Steve’s Travel Blog

Hello all again, it has been 2 weeks since my last blog and the adventures continue!!!

In the last blog I told you that I was going fishing off the beach which I did and I caught absolutely nothing, well that is not totally true I got some seaweed, trees and rocks but nothing I could eat. 

 

I left Agnes Waters and made my way to the town of Bundaberg.  This is where they make the local Australian rum by the same name.   I did a quick tour around town and then made my way to the plant.  I did the plant tour which was a bit disappointing compared to the Bacardi plant in Puerto Rico but it was still fun.  At the end we got 2 free samples and they tasted pretty good.  The Bundaberg rum is not the best rum that is for sure but it is usually pretty cheap compared to Appletons or other quality rums.  I decided to buy one of there top rums since it was about the same price as the regular stuff in the shops and I was also disappointed with that as well.  It is okay mixed with some cola but not real good to sip on its own.  From Bundaburg I made my way to Hervey Bay where I checked into a backpackers called The Friendly Backpackers and it was as its name states.  I was given a twin share room at a dorm price and then had no roommates for the first 2 days, sweet, best sleep I have had in a long time.

My first morning in Hervey Bay I was just chilling out reading about what there is to do and decided to spend the afternoon on a whale watching tour.  The humpback whales migrate from the antarctic to Hervey bay and this is where most will give birth to their calves.  The migration is just starting to come but they had been seeing whales so I thought why not.  It was a fantastic trip and we saw 3 huge whales up close.  After about 2 hours of cruising around we saw them and then the whales came up right beside the boat.  It was like they were playing with us and they were as interested in us as we were with them.  There was a group of young kids on the boat who were a pain in the ass most of the time but when the whales came we were told to make lots of noise and cheer and they really did there part.  I talked with the skipper for a bit and he said that it was real early into the season but it’s usually the best time because it is the younger whales now and they are inquizative while the older whales go a little slower and have seen all the people before and can sometimes avoid them and do not get as close as the young ones.  Whatever the timing I had a great day with the whales.

The next morning I was up early to make a call to Cathleens house and talk with everyone that had showed up for the Dietrich Family weekend.  It was great to be able to hear all their voices and talk about what is going on here and there.  It sounded like a great day with extreme heat and time in the pool.  The rest of my day entailed chilling at the beach and touring around Hervey Bay.  I also got ready to go to Fraser Island.

Fraser Island is known as the largest sand island in the world.  There are 2 ways to see the island, 1 is self drive with a rented 4wd and about 11 others in it and camping or 2 is a guided tour and seeing all the important sights.  I decided on the guided tour mostly because the self drive is mostly young kids and a lot of drinking and little touring.  I am glad I decided on that way because the 4wd tracks are very tough to drive and I am sure you would get stuck a lot.  We had a group of 18 on our tour and it was a great group of people (8 of which were Irish). We were picked up at 7:30am at the hostel and taken to the boat across to Fraser Island.  Once on the island we met our tour guide (Ash) and he looked exactly like Kurt Russell the actor.  He did an awesome job for the entire tour and was full of all kinds of facts and information.  We started the tour with a drive to a fresh water lake called Basin Lake.  It is not very big so we walked around it but it is protected so we could not swim in it.  From there we did a few short walks around central station, pile valley and a rainforest.  We finished up with a very cold swim at Lake McKenzie.  Most of us did not last very long in the water and some did not even go in.  It was very refreshing but when the sun went away it got pretty damn cold.  We then made our way to the backpacker accommodation  at the King Fisher Resort.  We were served a fantastic supper and chilled for the evening, as a matter of fact all the meals on the trip were great and way more than I ever expected.  The 2nd day of the tour started with a drive on 75 mile beach (it is so cool driving down a beach) to Eli Creek.  A group of us walked on the boardwalk to the end of the creek and then decided that it was a good idea to walk back in the creek.  The water ended up been about waist deep and we all got wetter than we were expecting but it was a lot of fun. 

 

Back on to the bus and our next stop was a place called the coloured sands.  Lots of deep red and orange colors in the sands and interesting formations.  We then stopped at the Meheno Shipwreck along the beach where we looked at the wreck and then waited for a few that took a flight around the island and then did a beach landing of the plane.  Our next stop was one of the highlights of the trip with a stop at what they call the Champagne Pools.  This is a group of swimming holes on the edge of the ocean surrounded by big rocks.  The waves come over the rocks and splash into the pools and look like bubbling champagne. 

 

The water was still pretty cold but we all had a lot of fun.  After drying off we made our way to a cliff called Indian Head. The views were great and we could see whales, dolphins and turtles from the top.  This place is very sacred to the aboriginies and they never actually go there.  When the English decided to take over the island and wanted them off they took a bunch to this spot and then just pushed them off.  Hundreds died there but there is nothing there that tells the visitors about this, we found out because of our guide.  Our last stop of the day was to Hammerstone Sandblow which was a big sand dune in a very open area.  Now as I said this is the biggest sand island but you would be amazed at the amount of vegetation on the island.  Most of the sand is covered by trees and brush but there are a few open part just like this sandblow. Another evening of fun with the group with a few drinks along the way. Our last day started with an hour drive which we needed so that it warmed up before we got to Lake Birrabeen and another swim.  Only a few of us went in and I was one of them even though I did not do a lot of swimming and more just standing, we did get in a decent game of frisbee on the beach.  From there we made our way to Eurong Resort and an early lunch.  Then we did a good hike to Lake Wabby, where half way there we walked into a sand dune and walked along that to the lake which was at the bottom of the dune.  It looked real appealing to run into but we asked not to because to many people have broken there necks doing it.  Everyone went for a swim here and some swam across the lake and back, I took a more restful approach and dog paddled around the shallow parts.  We dried off again and then made our way to the boat that was going to take us back to Hervey Bay.  We got in about 6 and a bunch of us met up for drinks later that evening.  We had one good last night before everyone moved on. 

 

I stayed in Hervey Bay and met up with Stacey who I had met in Vanuatu while watching the land diving at Pentecost.  We met up for a smoothie and exchanged some pics and videos from the land diving.  The rest of the day was spent catching up on laundry and other stops I needed to do.

My plan from here was to get to Brisbane and meet up with Russell who I also met in Vanuatu and he was going to take me fishing.  After a phone call to Russell I found out that he was not available for about 5 days so I could take my time getting to Brisbane.  After getting this info I decided to go to a place called Noosa.  The town is split up into different areas and has hundereds of traffic circles.  I thought I knew where I was going and got so turned around with the traffic circles I ended up having to call the hostel and get some help getting there.  I was only a few blocks away but just could not find the right street.  One of the big highlights of the area is the Eumundi Markets on Saturdays and I went there.  The market was huge and full of all kinds of Aussie stuff and food.  They had everything from $2 cheap souvenirs all the way up to $10,000 paintings.  I ended up buying a t-shirt that had a picture of Cournal Saunders (KFC) and one chicken talking to another chicken with the saying “so this guy killed your dad”.  I was funny and I liked it so now I have another tshirt to wear and I can get rid of one of my old ones. Noosa is also known for it hikes and the next day I did some hiking.  The main hike is called the coastal track from Sunshine Beach where I was and Noosa Heads which is the town center.  It started with a walk along Sunshine Beach and then into the rocky cliffs of Devil Kitchen where hang gliders were flying around. 

 

From the cliffs it went down to Alexanderia Beach which is a clothing optional beach.  This place was very messed up and more of a hang out of gay men or very elderly couples.  Can some please tell me why there are never good looking women frolicking in the sand??? this is what I expect at a nude beach not an 80 grandma with her boobs at her knees and grandpa (well I will that one alone).  I walked by this beach really fast and got to the next rock cliff area that included Hells Gate, Winch Cove and Dolphin Point.  You can really tell that I have gone from the snorkeling and diving area to the north and now into the surfers area.  The surfers are everywhere and they are young and old.  There were also a few koalas on the walk and great scenery out to the ocean and surfers.  Once I got to the main beach I chilled for a while before making my way back to the hostel.

From Noosa I made my way into the Sunshine Coast hinterland and some cool little towns.  I drove thru Mapleton and to Kondalilla National Park where I did a 6.5km hike through the forest with some waterfalls.  From there i drove to Montville and then Gardners falls which was a pretty disappointing stop and there was not much of a waterfall.  Then I went to the Mary Cairncross Park and saw a bunch of wildlife through the rainforest walk.  Lots of different birds, pademeloms (type of wallaby) and other stuff. 

 

There is not much in the area for accommodation so I decided to sleep in my car for the night in a small town called Landsborough.  I stayed in the train station parking lot which was good except for the train that came through at 12 and 2 and 4, but I did sleep pretty well.  The next morning I got and drove the 10 minutes to the Australia Zoo.  This is the zoo that Steve Irwin (crocodile Hunter) has made famous and I was told by many that it was a must stop.  It was hard to pay the $54 entry fee and in the long run I was disappointed.  Most of the animals are native to Australia and the main feature is the crocs.  The tigers were pretty cool and i got to feed an elephant but that was about it for foreign animals.  The birds of prey show was pretty cool as well.  I liked the zoo I just don’t think it was worth $54 since I had seen most of the animals already in the wild.  I left the zoo and made my way to the Glass House Mountains and stayed in a camp ground for the night. 

 

The next day I toured around the Glass House Mountains with some spectacular scenery and then made my way into a town called Caboolture.  I called Russell from there and set up fishing for the next day and since he did not live in Brisbane and close to where I was I ended up finding a caravan park to stay in at Beechmere.    I packed up early the next morning and made my way to Russells house.  We were in the water by 8:30 but the waves were pretty big in the open water so we fished in the river channels in the area.  We caught lots of little fish that we had to throw back and only had 2 keepers by the time we were done.  It was still a great day on the water and I had a ton of fun.  After getting everything cleaned up and showing him my pics from Vanuatu I made my way into Brisbane.

Brisbane is where I am now and will spend a few days here before moving on to the Gold Coast and then Sydney.  I drove most of this part on my own but it has been good and I have been meeting up with lots of others that I have known.  I should be able to get someone to ride with me to Sydney.

That is all for now, everyone take care.

Steve

PS:you can tell we come from farming country because it is the start of August and no birthdays to report, farmers never have kids in the summer as they are to busy, I think maybe sometimes they may just push them back in and tell them they have to wait till fall or winter.  How do I come up with this shit???  My mind is very different but I like the way it works.

Tags: Australia

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