Fraser Island and the Whitsundays

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Arriving back in Brisbane at the adequate YHA hostel, we were informed that our friend had already arrived and checked in. Geraldine, or Gers, as she is more commonly known, is a larger-than-life, Irish whirlwind of a character. The next few days were guaranteed to be madcap.

After an evening of reunion, we took a very early morning bus to Hervey Bay, the departure point for the ever-appealing Fraser Island. This was our first 'Greyhound' bus in Australia (the well-known Aussie coach company that travels all over the place), and we were not in the least prepared for the mammoth set of rules put upon us. The terminator-like female driver barked at us for a good few minutes about what we could and couldn't do on her precious bus. Food and drink were certainly not allowed. We sat at the back, however, slurping hot coffee and munching on sausage rolls, and somehow got away with it! Even texting was frowned upon, as it interfered with the crap movie that was being shown at an inaudible volume.

We arrived at Hervey bay in the afternoon, and spent many hours trying to arrange our trip to the island; there were so Craig was your typical antipodean bush-whacker.many options. We eventually arranged a two-day tour of the island on a large 4WD bus; Fraser Island cannot be negotiated with ordinary transport. The next morning, we boarded the ferry in anticipation.

Fraser island is the biggest sand island in the world. Apparently, there is more sand on this island than in the Sahara Desert! It is a long island that stretches down alongside Australia's north-east coast. Its position caused early explorers to think they were on the mainland coast. As a result, they spent months going around it in circles!

The bus was immensely fun, and our enthusiastic guide Craig made sure we had a real Aussie-style adventure by flying over the bumps and lumps in the road at breakneck speed. All the while, he told us interesting information about the island's history and geography. Each stop on the bus provided us with beautiful vistas of the island: Lakes, beaches, cliff-top viewpoints, lagoons, shipwrecks, streams, jungle and rockpools. However, the most memorable event of the trip was, indubitably, when Craig managed to get the bus stuck in the sand!

Gers was soon known by all on the bus and most of the island's visitors had been roped into taking a photo for her at some point. Before long she was telling jokes from Craig's PA at the front of the bus and laughing hysterically down the microphone.

The food on this tour was perfect: Huge buffets with fresh rolls, chicken, and a range of salads, and there was always far too much. David struggled; wanting to eat the free food, but being continually full. Back at the camp, the chef prepared an 'all you can eat' spread of pizza, pasta and salad, and we relaxed with a beer together in the bar. This was a nice evening to make friends with the other people on our tour group, and we had a rather late night.

Next stop was the Whitsunday Islands. For this we headed to Airlie Beach by bus, and the two of us booked ourselves on an ocean raft, for a day of beautiful views and water fun. It was a bumpy ride on the boat, but a fun day was had by all, including snorkelling, a fantastic lunch at the bay, and views of the famously stunning Whitehaven beach. We met back up with Gers that evening for another overnight bus journey. This time to Cairns, our final destination in Oz. Gers jumped off at Townsville to meet Ned (or 'Superned' as he is known by avid blog readers).

We stayed three nights in Cairns in a really cosy hostel and managed to see the Great Barrier Reef, the Aboriginal Centre (Tjapukai), the butterfly park and the skyrail. At the reef, we did an introductory dive (for David, the first time ever!) and more snorkelling. At Tjapukai we learnt how to throw boomerangs and spears, and watched traditional fire-making and didgeridoo playing. The butterfly sanctuary was interesting and beautiful, and the journey there and back by skyrail took us high above the Queensland rainforest for breathtaking panoramas.

It was time to leave Australia and head for neighboring New Zealand. We'd had a fantastic time in this country. Three weeks was certainly not enough, but don't we always say that!?

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Photos

Craig, our own personal Ray Mears!
Craig was your typical antipodean bush-whacker.

Comments

[Amanda]

Hi Guys, Thank you for the lovely postcard. We cant get enough of that feathery bird stuff as you know! Its so great to read your blogs. What strikes me most is the memory of what it feels like to be able to do what you like when you like! Especially in a really beautiful place like Australia. It makes me miss being away. Things arent really the same anymore at home after being away! We have lost a fraction of enthusiasm for the mundane things like work, bills and even socialising in our local boozer. Even though its just a fraction it is noticable to us and one of the only things that gets us really excited is the thought of going away again! So lap it up while you can...you lucky people. P.s. I loved imagining David Battling with the Buffet...very Homer Simpson! All my love Manda xxx

[george]

hey
hey sorry i took so long to email ive been rele busy wiv work n stuff, thanks for the post card twas a rele nice surprise when returning to our smelly house. uni is wicked been at the beach all of today and yesturday im soooo brown, got physio v nurses pub golf on tuesday which should be good! the course is gettin rele hard but its still ok in 5 weeks time i have my own patients!!!!!!!!!!! how scary is that neway australia looks amazing! hope your both having fun! speak to u soon lots of love george x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

[Chris]

Hello!
Hi David and Louise! Thank you for the cool postcard - that brought a smile to my face after a long day at work! I've been catching up on where you've been and Australia looks fantastic, the pictures of Whitsunday Island particularly glorious. It certainly beats the grey skies over London at the moment. So you're off to NZ. Make sure you check out the Maoris if you get the chance - I've always wanted to see the Haka (is that how you spell it?) in action. Hope you're both having an excellent time and managing to see all the sights! Speak soon, Love from Chris

[Alex]

David! I stood right where you're standing, on Indian head! Looking down into the calm waters below and seeing scores of giant rays gliding around under the surface. I think I dropped a lighter round there somewhere if you get the chance... Glad you enjoyed the Whitsundays and Fraser Island, those were two of the best things I did in Australia. And no, three weeks would certainly not have been enough!