Up and in to Queensland!

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Day 79 - Byron Bay

This is the day when we wrote our last blog and re-did all our photo's that had disappeared. The weather was absolutely foul with torrential rain all day so we were not exactly missing out. We did drive out to Mount Warning but we couldn't try and climb it as it is too unsafe in heavy rain. All in all it was a frustrating day stuck in a wet seaside town (we were starting to feel Australia is a rainy country!).

Day 80 - Byron Bay - Southport (Gold Coast)

Before we set off on our trip to Coolangatta on the Gold Coast we made a quick visit to Cape Byron Lighthouse before all the crowds. We made the short walk to the most Easterly point on mainland Australia and again it was raining so it was more of a jog out to the point! We did see the most beautiful full rainbow though so I guess the rain is not always bad.
We made the short trip to The Gold Coast in search of the sun and we finally found it. We decided to take the opportunity to hire body-boards in Coolangatta for a couple of hours while the sun was out. It was so much fun and it took me back to my childhood on Polzeath beach (I had forgotten how much fun it was and will definitely be visiting Cornwall soon after we get back!). Rob had never tried it before so I enjoyed riding the waves to the shore while he struggled to catch them but he soon got the hang of it and apart from the board rash that we both developed on our stomachs (we had wandered why everyone wore wet suit tops but not bottoms!) we had loads of fun and cannot wait to get to Cornwall to do some more!
We had finished in the sea by 1.30pm so we decided to head straight to Surfers Paradise to see what all the fuss was about. It was exactly how we imagined with huge high rise buildings right up to the beach. It was nicer than we thought it would be but there was not much there apart from shops and nightclubs so we had a wander around all afternoon and decided we had seen enough.
After we had finished in Surfers we went in search of somewhere to stay in Southport, another Gold Coast town, where we had a poke around before dinner.

Day 81 - Southport - Brisbane

We went for run in the morning which was not much fun, I am definitely loosing my running fitness at a fast rate. It was also pretty hot for once which did not help the running. Once we were back we headed straight for Wet n Wild, one of the Gold Coast theme parks. I was pretty against going to the theme park but we had spare day and it seems to be a pretty major thing in this part of Australia so I gave in to Rob.
We choose the water park which turned out to be a really good choice. The park was really big compared to any in Europe and some of the rides where really original (The Tornado and The Kamikaze). We also had the huge bonus of the weather being really kind to us so we had a really nice day sunbathing by the pool and going on the rides. I think it was the first time I had sunbathed in Australia and we are 3 weeks in!
We left the park around 4.00pm and headed to south Brisbane in preparation for the next day.

Day 82 - Brisbane

We had an early start as we only had one full day in Brisbane. We went in search of a railway station on the out-skirts of the city that we could leave our van for the day while we got the train into the city. We found a good little station in Zillmere where we could leave our van for free and we were in the city centre by 10 ish.
We had a really nice day in Brisbane and we loved the city. We had perfect weather for a day in the city but we cannot imagine how hot it gets during their summers. We started at Anzac Square which was really nice as it was Anzac Day the following day so there was quite a lot going on. From here we headed to the riverside boardwalk which we followed until we reached Parliament House. There was a tour starting when we arrived so we joined the tour of the House and found out some interesting things about Queensland's parliament. The two main things being that they are the only state to have only a members house (red, of course) and that all the members of parliament must stay in uni style accommodation while they are sitting. Rob and I thought this was a very good idea and it would stop all the uproar in England!
After Parliament House we walked across the bridge to the south bank and wandered through the parks and past the little cafes and got some lunch. They also have a really tasteful public beach (artificial) in this part of town which we thought was a very Australian idea! The Southbank area was really tastefully done and the walk-ways along the river were so nice.
After visiting the Queensland Museum, part of the Cultural Center of town, we headed back over the river and spent the rest of the day around the shops of the main CBD. It had also come to my attention a few days earlier that the (mighty) Brisbane Broncos were playing at home that night and Sarah had agreed that if it didn't interfere with our plans we would go to a Rugby League match and luckily for me things just fell into place. We had a stressful trip across town in rush hour to find a campsite for the night and then came back into town to get to the stadium. The Broncos are having a good season and are second in the lead and had an easy win against one of the Sydney Teams (The Parramatta Eels) who are struggling. The best chant from the rather drunk Friday night crowd was "Parramatta doesn't matter" repeated over and over again and there were also fireworks after every try & conversion, cheerleaders and a horse riding round too. We also finally had some nice weather to watch the evening match in too.

Day 83 - Brisbane - Noosa

We got away from Brisbane in good time and headed for Steve Irwin Way which is a long diversion on the highway which you need to take in order to get to "The Australia Zoo". I decided it was the best named road we had been on and better than the other contenders; "Seldom Seen Road" in the wilderness of Snowy River NP and "Wong Way" in Te Anau, New Zealand.
Before we got to the zoo on Steve Irwin Way we took a stop at the Glass House Mountains which are a collection of hills in an otherwise very flat landscape. We climbed up to a viewpoint on one hill and then to the summit of Mount Ngungun. The climb was short but tough and very hot, even at 10am. The views of the other hills were amazing and it was a beautiful morning.
We then headed to The Australia Zoo in search of a Steve Irwin memorial but there wasn't one outside which I thought was a little disappointing and we carried on to Noosa after a quick visit to The Big Pineapple where we bought a rather yummy pineapple from the local growers market.
Noosa is a very posh little seaside town with lots of nice bars and restaurants, a great beach and even a National Park adjacent to the town. We checked into the YHA as there are no campsites in town and spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach, after exploring the town of course.

Day 84 - Noosa

We spent the morning doing a walk through the Noosa Heads National Park and then back round the coastline. It was really nice, especially the stretch along the coast with really good views along and across the bay, and it was a little different to the others we had been on in Oz.
After we got back we had another afternoon on the beach with our books and then had a bottle of wine sitting on the beach front while we watched the sunset (nice picture eh?). We then got ready and went out for dinner at one of the posh sea-front restaurants to celebrate our Anniversary. We both had some pan-fried snapper for our main course, which was completely lush but declined desert as we had our eye on an ice-cream parlour which we attacked, armed with our 2 for 1 voucher! It was the perfect evening.

Day 85 - Noosa - Hervey Bay

I got up for a run into the National Park in the morning, leaving Rob in bed complaining of a headache from the night before! I felt good for going but again it really was not fun feeling so unfit.
We spent the rest of the morning reading by the beach. We found a bench in a perfect spot looking out to the sea and chilled out with our books until midday - Noosa Heads is the prettiest town/beach that we have been to so we had to make the most of the amazing view. Once it hit lunchtime we could not resist The Edge Gourmet Burger Bar that we had managed to avoid so far during our time in Noosa. Lets just say it was good that we were leaving today as I think I would have wanted a burger for breakfast, lunch and dinner after tasting one - it was the best ever (I know we have said it a lot but this really was the winner so far!).
We ate our burgers on the beach before heading back to the Van for our trip to Hervey Bay. It was a pretty long drive so we did not arrive until 4 ish and we had a few things to sort out such as our dying lights in the van. We also had to find somewhere to keep the van for the two nights that we would be on Fraser Island. This turned out to be easy as the campsite we were staying out has storage for vehicles so it has all worked out well.
In the evening we went to the YHA hostel to do some internet and to see our friends Ann and Adam who we bumped into in Woolworths while buying our dinner!

Day 86 - Hervey Bay - Fraser Island

We had an early start to catch our bus and ferry over to Fraser Island for the beginning of our tour. Once we arrived on the island we dumped our bags and got straight into our big 4 by 4 truck/coach which was to take us around the island for the next three days. We had a pretty small group of only 14 people (they can be up to 40) which was nice as we got to know everyone well and it was just a more intimate tour. We had the only woman driver and she turned out to be an amazing tour guide, she really knew her stuff and we learned loads about the island. She was only 24 so she just became one of us which was cool. As soon as we were heading off for the first time she played us this song to get us in the mood for some wildlife!
Our first stop was Basin Lake, which we took a walk around before setting off on a bush walk to Central Station, the old logging station that is now the main National Park Information Center. It was here that we had lunch before going on a walk along a creek and through the valley looking at all the different types of vegetation. From here we went to the famous Lake Mackenzie, a perched lake with clear blue water. We stayed here for the rest of the afternoon and I was pleased to hear that the only 2 animals that can be found in the lake are turtles and a very small fish so I had a dip and tried to find a turtle but failed. Everyone is advised to not go in the sea as it is infested with all different types of shark and other dangerous animals so the lakes are the place to cool off!
The 4 wheel driving was a really good experience and was very bumpy, you got chucked around all over the place. The roads were not how I expected as the island was much greener than I thought it would be so most of the roads went through forest sand tracks rather than across open sand. The road system was much more organized than I thought it would be and apparently they have to adhere to the same laws as on the main land!
We were back at our hostel lodge by 5.00pm ish so we just chilled out with the rest of our group for the rest of the day in our lodge and at the bar for the rest of the day. I was pleased to see the Dingo (the purest breed of wild dog in Australia) fences up around the resort and would have been scared if I had been camping with Dingos roaming around!

Day 87 - Fraser Island

We headed off early doors in order to beat the tides and get up the 75 mile highway - otherwise known as the East Beach. Apparently the police do come out to the island with radar guns and book people for speeding. We were lucky as tours haven't been able to get up the beach for the last month since a cyclone removed lots of sand exposing rocks. We got up to the very north of the island and had a paddle in the Champagne Pools and tried to look for marine life out on Indian Head. On the way we also stopped off at the Coloured sands (which aren't as good as the cliffs on the Isle of White).
We had our lunch and headed back down the beach, stopping at the shipwreck of the Moheno and on to Eli Creek (the largest freshwater creek on the island) for a chill out and some tasty afternoon tea again! Just as we were leaving the beach we saw 2 Dingoes getting some afternoon sun on some rocks, which was quite lucky as there aren't too many left on the island these days. We got back to the lodges and went down to the expensive resort for a swim and a jacuzzi before dinner. It was Mexican night for dinner which was really tasty. We said goodbye to the people on our tour who were heading home (as only on a 2 day tour) and played a bit of pool before bed.
It wasn't long into the night when our bed started shaking so Sarah ordered me to see whether there was an animal under the bed moving it. There wasn't, and I speculated that it was an earthquake in New Zealand and we were having the aftershocks! The shaking got worse so we went out into the common area to investigate. I knocked on the Dutch Couples' door to inquire whether they could feel the lodge shaking, to which they replied, "Maybe" and I then asked whether their bed was shaking to which they replied "Probably.....can everyone here it!?". I said we couldn't hear it but we could all FEEL it! After much giggling we went back to bed for an undisturbed and peaceful sleep.

Day 88 - Fraser Island - Hervey Bay

We had a smaller group today but we had an extra Aussie who worked at the resort and she was really good fun. We started at Lake Wabby lookout - apparently the only place in the world that you can see 4 different types of terrain from a lookout (sand dune, lake, sea and vegetation) - before heading down to the emerald green lake for a paddle and a sit. We then trekked over the sand dune across to the east beach, which was really surreal and pretty cool. We continued our walk along the beach before being picked up by the coach to take us to a resort for lunch.
After lunch I was just wandering to a shop to buy an ice cream when I bumped into Anna and Phil having there lunch break, which was a really nice surprise! It is looking good for them meeting us in Cairns for a bit which is cool. They were on their first day on Fraser so they are only a few days behind us going up the east coast.
We headed to another lake in the afternoon, a lake similar to Lake Mackenzie but not nearly as busy which made it more relaxing and beautiful. It was here that we spent the rest of our afternoon before heading back to the resort to catch our ferry back to the Hervey Bay on the main land.

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Photos

Byron Bay
The Lighthouse with a great rainbow.

Coolangatta
Sarah with our body boards.

Brisbane
Me in front of the Anzac memorial.

Brisbane
Sarah and me in the now abolished Upper House of the Queensland Parliament.

Brisbane
Sarah at Streets Beach - right in the middle of the city.

Brisbane
A funky square in downtown Brisbane.

Glass House Mountains
Me on top of Mt Ngungun.

Noosa
Sarah on the Coastal Pathway walk.

Noosa
The sunset we watched while drinking our wine :).

Fraser Island
Sarah in front of one of the crazy plants that grow off the trees.

Fraser Island
Me hugging a huge tree!

Fraser Island
Sarah next to our massive lorry 4x4.

Fraser Island
Our tour group in front of the Moheno.

Fraser Island
A pair of dingoes chilling on the rocks.

Fraser Island
Lake Wabby lookout - 4 different terrains.

Byron Bay
Sarah at the most Eastern Point of Australia.

Wet 'n' Wild
Told you the rides were crazy.

Brisbane
The 'Uni Halls" Accommodation for MPs.

Brisbane
The Brisbane CBD.

Brisbane
Brisbane Bronos vs Parammatta (they don't matter) Eels.