Whitsunday Sailing

Here is my home for the next 3 days, The boat is a Tri-maran racer called the Avatar. It holds 30 people on board plus crew and is pretty stable. I may be sleeping on deck or camping ashore depending on how claustrophobic I feel in the cabin. Should be fun - I have my sea sickness pills at the ready and also some ginger tablets which are meant to work as well. See you in 3 days.

Airlie Beach

Mar 27th. We arrive at Airlie Beach at about half an hour later than scheduled. Thankfully even though it is 7am there is a bus to take us to the hostel. We couldn't get into our room though as we were waiting for people to leave. This does happen so I grab a couple of hours kip before heading into town. It is quite a small town but AB is the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands. I check in for my sail boat tomorrow and then will relax and snooze for the rest of the day. There is a little artificial lagoon which looks quite inviting.

Night Coach

We head off to the coach station for our coach at 23.55. It has been such a long day of waiting that obviously the coach is half an hour late. We had killed the time earlier by watching Predator on DVD. Quality film featuring some great one liners - 'I ain't got time to bleed'. Onboard the coach it is a little tricky to sleep but this is my home for the next 6 odd hours till we get to Airlie Beach.

Capricorn Caves

Located just outside Rockhampton we visit some local limestone caves as a way of killing time. The tour itself is quite good and we get a chance to go through some tight spots that the old guana (bat poo) miners had to carry their guana sacks through. We are only given a candle to do this. It is only 10 metres but still cool. We do see some micro bats flapping around and quite a few more that are asleep.

Picture - Some limestone action - spot the huntsman spider on the right

Amusing Greyhound Coach Announcements #1

Just before getting off the coach for a stop at a serice station.
"Would all passengers please ensure that they don't bring any Milk products on the coach such as Milk or flavoured milk"

Rockhampton

Mar 26th. We are now in Rockhampton after arriving here late last night on the coach. The YHA is a little basic but OK and now we have a full day to kill before getting the night coach to Airlie Beach which is the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands. To say there is little to do in Rocky is an understatement - it is OK to break up a journey but that is it. Rockhampton is the beef capital of Australia, there are over 2 million cattle in a 250km radius of the town. The steaks are good.

An apology

Normally when diving, you get the same kit for both dives - Unfortunately this didn't happen on Lady Musgrove as they mixed everything up. I wish to apologise to whoever got the regulator for the afternoon dive that I had vomitted through that morning. Very Sorry.

Lady Musgrove Island - Diving

We get our kit sorted out and head out on a small boat and then dive in doing a backwards roll. My stomach isn't good and the rocking of the boat wasn't helping either. The dive is cool, we see a turtle swimming along and lots of fish with some beautiful coral as well. About 20 minutes into the dive I suffer a bit of underwater vertigo and decide that I am going to vomit. Not great when you are 18 metres underwater but you just get on with it and puke through the regulator. It is pretty disgusting but I purge the reg and am breathing OK, the key thing is to not panic. I also throw up as soon as we surface and on the boat back to the lagoon as well. We have a rushed lunch before doing another dive. This dive was rubbish, we were accompanied by some introductory divers and spent the first 10 minutes on the bottom waiting for them to descend and join us. We then swim around for a bit, not really seeing anything. The only interesting thing that happened was me throwing up again underwater and on surfacing.
The boat trip back is fine and reasonably calm so no more throwing up takes place. I am so glad to touch terra firma again and also to get some food into my stomach.

Lady Musgrove Island - Southern Barrier Reef

Mar 24th. I really could do with a day off but I am booked on a day cruise to one of the islands on the southern part of the great barrier reef. I am picked up at 6am and head off to the marina. We are told that it is going to be choppy on the way out and it certainly was. Probably 40% of the people onboard were sick including myself. At one point I was feeling OK then 2 of the people sitting by me puked which set me off. An hour and a half later we arrive at the island and anchor in the lagoon and it is nice and calm here with lovely weather. I don't have long to sort myself out as I am doing a couple of dives today. Not good when you are feeling so sick.

Turtle Facts

• 1 in 1000 of the hatchlings make it to adulthood (30 years old)
• A turtle always returns to the beach it was born on to lay its eggs.
• A female turtle will make up to 6 egg laying visits in a season, laying approximately 150 eggs a time.
• The gender of the turtle hatchlings is determined by the temperature of the nest.

Mon Repos Beach - Heroes in a Half Shell

After dark we head off to Mon Repos beach, it is the most important Turtle Rookery in the southern hemisphere. The season runs from November to March with 3 types of turtle coming ashore to lay their eggs from Nov to Jan and then the eggs hatching from Jan to March. We arrive at the centre and wait to hear news that some hatchlings have been spotted. Thankfully we aren't waiting too long before we set off on the beach to see the turtles push their way through the sand and crawl down. It is a bit managed in that they catch all the little ones and put them into an enclosure and then take them round so we can see them but the little dudes need all the help they can get as they are very endangered. After we have all had a look then we form a line down to the sea and people with torches go into the middle and form a tunnel so that the turtles follow the lights to the sea. All the little dudes are set free and make the trip down to the beach and end up into the sea. Thankfully the annoying kids that were there manage to not tread on any of the hatchlings and we see them make it safe and sound. Even ones that have got caught up in the nest are given a hand. Afterwards the ranger analyses the nest and finds that 47 eggs hatched in the nest but 51 didn't - this is a low success rate as normally 80% of the eggs hatch.

Bundaberg

Mar 23rd. We leave Hervey Bay to get the Greyhound bus to the small town on Bundaberg. It is a popular town for backpackers to come for work as there are lots of fruit and veg to pick in the right seasons. There is no chance of me doing anything like that so we are here to go one of the other things that the town in known for - seeing the turtles and Bundaberg Rum.

Random Animal Pics #10

Big spider on Fraser Island.

Lake McKenzie

Mar 22nd. We get up a little later and drive to Lake Mckenzie which is a fresh water lake inland. It is quite a bumpy drive to get there and we get bogged down which requires everyone to get out and push but this is all part of the fun. The lake itself is cool but it actually got really crowded. The water is so clear and you can drink it if you really wanted to. We have a swim and relax before heading off to get to the ferry barge to take us back to the mainland.

Dingoes in the Night

After driving down south taking in the sights of Eli Creek and The pinnacles we get to camp about 5 at One Tree Rock. We are having a spag bol tonight so get this fired up and cooking. We see our first dingo but he doesn't come close to us. We sit around eating and talking and then see that a dingo has crept up and snatched up our cooking oil and ran off with it. Yum, that will be tasty. Also one was only a few feet away trying to dig something up by the other group, when we all stood up it got scared but they are pretty fearless and you have to be careful. A young boy was killed by Dingoes in 2001 - the problem has been created by man ourselves as people have been feeding the dingoes and leaving waste food around campsites so they naturally come in and see what they can get. In the morning a pack of 5 show up and go straight to where the cooking oil bottle was but I had already picked it up. If you see a dingo with the runs on fraser island then that will be the one who drank all the oil as the bottle was empty.

The Maheno Wreck

Driving south down the beach we come to the wreck of the Maheno which has been on Fraser Island since 1934. It was being towed to Japan for scrap but broke free in a cyclone and has been on the beach ever since. The wreck is about 30 metres long and is buried quite deeply in the sand, you can actually walk above the rear deck and get all around it.

Champagne Rocks

So called because the water has the colour of champagne. It is crystal clear but quite small. It was also an effort to have to walk an hour along a beach to get there as well. To make matters worse, I have a slight disagreement with a rock and manage to scratch my arm and cut my wrist (Note to Mum - It was a small cut - I am fine). Martin had his first aid kit on him so I cleaned myself up and got plastered.

Pictures (Left) The view of the beach we walked along - Indian heads in distance. (Right) - The pools at Champagne rocks.

Indian Heads

After a drive up the beach we reach the northernmost point of the trip. We park up on the beach and then walk up to the lookout at Indian heads for a great view along the beach, ocean. The water is so clear that we can see a couple of sharks swimming around and some smaller fish as well.

Sunrise

Mar 21st. We camped on the beach the previous night - there were no sightings of dingoes at all even though we had a massive BBQ of steak, sausages and burgers. For going to the toilet you are meant to dig a hole regardless of which number you are going for but this is too much effort for number ones so we use the biggest flush system in the world - The pacific ocean. There is no fresh water at camp so we basically just brush our teeth and get on with things. We have to leave early due to the tide so we are up at 5am and manage to pack up camp and get going at 6. The bonus of this is we see a brilliant sunrise from the beach.

To Lake Wabby

After getting off the barge, we head off to fill up our water tank along bumpy, sandy road tracks which prove to be rather interesting driving. We get slightly stuck at one point as there is a steep slope exiting the 'car park' at Central station. I drive around but there is no other exit so I have to floor the accelerator and go for it. Thankfully we make it and can carry on. We get to the beach and drive up to Lake Wabby which is an inland lake surrounded by sand dunes. Nice for a quick paddle/swim. There are catfish in there as well that swim really close. Pictures (Left) - The van parked on the beach. (Right) - Lake Wabby.

All aboard the Pink 4x4 for Fraser Island

Mar 20th. We meet up with our group of 7 people (3 germans, 2 norwegians and 2 english) the night before for our briefing of what we will be doing for the next 3 days - A bit much to take in as it involves planning our shopping, how to drive a 4x4, keeping 'dingo safe'. Anyhow, we meet up and jump into the bright pink van which will be our mode of transport for the next 3 days. I will actually be doing all the driving as no-one else really wants to. No pressure then as we all have a share of $1000 aussie dollars as a security bond. We head off to Woolworths (A Supermarket here in Oz) to buy our supplies and then head off to the barge to Fraser Island.

Pictures (Left) - Me in the drivers seat. (Right) All aboard the barge.

Fraser Island - Begins Tomorrow

I will be offline for a few days as I can't get online on Fraser Island. I will be driving a 9 seater 4WD bright pink truck with some other people and camping out under the stars. Hopefully I won't get attacked by Dingoes but we shall see. Should be a blast.

Brisbane to Hervey Bay

Mar 19th. We get up early and head to the coach station for our 5 hour coach journey to get to Hervey Bay where we will be embarking on our 3 day 4WD adventure. The journey turns out to be one of the worst in the human history of modern transport. They showed the DVD 'Rebound' which is one of the worst films ever. Have a look yourself
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebound_(film)
Jesus Wept.

Mount Coot-Tha

Mar 18th. We head up to Mt. Coot-Tha which lies in Brisbane's suburbs and offers views of the downtown area. We stop off first in the Coot-Tha Botanical gardens for another picnic (and to lighten the load of my bag). We also have a trip on the river and more walking. Then it is off for a well deserved afternoon snooze.

Pictures (Left) - A Water dragon lizard in the Botanical gardens, (Right) - View of Downtown Brisbane

Random Insect Photos #1

Picture of 2 odd looking insects found at the Museum in Brisbane.

Brisbane

Mar 17th. We meet up with the friend we met on Tasmania as she is showing us round the city today. We have a stroll around, have a picnic in the Botanical gardens, walk along the harbour front. There is an artificial beach (including lifeguards) as well which is quite amusing to see in the middle of the city. I am dragged in to the modern art gallery which is basically mostly a load of crap but it does have some cool things. There is an asian film exhibit which basically has lots of TVs showing cool bits from Jackie Chan movies. The major plus for the place is that it had air con - it was swelteringly hot in Brisbane that day.

Pictures (Left) - Goodwin Bridge. (Right) - Catherdral surrounded by skyscrapers

Taking a sickie

Despite being on Holiday I am taking a sickie tonight. A lovely french girl that we met on our Tasmania tour lives and works in Brisbane so we had arranged to meet up when we got to Brisbane. I have 'developed' a mystery stomach ailment which means that Martin and her can head off on a hot date tonight. I will of made a full recovery by tomorrow.

Timezone Shennanigans

Mar 16th. We get up and head to Sydney airport today for our flight to Brisbane. We were initially confused when the airline website said the flight left at 11 and would arrive at 11:25. We can't be going in to a new time zone as we are travelling north. After a bit of head scratching we find out that Queensland don't have Daylight saving time whereas New South Wales do.

I come from a Land Down Under . . . . . .

http://www.lyricsdomain.com/13/men_at_work/land_down_under.html

Legends.

Inappropriate Shop names for Airports #1

Kaboom!!!!!

Random Animal Pictures #8

Meet Jess, the resident dog of the Tallah Lakeside Chalet on Tasmania. Jess likes nothing better than to get tangled up on all the chairs and tables around her and then when you try and untangle her, she likes to try and chew the lead. Cool dog, not as cool as Charlie though.

Sydney Police 2 - Bus Lane Violaters 0

Getting the bus back from Palm Beach we hit Sydney rush hour. The bus driver was getting a bit irate at a couple of cars that were using the bus lane and actually had appeared to of stopped. After a bit of frantic beeping, A policeman magically appeared by the side of the road and flagged the 2 cars down and got them down a side road so he could issue tickets. The bus driver triumphantly beeped his horn as he drove past and most people on the bus were clapping/cheering/laughing/flipping the car drivers the bird.
Sweet As Mate.

Home and Away

Mar 15th. Bit of a lazy day today. We met up with friends from our dive class in Koh Toa in Thailand as they are looking for work in Sydney. Their plans for the day were to go to the beach that Home and Away is filmed so we thought we would tag along. Anyhow we got there but Alf Stewart was nowhere in sight but his name is up on the 'Summer Bay' surf club notice board (See picture Right). Apparently we had missed filming by 1 day. Gutted.

Random Animal Pictures #8

Picture of a bird 'hovering' right next to the walkway - didn't hang around to see it swoop down in an attempt to catch something for lunch.

Bondi Beach

After lunch, we head out to see what Bondi Beach is like. Very busy and not the best beach around - overrated is what the locals say and I can see why. Not being a beach person, we leave the sun worshippers to it and take the scenic stroll to get to Cogee beach 5 km away down the coast, seeing various other beaches along the way.

Mrs Macquaries Chair

Inside the Botanical gardens lies a rocky outcrop called Mrs Macquaries chair which offers this post card-esque view of the harbour with the Opera house and bridge in the background. Had to wait a while to get this shot as some tw*t with a boat was floating right in the way.

Botanical Gardens - Fruitbats!

Mar 14th. Bit of a lie in till 8.30 this morning, after breakfast we head off to the Royal Botanical gardens to have a look around and see the local fruitbat colony. Some of the things written in travel books prove elusive but there are thousands of fruitbats (sometimes known as flying foxes) hanging upside down in the trees. They make quite a noise as well, There was a bit of comedy when one fruitbat got in another ones hanging room and they had a bit of a scrap. The weaker one flew off, its wings were obviously not like a shield of steel.

Picture - Fruitbats literally hanging around.

Australia 17 - England 20 AET

It was nice to see where England triumphed - We didn't try and rub it in too much to our tour guide. At least they didn't try and pretend that the game never happened.

Pictures (Left) - Me with the posts where J.Wilkinson nailed his world cup winning drop goal. (Right) - Martin Johnsons signed shirt that he wore for the final.

Edited - Quit why I put Brian I don't know. Apologies - this is bordering on herecy.

Sydney Olympic Stadium

After the poncey stuff at the Opera house, we need some sport so we head out to the Olympic Park where the 2000 Olympic games were held. Also it was the site of Englands Rugby World Cup win in 2003. The park is huge with all the various stadia still there, quite impressive. We see some teams walk by from the Water Polo Championships, I was impressed with the Croatians - The coaches for that team were sipping coffee with big fat cigars. They will go far in the tournament.

Inside the Sydney Opera House

Mar 13th. We get up early(ish) to go to the Sydney Opera House for our guided tour. We are lucky (or unlucky depending on your taste of music) to listen to the Sydney Orchestra rehearsing some classical music for a performance that evening.

Here is some useless trivia fact fans :- The Opera House has over 2000 panes of glass, over 1 million tiles on the roof. It ran massively over budget and over time. I don't know if Multiplex were involved or not.

Pictures (Left) - View of the harbour bridge through the left section of the Opera house. (Right) - Front of the Opera house

Hot Cross Bun Adverts #1

Yum.

Amusing Ice Lolly Names #1

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Another of Sydneys iconic places is the Harbour Bridge. The bridge is celebrating its 75th anniversary on Sunday18th March. It is based on the bridge over the Tyne in Newcastle. You can do a bridge climb which takes you right on the top of the bridge itself, I will see if I can summon up the courage to have a go (Yes I do suffer from vertigo but I have probably done sillier things in my life).

Sydney Opera House

Sydneys iconic Opera House is just that. It isn't an enormous building but so distinctive as it sits on the edge of the Harbour area. We are going on a tour inside tomorrow morning.

Pictures (Left) - Taken from halfway on the Harbour Bridge, (Right) - Taken from the Rocks area with the clouds threatening to rain.

Sydney Tower

The weather has cleared up a bit so we go to the Sydney Tower - It is 260metres high and offers some stunning views of the harbour area.

It was great to see how the city has laid itself out and the extent of the harbour and the Parramata river.

Pictures - (Left) - Aussie Stadium and SCG, (Right) - The Sydney Harbour bridge

SCG (Sydney Cricket Ground) and Aussie Stadium

We get to Moore Park which is the site for the fabled SCG and the newer Aussie Stadium and prepare for our tour of both. We happen to bump into England cricket legend Graham Thorpe outside (Sorry no pics, was too shy to say hello). The tour is cool, we see dressing rooms, the Members bar and 'Matthew Haydens Door' This is where he smased a pane of glass on getting out once (allegedly). We also have a look in the museum and see some old memorabilia etc. Really good tour.

Pictures (Left) - The members pavillion, (Right) - View from the Members Pavillion

Back to Sydney

Mar 12th. We leave Katoomba for our 2 hour train journey back to Sydney and check in to our hostel (Cunningly positioned right next to the station for minimum fuss). The weather is grey and overcast and it had rained in the mountains earlier. Not a great start but never mind. It is good to have a base for a while as we are here till Friday when we fly out to Brisbane.

Cradle Mountain Hike Video

This is video taken at the end of the hike - As it goes from left to right, You can see Hansen's Peak and then Cradle Mountain itself. We didn't climb the mountain, but we walked under where the cradle sits

Jenolan Caves

Mar 11th. We get up and get the bus to the Jenolan Caves which are about an hour away from Katoomba, We have a look around various sites and little caves before going on a tour of the big cave - The caves are quite good but unfortunately too many people are in the group so we take ages going around the thing.

Blue Mountains - Katoomba

Mar 10th. We get the train to Katoomba which is a couple of hours out of Sydney and located in the heart of the Blue Mountains. We spend the afternoon walking around various sites around the town and visit Scenic World which has a Cableway with a glass bottom and an old style railway which is apparently the steepest in the world.

Pictures (Left) - The 3 Sisters rock outcrop, (Right) - View across the Megalong valley