Baghara and beyond!!!!
Thursday, February 19th, 2009
After spending a fantastic week in Baghara, near Bundaberg, we left last Friday for the town of 1770. We camped at a caravan park and spent our time exploring the surrounding beaches. We had some rain, mostly at night and it was unbearably hot. We’ve bought a tent for the big girls but because it was so hot they couldn’t sleep outside and we all ended up inside the caravan with the air-con on. I know, I know we sound very soft and it’s not going to be good for Tim’s image to admit to a camping holiday in an air-conditioned caravan.(By the way he’s always the first to suggest we turn it on!) I’m so glad we have it though!
We also encountered some very nasty flies. Now, I know that Australia is famous for flies but I had no idea that it had flies that are bright green and seek you out and BITE. Tim got the most bites, they even drew blood. I think I got the least bites because I’m a bit paranoid about Australian bugs and spend most of my time when we’re camping in wild kind of places jumping and slapping and generally discouraging any kind of bug activity near my body.
While in this area we did some more 4 wheel driving which took us to some cool beaches with no-one else around. It ‘s kind of eerie swimming in these kind of places because of all the shark hype, but it’s awesome and the water is ridiculously warm, so warm that you just can’t get cooled off like in NZ. On Sunday we decided to find a church to go to. We found a little Baptist Church and went along . There were no other children but the morning tea was great , with a bonus of 6 big kangaroos bouncing along while we had morning tea under this huge permanent pagoda thingy(roof but no walls).
After waiting for the weather to settle , we booked on a day trip to the Great Barrier to do some snorkelling. It’s the first time we’ve ever done a touristy thing like this and it was very nice. It was a 90 minute cruise from 1770 to Lady Musgrave Island. I felt seriously ill but managed to avoid throwing up, but only just. Both Charlotte and Michaella made use of the very nifty puke bags though. Once we arrived on the island we transferred onto a pontoon where we had morning tea then got into our gear and went snorkeling. It was so nice to be in luke warm water and see lots of colourful fish. Charlotte bobbed around in a life jacket while we snorkelled. We all went on a glass bottomed boat to the island and did a walk around checking out the birds in the scorching heat and walking around on the coral. The water was so warm, it was impossible to cool off. We had a buffet lunch on the boat, more snorkeling and headed back to the mainland. I slept all the way back and when we got back it was straight on the road(after fending off a few biting green flies!)
We needed to get back to Surfers by the 18th to use our theme park passes(the 2 day pass which we had to use within 14 days). In hindsight we probably wouldn’t have bought them as it put us under pressure to get back to Surfers but we managed to do it with a few very hectic days. We left 1770 after the cruise and drove a couple of hours, had our first takeaway dinner since being in Oz and stayed in a rest area overnight. As soon as we woke we left and kept driving till we got the Australia Zoo. The weather was shocking, we had pouring rain and actually felt a bit chilly after being soaked to the bone, but still managed to see the crocs, koalas, wombats, Tasmanian devils etc. It was quite impressive but did give me an appreciation for how good the Auckland Zoo is. It wasn’t that much better than our zoo, except for the shows and encounters which did give you the chance to learn lots and touch koalas etc which the girls loved.(I actually thought they were quite smelly).
We then drove from the Zoo to our caravan park in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast (after a wee domestic dispute involving directions, which you get when you’re travelling.) The caravan park was mostly full of permanent residents (think trailer park), a bit of a different experience. We did a few loads of washing in the laundry, crashed and left for Dreamworld early the next day. The girls had a blast and ran around all day going on all the rides for the second time in 2 weeks! They really are adrenalin junkies! After another full on day we drove to Burleigh Heads at Surfers which is where we are now and I am breathing a big sigh of relief! Ah……..!!!We are here for 3 nights and it’s awesome. It’s a caravan park right across from the surf beach and very easy. Tomorrow I’m off shopping with the big girls at Pacific Fair, not that we’re actually seriously shopping, but it is nice to look!). Tim doesn’t get this, but it’s a girl thing. Right girls???
So, the time is ticking by, and we’re having a great time. It’s so nice to have no major plans and just decide where we want to go and GO! Hope you enjoy the photos!
Our plan is to head south toward Sydney on Saturday. Look forward to e-mails from you all.
kim