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Published: September 5th 2007
Well, 3 months after arriving back home, it's finally time to start writing about our adventures in Oz. I'm not sure where the time has gone - eaten away by catching up with good friends, visiting family and adjusting to life back home, I guess. I'm now in Ireland, having just got a job (the first in 14 months!) to get me back on my feet again - no longer living out of a bag but at the same time, enjoying immensely learning about a new country - it feels like I'm still travelling, whilst earning money and making the most of being in one place - I guess, having the best of both worlds!
So then back to our adventures Down Under! Australia marked the destination of our travels - 18 years in the dreaming for me, and 10 months in the travelling. Arriving into Brisbane was a strange experience - as our freighter skirted the coast of Queensland, the TV in the mess room picked up wavering signals from Australia - every morning the officers sat glued to news from Ukraine on the foreign language broadcasts. The occasional mobile signals from Timor and Flores had been replaced by
Telstra and Vodafone Australia and as we enjoyed a bbq and karaoke onboard, we sailed past the Whitsunday Islands and before we knew it, we were turning towards land, west past Moreton Island. Brisbane was dead ahead and gradually, the channel narrowed. Rainbow Beach lay on one side and the Glass House Mountains on the other - in the distance, planes soared into the sky from Brisbane airport and as we stood on the bow of the ship, we watched a turtle surface, only to look around to see us bearing down on him. A sea snake did a similiar maneouvre to get away from our wave and it wasn't long before the bright red gantries lining Brisbane port were clearly visible. The last ones we'd seen were in Singapore, marking the start of this incredible voyage and I felt a pang of sadness that this signalled the end of what was undoubtedly, a highlight of the entire trip and what has become one of the best things I have ever done.
As we pulled alongside the port, the Filipino crew threw out ropes to moor the ship - all 25000 tonnes of her, and Aussie dock workers worked
hard in trademark sunnies and shorts. The red customs car arrived and it wasn't long before we were invited into the office to get our bags quarantined and our passports scrutinised. No food or wooden souvenirs are allowed into Australia and after everything had been pulled out and placed back, our bags were wrapped up in bright yellow tape screaming "Australian Customs Quarantined" and after chatting a bit about our route to the immigration guys, we were free to enter Australia. We said our goodbyes to the officers and crew, leaving a lot of smiling faces and taking with us plenty of happy memories as a minibus took us to the port gate, where a taxi arrived to take us into Brisbane.
We'd done it, finally arrived in Australia and it was then that it hit us, as we sat in air-conditioned comfort in the back of the cab - we were overwhelmed by tiredness that was hard to shake. We got dropped off outside a central backpackers and as we checked in, we paid the same price for 1 night that would have kept us in comfy beds in China for a fortnight. A group of people sat
Snake Number 5, Day 2 In Oz
"People, Especially Poms, Always Say Australia Is Overrun With Snakes - It's Really Not"at one desk looking for places to work, reminding me of my first visit here to Queensland, sitting in a field picking ginger one day and packing mobile telephones the next. Other desks advertised week long trips to the Outback for AU$700. Everywhere we looked, backpackers seemed incredibly "clean", dressed in Quiksilver, Diesel and Rip Curl. Oakley and Armani sunnies perched atop what looked like young gap year heads. All of a sudden we felt dirty, poor and completely out of place. We'd worked hard to get here and now we felt like someone who turns up for an office interview in a t-shirt and Speedos. We scurried off to our room and promptly fell asleep. It was obvious that our tiredness and maybe a tinge of initial anti-climax had clouded our views - and after all, we weren't THAT dirty, although no matter how many showers I'd had in the past 10 months, I couldn't help but feel a little bit old compared to everyone else staying there!
The next day we headed out into Brisbane proper. We'd been revitalised by an evening out on the town and by a load of congratulatory emails from friends and family
at having reached our destination. We only had a short time to explore as we had a flight booked to visit some friends in Mackay, Queensland later that day so we made our way to the river for a relaxing walk down by the man-made beach area. In the warm, sunlit glow of day, things seemed a lot more positive - we had 10 days in Queensland to look forward to, followed by a week in Sydney, before Danielle had to make her way home to Ireland for her brother's wedding, leaving me to travel a little longer.
Brisbane seemed like a gleaming, shiny city that had shaken the reputation for being dull that it had when I was last there 15 years ago. We spent the day walking around the central shopping area, making the most of one of my favourite things about Australia - the international food courts, full of noodle bars and rice stalls, before it was time to collect our bags and head towards the train station across the road. There's an excellent train service that takes you right to the airport and it wasn't long before we were checking in for our Virgin Blue
flight to Mackay, an hour north. It seemed strange to fly over the port where we'd arrived only the day before. I craned an excited look down to the red gantries and at the huge ships making their way out into the ocean. As I looked across at Danielle to tell her what I'd seen, I remembered how much she hated flying - her head was buried in my armpit and her hands dug into the arm rests.
It wasn't long before we were touching down at the small airport at Mackay. Meeting us there were long-time family friends - Lorraine and Brian. Lorraine has been my Mum's penfriend for about 35 years and we'd all met up several times in the past and it was great to see them again and it wasn't long before they made us feel completely at home and able to unpack - the first time since leaving home that I was somewhere familiar once again. It felt great to completely relax and we made the most of long lie-ins - several months' worth of being on the road suddenly catching up on us, but it wasn't long before we were out in Brian's
tinny, fishing for prawns and anything else that lurked beneath our small boat, as well as pumping for yabbies - prawn-like creatures that live in the sand and serve as good bait - if you get them before the stingrays do! As we quickly learned, you just have to watch out for their sharp pincers! When the fishing was quiet, Brian would get out his cast net and we'd have a go at catching prawns - some to eat and some to use as bait.
Fishing in Australia was absolutely brilliant - Mackay sits roughly halfway between Brisbane and Cairns (about 1000kms to each!) and as such is in a beautiful spot, blessed with long, deserted beaches and easy to reach bush country so needless to say, we were treated to a great time whilst we were there. We went out several times in Brian's boat - and sometimes we even caught something! We had a $5 bet going to whoever caught something that we could actually bring back into the boat. Danielle won it hands down - although she started the day with a small stingray (good fighter but not a good eater!) whilst I caught some weed
and a funny mud skipper thing!
The surrounding area of Mackay is beautiful and one day we headed out on a woodland walk along a raised walkway, taking us through some marshland and amongst the gum and paperbark trees that grow in abundance here. The water provided some beautiful reflections of the ghostly white gums and I was snapping away when Danielle said she saw some ripples in the water, not far from us. We looked closely and realised there was something swimming under the walkway - then another and another, until we saw maybe 8 shapes sliding through the water. Lorraine and Brian had often joked with us how foreigners - especially Poms, remark on how dangerous the wildlife is in Australia - how you can't walk in the garden without tripping over a man-eating spider or a curious croc, and how it's just not true. You can go for ages without seeing anything and if you do, then it's not likely to be especially dangerous. Well, here we were, stuck on a walkway with snakes swimming around under our feet, on day 2 in Australia. Quickly we made our way towards the car, taking one more picture
Danielle's First Catch
The First One Of The Day - So We Owed Her $5! and as we did so, realised one of the slippery fellows had made their way onto the walkway - and was coming over for a better look at us! With a deep breathe, we strode past it, with inches to spare, banging our feet on the wood in the hope that it might decide to leave us alone. Well, the fact that we're laughing about it now shows that all was well - and more importantly, we'd got some snaps to prove it!
One day we headed out to camp at a basic site a couple of hours inland from Mackay - close to Broken River and home to the famous duck-billed platypus. The best time to see these notoriously shy animals is first light or dusk, so after pitching our camp, we headed out to try our luck at spotting some. As soon as we arrived, we saw some ripples, a splash and there, less than 10 metres in front of us, were 2 platypuses. They seemed remarkably relaxed given their timid nature and seemed content to amble downstream, occasionally diving to forage with their large bills - a line of bubbles giving their progress away as they
swam submerged. Someone whispered that 80% of Australians haven't seen a platypus in the wild - someone else said it was nearer 90%, but for us it was just idyllic. The light seemed just perfect as we watched from a purpose-built wooden stand, and as the sun began to set, we made our way to our camp, towards Eungella Dam.
It quickly became clear that Danielle and I were travelling with seasoned Aussie campers. Next to Lorraine and Brian's relatively luxurious trailer tent, our North Face Tadpole tent looked a bit small. So small in fact, it spurned Brian into writing his first ever poem - about how cosy it'd be, snuggled up inside our sleeping bags in a 1.5 man tent, whilst they slept in their double bed. As the sun set, out came the stove, and of course the Eski full of XXXX stubbies and foam stubby coolers and we toasted the day whilst eating plates full of pasta and sauce.
Our first night under the stars was indeed cosy to say the least - as we heard what felt like millions of bugs landing on our tent, attracted by the torch as we read and
Danielle Fishing At Sunset
Brian's Tinny, Off Of Mackay later as we dozed, the thump thump of kangaroos bouncing outside lolled us off to sleep.
The next day we awoke to glorious sunshine and a little nip in the air - we were up in the hills here and the drop in temperature as autumn approached was noticeable. We decamped and made our way back to Mackay, via the backroads to take in the reservoir at Eungella Dam and a pub with it's very own glider launch ramp. I can only imagine what goes through peoples' minds as they sink a few too many beers and wonder what it would be like to jump off the edge!
The following day Danielle and I headed north to Airlie Beach. Brian and Lorraine had very kindly lent us their car which meant we could take the 2 hour drive to explore the Great Barrier Reef. We stayed at a proper camp site this time - complete with it's own pool and slides - a great place to cool off before leaving early the next day on a trip with CruiseWhitsundays, on their huge catamaran to dive and swim on the outer Great Barrier Reef.
It turned out to
Glider Ramp
Finch Hatton Gorge, Queensland be a fantastic day - we sailed out to a large pontoon moored out at the reef, 3 hours from land to enjoy some amazing seafood, before being given the options of snorkelling, diving, whizzing down more slides or seeing the reef from the air in their very own helicopter. It's safe to say, this was our (albeit brief) foray into flashpacking, leaving our backpacking days in our tent! I had never been up in a helicopter before, so quickly signed up to a dive plus a trip in the air - it was a struggle to fit it all in! The view from above was amazing - we flew out to Heart Reef, a natural coral formation exactly in the shape of a heart. Sharks and rays swam below us, perfectly silhouetted against the blues and purples of the sea and sand and in the distance, we saw an ancient waterway, now part of the reef, but has been found to be part of the river system channeling through inland Queensland.
As soon as I landed, a boat arrived to take us back to the pontoon where we donned wetsuits and scuba gear for a dive amongst the
Duck-Billed Platypus
Eungella, Queensland fishes. Although I have my BSAC dive certificate, I needed a bit of a refresher and Danielle had never dived before, so we were ably guided by one of their own Dive Leaders. Taking us by the hand, we submerged to swim at eye level with the coral that I'd seen look so beautiful from the air an hour ago. A huge Maori wrasse (nicknamed Elvis) was on the prowl so were looking out for him to say hello but in the meantime, we were surrounded by colourful fish of all description. It felt so natural to be gliding along that we lost track of time and it was soon time to surface - complete with huge grins and happy memories.
We drove back to Mackay that evening - Danielle's time in Oz was drawing to a close and it was soon time for us to head south to Sydney. We'd booked a luxury hotel for a few days before she flew back to the family wedding in Belfast - the flashpacking was well and truly here to stay! I would be joining Lorraine and Brian after Danielle left, for a 6 week trip through the Outack, taking in
Our First Camp
Eungella, Queensland the Birdsville Track and South Australia before I saw her again, so we really went to town in Sydney.
We were keen to experience an Aussie Rules game - being very similar to the Irish religion that is Gaelic Football, we tried to get tickets - but duly failed miserably! So we ended up watching a great rugby league game at the Telstra Stadium - I ended up buying a team shirt and sat amongst some die-hard Mitsubishi Bulldogs fans and had a great time watching players from the last 50 years paraded on the pitch.
We stayed not far from Chinatown - a culture that seems to have a certain draw for me wherever I am in the world. Maybe it's the shops full of wealth beckoning cats - every mantelpiece should have one, or the spicy foods, or perhaps it's the smiley reception you get when you attempt a "nee hao" but whatever it is, I can't seem to keep away. This was no exception and it was ideally placed, near the railway station and a short walk to the main attractions. We whiled away the hours, visiting Darling Harbour by day and by night, catching
the ferry to Manly and taking a trip across the harbour to see the zoo. The view from there, across to the harbour and taking in the unmistakable skyline of the Centrepoint Tower is a lovely perspective on what must be one of the most beautiful harbours in the world. We did our fair share of visiting restaurants - we sampled the seafood in the Captain Torres restaurant - recommended to us by the captain of the Baltrum Trader, as we sailed from Singapore to Brisbane. It struck us that although we'd had a few drinks to celebrate the fact that we'd arrived in Australia without taking a single flight, we hadn't been out for a special slap up meal (any excuse!) - so it was off to Johnsons on Darling Harbour, where we did our best to drink them dry of Moet champagne. A photographer snapped away at guests as they ate, offering them the finished product after their meal. "Are you celebrating anything special?", he asked. "Just getting to Australia" was our reply.
Our days were spent wandering the streets, visiting the Botanical Gardens and staring with open mouths at the fruit bats roosting in the trees
Heart Reef
Great Barrier Reef above our heads. They reminded me of angry starlings at home, occasionally all flying off at once, then returning to their trees in one noisy swathe. The beach at Manly was a must-see, if only for the trip on the ferry, past the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge - providing a vantage point for those all-important snaps and we finished our day at The Rocks - the old area where the dock workers from 150 years ago used to live and frequent. Now it is dotted with boutiques, pubs and designer shops.
Whilst the date of Danielle's imminent departure loomed like some unmentionable, the happy event of the V Festival got ever closer. We joined the hordes of festival-goers along the roads - our taxi driver dropping us far away so as not to get stuck in the traffic. It was a typically sunny day and after collecting our tickets, we made our way over to one of the 3 stages to watch Groove Armada. Gnarls Barclay quickly followed and then my favourites, Jarvis Cocker and Pet Shop Boys did their stints. While Danielle went to another stage to watch The Pixies, I was left to get swept
up in an attempt at a conga to the PSBs! We left for home, singing away and crashed at our hotel, sleeping on into the next day, full of burgers, beer and sore dancing legs.
It was soon time for Danielle to fly home. We'd booked her flight way back at the end of last year and had put it to the back of our minds, and we'd not really thought about it until now. We had travelled together for 5 weeks through Russia and Mongolia, when we originally met in St Petersburg, then again for 6 months when she flew out to travel with me again, this time in Saigon. The thought of waving her off at Sydney airport was hard enough - and although she'd be busy with her brother's wedding and me with travelling in the outback, 7 weeks seemed an awfully long time apart after living so closely together so for long. But the time was soon upon us - my parents had kindly agreed to meet her at Heathrow and take her to Gatwick for her flight to Ireland - a cup of tea after 26 hours in the air proving very welcome indeed,
so I knew she'd be in safe hands.
I waved her off as she passed through security and I made my way back up to Mackay, via Brisbane airport to meet Lorraine and Brian to continue my adventures - this time, a 6 week camping trip in the Australian Outback. We'd be visiting places I'd wanted to go for such a very long time - the Birdsville Track was a place I'd read about but never thought I'd ever get there - and in a few days this was where I'd be headed. I'll write about that in the next blog - describing travels through Outback Queensland, Birdsville and Big Red on the edge of the Simpson Desert, South Australia and finally back via the coast of New South Wales.
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Ellen Around the World
Ellen
Hi from Oz
Hey Andy - great to catch up on your adventures, albeit quite belated! Next time you'll have to get to Melbourne. Not that I will be there!! E