Fraser Island, Brisbane, Surfers Paradise, Byron Bay, Etc.

I know that it's been awhile since my last posting so hopefully I won't forget anything!

Thursday, October 15. We were on the road again bright and early, happy to leave Rockhampton, with our ultimate destination being Hervey Bay. We took a slight detour and checked out Agnes Water and Town of 1770 (named for the year of Capital Cook's second landing). Since these towns were a bit of the main drag, Agnes Water and Town of 1770 were very quaint with nice beaches and just a few shops. Next stop on our route was Bundaberg – the Great Barrier Reef starts in Bundaberg, they have a large rum distillery there and it's where loggerhead turtles come to hatch their eggs and people can watch the baby turtles make the trek from their eggs to the ocean (though sadly we weren't there at the right time of year). We stopped at the post office so I could mail a few things and 30 minutes later I left after chatting with a very friendly postal worker who told me about his brother who was about to marry a girl from Kentucky, gave us directions to Bagarra (the coastal area) and even gave us a phone book so we could look at the maps (after marking out our route for us) – not exactly the same as U.S. postal workers! We drove out to Bagarra and had lunch along the ocean. Back on the road we went heading for Hervey Bay. We hit Hervey Bay around 4:00 pm. - a large town along the water. We checked into our hostel and grabbed some provisions for the camping trip we were about to embark upon the following day.

Friday, October 16. We were up bright and early to head over to Fraser Island. We had booked an “camping adventure 3-day safari” with one of the tour companies. The “bus” picked us up around 7:30 am and we met our tour guide Steve and our tour guide-in-training Simon. Steve was a classic Aussie outback guy - tall, a little rough around the edges and full of stories, jokes and antics. Simon was a Kiwi (someone from NZ) who was a little quiet but very nice. We picked up 6 other couples – 2 couples from the UK, 1 couple from Belgium, 1 couple from New Zealand (who we hope to see when we head over there) and 2 couples from the Netherlands (nicknamed by Steve as the “Netherlands Connection”) - once again we were the only Americans. We drove the bus onto the ferry to take the 50 minute ride over to Fraser Island. In route we saw a few dolphins off in the distance. So a few facts about Fraser Island – Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world and it is the only place in the world where rainforest grows directly out of the sand. It's about 124 km long and 24 km wide. All of the roads are sand – and not hard packed sand, but rather soft sand sometimes 2 feet deep. Needless to say you can only go there in a 4WD vehicle. My Let's Go book says it's “a beach and rainforest playground crisscrossed by 4WD tracks.” The largest “road” on Fraser Island is a 75 mile beach along the east side where they have posted speed limits and you literally need to look both ways before crossing the beach. There are no street lights on Fraser Island and most people just camp along the beach. There are a few clusters of houses every once and awhile. The Aboriginal people call it “K'Gari” meaning “Paradise.” Fraser Island is home to the purest dingo population. Inland there are number of freshwater lakes which are wonderful since sadly you can't really swim in the ocean as there are tiger sharks and strong currents. Lastly, Fraser Island is ever changing as the wind moves large sand blows found on the island. Back to our trip... When we got to Fraser Island there was no dock or pier for the ferry but rather we pulled right up to the beach and off we went – slowly bumping along in our bus (seat belts are mandatory). Our first stop was a freshwater lake called Lake Allum. It was a slow ride to the Lake, though Steve chatted as he drove the whole time. Keith describes it as dune bugging in a bus. There were often times we didn't think we would make it up the track or we'd have to try four or five times to get past a particular spot. Almost all of the tracks are only wide enough for one vehicle so it's always tricky when you meet another car. We had picnic lunch and then headed down to Lake Allum. There were many curious freshwater turtles along the edge. The Lake itself had lots of tannins and tea tree oil so it was really good for your skin and hair but if you looked at you skin underwater, you looked a bit like an umpalumpa (sp?) – orange. The Lake was wonderfully refreshing. On the way out we saw a goanna – a large lizard type animal. Next we headed down to 75 mile beach were we stopped at a shipwreck called the SS Maheno. The Japanese had bought the SS Maheno from Australia. While towing it back to Japan, they hit an unexpected cyclone which caused the SS Maheno to crash onto the shore of Fraser Island. Next was Eli Creek – a beautiful (but a bit cold) freshwater creek that runs north into the ocean. From there we went to see the Pinnacles or the Coloured Sands, large pointed hills with layers and layers of different colored sand. On the way to the Coloured Sands we say large eagle ray that was skimming the shoreline. Finally we headed to our campsite at the Cathedral Beach Resort and Camping Ground (though not really sure where the “resort” part was unless you count the little general store). Our tents were all set up and were quite nice in so far as tents go. They were on raised platforms and had a good size bed. There was an area to sit outside and a large open air building for cooking and eating. There also was a building with showers and toilets. After receiving our tent assignment (Keith had become “buds” with Steve and Simon so I'm convinced we got the best tent), we headed for the showers. While Steve and Simon cooked dinner, we enjoyed some wine and snacks and chatted with the other folks on the tour. Dinner and dessert was quite good and the conversation flowed easily. Bed came quickly for everyone.

Saturday, October 17. We awoke bright and early. We had both slept well though I did have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom which was a bit scary as we didn't have flashlights. I was convince that “something” was going to get me on the way to or from the bathroom. Steve and Simon cooked us some breakfast and then back on the bus we went. We headed up 75 mile beach to area called Champagne Pools – a series of shallow tide pools. Next we wandered up Orchid Beach and looked for some local wildlife – or as Steve would say “let's see what Mother Nature has for us today.” We then grabbed lunch and then headed to Ocean Lake – another of the freshwater lakes. From there we climbed up to the top of Indian Head – a fabulous spot to see the sand blows and the beautiful beaches. From there we spied some whales off the coast. Next we headed back to camp. Keith tried his hand at some fishing (the seemingly most popular activity on Fraser Island) and I chatted with some of the other folks on the tour. We had another delicious dinner and called it a night. Only once during the day did we have to all get out of the bus so Steve could try (unsuccessfully) to get it up one of the hills we encountered.

Sunday, October 18. Again we were up bright and early having had the same issue with the bathroom as the night before. As an aside, I'm not sure camping is the thing for me – too many creepy crawly things for my liking. Perhaps I would enjoy it a bit more if there weren't so many poisonous creatures out there! The first stop for the morning was Lake Wabby. It was a bit a hike in, but it's an amazing spot as you cross a huge sand blow that flows right into the Lake. The water was beautiful. Next we had lunch in an area called Happy Valley. From there we headed to Lake Garawongera – the final lake on our tour. Along the way we had to get out of the bus so Steve could try to get it up a hill. After many unsuccessful attempts and even trying to go up backwards, all of the men on the had to push the back of the bus to get it up the hill. The swim in Lake Garawongera was quite refreshing. Next we needed to head back over to west side of Fraser Island to catch the ferry home. On the way back we stopped and wandered around a virgin rainforest where the trees are thousands and thousands of years old (it take trees fives times as long to mature on Fraser Island than anywhere else in the world). It was spectacular. We headed back on a 5:00pm ferry but not before the exhaust had fallen off the bus and we were relegated to sitting in the middle of the road while we waited for another bus to come with wire to jimmy the exhaust back onto the bus. Once we were back in Hervey Bay, we bid farewell to the others and to Steve and Simon. We grabbed some dinner and then headed to bed – exhausted.

Monday, October 19. We were up bright and early and on the road to Brisbane. Along the way we checked out an upscale beach town called Noosa and followed a coastal route along the beautiful beaches of the Sunshine Coast. We then headed to the Australia Zoo (about 45 minutes to the north of Brisbane) – the home of the Crocodile Hunter - the zoo that Steve Irwin owned and operated. It was one of the most beautiful and well kept zoos Keith and I have ever seen. You were able to interact with many of the animals. We were able to pet and feed kangaroos and koalas. The feature attraction (of course) was the crocodiles which were quite impressive. After enjoying a fabulous afternoon at the zoo, we checked out the Glasshouse Mountains – a series of 16 peaks which seem to come out of nowhere. Next stop was Brisbane. We checked into the apartment we were staying in – a beautiful 2 bedroom apartment with a full kitchen, living room, laundry, a balcony overlooking the river, etc. It was a wonderful welcome after spending several nights in hostels and camping. We then went walked through the Roma Street Parklands (the world's largest subtropical garden in a city center) and the CBD. Brisbane is a great city with the Brisbane River separating the north and south banks. We grabbed dinner at a place called Jo Jo's – a place recommended by my Let's Go which overlooks the CBD. It did not disappoint. It had five different kitchens from which to order which included Italian, Thai and char-grill. Dinner was fabulous and we even indulged in some yummy chocolate mousse for dessert.

Tuesday, October 20. The morning in Brisbane proved to be quite productive. After spending what seemed like several hours at a Flight Centre, Keith and I successfully planned at least part of our trip to Southeast Asia. Next Wednesday we fly out of Sydney to Phuket, Thailand. If all goes well, we'll spend ten days or so in southern Thailand checking out the beaches and then head to Cambodia for a six day tour and then Laos for a five day tour. We'll then head to Bali to meet up with our friend Rachel. By the time we finished at Flight Centre it was time for lunch. Since Jo Jo's had been so delicious for dinner the night before, we headed back there for lunch. Again it did not disappoint. We wandered around Brisbane for a bit more and then hit the road for Surfers Paradise along the Gold Coast (about an hour drive). We arrived in Surfers Paradise around 2:00 pm and checked into our hotel – a nice spot with a balcony overlooking an inlet. We then headed to the beach, checking out the CBD along the way. Surfers Paradise was a little bit like South Beach meets Rodeo Drive. There is a beautiful beach with lots of clubs, restaurants, etc. nearby as well as lots of high-end shops – Burberry, Coach, Tiffany, Luis Vuitton, etc. There is a lot of construction going on and clearly it is a growing area. After putting out faces in the sun for an hour we headed down to Q1 – the 20th tallest building in the world (and the tallest residential building in the world). We took the ride up to the top and the view was spectacular. You could see from Brisbane to Byron Bay. Keith and I enjoyed a cocktail while taking in the view. We headed back to the hotel, enjoyed a glass of wine on the balcony, showered and headed out for the evening. We wandered a bit more and then grabbed some dinner.

Wednesday, October 21. On the road again.... After enjoying the buffet breakfast at our hotel, we checked out and headed down the Gold Coast Highway, checking out the towns of Coolangatta and Tweeds Head – both known for excellent surfing. Both towns were much less metropolitan than Surfers Paradise but still provided excellent beaches and a fabulous view of the Surfers Paradise skyline. Next we headed to Byron Bay via a small artsy town in the mountains called Nimbin. Byron Bay was a cute beach side town. It had nice beaches and plenty of shops. We grabbed a late lunch and took a walk out to Cape Byron Lighthouse – the easterly most point of mainland Australia. Apparently Byron Bay is a popular spots for dolphins and humpback whales but sadly we were a little late in the season to see any (though Keith did think he saw some spray). We got a late start out of Byron Bay (around 6 pm), so we just decided to “wing it” and drive as far as we wanted and ust find someplace to spend the night. After driving for a couple of hours, we decided Grafton would be a good place to stop as it looked, from the map, to be a pretty big town. Being a Wednesday night, we didn't think finding lodging would be a problem. When we got to Grafton it was a bit of a ghost town and almost all of the motels were sold out! Apparently there were fires in the area and a number of people had left their houses to come stay in Grafton. Fortunately we were able to find one “hotel” - I use that word quite loosely as basically it was a bunch of rooms over a bar. The good news was that it was cheap and provided us a much needed place to spend the night. The bar below boasted that it had the coldest beers in town, so Keith and I both enjoyed one before calling it a night.

Thursday, October 22. Once again we were up bright and early and on the road before 7:00 am. We had a lot of ground to cover and needed to get a good start. Our ultimate destination was Hunter Valley – a wine region approximately 2 ½ – 3 hours from Sydney. It was a pretty uneventful but long drive (7 hours) and we managed to make it to Hunter Valley by 2:00 pm. After getting a map from the visitors center we checked into our hotel – a nice Crown Plaza. From there we went and checked out a number of the area's vineyards where we tasted delicious wine (and purchased a few bottles). We also tasted some local cheese. The area is beautiful. We went back to the hotel, enjoyed a bottle of wine, showered and then headed out to a delicious Italian dinner.