Australia - East Coast

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Australia - East Coast

To say that you have a hope of covering ‘Australia’ in only three weeks is a bit misleading, but by following a tried and tested (and well beaten path) along the East coast, covering the two States of Queensland and New South Wales, I am able to get a taste of the vastness and beauty of this unique continent. A journey that allowed me to sample terrains as diverse as tropical rain forests and rare sand island’s; at the same time enjoying the sights of some of Australia’ most intriguing wild life set in their natural habitats.

On arrival at mid-night I book into The Cairns Backpackers and after a good night’s sleep, I woke early to book myself onto a boat trip taking me to the great barrier reef. At reception I meet with another back packer Stefan from Germany who was also looking to visit the reef and after a short discussion we booked ourselves onto the Silver Swift and after the short taxi ride to the Harbour we were headed out to sea. On board Stefan and I met a young film producer from California called Liz when signing up for the introductory scuba diving and snorking which would take us to three separate coral reefs.

Being the start of the winter and suffering some unseasonably poor weather, the sea was a bit choppy, so for me the snorking experience wasn’t particularly enjoyable, but diving under the sea where the condition are a lot calmer I was able to enjoy the beauty of the coral reef and play with some of the amazing topical fish including a giant parrot fish the size of a 46” flat screen TV which loved to be being stroked.

After the boat trip I transferred to Hotel Cairns, I then headed for the Intrepid inaugural meeting where I met my new travelling companions and trip leader.

Differing from any of my previous Intrepid trips - John, an Aussie from Manley, Sydney was to drive us the whole way, around 1,400 kilometres in his Intrepid 12 seated mini bus and in doing so was able to provide some very interesting commentary and insights into the social and natural history of his home land. Joining the group was just two very interesting young women scientist’s from Toronto Canada. Roxanne - originally hailing from France and Andreea from Romania. This small but dynamic group and its enthusiasm to enjoy the full benefits of what this country has to offer enhanced the overall Australian experience.

After the introductions and the a comprehensive run down of the trip by John; Roxy, Andreea and I headed to the supermarket to pick up some provisions. On the way we got completely drenched in a monsoon and suffering from jet lag the girls went back to their room and I met up with John for dinner, enjoying a minute steak at a local pub and sampled the delights of my first Aussie beer.

Early the next morning we loaded the mini bus and were on our way to our first destination - Magnetic Island, a beautiful Island distinctive for its large bolder like rock formations. Our accommodation for the night is wigwam shaped wooden cabins set in woodland. Before dinner the four of us set off for a three hour walk up the Islands highest point and an old military look out tower, on the way having the excitement of having two rare Koala bear sightings in the wild - sleeping for up to 20 hours a day these cuddly marsupials each need a least five varieties and around a 1000 eucalyptus trees to survive. A sighting is not guaranteed and this was the only time we saw Koala’s in the wild during our trip.

Meeting for dinner at 7pm, conversations struck up that were to set the tone for the remaining trip. Travelling with two brain scientist’s we discussed and argued points on gravity, the cosmos and God just for starters. On the way back to my room I was to experience my second happy encounter with Australian wildlife as we stumbled amongst a group of Possums (which I had only ever eaten in NZ) scavenging in the undergrowth.

The next morning I took a walk along the beach before we taking the ferry back onto the mainland for our drive to Airlie Beach. Arriving late afternoon we made the most of the remaining day by doing some laundry and then heading into town for an enjoyable dinner at a fish restaurant where I had the recommended fresh Barramundi.

The next morning a coach picked us up from our lodgings to take us for a magnificent trip on the beautiful sailing yacht Ragamuffin a winner of several Gold Cup sailing races. With the wind up we raced out to sea on a 120 degree angle towards Whitsun Islands and Whitehaven beach to enjoy a warm balmy barbeque on the bleach white and squeaky silica beach. Invited to help the crew with hoisting the sails this made for a fun and exhilarating day.

Following the Great Divide range down the East Coast full of mountainous vegetation and forests we arrive at Eungella for an overnight stay where I cooked a Salmon Pasta for the group. The highlight to this stop over however was a three hour walk through the tropical rainforest where we saw the effects of strangling parasite trees and a coronas where vines climb trees in an anti clockwise direction in the Southern hemisphere, culminating in the sighting of another rare Australian oddity two ‘Duck Billed’ Platypus!

Having enjoyed forests, Islands and beaches, travelling past miles of sugar cane crops, we then all head inland for two nights on an outback home stay. Living in old managers quarters we all joined the farming family in their ‘old smoking room‘ barn for traditional home cooked meals to include local beef and damper - sort of bread cooked over a fire in a cast iron pot covered in butter and local honey…yum!!!

Although the weather was to wet to experience a night watching the stars in a Swag bag (a sort of open air sleeping bag) and we missed a ride on their fine bread horses. We all enjoyed the piece and serenity of our time in the countryside. Despite Andreea and I getting lost in a pitch black two hour walk.

In contrast our next destination took us to Fraser Island, Australia’s largest unique sand Island famed for their Dingo dog population. Staying in comfortable tents we enjoyed two days discovering sub tropical rain forests, sand mountains, walks across dunes, 4x4 drives along beach highways, seascape lightening storms and to cap it all enjoyed a Kangaroo stew…yet to be spotted in the wild during our travels so far, much to my disappointment.

Nearing the end of our trip we head to John’s spiritual home via the Gold Coast - Byron Bay where he spent part of his schooling and teenage life. Being an enthusiastic surfer, he was looking forward to taking a day off at Byron and heading for the waves. However after a walk to the lighthouse where we saw a wallabies and an evening swim and later heading to town to enjoyed seafood/mussels dish and local beer at a country music bar, Roxanne suggested in true four musketeer style that we would all jump Australia’s highest skydive at 14,000 feet with a 70 second freefall!!!

The next morning at 8.30am and having sobered up, I then realised the consequence of my drunken enthusiasm to jumped out of a perfectly good plane, when John knocked on my door and confirmed that he had booked the skydive for all four of us and that we would be jumping together at 10.30am that morning?! Having checked a couple of times with him that he had actually booked the flight…I pulled myself together and started to prepare myself for an experience of a life time that I never imagined I would undertake or go through with.

As we head for the airport there is an eerie silence in the mini bus as we try and joke a little, contemplating the jump ahead. Once we got to the jump site, we filled in several forms explaining that it was a dangerous sport and there would be no responsibility from the company if there was an accident, then after we had paid our fee we were quickly given some instruction, strapped up and put onto the plane.

Each of us were assigned a dual jump partner, mine being a B.J from Denmark and we headed for a scenic flight over Byron Bay joining a number of solo pleasure sky divers. At 8,000 feet the slide door opened to release an elderly jumper called John who wished me luck on my first jump and out he went. Then the plane climbed to 14,000 feet where the door opened up again and I was ushered towards the door to be first to jump. Once in position a video camera man lined up beside us to record my jump and after 3, 2, 1 we fell. Falling immediately on my front and remembering to hold my head and legs back, I simply used all my energy to ensure I maximised the enjoyment of a truly amazing experience. Racing to the ground at high speed, with the force of the air pushing around your body disfiguring your face, I just couldn’t help smiling with enjoyment for the whole freefall until eventually I could feel the pull of the parachute as it was released and then realising that I was indeed going to make in to the ground in one piece.

The rest of the ride down allowed time to enjoy the scenery and reflect on this massive achievement and it wasn’t long before I was asked to raise my legs for a landing sat along the floor. As I the saw each of my travelling colleagues come in safely one by one I ran over to congratulate them. After we had seen our individual videos of the flight, girls went to the beach with John and exhausted by the adrenalin and experience I headed to town for a relaxing afternoon basking in the sunshine.

Our final destination before heading for Sydney was at Myall Lakes, where at long last we spotted four Kangaroo’s in the wild, before getting to our lakeside chalet for the night, where John cooked us our final meal together and where we reflected on the highlights of the trip and our experiences and achievements together. Exhausted for the final furlong we called into the Hunters Valley wine region before crossing the Sydney Harbour bridge at around 5pm, ending at Central Station to say our final farewells.

On arrival at central station I met up with Lynda from Sydney who I had met on my first trip in India who had invited me stay for a few days, offering to show me around her beautiful city. Being the Queens Birthday celebration and a public holiday the following day Lynda took me for a walk through the Botanical gardens, leading to the Sydney Opera House and Bridge, before walking around to Darling Harbour to enjoy a Jazz & Blues Festival finally heading home by train stopping off for a Vietnamese meal on the way.

The following day Lynda went back to work at her school and I met up with Roxanne for the day, meeting up again with Lynda later to go to the Sydney Opera House to see Matthew Bourne’s Ballet - Edward Scissorhand and after a days rest the following day Lynda and I meet up with two of her work colleagues at the Casino Theatre to see an excellent production of the cult classic The Rocky Horror Show.

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