Fraser Island

The overnight bus ride to Hervey Bay got off to an inauspicious start when, with all passengers and their luggage piled on and ready for the off, the battery went dead. The bus driver ordered everyone out to push and...

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Road Trains

I got talking to another road train driver last night. Am beginning to think my interest in trucks is bordering on the obsessive. He was a really interesting guy who'd lived a tough life - he was one of the...

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Airlie Beach

Airlie Beach is known as a party destination, with lots of bars, clubs and nightlife. I spent three nights there and did I take advantage once? I did not. I had a cold and felt under the weather and sorry...

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S.S. Yongala

I wanted to dive again, and there is a wreck off the coast near Townsville which is famous for being a fantastic dive site. It rests at 28 m, so in order to get a proper look at it, I...

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Townsville

I rode the 'hound down from Cairns to Townsville, arriving at 23.30. It was a great journey - there were at most ten of us on the bus at any one time, they showed a couple of films and it...

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Open Water

After seeing the Ningaloo Reef and swimming with the manta rays, I really wanted to get closer to the coral and fish and do a diving course. I haven't swum properly for years and I've been scared of deep water...

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Cairns

I made it to Cairns after a drawn out flight via Brisbane, $50 the poorer for having got the departure time wrong. Cairns is a great place: lively and easy to get around, with loads of shops, restaurants and an...

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I Pity the Fool

... who doesn't check their flight departure time. I can't believe I did it again! I booked a flight from Darwin to Cairns for 7th June when I was in Broome. I checked out of my hostel this morning, storing...

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Kakadu

I had had enough of tour groups for the time being. I didn't want to be dragged around places I didn't want to go, not have enough time to appreciate anything in places I did, and be rushed around on...

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Darwin

Not the Galapagos Islands, Rob. I continued to mong in Darwin, lying around on the beach and Bicentennial Park, reading and generally doing very little. I loved it! I have a high boredom threshold and an astonishingly large capacity for...

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Broome

I was in Broome for a few days and had a great time. Zoe, Roy, Simon and I spent the days on the beach or sitting in cafes, then having a few beers at night. No more cheap goon for...

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