Fraser Island

Today was our day trip to Fraser Island. I have vivid memories of being excited to visit Fraser Island when we were kids purely because it was named after my bro!! Fraser on the other hand was not so keen having heard about the island being home to lots of dingos (wild dogs). I'm not surprised the poor kid was scared they sure do go on about how to deal with a dingo, and what to do if you come up against one in your travels.

We got the ferry over from the main land and watched form the top deck as all these 4x4 boarded the boat. One had an incident where the exhaust was too low and got pulled under the ramp as the car reversed, I imagine their family day out on Fraser Island didn't end the way they had hoped as we left them on the shore to deal with their damages.

I was hoping to see dolphins and couldn't give my full concentration to the lovely Italian couple who were trying in very broken English to tell us about their travels through Oz. Although my eyes never left the water we didn't see any, infact I couldn't see anything at all in the water sadly.

Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world and so can only really be driven around in a 4x4. We were in massive coach style 4x4 that threw us all over the place. Our first stop was Mckenzie lake, which was absolutely stunning! It's a 100m long lake made purely of rain water and is therefore crystal clear and not salty which I loved! 

There are a few fish and some turtles apparently but we didn't see any. They believe the fish could only have got their by fish eggs getting stuck on the legs of bird and then dropped into the lake because there are no streams or rivers running in or out of the pool. We spent an hour or so swimming and relaxing on the beautiful white sand along side 4 more coach loads of tourists.

We walked back along the path through the rain forest, bare footed to get some of the sand off our feet. Out next stop was a rain forest walk where the guide started with the number of deadly snakes and spiders they have on this island. Of 19 species of snake 13 are poisonous!!! I won't be walking anywhere bare footed again!

The walk was an interesting walk through pine and eucalyptus trees and the guide pointed out a stunning creek, where the water was so clear you didn't initially see the water. He also told us lots of facts about the trees and foliage which I have already forgotten! The island was forested for its pines right up until 1991 before being made a world heritage site in 1992. The trees from this island are famously known for being the wood they used for the Sydney opera house floor.

I'm sure the guide told us loads more interesting facts on the coach but I don't know what it is, as soon as I'm being rocked and bumped around I want to drift off. I slept to our lunch stop where we shared a table with a lovely couple from NZ who gave us a few tips and kept us company in the afternoon.

The afternoon was spent on the 75mile beach which is actually an official highway and has driving laws etc. The only difference is that you use the indicator to tell the 4x4 coming towards you which side you want to cross them on. It's a stunning stretch of beautiful yellow sand and cleat blue water!

Again I kept my eyes glued to the water incase we saw Dolphins or Whales! Apparently they stop around here to fatten up their young before their migration.

We watched men on the beaches 'fishing' for worms, they put little bits of fish down the worm holes and when the worm bites they whip out a 3 ft long worm! They get paid to collect them on the island and the worms are then sold as fishing bait.

We drove up to the rock or multicoloured sands which I knew wasn't as spectacular as they make it out to be from when we visited as a family but it was hilarious to see Edds confusion at what the fuss was all about! He wasn't really sure what he was supposed to be looking at!

We spent some time at the famous ship wreck that has been on the island since yhe 1930s and wandered Ely creek before heading back to the ferry along the beach. The journey home was another stunning sunset and a good chat with our new kiwi friends.

We got back a lot later than expected and so dashed to the local petrol station with 10 mins to spare for fuel and a pack of crisps. There is nothing open on a Sunday! Luckily we have a few supplies. We were pleasantly surprised with fuel costs as our trip is going to be about a tanks worth which is about $70 (£40).

Noosa to Hervey Bay

We started this morning with a simple but lovely hostel breakfast. Honey on sesame toast was the order of the day with a couple of mugs of tea. After packing up and stripping our beds we then jumped in the car and headed down to Noosa town.

Noosa is basically a number of beautiful national parks with a number of boutique hotels and shops at its centre. There is a mix of wealthy holiday makers and backpackers trying to travel as cheap as they possibly can. As well as its stunning beach Noosa is widely thought to have the best coastal walks in the area.

Parking up we decided to do the first coastal section of a longer four hour coastal hike out of town. It was a really stunning wander and being under the trees made it the perfect temperature for a wander along the coast. I still think a lot of the Australian coast line reminds me of Cornwall, Carly's not so sure!

There was a real mixture of tourists, locals and serious hikers out on the path as well as a number of surfers heading down to the little coves. I can imagine in the summer it gets unbearable but as we come into Spring the temperatures are perfect for us, warm in the morning and evenings and reaching 25 degrees in the day.

After our walk we headed back into town and mooched around the boutique shops. The sort of shops that sell nothing you need but are lovely to wander none the less. Carly bought a few bits and I had my morning flat white coffee. The ozzies are known for their coffee and I've not been dissapointed. Everywhere we've been has had a good independent cafe selling really good coffee.

We left Noosa and headed over for a lunch time wander at Eumundi Market. It's a famous market held every Saturday and Wednesday focusing on local produce, food stalls, clothes and artwork etc. The markets motto is 'make it, bake it, sew it, grew it'. I love a food market and this did not dissapoint.

I started with a bowl of salt and pepper calamari. Freshly fried and so fresh! I'll never again be able to eat the rubbery dish we so often get in England! I then moved on to a Vietnamese Banh Mi bbq bun. Got addicted to these in Vietnam and this one was right up their with the originals. Carly had a super Fresh chicken burrito and we then shared a plate of mini Danish pancakes. Rounded off with freshly fermented Oz Ginger Beer.

After feasting we continued to wander the stalls looking at the local artwork, clothes and handmade woodwork. There was some beautiful locally made furniture. Carly bought herself a small bracelet with a little turtle bangle. Having left her jewelery back at home she's been looking for something to wear and we've been on the lookout for anything turtle related since Borneo.

Mid Afternoon we started our 2.5 hour drive up the coast to Hervey Bay. I'm starting to enjoy driving haven't not done it for so long and the traffic here is a delight compared to back home. We were barely held up on the drive and only stopped briefly in a small seaside village with a view over to Fraser Island.

We arrived just after 4pm and after checking in to our motel for the next two nights had a quick look on trip advisor for a dinner recommendation. The number one restaurant in the area is just down the road so we made a 7:30 reservation and headed down to the beach for the sunset.

We weren't disappointed, not a cloud in the sky and a lovely wander up and down the beach. The sand was perfectly compacted, perfect beach cricket conditions! We made do with writing our names in the sand and taking pictures of the sun going down. We kept our eyes peeled for any dolphins or Whales out to see but no luck yet.

Dinner was amazing!!! The concept was a sharing menu with all the dishes put in the middle of the table and small plates for us to use. They also had an extensive local beers list which I enjoyed looking though immensely.

I started with a beautifully cooked octopus dish, a red pepper reduction and other additions. Carly had a falafel dish with mint yogurt and sweet potato crisps. For main we shared a slow cooked shoulder of lamb, tender, moist and full of flavour. To accompany we had sweet potato with feta and tenderstem broccoli. Delicious!

At the end of the Meal we were both totally full but decided we would share a pudding. We had the most amazing banana split. Rich sauce, chocolate mousse, vanilla ice cream and homemade peanut popcorn. It was an amazing end to a very special meal.

We've got a day tour over to Fraser Island tomorrow so an early pick up from the motel.

Australia Zoo & drive up to Noosa

I've felt like a big kid all day today! We changed the time of the car hire so we could pick it up early and get to Australia Zoo for opening time. We were up at 6am to collect the car, which went well, except the indicator stick is on the right and the windscreen wipers are on the left. Our windows are now sparkling clean because I keep clicking the wrong side. It's so automatic that I forget even having made the same mistake 2 minutes earlier. Maybe by the end of 4 days I'll have the hang of it!

We were so keen that we were due to be an hour early before opening time but we took a quick detour off the main route to a lookout point. We were both enjoying the feeling of independence, not having to rely on public transport is extremely liberating! The views were stunning over the glass house mountains. We didn't stay long but it was lovely to get up high and see what we had been driving through.

Then the fun began! We were both buzzing at the entrance gate and we got tips from the ticket lady of the best technique to cover the whole zoo! We first went to a section to touch interesting animals such as a koala, eagle, snake and blue tongue lizard. I was very proud of Edd when he came out from behind his camera to touch the snake. 

We then saw a show about the biggest tortoises in the world, the Aldabra tortoise. They can live to be 200 years old and 300kgs. The ones we saw were in their 30s and 180kg!! All I kept thinking was the tortoise weighed the same as dad's wheelchair! The lady explained that sex was very dangerous for the male because if he risked mounting the female and she pushed him off he could flip over and that meant almost certain death as they can't turn themselves back over. These guys were very very cool, one loved being rubbed and stood right up when his back knees were stroked, I love them and their wrinkly skin!

We started through the park and visited some dingos, tazzie devils and big emus. The funnies bit was that their were loads of wild iguanas or some sort of lizard running around the park freely and Edd and I got trapped a couple of times by these on the paths. They are very comfortable around humans and are in no hurry to move, we were not so comfortable getting past them! Edd jumped out of his skin a couple of times throughout the day when a leaf brushed his foot!

Next in line was the otters show and we learnt bits about how intelligent otters are, in the wild they live between 8-10 years. The two we saw were 15 and 13 and still doing well, they work as a team and look after each other in every aspect of their lives. The keepers had taught them tricks but they explained only ones that were important to keep them healthy and their brain active, for example the make them stand up on their back legs, this gives the keeper a chance to check the old animals for any injuries or infections without touching them. Did you know otters resting heart rate is 200 beats a min, incredibly fast!

Edd and I then worked methodically through all the pens/areas to make sure we didn't miss anything! At 12pm we had the big show! They let lots of birds fly around the mini stadium which was actually really interesting, it's rare that you get to see such stunning unusual birds so close in flight. We had parrots and eagles and even a vulture fly through. They also bought lots snakes into the audience and then it was time for the big croc Charlie. He was huge and the keepers got him to move around the pool by getting in the water and splashing, they fed him bits of chicken and made him jump up to show us just how high they can push up on their tail, it's was very impressive.

Edd and I ran to see the giraffes and beat the crowd before working our way back past tigers, white rhinos and birds of prey. We spent a long while in the kangaroo section slowly getting closer and closer to them as we got braver, they fascinate me, I can't work out where their centre of gravity is, it's insane how they balance. We saw loads of kolas too which Edd and I both love but I have to admit they don't do much but look cute and sleep!

By the time we had finished it was 4pm, that's 7 hours of animal watching and we even ate during the main show so as not to waste time! What I love is that although it was definitely my thing Edd was as geeky and enthusiastic about it and was happy to run around and plan the day with me! He even braved it into the snake centre and got up close to a few massive pythons and crocs!

Our last stop was a quick visit to the animal hospital. It wasn't anything special as its a working hospital and I guess a lot is done behind the scenes but we were able to see into the operating theatre which was brilliant for me, they use some of the same equipment! (For my colleagues- bair hungers, suctions and tourniquets) but the anaesthetic machines looked like a very old, simple and basic version of ours!

Edd then drove us the rest of the way to Noosa, I think he was nervous about driving and I was nervous about navigating but we made it to the hostel without any major dramas. Tonight is our first hostel! We're still in a separate room but we are sat in the communal lounge at the moment. It's very cool, very interactive, lots of fun activities, exciting tours, free bus into town and they had a BBQ tonight for everyone to get involved in. 

The thing is, everyone also has their phone/a laptop and a wifi code. I haven't really done masses of hosteling but I feel like things have changed, I can't work out if it's me and I'm now married, only staying one night and happy to get an early night but I don't feel like people are really socialising or bonding like they used to. There are lots of people say in the communal area but without fail no one is talking and everyone had their phone out, I'm obviously no exception!

We had a quick trip into Noosa before dinner to see how things had changed since I was here 15 years ago with the family. As far as I can remember the big difference is that the green space next to the beach has gone and instead is a big, long row of deluxe hotels/apartments. It's a buzzing street of high end boutique shops and expensive looking restaurants.

It was soooo good to have simple, healthy, home cooked food! We had lots of veg and pesto and pasta cooked amongst lost of travellers all sharing a kitchen together but with little interaction even after I tried (almost too hard) with a few people! Edd's watching the Rugby Leauge game on the communal tv and we'll be going for an early night after our early start this morning.

Sydney to Brisbane

So after 5 great nights in Sydney we begin moving up the coast, first stop Brisbane. We had a lunchtime flight so a lazy morning and short tube ride to the airport. Brekkie at the airport was lovely as we looked into what we wanted to with our time in and around Brisbane.

We landed and had a quick trip by train into town, I liked the train as it was high up and you could see more than normal. We spotted our hotel as we left the airport as its by far the tallest building in town and stands out on the sky line. I don't know how Edd has managed it but we have ended up with a stunning suit/apartment, apparently it's something to do with the large amount of accommodation we're booking means we get good deals sent to us. 

It has kitchenette, lounge, bedroom and most excitingly laundry facilities. This is my first big wash of the trip, I have washed EVERYTHING! We've been washing bits out by hand as and when we could but it's exciting to get everything properly clean!
We used this afternoon to wander the city a little, we've been told there's nothing special here but Edd and I were pleasantly surprised, it felt like it was more buzzing than Sydney. We strolled through a lovely botanical garden along side a big and river with lots of interesting bridges. I have to admit I was only half concentrating whilst whatsapping Hannah about bridesmaid dresses at the same time!! 

We were on one of the interesting bridges enjoying a sun set when we got a phone call from Andy and Fiona (friends from home who are also travelling and have been ahead of us so far.) They were on their way down the cost and coming into Brisbane for dinner before continuing to Byron bay. 

We met up with them half an hour later and it was so brilliant to see friendly faces!! I'm so happy we managed to catch up, we always thought we would cross paths but weren't sure where and actually this will probably be the only time. We had such a lovely evening with them, we really had to make an effort to find somewhere to eat and order food or we would probably still be stood on the street corner catching up. 

We swapped stories and they gave us tips on the bits we are heading up to next. They are off to NZ soon so we'll have to pick their brains for that too. It was funny how we travel so differently, Andy and Fiona were a lot more relaxed/disorganised! They were heading to Byron tonight and were busy googling hostels to stay in tonight at dinner on the wifi!! We didn't finish dinner too late so hopefully they'll get back at a semi civilised time. 

We picked up a few bits and headed home to our luxury apartment. Edd has got quite comfy on the sofa watching the rugby league match (Sydney v Brisbane) that's on tv so I'm on blog duty (and wedding googling!!)

We have managed to move out car hire forward tomorrow so we can make the most of Australia zoo as we head up the cost! I can't wait to see more koalas, roos and crocs!