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Published: January 1st 2018
Our second Oz adventure took us along Australian's Eastern Coast from Port Douglas in the north all the way down to Sydney. What better way to kick it off than by exploring the Great Barrier Reef! We decided to go all out and treated ourselves to a luxury snorkeling and scuba diving boat trip. After all, how often does one visit the Great Barrier Reef?! The visibility was only mediocre but we did manage to spot some white tipped reef sharks and lots of beautifully colored coral and fish! The snorkelling gave some of the better views and while we were willing to plunge straight down to 18 metres for the scuba dive, we needed the comfort of noodles to aid our buoyancy on the surface!!
Collecting our second campervan (Skippy) in Cairns, we navigated along the coastline southwards to Gold Coast. Passing miles and miles of amazing beaches to one side and acres of sugar cane farms to the other - it really is sun, sea, sand, and sugar in this part of the world! Our only complaint was that due to "stinger season" or the presence of jellyfish, it was too dangerous to swim at those beaches. You
can imagine how frustrated we felt considering the heat was constantly calling for us to take a plunge! It wasnt until we crossed over the Tropic of Capricorn (our 3rd land crossing on our travels) that we finally appeared to be free from the jellyfish dangers!
Queensland is renowned for its stunning beaches but as we travelled down its coast we saw that it had a lot more to offer. Getting up close and personal with kangaroos in Cape Hillsborough NP was one of our more unusual experiences! Attending a rodeo in Rockhampton was definitely another although we missed the dress code memo and were the only two there without cowboy hats, boots and belts. There were a couple of hairy moments for some of the competitors - some of whom were as young as 16! Their skill and bravery was beyond impressive and made for compelling and exciting viewing.
Mon Repos Conservation Park in Bundaberg supports the largest concentration of nesting marine turtles in Eastern Australia. Having not spotted any turtles during our scuba dive, and having only ever seen The Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles on tv, we had to sign up for this experience! These turtles
only start reproducing when they reach the age of 30. Rather amazingly, they return to lay their eggs on the same beach that they themselves hatch on! We were lucky enough to see one turtle create her nest and lay her eggs during the coolness of the night. We did have to stay up until 3am and suffered about 50 mosquito bites each for this privilege!
We were surprised at how big the turtles were - weighing around 100kg. They are majestic creatures. Slow moving but incredibly strong. Given the many dangers they face out in the ocean - both marine and man made, they are at risk of becoming extinct. This made our brief encounter with them all the more special!
Our final spin in Queensland took us from the Sunshine Coast to Gold Coast. Our experience of the Sunshine Coast could not have been more ironic as the rain poured for 2 days solid!!! We could just have easily been on "The Wild Atlantic Way". Our Queensland adventure finished in the city of Gold Coast. With its famous Surfers Paradise Beach it was fitting that this would be where we spent our last few hours in
this fantastic state. Surfers or otherwise, it really is a paradise for everyone!
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