witness Fraser’s shifting sands! Whilst we were there we went sand boarding, which despite my fear of death / significant injury, I actually really enjoyed it!! We’ve got some great videos on the Go Pro of me freaking out big time whilst Harry is loving every moment of it! (23 this year but is still & always will be a big kid!!)
After a huge adrenaline rush we then went for an early lunch at Euong Beach Resort! We had a yummy buffet with soup, cold meats, pasta and salad, followed by a delicious fruit platter! Once we had all demolished the free buffet we then climbed on board Davey’s bus and headed to “Lake Birrabean”. On the way Davey’s bus broke down!!! He did manage to drop us off before changing buses and at the lake we tried ‘Stand up paddle boarding’ for the first time! Davey arrived just in time, as the weather decided to take a turn for the worse with torrential rain! Just as we were leaving Davey’s bus broke down again!!! It was certainly not his day! But this time the air breaks had gone and a huge “STOP” sign appeared in red bold letters on his dashboard! Who needs breaks after all??? I must admit I did clench hold of my seat when a car unexpectantly came round the corner! (You don’t tend to see much traffic on the island!) Anyhow, we all had a super last day on tour & Harry & I got chatting to another couple ~ Scott & Liv who were hilarious! It turned out that like Matt & the other Liv, we were all heading to the same places at the same time!
When we got back to Kingfisher Bay Resort, all 11 of us piled into the hot tub outside the hotel…. It was the best way to end an amazing four days! Later, we caught the 5pm ferry and got the transfer back to Hervey Bay, where we then got the overnight Greyhound bus to Airlie Beach!
Saturday 4th May 2016 / Airlie Beach – after a 12 hour bus journey, we arrived at Airlie beach at 9.30am! We had booked another Air Bnb, so our host Nassa came and collected us from the bus stop! After having much needed showers we then sorted through our dirty and damp clothes and did a huge load of washing! Nassa very kindly made us both a fresh watermelon juice! It was sooo refreshing!
We then met up with Scott & Liv at the Airlie Market! It was getting towards lunchtime, so I went for the healthy option of a veg omelette and mixed berry fruit juice whilst Harry had a couple of beef tacos! After, we went to the lagoon pool and spent the day topping up our tans and relaxing!
In the evening the 6 of us met for a few drinks at a bar that had a happy hour ~ 8$ cocktails & 5$ pints! You can’t go wrong!
Sunday 5th June 2016 / Whitsundays – after a quick bowl of porridge, we met Matt & Liv at the boat terminal at 8am, ready to check onto our “Siska Sailing boat” to tour the Whitsunday Islands. We were welcomed by three lovely crew members – Erin (Host), Jack (Skipper) and Tuna (Skipper’s mate). The sun was shining already & we were feeling so relieved to have left the storms behind at Fraser Island!! After choosing our sleeping cabin we then made our way onto the deck to catch some rays! It took a couple of hours to get to the island’s from Airlie, but it was nice to relax!
For lunch Erin made a delicious buffet with a selection of quiche, pasta, potato salad and green salad! After lunch we stopped at a place called “Mackerel Bay” and enjoyed snorkelling with the many colourful fish! We also stopped at another snorkelling location called “Saba Bay”.
After snorkelling the Skipper turned up the music and we enjoyed a few ciders & more relaxing on the paradise island! Later on in the afternoon we watched the sun go down before dropping the anchor at “Tongue Bay”, where we stayed the night! Erin surprised us with some cheesy nachos with sour cream and salsa (mine & Harry’s favourite!!!) & for dinner she cooked an amazing Spaghetti Bolognaise with homemade garlic bread! It was soo tasty!
In the evening Harry and I laid in hammocks on the deck and stargazed, spotting many shooting stars across the clear sky!
Monday 6th June 2016 / Whitsundays – after an early 7am breakfast, we climbed onto the speed boat and went across to Whitehaven beach. On the way we saw several sea turtles stick their heads out of the water! We walked to the viewpoint where we caught a glimpse of the iconic Whitsunday Island sand blow! For once Google images had been a true representation of the paradise island that we were so lucky to be exploring! We then spent a couple of hours on the white sandy beach (99% silica sand) and whilst dipping our toes into the water, we happened to spot a Lemon Shark! Exciting times!!
At around midday we climbed back onto the boat and had another yummy lunch! We then started our journey back to Airlie Beach and on the way spotted more sea turtles, as well as a pod of dolphins!!
In the evening we all met up for a meal and a few drinks, before catching the bus to Townsville.
Tuesday 7th June 2016 / Magnetic Island – after having too many late nights and early starts, it was fair to say that it had started catching up on us and we were both feeling exhausted! We decided to get the midday ferry from Townsville to Magnetic Island, so that we could enjoy a lay in!
The ferry took about half an hour and we arrived at Magnetic Island at 1pm! We then got the island bus to our accommodation at ‘X Base Backpackers Hostel’ where we met Matt and Liv who had got the early ferry crossing. We all enjoyed a pizza at the hostel before catching the bus to ‘Horseshoe Bay’, north of the island. We brought an icecream and then did the “Butterfly Walk”, one of many trails on the island! I was amazed at how many butterflies there were all together and have never seen so many in my life! They are such beautiful creatures! After our walk we went and watched the sunset from the beach before heading back to our hostel!
Wednesday 8th June 2016 / Magnetic Island / Cairns – seeing as we had all loved Horseshoe Bay so much yesterday, we decided to go back and do another walk! So, we got the 8am island bus and did the “Forts Walk”, which was 5km in total! It was just the right temperature to be walking… Not too hot or not too cold and we were lucky with the clear skies to be able to capture a great view of the island from the top! After we had completed the walk, we then got the bus into the centre where we chilled on the beach for a bit, before heading back to pack our bags at the hostel!
We got the 3pm ferry back to Townsville and we had about an hour to kill before getting our Greyhound bus to Cairns! In the meantime Harry and I shared a delicious slice of ‘Nutella Cheesecake’….. It might have costed an arm & a leg at the ferry terminal, but it was SO worth it! We arrived in Cairns at 11pm and then got a taxi to our accommodation.
Thursday 9th June 2016 / Cairns – we did a tour of the Atherton Tablelands & it was AMAZING! We were collected from outside our accommodation by our tour guide Tom! On route to the Tablelands we called by at Maccy’s to get breakfast! Our first stop was at “Lake Eacham” and on the way there we stopped at “Heales Lookout” where we got an awesome view from the top of the mountain! At Lake Eacham we were able to dive and swim in the heated waters. If only we had appreciated how warm it was in comparison to the other swimming sites! The reason being is because the lake was formed by a volcano, so is fed by underwater springs! Whilst we were at Lake Eacham we spotted a rather unique type of turtle, called a “Bottom Breather”. These unusual Australian turtles, native to Lake Eacham, have the ability to breath through their bottoms, hence their name!! However, like most other turtles their diet consists of aquatic plants, fruit, insects and other small animals.
Our next stop was at “Diner Falls”, which was absolutely FREEEZING! It was so cold that you felt as though the water was burning your skin! Talk about brain freeze!! We did all brave it though and swam through the waterfall, albeit you couldn’t see anything from all of the water that was sprayed in your eyes! Imagine drowning?! Yeah it felt like that! After visiting the rather chilly Diner Falls we then drove to a nearby town to buy lunch & GOOOOOON! For those of you that haven’t heard of the Australian favourite, it’s basically a VERY cheap box of wine! 4l for £5!!!! Anyhow, if you try not to think about how potent the taste is, it isn’t too bad & also the more you drink of course the better it gets!!! You get the picture!?
After a couple of hours driving we then stopped off at our penultimate destination at the rather famous “Milla Milla Falls” ~ renowned for Peter Andre’s filming location of ‘Mysterious Girl’ and also where the Herbal Essence advert was filmed too! I have to admit the water was pretty chilly, although not a touch on ‘Diner Falls’!! We all swam through the waterfall and then did the classic hairflick!!
Our final stop was at the awesome “Josephine Falls” (my favourite) where we took a walk into the forest and then slid down a waterfall, which was great fun! After tea, coffee & cake, we made our way back to Cairns and returned at around 6.30pm! In the evening we met up with our friends ~ Scott, Matt and the two Liv’s at the Woolshed & had a few drinks to celebrate our last evening together! It was ‘ladies night’ at the club, which meant that us ladies enjoyed a few free glasses of champagne! I must not forget about the free pizza & BBQ chicken wings that were brought around for everyone! If only the nightclubs and bars back at home did this!?
Friday 10th June 2016 / Cairns – another early start but another amazing day for us both! I even got to tick another thing from my bucket list, which was snorkelling & scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef! When we arrived on the catamaran we had tea, coffee & muffins… it was lovely! From Cairns the reef was about 2 hours away but the time seemed to go quickly and we enjoyed sitting out on the deck, admiring the beautiful ocean all around us!
We did two dives in total and it was fascinating to see how different the two dive spots were! We saw many colourful fish, as well as beautiful coral! After our first dive we then had a bit of time left at the location, so went snorkelling, which was just as fun! We then had a buffet lunch with the most delicious selection of fresh salads, Mediterranean couscous and Thai curries!
On our second dive we saw even more beautiful coral and even got to swim with sea turtles! We also saw lots of Nemo fish, a sting ray and a few starfish! As we were finishing our dive we saw “Giant Trevally” & no joke they were blommin huge!!! They looked like they were going to eat us!!
Saturday 11th June / Cairns / Cape Tribulation – we collected our self contained campervan first thing in the morning, which was a bit of a birthday treat!! We then went and did some food shopping, buying lots of yummy foods and campervan treats!! After we were all stocked up with booze and food, we set off on a road trip North of Cairns!
The first place that we went to was Daintree, known for the fastest growing rainforest in the world. On the way to Daintree we saw a crocodile in the river and so whilst we were there we went on a “Croc River Cruise’! It was brilliant! We saw many crocs, as well as wildlife & the man running the cruise was very informative!! I did learn a few things about crocs –
> The temperature of the nest determines the sex
> It takes 75 to 105 days for the crocodile eggs to hatch
> Crocs can hold their breath for 3-5 hours
> They are mainly found in small creeks where they can ambush animals
After the cruise we then continued our journey to “Cape Tribulation”, getting the ferry from Daintree! Cape Tribulation is the only place in the world where two World Heritage areas meet ~ the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. When we got to Cape Tribulation we went straight to our campsite where we had a delicious BBQ, courtesy of my amazing boyfriend!!
Sunday 12th June / Cape Tribulation – we had a relaxing start to the day! No phone signal and just peace and quiet….. Laaaavely! We were however lucky to spot three “Wild Cassowaries” – a mother and two babies! It was a rare spot, as they are becoming endangered species! Apparently they can be very dangerous, especially if they have babies, so we made sure we kept our distance regardless of how excited we were!
In the afternoon we walked to the beach, which was only a 2 minutes from our campsite! Although it was a little cloudy it was still very warm, so we brought our camp-chairs and chilled for a bit! Swimming is not an option in the Cairns area, unless of course you want to join the stupid people who have swam and then got eaten by crocodiles!! Sorry, I have no sympathy for them…. Not when there are signs posted everywhere about the dangers of crocodiles! This does however lead me onto another slightly spooky story!! So picture this… We were on the beach la la la, then I took a walk to get some phone signal to book our next campsite. I was chatting away to the campsite owner when all of a sudden something across the beach, sitting by the river bank happened to catch my eye….. Only a blommin SALT WATER CROCODILE!!! AHHHHHH! I was absolutely so freaked out and did almost poop my pants at the sight!! The poor old man on the other end of the phone got a bit of a shock too by my reaction! Anyhow, all was good and by the time Harry had gone to have a look, it had disappeared into the river! Welcome to Australia, home to many animals that can kill you!!! That sounded very negative, although I suppose it is true… You do have to be so careful with what’s around you, but it doesn’t stop my love for the country & my ‘little girl dream’, which is for us both to spend a few years living out there one day! Who knows!? 😉
Monday 13th June 2016 / Cape Tribulation – Newell Beach – in the morning we drove down to a place called “Cow Bay”, which is just before the ferry crossing. We had heard that it was suppose to be one of those local hidden gems! We did only have a peak at the beach as it then started to rain! Thankfully by the time we had crossed the river to Daintree it wasn’t raining as much, so we booked into another “Croc River Cruise” and went up a different part of the river! We spotted three Salt Water Crocodiles, including a baby one, which was not even a foot long! We also spotted a tree Python curled up and saw many Kingfishers!
After the cruise, we then made our way to our next campsite, which was in Newell. It was a luxury to be able to wash my hair & have a warm shower! We were also relieved by the site of a laundrette at the campsite, as we had both got down to wearing our last clean outfit, so were getting pretty desperate!! It’s all part of the travelling life though!!
Tuesday 14th June / Newell / Port Douglas / Palm Cove – Happy Birthday to me! I was woken to a delicious fried breakfast from Mr W! My favourite!! Aside from starting the day with a rather flat van battery, we did manage to sort it with help from our kind campsite neighbours for supplying the jump leads! We drove to Port Douglas, a lovely little beach town, surrounded in Palm trees & I got to spend my first ever birthday on the beach!! Harry treated me to an ice coffee and slice of chocolate cake at Coffee Club & then we had a wander around the shops! “Cotton On” still being my absolute fav!
Harry then had his haircut at probably the most expensive barber shop in the whole of Australia, but it looked great anyway! After, we drove to Palm Cove and along the way stopped at a few coastal lookouts! It was such a change from the previous few days where we were driving on unpaved roads through rainforests around Cape Tribulation! We had a very yummy birthday meal with all of my favourite treats! Thanks to my amazing boyfriend Harry for spoiling me… I certainly had the best day, even though I did miss my crazy household and of course Grandma’s annual birthday cake!! I’ve put my order in for a “coming home cake” to make up for my withdrawal!!
Wednesday 15th June 2016 / Cairns / Goodbye Australia 😦 – it was an early start for us both & we were on the road at 8am! After an amazing 6 weeks and a fantastic road trip, it was time to make our way back to Cairns to drop our campervan off, as well as catch our midday flight to New Zealand! Our flight to New Zealand was split into two, with a stopover at Sydney. It was crazy how it took 3 hours to fly from Cairns to Sydney, yet 3 hours to fly from Sydney to Christchurch (New Zealand)! It just puts into perspective of the scale of Australia!! Whilst we were at the airport we took full advantage of the duty free offers and brought two 1l bottles of Smirnoff Vodka for 55AUD! The equivalent of £27.50! Bargain!!!
So thats pretty much Queensland Australia in a nut shell! We really did fall in love with Australia and especially loved the Aussie lifestyle where everything resolves around chilling on a beach! We were both extremely lucky to meet some of the kindest & most lovely people along our travels, who we hope that we can stay in touch with!
Wishing you all back at home better weather.. I hear it’s entered a new level what with “British summertime” commencing with flash floods around the local area!! Hilarious!!
Anyhow, best we crack on with our day ahead in Queenstown!
Lots of love,
Jess & Harry 🙂 x x
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