Queensland

Sorry about the length of this blog but I figured I would briefly explain what I had been up to in Queensland over the past month and a half.

After arriving in Cairns a group of us headed North to Cape Tribulation where we climbed Mt Sorrow where Nick was covered in leaches, drunk a fair amount in PJs jungle retreat, tried a bit of fishing but without much luck and saw Cassowary while we were lazing on the beach. However the weather was not so great and I awoke one morning soaked as Nicks "tent" which actually I found out when I put it up was a UV protection shelter for the beach leaked like a colander.

After all the fun and games up at Cape Trib we arrived back in Cairns I was lucky enough to find a volunteer job aboard a dive boat called Taka. The boat left Cairns on a 5 day trip of the Great Barrier Reef, including visits to the Cod Hole and Osprey Reef, where the diving is amazing. I had to do some washing up and general cleaning duties in return for 3 dives each day which to be fair was a bit of a deal. The trip was amazing with the majority of sites being wall dives with large pelagic's. We even spotted some whales while moving from one dive site to the next. The highlight had to be the shark feed, defiantly worth it. I have tried to make a bit of a compilation of some of the video that I shot during the trip not that great but hey you have to start somewhere, there should be a video link further down the page.

After chillin in Cairns for a while my friend Nick (who owns the van we have been travelling incidentally) finished his contract, we (when I say we I mean Nick) found a couple of girls wanting a lift south. We decided to head to the Atherton Tablelands first and spent two days exploring loads of waterfalls, swimming, getting covered in leaches and of course visiting a local winery. The tablelands were fantastic and reminded me of home a little although it was a lot warmer!

Our next stop was Townsville where we caught a ferry across to Magnetic Island where we stayed for three days. Hiring a car for one day to explore the island, the beaches were fantastic. We did a bit of snorkelling and hiking where we spotted some Koalas snoozing in the trees. I had a free pass for some Sea Kayaking which I gladly cashed before catching the ferry back to the mainland.

After driving south to Ayr, Nick and I were up early to dive a ship wreck known as the Yongala, the dive site was amazing and the variety and amount of fish were unbelievable as well as everything seeming bigger at this site than anywhere else I have dived before. I think one of the dive crew summed it up perfectly when he said that everything down there is on steroids.

Arriving safely back on land and having a BBQ we headed down to the next free campsite on the map, however completely missing it decided to carry on to Bowen unbeknown to us there was the Annual Bowen fishing classic happening at the time so we arrived in town to a rather large party which I gladly indulged in. After waking up in the van having a rather sore head we explored Bowen and the surrounding beaches, horseshoe bay was idyllic, and I even caught a Shovelnose Ray which put a smile on my face.

The next day we drove south to Airlie Beach where I had booked onto a 2 day 2 night sailing boat around the Whitsundays which I enjoyed, visiting

Pushing south again we made a detour West at Mackay towards Enugella National Park where we were lucky enough to see some platapus in the wild although a we were up pretty high it turned a lot colder and wetter. Heading back towards the coast we stayed in a little town called St Lawrence.

Awaking the next morning we headed to Agnes Water and 1770 where we found a little campsite right next to the beach and spent the next 3 days surfing, fishing and relaxing. Carrying on south we hit Bundaberg where we visited the Bundaberg Rum Distillery and of course had to do some taste testing. On from Bundy we headed to Rainbow Beach the access point for Fraser Island.

After meeting our team (11 of us) we had a briefing and then a night at the bar. The following day we jumped into our 4WD and headed for 3 nights driving on Frazier Island which was fantastic, visiting lake Mackenzie, Indian head and lake Wabby, camping on the beach and enjoying driving on off-road. I would just like to add that out of the 4 cars from our hostel that went we were the only ones not to get bogged yaaaaaaa.

After finishing our 4WD adventure we headed back to Rainbow beach and stayed a night to recover the next morning we headed on to Noosa where I stayed in a great hostel and surfed until the swell died down. I then went on a canoeing expedition, however it rained for the whole time which I didn't really mind as all the other trips I had been on had been perfect sunshine and well I was going to get wet canoeing anyway. After arriving back from the canoe trip I had one last surf in Noosa with the lads before catching the bus the next morning to Brisbane as Nick has found a job in Noosa and was planning on staying a while.

Arriving in Brisbane was a bit of a shock to the system after not being in a city for a while so I decided to go to the pub and then back to the hostel. The following day I visited the XXXX Brewery where at the end of the tour you are allowed 4 free drinks, after our 3rd a large group of people arrived and started on there free drinks but then just moved on after 1. Once they were safely out the door I ran around the rest of the table collecting there coupons and then 4 of us sat drinking free beers for the remaining afternoon. Needless to say I was a little late arriving at an old uni mates house for a BBQ but luckily got a lift back to my hostel later that night. I have then spent the next couple of days meeting up with an old work friend from back in the UK who now lives in Brizy.

Next stop will probably Byron Bay but I may make a short stop in Surfers who knows. Hope you are all well.

Matt

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