Backpacking

On the way down from Brisbane we decided to stop off somewhere on the Gold Coast for some wholesome australian fun, and after receiving some advice that Surfers Paradise was way more commercialised, we ended up at Byron Bay.

I think I fell in love with this place at first sight. It is the complete aussie version of our english sea-side town, but without the tacky promenade, the falling down pier and row after row of chip shop, candy floss stand, ice cream van... plus it is on the east coast of Australia so it is hot, sunny and the surf is good!

Obviously the first thing you notice here is the beautiful beach and rather large waves! But then you look back to the shore and realise that something is missing from this picture - where are the skyscraper hilton hotels that we are used to, and the many other unsightly features of a beach resort? Byron has none of them. It is more or less untouched by tourism apart from the odd 'bucket and spade' type shops flogging a bit of Byron merchandise. As you walk down the main street the other thing that strikes you is how laid back the place is. It is a magnet for surfer dudes and beach babes, everyone is really friendly, and it is the perfect place to totally chill out.

As we drove down the main streets of Byron, I realised that this was the place to splash out in the shopping department, so first thing Saturday morning (after a hearty breakfast at a local cafe) I left the guys to more manly things, and hit the abundance of surfer and hippy shops lining the high street.

In the afternoon, after I had exhausted my bank account for the day, me and Chris decided to hire body boards for an hour while Rich took a walk up to the lighthouse.

Body boarding to my delight was a lot of fun - you could spend ages getting frustrated waiting for the right wave to catch, and not going anywhere, when suddenly you are on your board and being rushed all the way to (and sometimes up!) the beach at what feels like a phenomenal speed. Suddenly you forget your earlier struggles and frustrations and jump straight back in the water to do it again!

Unfortunately, the sights of Sydney were calling us and we had to leave on Sunday morning, but not before we took a short trip to the famous Byron market. I had a browse of the stalls for a while, and then stumbled upon a crowd of people watching a one-man-band, a guy calling himself Juzzie Smith. This guy was amazing. Not only was he playing the guitar, harmonica, and vocals, but he also had a digerido to his right, a drum between his knees, some bells, and weird drum synthesiser thingy (i'm sure Rich could give me the real name but he is not here at the moment) that he kept hitting his left foot with!! Having not bought anything at the other stalls, I decided to splash out and buy his album, as apparently he was raising money to help his friend who was trying to save the Tasmanian forest. It was definitely worth the money. If only we had a cd player in our campervan and then I could actually play it!

From a very chiiiiiiillled out...

Laura x x x

Hello again,

Its been a while since our last blog, and seeing as we're now in a hostel (out of the van at last - albeit for a couple of days!!) and have free internet its much easier.

When I spoke to you all last we were in the fine Queensland city of Brisbane. In the end we didn't stick around there that long, but long enough for me to get a bit of exploring in. Whilst Brisbane doesn't have the noteriety of Sydney, Melbourne or Perth, I found it to be a really nice compact Aussie city, with plenty of culture and some really nice sights.

On our main day spent there (after Australia Zoo), I was flying solo in the morning and after meeting up for lunch, again in the afternoon so I'll take on the responsibility for representing my view on Brisbane. The Museum of Brisbane (MoB) was my first port of call, and despite its title, there wasn't a great deal in there (that I could see). The MoB is actually housed in the city hall, and as you go in to the right was a gallery, to the left was some museum exhibits (which were closed) and upstairs was the city hall chambers (which were appeared unlocked when I ventured up there accidentally).

The gallery was showing off some local photography of Brisbane and general Australian life. It was quite good really, with some kind of competition going on between different categories and with special recommendation photos from the judges etc. The other exhibition was a bit of a disappointment, because as I said above they'd closed it off. The only thing remaining was another art exhibition, this time from a local artist. To be honest I didn't really get what it was about, with her paintings trying to symbolise random inhalations of breath and unique moments in time, whilst looking very similar in my opinion. All quite strange really.

Later on I crossed over the Brisbane River to the cultural hub of the city which includes art galleries (my next stop), concert halls, college buildings and convention centres etc. I was looking for the Brisbane Gallery of Modern Art (which is free entry like the MoB). This was a vast building with all kinds of art medium (paint, video, audio, sculpture etc) and artists from the local area, country-wide and from all over the world.

Modern Art is a tricky thing to try and analyse (and I'm far too dumb to start), but I saw some interesting stuff lets say, including several videos which were rather strange. There was some political pop art which was quite cool and some older bits which were good. There was even a water feature. But before I go down the route of becoming an art critic (which I'm not), I decided to leave and sit out in the sun for the rest of the afternoon by the river.

After visiting Brisbane I thought of it in many ways as like a smaller version of London. With its massive river running through the middle, of which many things sit near and are based by, and with the vibrant cultures of the city centre (whilst we were in the city there was an audio play going on right in the middle of the shopping area) and in the outer suburbs, there is plenty to do there. It just suffers from a lack of being a Sydney or Melbourne. Whilst its nice and clean and building itself up - theres just not quite enough to rival the other Australian cities...yet.

After Brisbane we continued on our way down the coast to Byron Bay and over the Queensland - New South Wales border (and bizarrely an hour ahead of GMT). At this point I'll hand over to Laura (whose not here but has promised to write up on this to discuss) as she fell in love with Bryon whilst we were there.

After Byron came Port Macquarie, similar in size to Hervey Bay, but slightly different in that it wasn't really a major beach resort (there was one somewhere I think). We'll remember Port (as its apparently known locally) for its spiders and its sea kayaking. Our camp sight at Port was quite nice really, and very competitively priced. But it was home to a massive assortment of spiders which really unsettled us walking around at night. Laura had bought a book of Australian Wildlife which means that we half a vague idea what we're up against, but it just makes us even more scared! The spiders were literally hanging off anything that was physically capable of being hung off as we walked around. Just think of the film Arachnophobia (sp?)

In the morning, having survived the spiders we decided to do some some sea kayaking, and eventually managed to hire three single person kayaks at the local quay. I hadn't kayaked before, I think Laura had once or twice, and anyone who knows Chris knows that he's a rower (which is pretty much the same thing). I found the main problem to be having nothing to sit against other than the little bump in the boat to sit in - therefore the tops of my legs and my lower back to the strain and despite what you may think my arms were fine. We paddled our way at various different speeds and capabilities round a natural island at the Port, which was a preserved nature park, home to pelicans, many other birds, and also a few dolphins who popped up when a local tourist catamaran went past. The kayaking was an experience lets say, and it left a lasting impression on my as I forgot to protect my legs from the sun (BIG mistake!).

After Port, came the second major stop (city stop anyway) in our Australian trek - Sydney.

I was again lucky enough to be driving as we came into Sydney and the most unbelievable thunderstorm and rainstorm I've ever seen. We literally had about 10cm of surface water in about two minutes on the roads and 5 metres of visibilty during the rains, whilst the lightning lit up the sky above!

Eventually we made it into the suburbs and the next challenge was finding our camp site which took us about 20 minutes. It was a relief when we pitched up (although it was the most expensive site of the trip so far) and got something to eat.

The next day was all about sight-seeing. We got ourselves a week's travel card for bus, train and ferry and made our way into the city. We got off at Circular Quay which anyone who's been to Sydney will know is the station right at the waterside where the Opera House sits, and with a great view of the immense Harbour Bridge. We stayed around there for most of the morning. We took loads of photos of the Opera House and the Bridge then got something to drink and headed to the Museum of Sydney. On the way however, we got stopped by a British street performer, who was doing amazing stunts and tricks. The guy was quite good (he dropped whilst juggling a few times but it was windy) considering he was juggling knives on a bike whilst circling a handful of (un)lucky people from the crowd on the frame of the bike. After that he juggled a knife, fire and an apple whilst balancing on the frame of his bike....up a 22-foot pole. The guy was really good, and bantered with the crowd and any passer by lucky enough to be in his field of vision.

After giving the performer our dinner money we went on to the Museum of Sydney, which shows how the first penal colony was build up by the British and how that settlement became Sydney. It then had a massive exhibit on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and its impact on the city and how it came to be. It was actually really interesting stuff, particularly the film they had put together about the bridge.

After that we walked round Sydney more, going out to the Rocks and the oldest residence in Sydney (Caddick's Cottage I think - will check for next time) and up to the hill where the Sydney Observatory sits for some fine views of the city, particularly the Harbour Bridge which by now had been photoed at many angles by us three.

I'm running out of time unfortunately. The first half of this blog was written last Friday, and some more on Saturday, but because we don't have good access to the internet (the second half of this blog wasn't free as I wrote at the start) its very difficult to give the blog the time it deserves. I'll bring you all up to speed of all that went on in Sydney when we get to Melbourne I hope. On Saturday we finally say goodbye (or good riddens) to the van, and we're in hostels which should make life easier. Latest news is that we're staying longer in Melbourne to give us time to do the Great Ocean Road and to actually visit the city itself. Then off to New Zealand!

Yours in suspense,
Rich/Woodie

P.S You may have noticed that Locky is being referred to as Chris, and as I'm writing and don't talk about myself in the third person, I'll be referred to as Rich(ard). This is a long complicated story but is mainly cos Laura hasn't got a nickname and that we don't introduce ourselves as Woodie or Locky (or I don't) - so for blog purposes we'll be Richard and Chris respectively - sorry for confusion!

1. Learning to dive

2. Eating frogs legs

3. Squatting into a hole in the ground to pee (only Laura!)

4. Going through immigration at a train station

5. Getting the first of many stamps on our passport (exc. Chris)

6. Riding in a Tuk-Tuk and surviving

7. Eating from a street vendor (and not seeing it again later!)

8. Eating sweetcorn ice-cream - yes, it is as gross as it sounds

9. Travelling on a Catermaran at 30 mph in choppy seas....

10. Feeling sea-sick!!

11. Being an ethnic minority

12. Discovering 'BodyGlove' and its relative cheapness in Malaysia

13. Going on a curved escalator (shopping centre in Singapore)

14. Driving a scooter through rush-hour traffic and surviving

15. Travelling first class

16. Trying the local alcohol - Singha beer and Sangsom rum

17. Eating a greasy English fry-up in 30 degree heat

18. Going to an Imax movie (for Laura)

19. A foreign country having English plug sockets (Malaysia)

20. Learning two Thai words (in two weeks that doesn't seem that impressive, but it is a very hard language!)

Hello again,

Today I'm blog writing from the central business district of our first major Aussie city, Brisbane.

I'm loving Brisbane and we've only really walked around so far! But its exactly what I hoped Australian cities would be like. We've got a lot of soaring new buildings, lots of culture, lots of beer and the sun is shining.

Since our last blog we visited Townsville, which was quite a nice little place. As well as accidentally spending $25 on the internet whilst writing that last blog (annoyingling short story but I'll spare you), and getting absolutely soaked in a tropical shower walking back to the van (just me again actually) - we also took in the Museum of Tropical Queensland, which is a really impressive visit.

As well as introducing the fundamentals of tropical life in the area (e.g. exhibits on how coral reefs are formed and other local geological and ecological issues) there was a really impressive area dedicated to the HMS Pandora, the ship that tried and failed to track down the mutinous HMS Bounty crew and the tragedy that occured as they tried to return home.

After Townsville, we continued down the coast stopping at a free camp site over night just beyond a place called Mackay and then in the morning got to Rockhampton (the cow place I talked about last time). This was a major disappointment, built up to be a great place in the lonely planet book, most of the recommended stops were closed down or just closed (It seems that weekend is for sport only down under - and rightly so if you ask me!). Laura and I had the obligatory steak in Rockhampton which was competitively priced but not outstanding, and after a few hours we decided to continue on our way.

Our next stop was a town called Bundaberg, which is home to the famous (over here) Bundaberg rum which we tried accidentally in a Cairns bar, pre-mixed with Cola. One of the main reasons of getting to to Bundaberg was that there is a nearby beach at a place called Bargara where sea turtles come to lay their eggs which then hatch and the newborn then make their way to the sea and freedom (we were in midseason for that). We were all looking forward to this prospect and made our way out there only to be greeted with a sign saying "fully booked" and that we should have sorted our tickets in advance - again Lonely Planet had let us down with the suggestion that turning up an hour early should suffice. We then realised that our book was a couple of years out of date which may explain our problems and got back in the van and back to Bundaberg.

On getting back we enjoyed our first dirty food of the trip at a Hungry Jacks (the Aussie version of Burger King) and went to the little cinema (Bundaberg isn't the cultural hub of Queensland unfortunately) for evening entertainment (the film was The Good Shepherd - its ok but v long. Go and see Hot Fuzz instead).

Next day we were greeted with big blue skies and scorching sun, so headed to the sea front where Locky and Laura were after some snorkeling with the gear they bought in Thailand. Unfortunately despite the apparent clement conditions the wind was swirling up the sea so that the currents would bring any swimmer back onto the rocks, so that idea was quickly abandoned. Instead we continued driving down to a place callled Hervey Bay, again on the coast, but with a more relaxed sea. We found a campsite eventually (the opening hours of these places is unbelievably inconvenient at least for us camping rookies), it was a nice little place actually despite them apparently still celebrating Christmas (photos will explain that) with an extremely helpful manageress too. Our main aim for our time in Hervey Bay was to book a trip to Fraser Island but more of that later.

The rest of the afternoon was spent eating fish and chips (Calamari and Chips for me) and then on the beach in the sun or paddling in the sea.

The next day we had our trip to Fraser Island, which was a real treat. Our driver for the day was a long goateed guy called Colin, who was quickly established in our eyes as probably the greatest driver and tour guide in the world. Fraser Island is the largest natural sand island in the world just off the East Coast, which amazingly supports reams of life including a rainforrest (the only sand based rain forest in the world) and several natural spring lakes. Our day trip was spent on an off-road 4x4 coach, skidding round corners, narrowly avoiding massive trees and huge drops.

Whilst we held on for dear life, our calm driver, reamed off an encyclopaedic knowledge of the island (its Aboriginal past, details about the wildlife, the history etc). The day tour included several activities: walking through the Fraser Island rain forest, an Aussie buffet lunch, visiting the wreck of a ship called the Maheno and seeing the coloured sands on the beach, paddling up Eli Creek a natural freshwater creek off the beach and swimming/paddling in a freshwater lake called Garawongera which possesses mysterious skin and precious stone rejuvinating properties. The island is a marvel and really worth a visit if you're ever in the area. Our trip was with the Fraser Island Company (see URL) and if you can ask for a tour guide ask for Colin - his knowledge is amazing! We even saw a pure breed Dingo at the end of the day! http://www.fraserislandco.com.au/

Next day we made our way down to Brisbane, eventually arriving in the early afternoon. Having eventually found some parking (it literally took 20 minutes to find somewhere which wasn't height restricted to park) we did some initial wandering around to find a tourist information centre so we could find out what to do in Brisbane.

In the evening we headed back out of the city to another campsite in preparation for Australia Zoo which was our itinery for the next day.

Australia Zoo is one of a kind. Since his tragic death last year there are sentiments of Steve Irwin everywhere (obviously). You drive down Steve Irwin Way to get to the Zoo near a place called Beerwah outside Brisbane. Then when you get there its like he's never been gone with his energetic and always over the top expression welcoming you on posters all round the Zoo. Only when you get a reference to the great man in a display commentary is he referred to in the past tense. The gift shop was more of a shrine with Steve Irwin merchandise of all kinds available to buy. The overriding sense is what a legend the guy was in Oz, and how important he is to Austrailian wildlife.

The Zoo is just amazing, just as we expected it with open pens, no bars and very much hands on. I could be here all day describing everything, but we took in an hour long show starting with a surprise appearance by the Irwin ladies Terri and Bindi (receiving a cheque for the Irwin wildlife charity 'Wildlife Warriors'). The show displayed snakes of all kinds, tropical and native birds, and of course the Crocs! We got up close an personal with a python in a official photo (which will no doubt find its way online soon) and petted a Koala (they aren't bears by the way!). We fed Kangeroos, elephants and watched the keepers take a cheetah for a walk.

We had a really great day, and we'll try and get some photos online soon (how many times have I said that now!?) to show you how great it was.

Today (March 1st) we're back in Brisbane, in a central camp site so we can explore the city over the next couple of days - starting from when I leave this internet place.

So don't delay me any longer you lot - I'll speak to you soon!

Cheers,
Woodie

Hello again,

Its been about a week since our last update so I thought I'd take some time out to let you know our progress.

When Locky did the last blog we'd been in Cairns a few days and hadn't really done much. Last Friday we went on a bar hop around Cairns (to be honest you're in Cairns either to see the reef or to drink) taking in a handful of bars/clubs with some other backpackers, playing silly games along the way. To be honest it was a little weird for us, but we had a good night nonetheless and the next day was spent recovering by the pool or in bed.

On Sunday we finally got on the reef, choosing to use our new PADI Open Water dive certifications for the first time. We chose a company called Tusa, who, for $235 (about 120 quid) took us out to the outer reef, gave us drinks and meals, provided our gear and then gave us a guide to take us around underwater. We went for two dives with our guide Al and it was amazing - although we did use our air up quite quickly restricting our time down there.

The first thing you notice is that the reef is just massive down there - absolutely huge! Then you notice the wildlife, we saw all kinds of fishes, organisms and coral formations. Unfortunately we saw no sharks or jellyfish (probably more fortunate actually!) but we did see plenty of smaller fishes like Angel fish, Bannerfish etc.

The Tusa photographer shot around taking our photos too and prompted us to grab onto the reef for a few (which we were a little surprised by but did what he and the guide showed us to do) and you can see some of those in the gallery. We also got to hold sea cucumbers and other marine materials lying around which was unexpected as we had been taught to leave the seabed alone and not touch but I suppose they're experienced enough to know what they're doing.

The next day we picked up our campervan, which will be our transport and accomodation down the East coast for the next few weeks (photo to follow). Due to a booking mishap we actually picked it up a day early but it wasn't a problem and we were quickly on our way around Cairns in our customised Toyota Hi-ace van (see the weblink for the company info on our van - http://www.travellers-autobarn.com/new-design2/rentals-campervans.shtml.

I was the fortunate soul to have first go and successfully kept us alive around Cairns. After acquiring supplies we decided to go North first and take in Cape Tribulation, a famous area of rainforest and coast line. The roads were extremely winding and hilly (Locky was in the driving seat by this point) and even had floodways and causeways with centimetres of fast flowing water going over them to cross! But eventually we got up to Cape Trip, stopping at a famous Ice Cream shop for a quick snack (where we saw our biggest spider so far - photos to follow!).

Then onto our first camp site which surprised us regarding the price. What we hadn't thought about was the extras of campervanning, you assume that the van is powered and has water, but you also have to remember that they have to come from somewhere so you need power to charge the battery and to power some appliances, and every now and then we need to top up our water tank. We have a little stove and sink but not much space to cook - and we also need to clean ourselves, and as campsites provide all this for us you start to see that camp sites are quite important!

Our first night was $40 in a middle-of-nowhere site in the forest. It was ok actually, although there were plenty of tropical rain showers which made life a bit difficult. The humidity is also a problem as it gets hot in the van so the first nights sleep was a bit of a culture shock, particularly for Laura who is effectively in the roof of the main part of the van which is the noisiest when it rains and is a little precarious.

After a stressful(ish) first night, we came back through Cape Trip, and back into Cairns, stopping at the Daintree River for a wildlife ferry trip to try and spot some crocs! Unfortunately the weather was very tropical again with rain, but with our enthusiastic guide Scott making good conversation and informing us about the local wildlife it was extremely interesting and a good laugh. It was just us three on the boat (its low season at the moment tourist-wise) so it was very specific to us and although we saw no crocs (just floating logs that looked like them) we had a really good time.

After that we drove back to Cairns (stopping somewhere I think, but I can't remember and the other two aren't here to ask!! I'll leave a gap here just in case we did something - I think we might have stopped at the Mossman Gauge but I'll confirm for next time).

After getting back to Cairns late, we missed out on campsites (who close stupidly early, times like 7pm) so we had to find somewhere to stop and eat. Our destination was a Retail Park in Cairns. Once there Laura cooked us dinner and we stayed there for a bit before making our way to a quiet street to park up for the night. This was a very weird experience, particularly eating our risotto dinner in view of the local McDonalds. Despite the lack of facilities (we did briefly use McDonald's toilets) the night wasn't too bad and was very, very cheap!!!

After our first night on the road, we made our way out of Cairns for the last time and journeyed south to take in some waterfalls and mountainous scenery in the hills. We headed towards a place called Malandra, where there was a circuit drive with three waterfalls (Millaa Millaa, Zillie and Ellinjaa falls). Unfortunately the tropical rain made it difficult to enjoy them, but they were each spectacular in their own ways and we have photos which will be uploaded at some point.

After the falls we stopped at another Nature reserve to go for our first rainforest walk which turned out to be quite a mission. The ground was largely sodden underfoot from the earlier rain which made the walk trecherous. We also had to descend in careful zigzagging pathways cut into the landscape over roots, rocks, streams and mud. Along the way we got to know the local wildlife including massive ants, dragon flys, flying bugs, midgies and the various calls from the birds in the trees (no sign of tree kangaroos or large animals here I'm afraid). When we eventually got to the bottom there was a sodden grass lookout over the mountains and rivers below which was quite spectacular and worth the long, sweaty walk down. Whether it meritted the long sweaty walk back up I don't know but we'll upload photos to view soon.

After driving further south through unbelievable rain storms we eventually got to our stop last night which was a small town called Tully. Again we got a site spot (for $11 each) and enjoyed the facilities we had missed out on the night before having parked at Maccy D's! This town was only a stopping point as we made our way further south, and it there wasn't really much to write about either (i.e. not the nicest place in the world but it did the job).

This morning Laura took the wheel as we started trying to eat up the thousands of kilometres down to our final stop Melbourne. We are currently in a place called Townsville, which seems nice enough. Apparently there are museums and walks we can do so I expect we'll take in a few touristy things before we leave (which will probably be tomorrow).

The plan at the moment is to head to Brisbane before too long (maybe by the weekend), stopping at a couple of places en route, maybe Rockhampton ("Australia's cow capital" as Locky's book calls it) and the Fraser Islands, before getting to Brisbane which should have a lot more to amuse us (including Australia Zoo).

Apologies for the huge blog entry, I hope you understand the reasons for it. Unfortunately not hostelling means we don't get a huge amount of internet time, and we know how much you lot love reading about us in our tropical climates (it has been overcast and raining the last few days if that makes you feel better!). We'll try and get some photos up next time, and hopefully the next entry won't be so ridiculously long!

Hope you're all doing well!

Cheers
Woodie