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Published: January 4th 2006
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Dear All,
Apologies for the length of time between the last blog and this, but the Festive season did gobble us up a little. However, we will endeavour to fill you in on all that we have been up to more recently.
When we last left off, we were departing from Byron Bay and heading north, towards Brisbane. From Byron it is only a few hours drive to the Gold Coast. This is where Australians who like the big lights etc, come on holiday. It was all very interesting but as we had been enjoying some really beautiful coastline up until now, were more than a little disappointed at the miles of high rises that comprise Surfers' Paradise. It is a bit of a concrete jungle by the sea but I suppose it is a case of strokes for folks. We pressed on through to a spot an hour south of Brisbane and stopped there for the night. We were joined by Andy Mac and his wife,Gail for dinner that evening as they live very nearby. It was a great evening and we were treated with one of the real tropical downpours that Queensland gets in the summer. It
came pelting down, but was all over in an hour.
The following morning we were up bright and early to get to Brisbane Airport to drop the hire car off. From the airport we braved the heat (30deg C by 11:30am) and caught the train into central Brisbane. We dropped our bags off at the train station lock up and headed into the city for some sight seeing. Our first stop was the City Hall as they were showing a short film on the city, and it was air-conditioned!!! After cooling off we felt a little braver and ventured out once again. Brisbane's CBD is fairly walkable and so we took a stroll down the main shopping drag to the river. After that we still had a few hours to kill and so went to the Roma Gardens , which are these huge gardens in the middle of the city with a wide range of plant and bird life. Then it was time to head back to the train station, pick up pur bags and catch the bus to Hervey Bay. This wasn't the most comfortable journey, but we arrived on one piece and caught a few hours sleep
once we had been dropped off at our accommodation.
The next morning was an early start as Fraser Island Tours was picking us up at 8am. Fraser Island is basically the largest sandbar in the world. It has some of the most interesting and diverse fauna and flora ranging from volcanic beachheads to crystal clear inland lakes. This was to be an authentic Aussie affair as Steve (our guide) picked us up in his 4x4 mini bus and a cheery G'day mate. It was a short drive to the jetty where the ferry picked us up (bus and all) and took us across to Fraser Island. We were given so much info by Steve that it is hard to remember it all, he really was great and answered any questions we had. The first day was spent exploring Fraser's many different landscapes from mangroves to tropical forests. It was all rounded off with a great evening in tented accommodation and Steve giving us a Didge-playing lesson. The second day allowed us more time on the beaches and lakes. We even came up close and personal with one of the island's dingoes, said to be the purest strain in Australia.
The pictures don't really do the place much justice but I must mention that it is a World Heritage Site and definitely warrants this. We were sad to leave and could definitely have spent a few more days there. But it was back on the ferry and off to the bus station for us to catch the overnight bus to Airlie Beach.
Overnight travel on a bus is never fun and this one did not differ from the last. We arrived a little worse for wear but alive in Airlie Beach: gateway to the Whitsunday Islands. We booked into our hotel and headed off to the booking office to finalise the details for our sailing trip which was to leave the next day. Unfortunately, the yacht that we were booked on could not sail due to technical problems and so we were moved onto another boat. This did mean that we spent an extra night in Airlie Beach but it proved worthwhile as it allowed us to catch our breaths, spend some time next to the man made lagoon and watch a bit of the cricket! Sunday morning also proved to be an improvement on the weather side of
things as the wind had dropped off and everything was just perfect. We stored our big bags and made our way (with rusksacks) to the marina for three days of sailing around the Whitsunday Islands. This has been one of the most memorable parts of our trip. The snorkelling was like being in a large fish tank, the beaches looked exactly like they do on the postcards and we were in fantastic company! So, missing the yacht we booked initially was a blessing in disguise. We spent three glorious days on the yacht, with dinners being catered on Hook Island in a tiny resort that only caters for 30 people and runs on solar/generator power. Dan and Amy, our skipper and deckhand catered our lunches on board so we got to dine with the best views ever!
The Whitsundays are at the southern most part of the Barrier Reef and so benefit from all the marine life and the warm waters. The only down side is the fact that we were there in stinger season but were issued with stinger suits which allowed us in the water without too many worries. The Australians have done a fantastic job of
preserving this area with limited or no building on most of the islands and the cleanest waters making it a real paradise. We loved it and were again very sad to leave. We all felt that with such a fantasatic experience, it was only fitting to end it with a bus trip to Mackay!! This is a small town just south of Airlie beach where we spent that night as we were catching an early morning plane from there down to Sydney. From Sydney we hopped on the train back up to Newcastle and the Wilsons (aunt, uncle, cousins).
This was the end of our road trip up the east coast of Australia and it has gone from something that we have been dreaming about, to reality, to memory. Needless to say we were more than willing to accept the creature comforts of home but will savour these memories forever.
We will keep you up to speed with our festive season when we return from our New Year in Sydney!!!!
Love to all,
Alun and Catherine.
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