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Published: August 8th 2007
We planned to stop in Brisbane for a van check-up and were already on the way when a water park has made us divert from the road. The "Wild and Wet" park is a paradise for young and old. We went on each ride, or should I rather say Josie did and played like kids for hours. Our favourite - the 8 man Racer where you grabbed a rubber mat and dived into the slide head down to race the other 7 contestants. Josie was unbeatable and it took Andy a few rides to acknowledge that. We still made it for the check up, just a bit later than expected, and even managed to drive out of Brisbane, all the same day. We decided to visit the Glass Mountains and after a brief look around we ended up in Australia Zoo. Steve Irvin was still looking at us from all corners, speaking to us through all the written notes and we were expecting him to enter the great Crocosseum any minute after the show started. Obviously he did'n and it made us sad to see that a man so endlessly passionate about animals and this zoo was not there any more.
However, the Zoo lived up to his and our expectations with loads of clean room for the animals. This man's spirit was clearly still there and it continues to be there through his wife and his daughter Bindi.
Now we were on the sunshine coast and living up to it's name it started to lash it down with rain. Still heading north, trying to get away from the rain we found ourselves on Rainbow Beach, just off Fraser island. And again, we were debating to go or not to go. One of the main tourist attractions in Australia and on so many iteneries ended not to be on ours. The decision to move on has payed off. We arrived in the Town of 1770 and have been told that the Great Barrier reef island Lady Musgrave is desparate for some campers, in clear english, there was nobody there and we could have a deserted island to ourselves if we only wanted to. Quick check of our supplies and equipement and YES! we were ready to go! Next day the Spirit of 1770 brought us and other visitors to the remote island. The ride was quite rough and even Andy
Australia zoo - Wombats
"Monday morning, slept, afternoon slept, evening scratched" - excerpt from "The diary of a wombat", a must read ;)felt a little ill. Josie was just glad that she did not have anything for breakfast. Finally we arrived after nearly 2 hours at sea. We changed into diving gear and off we went to explore the Great Barrier reef! Being spoiled with diving in Malaysia this did not come as a surprise to us. Never the less, it was a beautiful dive spot and very relaxed practice as we haven't dived for nearly 2 years. We had some lunch on the boat and finally, FINALLY!!! we were set off to the island. Waving goodbye to all the other tourists made our hearts jump. That was truly LOST style! We put up our camp and had to hide from a brief downpour but other than that we were blessed with great weather and a stunning sunset. While walking around the island, which takes you about 30 minutes we saw white tip sharks hunting for dinner and splashing the water, clearly fighting a catch. There were turtles seemingly making their laps around the island and LOADS of birds that kept us awake at night. But who wants to sleep while being on a deserted island??? 😉 The island was beatifully lit
by full moon shine and everything was just perfect. We felt free and sooo lucky to be there. We can't really explain the feeling of being on a deserted island. That is definately something you have to experience yourself.
The next day 3 aussie campers joined us and even though it was still pretty empty on the island it did not feel the same. In the morning we swam back to the pontoon to do some more diving. That dive we saw an eagle ray. Both of us being at the back of the diving group just happened to turn our heads around and saw this gracious animal passing by. Nobody else saw it, even though we tried to attract their attention. After we were set back on the island we befriended "the others" and had a good time cooking and chatting about this and that. Andy, once again, was desperately trying to catch some fish for dinner and again we had pasta with tomato sauce. His enthusiasm and persistance is one of a kind and even the others were speachless when Andy asked them for a wine cork only to attach it to a pen and hence to
build a floater. Finally, he decided to go on the fishing boat organised from the pontoon and THANK GOD he caught a damn fish at last. As it was our and the others last night on the island we cooked all we had to a big feast with the fresh fish as the highlight of the dinner. The weather started to be miserable and it was time to leave paradise. After 4 nights we were back to the mainland with amazing memories.
Reality hit when we sat back in the van. It was still a bloody long drive to Cairns. Off we went the next day. We stopped at very interesting places, one of which was a great campsite which was really a stables for a rodeo. As it was still raining, can you believe it??!! we parked close to the stalls and made ourselves at home. There is something about a candle light dinner in a stall, don't you think? Clearly, our pikeyness has reached new levels here.
A visit to Airlie Beach only made us go far away and stay the night in Bowen. Actually, though Bowen is not necessary a place to be, there was
a big film crew in town filming the new hollywood movie "Australia" with Nicole Kidman. We could go and see the set but unfortunatelly Josie's dream of playing in a movie was shattered as they had enough extras already. Never mind, she will have to wait until Bollywood 😉
The next random stop was in Lucinda, where we found what we think is the longest pier in the world! Driving through the sugar cain plantations, just next to the old pier, a sugar factory appeard with a new pier that was nearly 6 km long! It was that long, that it had to bend 2 meters into the sea to follow the bend of the earth. Unfortunatelly, no fishing of that pier was allowed, so the old pier had to do. That time Josie wanted to know what the hell is it about this fishing business. Andy got her a handline and some bait and off we went together. It was all too exciting that evening. Fish seemend to nibble on the bait all the time and out of pure excitement Josie was loosing bait, sinkers and finally the handline. "It wasn't tight on" she screamed to her defence
but Andy nearly lost his mind. The screw of the reel was the next target. Josie swears that she was not trying maliciously to sabotage the whole fishing business and thankfully Andy remembered his first days fishing with his dad when he was tangling the line and doing exactly all that. Fully understanding Andy bought a new hand line and cought a Brim at last. It made a delicious dinner, fried with just cracked black pepper and some lemon juice. The next day we were both in fishing fever. The excitement did not last long as the fish wasn't biting that day and after a strange "plums" noise Josie realised that she has now also dropped the handle of the reel into the water. Andy wasn't happy, he just witnessed his baby being dismanteled within 24 hours. Still, he kept calm and soldiered on biting his lip as not to scream. This time a yoghurt pot had to do with the rest of the line around it. It proved that it is not the tackle but the skill that catches the fish. I would like to emphasise that it was an organic yoghurt though. Again, Andy's patience payed off as
Lady Musgrave
It's just us, the birds and the sea... a dream we never dreamt came true he cought a Butterfish on the yoghurt pot. There you go, we had again grilled fish for dinner, not as good as the Brim but pretty nice.
Last stop before Cairns was to be Mission Beach. It was not what we expected, we thought we would find another Byron Bay or Airlie Beach, but no. A quiet little town along a beach full of palm trees. Sold! We finished off our supplies and got the van ready to be returned to Wicked. The drive to Cairns was "only" 150 km - nothing as far as we are concerned. We stayed for one night in the first and last hostel in Australia and got ready for the next adventure, JAPAN! We arranged our rail pass, swapped our books, bought new ones, packed and left. The only sad thing that we remember about Cairns is the number of Aboriginies there, who were not so present further south. Driving all the way up the east coast didn't really offer us any insight into their lives. Only their artwork was sold everywhere with not many of them in sight. Here, they looked a bit lost in what was really their land. We felt
The fish
at last! sad walking down the streets and maybe even a bit out of place. Wasn't it the white man who put them into this misery? Deprived them of their future and a purpose? How would I feel if someone would take away my living space and destroy everything I believed in?
With these thoughts we left Australia. We have spoken enough English and seen enough of what appears to be a "sunny england". It was time for more challenging adventures again, and Japan would be full of it for sure.
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Yuki Jen
Yuki-Jennifer A.A Kurumi
Bloody amazing blog!
Feeling nostalgic for my fatherland after being away for college. Great work, glad you're enjoying the fantabulous highlights of the 'land-down-under'. Best of luck in your travels!