Rainforest Retreats

Well we have had a busy (and sadly now cheap) past few days. After leaving the aptly named Sanctuary hotel in the Mission Beach rain forest, where we spent an enjoyable few days reading and listening to the sounds of the jungle (couldn’t do much else as while we were there they received 300mm of rain in three days!), we moved northwards to Port Douglas. This is one of the few places in Australia where I have been before, and it was just as beautiful as I remember. It is a lovely little town which acts as the gateway to the Daintree Rain-forest (one of the last remaining rain-forests in Australia) and also for the outer Great Barrier Reef. It is an upmarket resort with the likes of Bill Clinton and Keifer Sutherland being regular visitors. For backpackers, though there is still plenty to do. The thing that every visitor must do when they come here, is visit the Mossman River Gorge located in the Daintree Rain-forest. It is this beautiful river that has carved its way through the jungle leaving huge boulders scattered all along the sea bed. It is safe to have a swim and marvel at the cool water and stunning scenery that surrounds you, in a place that could have been carved out of the same mold as Eden. It really is that great. And if you are a silly 19 year old, you can climb the rocks and jump into the place where the water squeezes between two rocks in a rapid, and giggle manically as it propels you down the river. After going there once (where Mark didn’t actually go in) we decided to go back the next day. After driving with an Irish and Canadian girl we met in the hostel and who had expressed and interest in going, we arrived back at the gorge. However this time we wanted to go one step further, so pulling the bodyboard from the roof (where it had remained inactive for a month of so) we went back to the rapid part. Here in front of a audience of 10 people looking down from the lookout (all of whom were secretly hoping for a bit of injury) I jumped in and rode the actual rapid/waterfall on the board. After whacking my legs on submerged rocks and swallowing a good deal of water, I resurfaced (possibly to a few disappointed sighs from the crowd) and did it again. It was great fun. Emboldened by my “success” Dave gave it a go. Sadly he let go of the board and succeeded in defying the laws of gravity by becoming submerged and up to his hair and not moving for 5 seconds. He neither surfaced or went with the current. It was hilarious. So after this bit of hugely immature fun, we went off on the 2 km rain-forest scenic walk which takes you all around surrounding areas of forest. On this walk you can see lizards, intricate fig trees woven with vines, walk across a rickety rope bridge and sit in amazement at the little creek that comes out of the dense forest into a pool of sunlight. Sorry for the silky and cheesy language but it really is one of those few places in the world that really and truly takes your breathe away. Sadly it also suffers from “photos can’t do it justice” syndrome, so the only way is to see it first hand yourself. Also the added bonus is there aren’t any cocodiles there so its safe! Hurrah!

Last night we went to the famous Cane Toad racing at the Iron bar, something I had wanted to do 3 and a half years ago but due to time couldn’t. This is a great event and entry only costs $5. For this you get to see people scrabble around for cane toads as women shriek when they come too near. So still with the girls from the hostel we headed down. The first two races were down to luck, if your raffle ticket was pulled out you got to race one of the six toads. The odds of you being pulled out of the hat are slim on a Saturday night (roughly 100 people there and only 12 get to race). However in the third race you get to auction a toad, so everyone has a fair chance to get involved. After unsuccessfully bidding for three toads (all bought by a parent who obviously wanted to win the prizes and gave the toads to his kids), it looked like we were going to miss out. However the five of us managed to get our hands on a pink clothed toad we affectionately named Big Gay Al, for the princely sum of $20. With a bar tab bill of $30 and a bottle of champagne at stake we had to win. The race goes like this. The person racing the toad stands up at the front (our “jockey” was me, who had to stand up with all self-indulgent parent’s kids looking like a sad English fool, but there where two other adults there so it wasn’t too bad) and gets given a whip. By a whip they mean one of those blow out horn things you get at kids parties. The idea is to persuade your toad off the centre table by blowing it with the horn thing. When it hops off you have to grab it and put it in a bucket. The first to do so wins. Oh and did I mention that before you can race you have to kiss the toad? Well you do and I had to do it twice for being English much to the amusement of all the Aussies. Quite. So as we all stood hunched over the table with the crowd waiting with baited breathe you could feel the tension. Then the bucket was lifted and pandemonium ensued. Which didn’t extend to my toad which sat there looking bemused. So I attacked it with vigour, fetching it a few hefty blows on the face with my paper whistle/horn. Nothing. It wasn’t the last left on the table but nearly. So summouning all my power I blew it once and hit it in the eye. That did it and Big Gay Al turned tail and bounced off the table. On the floor it was a piece of cake as my freakishly big hands made short work of picking it up and dumping it in the bucket. We had won! It was a glorious victory! It will go down in the annuls of history as on a par with Troy and Gettysburg as one of the greatest triumphs of all time. Or something like that. So our syndicate had won the booze. We also won a cap but being the gentlemen I am I gave it to one of the kids who I had successfully vanquished. I don’t think I was too popular though, but when you are a backpacker you can’t afford to let booze pass! It really was a great laugh, and for $9 definitely worth going to. When else do you get to see me kissing toads…… Flushed with our success we proceeded to get very drunk downstairs, which explains my fuzzy head today.

Port Douglas is one of those places I can see myself always coming back to. It has small town charm, a superb rain-forest fringed beach named Four-mile beach (which due to its flatness is perfect beach cricket territory), and a good nightlife. Whether a backpacker on a small budget or a hipster looking for luxury it really has it all. Best things are the beach, Mossman, On the Inlet waterfront seafood restaurant (bucket of prawns and a beer for $18 anyone?), the Sunday Markets, Cane Toad racing, the Courtyard Hotel (where I angered Dad by texting him informing him of my whereabouts in one of his favourite places drinking his favourite beer; Leffe. Hasn’t spoken to me since…..) and the great shopping. A must on anyones travel itinerary.

So after this we are off to Cape Tribulation for two nights then back south to our last port of call, Cairns. Here we will sell the car, party with school friends who are thereat the same time, and say goodbye to Australia. Also I will be going on a 3 day/ 2 night liveaboard dive trip on the reef, which will be great, it has 11 dives including two night dives. The other guys will be amusing themselves with skydiving and bungee jumping. Who said the trip was nearly over?

Jack xxx

Moped Madness on Magnetic

         After the ten day drinking binge that was Airlie Beach we continued our march northwards towards Townsville. After spending a quiet night in Townsville in a vain attempt to let our livers recover, we headed to the ferry terminal in order to travel over to Magnetic Island. This is an Island roughly comparable in size to Great Keppel though with two thousand permanent residents living on it. It is much more well known then Great Keppel island and the dynamics of it are rather strange. Half is given over to large luxury resorts and the other half is very much backpacker orientated. Unable to get in at the party central Base backpackers we went one bay over to Travellers Resort Backpackers located in Picnic Bay. For $20 (about 8 pounds) a night we stayed in a lovely little place with a great owner who is only too happy to give advice about the island.

The first afternoon was spent scoping out the area and lying by the beach soaking in the incredible heat. In the evening it was bar time of course! The next day upon the recommendation of the hostel owner me and Mark hired scooters to get from one end of the 9km road to the other.  Needless to say it was great fun. With a top speed of only 60kmph, they still made you feel like you were going a million miles an hour. So me and Mark spent an enjoyable day discovering all the nooks and crannies on the island. For only $40 for 24 hours it is definitely worth doing as it really gives you the freedom to explore everything. However it also does mean that you run the risk of ending up in a ditch or nearly killing diners outside cafes both of which I came very close to doing…..

The next day due to the heat I was up at 5:30 (!) to watch the sun come up so in the dawn I sped along on my scooter to a great point and watched the sun come up over the sea. It was truly a special moment. Afterwards I got Mark up at 8am with a small amount of grumbling, and we both hopped on our beasts and rode to a laybay near to a place called Radical Bay. Here we embarked on a walk we had wanted top do the previous day but abandoned due to the sheer heat, which was to take us to one of the highest points on the island. We decided upon this not just for the view but because along the way there were meant to be Koalas aplenty and also buildings left over from WWII when the island was used as an outpost to guard against the Japanese. While the Koalas were conspicuous by their absent, the ruins were there plain to see. While most of the barracks had been removed leaving only foundations, near the summit the gun emplacements, ammo stores and command post were still standing. So after 45 minutes we arrived at the top and were greeted by a wonderful view over most of the island. You could certainly tell why this spot was chosen as it commanded views both over the Coral Sea and back towards Townsville. It certainly was worth the walk in the increasing heat to stand at a point not only with a fantastic view but also a lot of history.

After this very rewarding walk we had to return our scooters which was a hard thing to do as the bug had certainly bitten me hard. It was a great experience roaring around the twisty coastal roads of Magnetic Island. I say roaring with a touch of artistic license. Anyway after missing the bus back to the hostel and having to wait 1 and 1/2 hours for the next one, we rejoined Dave and went and had a solid 9 holes at the Magnetic Island golf club. For only $20 we hacked and sliced our way around the lovely little course. After the first hole (around 8 shots each) we quickly gave up the idea of actually keeping score and just relaxed. My drives were very admirable, Dave’s short game was on form and Mark just pulled the odd demon shot out with no pattern emerging. After this we definitely needed a beer as the heat had taken its hold, so we retired to the bar for the night. Magnetic Island is certainly a must on any travelers schedule as there is plenty to do and the locals are extremely friendly.

So now me and Mark are currently in Mission Beach. While there is almost nothing to do here when the weather is like it is (rainy and misty)  we are staying in one of the best places of all time. A little outside the village it is located in the dense rain forest. We are in a cabin that is only made of mesh walls. So at night you have all the sounds of the forest surrounding you. It is truly a fantastic experience and the beds are very very comfortable. however the odd bug does creep in and make noises uncomfortably close to your head. It is a very unique and relaxing experience. Also within 2 hours of arriving we saw the areas resident Cassowary which are strange almost prehistoric looking creatures. We were very fortunate to see this remarkable creature as the Mission beach area only has a population of about 50 and the animal is on the verge of extinction! We have two more nights here while Dave meets up with Jack and John in Cairns before we head up to Cairns. Unfortunately we only have about a week and a half of traveling around before we have to take up residence in Cairns to try and sell the car. Better make the most of it!

Jack xxxx

Roaming Fraser Island

So here is the post on Fraser island that you have all been waiting for. I claim full responsibility for not writing about it earlier, but in my defense I have been struggling to find the words for the best part of our trip to date.
The lowdown on Fraser Island – Its the largest sand island in the world, and they say that every grain of sand on the South East coast of Australia ends up at its shores. This ensures that the place is truly huge, with enough lakes, rock formations and wildlife to make a Geographer or Biologist begin to drool at the prospect of stepping off the boat and exploring.

We were staying at a place called Hervey Bay which is the largest town on the coast nearest to the island, and is therefore overrun itself with every travel company and backpackers organisation, trying to offer the best 4 by 4 adventures to Fraser.
In our case “Koalas” was our choice. It also served as our accommodation for the ensuing days both before and after our trip. With its own on-site bar, swimming pool and not to shabby rooms, we had everything we could want. Though it is the only place we have stayed in that you both have to ask for and leave a deposit for sheets! So on principle we all slept in our sleeping bags for the duration.
Now once you sign up for the trip there are a number of things that have to take place before the company let you roam free with their 4 by 4′s for 3 days. First of all there are forms to be signed which means you are responsible for any damages that are incurred on the vehicle. Then a meeting has to be sat through where the notion of losing your deposit (which is $50 per person)on the car by doing any number of things, is carefully and willfully tattooed on the souls of all present. After such formality’s and threats, the rather eccentric man heading our meeting showed us on a map where we should go and also where we should camp. Other aspects of the meeting were taken up by explanations of why swimming in the sea is a very, very bad idea (needless to say there are a lot of sharks). Also the presence of dingos and what one should do if approached by said animal. The briefing video shown was of particular interest here as it contained two girls demonstrating the correct position to be in, with your hands folded in a cross over your chest and then backing away slowly from a bemused dingo. This was of course greeted with laughter from the collective, and was quickly rebuked by the eccentric man, who said waving a stick and shouting was probably a better way to scare off a wild dog.
So after all of this and meeting our group of 8 for the first time, all of us trekked down to the local supermarket and bought enough food to last us for the next few days. More importantly we also made a trip to the bottle shop (or off license to all those back home) to stock up on beer and some cheap wine aptly nick-named “goon” (for the record – its disgusting).
The next morning at the ungodly time of 6:30 we all congregated outside our respective cars and after packing away all our things were ready and willing to get the trip started.
Once driving to the ferry and displaying our right to be there, we were away and watched the island gradually getting bigger over 30 minutes.
After disembarking we all settled in for a long spate of driving (left to our three designated drivers, as Jack and Mark were under the required age of 21), that would take us from the West side of the island at Wangoolba Creek Ferry, to Eli Creek on the East side. It was our aim to go up and do the North East side first and then come back down to the lakes that are situated in the middle-South of the island.

Eli Creek -
A fantastic creek which runs down from the lush green forest to the ocean. Its steady current proved powerful enough so I and the rest of our gang could lie on our backs and be carried along. For this reason we all had a fantastic time here, especially as Jack was in the process of trying out his new under water camera (ooooooo!). Only thing is it might have been nice to have timed it when less backpackers were there, and attempt to get the cool waters more to ourselves. However everyone was laughing and joking, their only worry being whether to wade directly up the creek or to use the wooden walkway to the side. Really fantastic start to our trip, and if you get to see our photos of it you’ll understand why.

Maheno Shipwreck -
This, the only man made attraction on Fraser, was a quick stop off for us on our way up North. It is literally just a big rusted ship run aground on the beach, not even one with a very interesting back story either. It was a pleasure steamer due to be scrapped before it broke loose from its towing boat and was run ashore and left for the barnacles and the backpackers. Not worth more than about 5 minutes of looking and a couple of photos.

Indian Head -
The farthest place that we could drive on the island, as “Koalas” strongly advised against going any further, plus we tried and our car got stuck in the sand (touche Koalas!). It consists of a huge outcrop of rock that looks out onto the ocean to the East and the beaches running North to South. Fantastic views, made the short uphill walk completely worthwhile The place is also a breeding ground for Tiger sharks, and you can actually look down at the sharp drop below and see their predatory swimming from afar.

Champagne pools -
A longer walk up from Indian head along the beach took us about 30 minutes and brought us to the most amazing rock formation I’ve seen. Its a series of pools protected by the rocks that separate the pools and tourists from the sea. The namesake is due to the unique way that the waves crash on the rocks and send the water bubbling and bursting through the small holes and cracks caused by years of erosion – thus making a champagne-esque effect. So as you can expect we lounged around in the pools and took many a group photo, while the bubbles foamed around us with every big wave.

Lake Wabby -
The deepest lake on the island, and a firm favorite with us. However this was a bit of a trek, through the woods of Fraser, but definately worth it. The only thing that angers me and Jack about Wabby, is that our eccentric Koalas man had told us that if you take the lid off your eskis
(the plastic containers for our food etc.), then you can ride them down the steep sand slopes at lake Wabby and into the water. Rubbish! Me, Jack and our Irish friend Aidan tried for ages to make the trip down the slope on our bums and all that was gained was sinking into the sand, cursing and getting sweaty. sigh! My personal vendetta against this aside, we had an awesome time there, swimming in the sun.

Lake Mackenzie -
The biggest and best lake on the island. Its huge body of water is about as crystal clear as you could ever hope for. groups have gone to Fraser island and raced to Mackenzie first thing, and spent the rest of their time there. Sadly, we only had about half an hour to take in its sparkling beauty as our time was up on Fraser and we had spent too long at Lake Wabby. For the next time I go i think i will take the nothing but Mackenzie option above. Still, with the waters shimmering in front of us and the cameras snapping away we lounged, and sat and laughed without a care in the world.

All i have left to say about Fraser is to quote the native Butchulla people in their original naming of the island as ‘K’gari’, which in English roughly translates as paradise……

dave

p.s – it is Baz Luhrmann Jack and he also did strictly ballroom and Moulin Rouge (although he doesn’t don’t talk about those two as much)

Backpacker Mecca

That seems to be where we are at the moment. Six days into our ten day stay at the legendary Airlie Beach (just a few 100km south of Townsville) we are beginning to see why. It is a wide, open lagoon perfect for harbouring one’s yacht , which is what many people seem to do. Looking at the house prices it seems there is a balance between the big money market, (catered for by large apartments set into the rolling, green, rain forest-covered hills and expensive restaurants) and the smelly, cheap and dirty backpacker market (catered for by cheap, dank backpacker accommodation and cheap eateries offering backpacker specials.) Luckily the two markets don’t seem to clash, but I can only imagine Mr. Jones in his $3 million pad overlooking the azure ocean isn’t too enamored with scruffy backpackers fouling up his little piece of paradise.

The reason for the popularity of Airlie Beach lies in its proximity to the Whitsunday Islands. For those of you who haven’t heard of these islands, they are a group of 74 white sandy beaches, a few of them with resorts on them. Think Great Keppel Island, but actually discovered! For example South Molle Island is a backpackers island with cheap accommodation and too many bars, whereas Hamilton Island is where Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman are staying while they film in nearby Bowen (more about that later). Oh and George Harrison had a quiet little mansion on the island. So as you can see it caters for everyone.Because of this there is a turf war fought on the main street of Airlie over the tour market. You can do pretty much anything from the full on 3 day 2 night sail adventure to day cruises. You can even do an extreme dive whatever the hell that is! Airlie is much like any other town in Australia, a small fishing town, yet this one has been discovered for its potential and transformed. While many residents may bemoan the influx, if it weren’t for the tourism this town would go the same way as the other towns along the coast that are far from commercial centers. Namely it would die on its feet. However with the Whitsunday Islands in close proximity this will never happen!

Everyone has assured me that the harbour is a spectacular sight at this time of year with the water resembling a blanket of crushed Emeralds. However, thus far the weather has been more Brighton Beach then Airlie Beach. It has rained for the past five days only breaking today. So the water has resembled the cast iron grey of a bunker as opposed to some tropical paradise. So the days have been spent reading many books and scowling at the locals as they dance in the rain with their buckets praising good for the luxury of rain. That is the flaw sadly with Airlie Beach. Home to only three thousand locals, if it rains there is seriously bugger all to do. “No dramas, then mate” as they say out here just read a lot. And drunk far too much then is good for us. The days have just followed the same pattern.Grab a good read, hunker down out of the rain in a comfy spot, then when the rain breaks go for a wander, shelter in a bar when it breaks again and begin on the beers. At 3 in the afternoon. Again “no dramas”. Excepting when it gets to 9pm and you reached the stage that should only be reserved for birthday and Christmas Eve. Then you know you’re in trouble the next morning. Sadly it has reached the point where I know resemble Keith Richards. A shaking, stumbling mess. Well when in Rome……

Since we have been here we have met some wonderful, colourful and downright mad people. Our room on the first night was classic. A lovely English girl and a mad Irish couple of girls one sporing a black eye. Needless to say we went out with them partying. It was pretty messy. I got shouted at by a mad girl and chased from the club. Until this day I still have no idea why she did it. We have also down the inevitable karaoke here and visited a beach party. When the website decides to behave  pictures up to illustrate my point! The weirdest experience has to be the one on Saturday Night. I was swaying slightly clutching a beer at roughly 8pm (been a particularly horrific day) when a bloke walked past me I thought I recognized from back home in Salcombe. However due to my rapidly deteriorating state and the sheer ridiculousness of it, I didn’t believe. However I circled him until there was no doubt. Shouting his name, the look on our faces must have been priceless when we realised the sheer m,magnitude of what had happened. Imagine a small town in Salcombe where he is a pivotal local, one of the finest. Last I had heard he was studying in Leeds at university, which was only eight months ago. Now I learn he lives on the Gold Coast with his girlfriend and is only in Airlie on a short break for 3 days. The timings involved are absolutely mad. Not for the first time this trip, do I think we are being watched. Anyway thanks to him and his antics we had three very good nights. That is the wonderful thing with this trip, something new gets thrown up everytime…. Next stop my birthday in 2 days time, which if the past few nights are anything to go by, is going to hurt.

Jack xxxxx

P.s. Bowen is a small rural town which has been invaded by Baz someone or other (director from Romeo + Juliet) and the two actors. They have transformed the town into a film set resembling an outback frontier town for the epic movie Australia (Epic film, crap title). Seeing a working set was a great experience and we took loads of photos while being chatted to amiably by a security guard who was a cross between Crocodile Dundee and Father Christmas. The film is about the bombing of Darwin (Capital of the Northern Territories) by the Japanese in WWII.

Great Keppel Island

Well, after the brilliant Fraser Island (which somebody will be doing a post on very soon), we decided to head up to a town slightly inland called Rockhampton with a population around 60000.  It’s one of the few large towns before we hit Cairnes and so we decided to stop off there.  Rockhampton proudly calls itself ‘the beef capital of Australia’ and with good reason; it’s full of cows and cowboys.  It’s a large town but curiously it always feels empty, and the nightlife consisted of a bar with $10 steaks for dinner and Karaoke (honestly, we don’t deliberately seek out Karaoke bars, they just seem to find us!). 

Anyhow, the main reason we stopped off in Rockhampton was so that we could us it as a base to get to ‘Great Keppel Island’.  Keppel is one of the largest of a number of small islands about 15km off the coast.  So, we drove to the ferry terminal in Yeppoon (about 30km from Rockhampton) and boarded the boat, not really knowing what to expect.   As soon as we reached Keppel, we decided that we liked it.  The ferry pulled up directly on to the beach and we were met by a 4×4 which took all our bags to where we were staying – Great Keppel Island Holiday Village.  When we arrived at the holiday village (which is actually a YHA Hostel) we were checked in and told all about the place.  They had a ‘no noise’ policy after 9:30 and the power was cut in the middle of the night to save on costs, noise and pollution – they run off diesel generators you see.  We were also informed that they recycled their own water (as do most places on the island) and although it was safe to shower with, it probably wasn’t a good idea to drink it as it tasted awful. 

Anyhow, we dropped off our bags and headed straight to the beach with our snorkels.  It was awesome – the water was warm and crystal clear and the rocks at the side off the beach were surrounded by reef and it teemed with marine life.  Millions of fish in all shapes, sizes and impossibly bright colours, as well as turtles, stingrays and pretty much everything else you could think of.  Thankfully, the Tiger Sharks that surround the area didn’t come in this far to the shore, so we were quite safe (although safety in Australian waters is a relative concept!).  After a thoroughly satisfying day looking at all the beautiful fish, we headed back to our hostel to take a shower and head out for some food and drink.  We found one of the two bars on the island and ordered some food and beers.  Since everything has to be shipped in fresh from the mainland, food was more expensive here than elsewhere, but by UK standards it was still pretty cheap….oh, and it was delicious as well!  We walked back to our room and by this time, I most confess that we had forgotten the “shut-up-after-9:30-rule” and were making a little too much noise.  We were told to be quiet and I think we may have slightly annoyed the manager, Jeff.

Anyhow, the next morning we tried to find him to apologise for being so loud, but he was nowhere to be found.  So, we did the logical thing.  We headed down to the beach to do more snorkeling!  This was another fine day of swimming, sunbathing and just being the sort of layed-back, lazy people that a gap year allows us to be.  In the evening we ate at the same place as the night previous, but headed down to the bigger of the two bars – the Wreck Bar.  This was a fine place with live music, but unfortunately there was only about 5 people in there….maybe it would pick up at the weekend we thought.  So, we headed off for an early night. 

Eventually, in the following days Jeff was found on reception and received his apology, which he took very well.  We decided that we liked Jeff and he received ‘top bloke’ status.  We asked about his ‘motorised canoe adventure’ and he jumped at the chance to take us out (it means he gets to play on the water for two hours, so he’s always keen to take people out!).  What this adventure consists of is going out on a large canoe that has floats on the side and being dragged along by the canoe over the reef whilst snorkeling.  You also get to see all the smaller islands surrounding Keppel.  Honestly it was the best $30 we have ever spent.  We saw thousands of fish, a couple of stingrays, some turtels….in fact we saw everything but Tiger Sharks (frankly, I can live without seeing them whilst I’m being dragged along, unamred and helpless behind a canoe).  If you ever do get a chance to visit Keppel (and you should, since not many backpackers seem to know about the tropical paradise it offers), then Jeff’s canoe adventure is a must.

We were originally booked in to Keppel for three nights, but we liked it so much that we wanted to stay longer.  Unfortunately, the holiday village was full, but Keppel Haven next door were able to offer us our own cabin with bathroom for just a little more money.  So, we booked into Keppel Haven for the next two nights.  There was a wedding on the island this weekend, so the luxury resort on the island was fully booked out.  The advantage of this was that the nightlife was bound to pick up a little bit.  The Wreck Bar had more live music (the same blokes as before playing the same songs – we learnt from our new friend Jeff that they were on a six week contract to play every day!).  But, in their defence they were pretty good.  The wedding had finished and so everyone was in party spirit – we bought Jeff beer and had a fantastic night partying and getting to know people.  We retuned to our room at around 2:30am (again, I fear we may have made a little too much noise) and promptly fell straight asleep.  The next day was our last night on the island, but we decided to take it easy as we were still dead from the night before, and we were low on funds.  We retired to bed at around 9:00 and read our books (hardcore, aren’t we?).  Jack and Dave fell asleep pretty quickly, but about an hour later I was being savaged by giant ants that were coming in under the door and using my bed as a sort of meeting place to plan their next attack.  Having defended my bed for over an hour and killing many of their number, I turned on the light to find about 10 ants on my bed and just as many on the floors and walls. I could take it no longer and fled to the beach and slept in a hammock.  A worker looked at me as if I were a hopeless drunk and said ‘hard night eh?’, to which I replied that I was sober and had been attacked by giant killer ants. He gave me a funny look and then we parted company.  I awoke about 6:00am and watched the sun rise….which was nice.  As I sit here typing, my ant bites have reached really quite respectable levels of itchiness and annoyance…but it was worth it as Keppel is such an awesome place and should be an essential stop off on anyone’s trip.

-Mark-

Thrills and Spills in Surfers

    Once again sorry about the slowness of the posting, there should be two more following this one on quickly. We spent 6 days with family friends Eliot and Maxine, in their beautiful home just outside of Surfers Paradise. We were only going to stay four days but at their insistence, coupled with the fact there was so much to do, we stayed longer. Upon arrival we settled in to our own two bedroom flat that was to be our accommodation for the next few days, (complete with widescreen television and pool table) and then asked Eliot what the best things to do were. He instantly recommended Sea World as a good place to visit, as there are 5 or so theme parks situated around Surfers Paradise all with huge rides. However as we arrived late on the 15th we decided just to hit the beach and check out the surf that the area is reknowed for and named after. It proved to be true, the surf was very good, but sadly a touch to big for me so I forwent the surf.

    Next day we rose fairly early to go to Sea World, and drove off in the car. For $100 dollars we gained entry to Sea World and over the next two days we could go to either Wet n’ Wild Waterpark or the Warner Brothers Movie World theme park. In sea world we went on all the rides which included a trippy, Bermuda triangle/alien invasion log flume, a decent if slightly small rollercoaster and the rocking pirate ship. We also went on the few water rides they had. Most importantly we viewed the polar bears, dugongs and many other marine life exhibits. The highlight however was the excellent Dolphin show, which included flips, synchronised displays and best of all the surfing of the dolphins by the trainers. I did get some very decent photos, but you will find out later on why they are not viewable. All in all it was a very enjoyable day. We returned to the flat to watch some tv on our huge screen and fish out the back of our hosts property.

    The next day Eliot had very kindly booked and paid for all of us to go on a fishing excursion in our own tinny boat. So we got up bright and early, clambered into the small boat with a small 5hp engine and drove off across the Surfer Paradise inlet waterways with a little difficulty. We drift-fished along the inlet waterways for an hour and a bit without too much success. Then we decided to moor the boat up, cross the sand peninsula and fish the ocean. So we tied the boat to a tree and trekked across the peninsula for about 15 minutes until we reached the sea. Here we had about 20 km of beach entirely to ourselves which was simply wonderful. After an hour of fishing I had caught a big Bream, which Eliot pronounced to be one of the best he had seen in a long while! Dave also caught two small Dart fishes. Mark of course was fishless. We headed back to the boat, with me feeling very smug. The smugness disappeared when we discovered our boat was now high and try on the mangrove mud. So with the four of us huffing and puffing we managed to push the boat back into the water and drive off. However this was easier said then done, because the tide had gone out hugely leaving incredibly shallow parts all over the water system. This meant every five minutes for half an hour I was hopping out of the boat to drag it off yet another mud bank. This was not my idea of fun, wading through thick, knee deep mud heaving three grown men in a small aluminium boat. However after a while we were free and progressing smoothly. We wetted a line for a touch longer with much the same result as before, and so decided to explore the hideously expensive looking properties all around us. These places were sickenly big and beautiful. Still I know where I’m going to live when I am older, jokes! We returned tired, a touch sunburnt, but very happy.

       

The next day we headed off to Movie World to experience all  the fun at the fair! The theme park was dominated by the impressive sight of a red and blue, huge roller-coaster with impressively large loops and all the shizbang! However upon arrival we discovered it was temporarily closed. However we went on the Lethal Weapon ride which was like starring in the movie, you felt bruised and battered after coming off it! Then we went on the straight up and down batman ride which left your stomach many matres below you. Dave did not enjoy this ride, with good reason. Throughout the day we amused ourselves on all the rides the place had to offer, including the now opened superman roller-coaster which propelled you at a frightening 100km in two seconds upwards. However towards the end of the day I manged to lose my fantastic camera. How I have no idea, we narrowed it down to being in one of two places but of course it was in neither. Hence from Surfers there are no photos unfortunately. In the evening we cooked a barbecue for our hosts including my wonderful Bream!

      The next two days were taken up with relaxing at the beach and finally surfing the big waves at surfers. For me it was also taken up with filing my insurance claim for my camera. Boo hiss! On our last evening with Eliot and Maxine we were treated to cooked, fresh mud crab. These me and Eliot caught in pots out the back of their property. They are truly a delicacy and one can understand why they cost so much in the shops! All in all we had a truly fantastic time with our generous hosts. They made us feel extremely welcome and invited us openly into their homes. Thank you very much.  

After Surfers we headed off to Caloundra which was interesting……..

Jack xxxxxxx

Familiar Faces in Brisbane

Good afternoon all, its Dave posting for the first time in a long while. i think jack and mark hid my thesaurus or something but now it has been found you can all once more be bored with more ramblings of a happy man.
So the oztripping team through the wonders of the internet managed to get in touch with Sam Woodcock , Adam Eisenstadt and Ed “too tall to function” Langford – all three friends from school. They gave us the dates that they would be in Brisbane so, being the crazy rogues that we are changed our plans to go to surfers paradise and instead skipped straight ahead to the capital of Queensland. The journey was rough and arduous and when we reached the town it was almost 11 o’clock in the morning (it only took about an hour and a half). Eager for accommodation we headed up towards the YHA which is a ten minutes walk from the centre of Brisbane, and finding the building was in the process of being repaired, turned on our heels and strolled down to the next building on the backpackers strip.
having paid and unloaded our stuff from the car, we had a little stroll round the place called simply, city backpackers. It proved from the inside to be a quite extraordinarily weird construction, the kind of thing you see in cartoons. The main building is flanked by two others and these all feed into the others with stair cases everywhere and 2 balconies and a pool kind of sharply jutting out from the kitchen area/t.v lounge area, which was on the second floor. However despite its strange architectural – at first confusing layout, we loved it. It had everything that a backpacker could want including a bar on the bottom floor which served the many happy travellers who flooded through its doors.
At about 7 that tuesday evening we ventured out to find food, (although the hostel does have a BBQ running every night from 6 o’clock – further adding to its list of backpackers heaven). Finding a nice bistro/bar we settled down to some steak with the most powerful pepper sauce in all the land. There was also a quiz on which we partook in and failed to quite brilliant levels, enjoying ourselves with frustration throughout. Then we played pool and drank a couple of beers until we decided to call it a night, realising that tomorrow might be a large one.
During the day on Wednesday the time passed uneventfully as we waited to meet up with the others that evening. So we headed down and on jacks rough but 90% accurate sense of direction, found our destination, the Z bar. After much hugging and huge smiles all round there was food to be ordered and stories to be told (god this has lapsed into a lord of the rings chapter, with companions round the campfire hasn’t it?). So we heard about how amazing Alice Springs was, about how terrible Singapore was and about how Fraser island is the best place in OZ. It is always great to see old mates and the night passed into a haze of stories, jokes, dancing (damn right i can dance) and alcohol. The next evening we invited the guys to join us at the Brisbane casino and try and break the bank. Unfortunately ed couldn’t make it, he was seeing his sisters boyfriend who is now living in Australia after losing herself to the country and the people while on her own gap year (don’t think i haven’t thought about it myself – just haven’t met the right guy yet). So with Sam and Adam in tow we played a bit of roulette and watched some of the other gamblers lose more in one hand than I earnt to go on this 6 months trip. Surprisingly 3 our of our number came out with more money than they went in with. Only me and adam were not smiling as broadly, with me losing only $10 to my compulsory red 7 bet (i mean if i bet on anything else that’s the one time it would come up). Adam however bet $50 and lost, which is a lot of money to a backpacker i can assure you. sigh!
We retired to a different but very good bar after this, and spent more hours talking and generally catching up. Ed joined us at just the right point to watch the wet t-shirt competition that took place at the bar every week. Now you may all ask what exactly this entails but i cannot honestly tell you as i was sitting at the bar facing the other way drinking a coke!
The next day was an important one in the oztripping calendar, as it was time to play cricket with more than just the three of us. With eight of us in total including two of Ed’s friends from the bar, we had a good 3 hours playing cricket in the sun drenched botanical gardens of Brisbane. The appeals were loud and constant, the bowling bouncy and the batting a slog- fest. Mark has to be noted for the most spectacular catch of the day where he panicked after realising he’d moved to far ahead of the ball as it fell to earth, and readjusted in time to perform a spine-twisting left hand catch that sparked wild celebrations.
Exhausted and dusty we moped off the “pitch” and after getting some internet moved onto our separate resting places.
That friday night, Jack and Mark headed off to the valley which is a part of Brisbane, to go and catch a live band of which jack knew the lead singer. Not in the mood for live music and realising that i had only 2 more nights with sam ed and adam, went off to their place for chicken snitzel and beer. We then moved up to their dorm room after eating and spent ages talking about everything and anything, to the extent that these girls also sitting there that the guys knew vaguely, became annoyed by our lack of including them in our ramblings. After they left and we finished our beer, there was much dancing to be had downstairs. So the night passed eventfully and brilliantly.
In the morning Jack and Mark told me they had a great time and that the intended band had been impressive, while they reclined on comfy sofas. This day passed uneventfully and we all said good bye to Sam ed and adam that evening as both they and us were off the next day. It was a bit sad to see them go as i know if we’d all been travelling together for longer we’d have some great stories to tell but having said that three is a great travelling number and both our groups were proving as such.
My parting thoughts about Brisbane are that it is exellent in the evenings but during the day we struggled to find things to occupy our time. Jack went into the Brisbane museum and said he was really very unimpressed. Now people may scream in distain at me but please do prove me wrong and visit Brisbane, during the day but certainly during the night.

Dave