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Published: January 26th 2010
Sorry I haven’t updated sooner but the last couple of weeks have been really crazy! We spent just over two weeks travelling up the east coast from Sydney to Cairns and 4 days in Alice Springs and the Red Centre.
We started the road trip in Sydney where we picked up our Jucy camper. It fitted 4 people in and was about the size of a 7 seater car. The back converted to a double bed and it had a top box that also converted to a double bed.
We left Sydney and all met at VB’s house where we had lunch. There was 2 South Africans, 3 English, 1 Egyptian, 1 Saudi Arabian and 3 ausi’s in our group!
Our first stop was Port Macquarie where we stayed with Chris’s cousins. Their house was so much fun and had a games room where we all hung out and watched the new episodes of British top gear that they had downloaded. All the guys are crazy for top gear here! We went to the local Koala hospital and got to see some baby koala’s as well. While we were there national geographic was filming in the hospital which was fun to
Camel Farm
Kim and I being taken for a ride!watch.
Then we travelled to Coff’s Harbour where we stayed with Amer’s brother. The house was amazing and set next to a golf club and orchard. It was on top of a hill so it had amazing views of the surrounding area. There were mango tree’s as well so we got to eat the fresh mangoes, amazing! We went to the local beach and played some team games, like stuck in the mud, which was really fun especially as the ausi’s had never played half the games before. Catherine also taught us all how to do head stands. Which I can do if someone holds my legs, otherwise I have some balance issues. Us girls went to the pet porpoise pool and got to see dolphins, porpoises, sharks, penguins and seals. We got to feed the sharks and we saw two shows. While we were there the guys went jumping off the local jetty where they got to swim with a wild dolphin which we were a little jealous of.
We headed then for Byron Bay. Catherine and I shared the driving throughout the time and we certainly had some amusing times! At Byron we stayed at a campsite for
Camel Race
Against the scottish! 2 nights. The town itself is very hippy and quite fun to walk around. We saw a street performer who was a one man band and was really good. When we went to the beach Catherine and I were stopped to have our pictures taken for a website called Byron Bay today. When we logged on later to check out the picture we saw there had been sharks in the water that day which was a little worrying as we had been swimming there! We spent the first night at the campsite chatting and playing campfire games. We also decided to walk down to the beach. There were loads of toads and the ausi’s managed to convince me they were carnivorous, which they found highly amusing. There was a sign that also warned that the area was bad for brown snakes and Rami’s reaction was the funniest moment of the entire trip, none of us were worried as he was so fanatical he definitely took everyone’s mind off of the snakes. When we eventually got to the beach Rami was also convinced that someone had dug a grave there so that added to the amusement. Then on the 2nd night
The Ghan
Alice Springs Station Catherine and I managed to get us free entry into a club called La La land. So we went to town and had fish and chips on the sea front. Then on a green a performance team did fire dancing which was really good. Then we headed over to La La land for the evening. Unfortunately after we went to bed that night there was a wash out, weather wise. All our bags were outside and the contents were soaked. We had to wash everything as it all smelled really badly of damp, but it’s all part of the adventure.
Next was Surfer’s Paradise, definitely one of my favourite places on the trip. We stayed in Chris’s friend’s apartment that was right on the beach. James gave me a surfing lesson which wasn’t a complete disaster and I managed to kneel on the board! The first evening we went to a local tavern and enjoyed the evening there. On day 2 in surfer’s we went to a local beach that was having a surfing competition, which had some of the world’s pro surfers in. Catherine and I went for breakfast in the local country club which was amazing and we
had views of the beach so we could watch the competition going ahead. That evening Cat, Rami, Ash and I went into the town and a club called Sin City which was definitely the best night out so far. The club was really well decorated and played good music.
We left some of the group behind at this point as they had to get back to Sydney. However the rest of us travelled onwards to Brisbane where we stayed with the guy’s friend from college, Caitlin. We went to Australia Zoo for the day which is Steve Irwin’s zoo and it was brilliant. We saw quite a few native animals and Terri Irwin did the croc demonstration along with Bindi and Rob. We left the rest of the group here and the intrepid four carried on to Hervey Bay.
From Hervey we did a tour of Fraser Island. We went to all of the sights and even had an aerial flight over the island that took off and landed on the beach. The island was great to see from the air and my favourite part of the day was Lake Mackenzie which was idyllic.
On the way to Airlie Beach
Thorny Devil
Found in the road! we stopped at Bundaberg and visited the Rum factory there. We went on a tour and got to try molasses and see how the rum was made. It was really interesting and we got 2 free drinks in the bar afterwards. I had one of their special liquors that you can only buy at their factory which was really good on the rocks with cream. I also tried a bundy dark and stormy, which is rum with ginger beer, also really good. As I had thrown my hat away I ended up getting a Bundaberg trucker cap which makes me look very bogan, but it does protect my head from the sun!
For tea we stopped in Rockhampton which is the steak and beef capital of Australia. I had a steak with a garlic sauce, potatoes and vegetables and it was amazing. I actually like steak now as long as it’s coked the Rockhampton way!
At Airlie beach we booked a tour for the Whitsunday islands on a company called ocean rafting. When we booked it we were told it was a nice relaxing cruise around the islands it was anything but. It was a load of fun though. Basically
Swag
In my swag! it was a light rib that ripped through the water. We also went through a storm which added to the fun. On the large waves we’d actually get air. We were taken to a couple of the islands where we went on bush walks to look out points. We had lunch on the boat which was fresh seafood and was delicious. Then in the afternoon we went to 2 different snorkel sites. We had to wear stinger suits this was very amusing as we all looked ridiculous. At the first site we spotted a stingray which was a little scary. Then at the second there was a sea turtle. We were able to get close enough to touch it which was a really unique experience. The next day we spent around Airlie and we had a didgeridoo lesson. It’s a really difficult instrument to master but once you get it you progress quite quickly. We went to a rum and fish bar for tea in the evening which was great fun. We all had rum cocktails and fish that had been freshly caught that day. The food was really good I had snapper in a thai coconut sauce and panna
cotta for dessert.
Our next stop was Townsville where we were able to take the ferry to Magnetic Island. Here we just spent the day chilling on the beach.
Our last stop was Cairns. We stayed at an amazing campsite that had awesome facilities. We spent one day on the Great Barrier Reef snorkeling. We went on a high speed catamaran called Silverswift which was really luxurious. On the way out to the reef Catherine and I got sea sick which was not fun. But we were fine once we got in the water. We went to 3 different sites over the day to snorkel and we saw a whole host of animals including more rays and turtles. Some people on our trip saw reef and nurse sharks which we were a little jealous of. We had an amazing lunch on board as well as breakfast and afternoon tea.
The next day we drove to Cape Tribulation and it was absolutely chucking it down. Catherine and I managed to miss the sign and we ended up driving past where we were meant to stop. The road started to get really rocky and muddy and then we came to a sign
that said only 4wd vehicles and realised we had to turn back. When we did eventually find where we were meant to be we had nearly stopped there originally to ask for directions which was rather annoying that we hadn’t! We went jungle surfing which involved zip wiring through the rainforest. It was a lot of fun and we even got to go upside down at one point. We were each given hats with nicknames on and mine was mini me, catherine’s was yoda and Kim’s was little miss sunshine.
The last night we had in Cairns we decided to treat ourselves as we had been in the camper for the last couple of weeks so we stayed at the 5* Shangri La Hotel. It was amazing and the beds were really comfy. In our twin room we had a queen size bed each, internet access, gym, pool, balcony and a great bathroom. We went out for dinner that night and then on to Gilligans the best excuse for a club in Cairns. At Gilligans they had a night where some girls were painted their national colours and people had to vote for the winner which was entertaining.
In the
Katherine
The flooded jetty morning we had an amazing buffet breakfast at the hotel that even had a muesli bar. Then we flew to Alice Springs and all four of us had flights at roughly the same time so we were able to hang out and say goodbye at the airport. My luggage was 26kg and you are only allowed an allowance of 23kg but luckily the guy didn’t charge me.
We got food on the plane which was a nice surprise and landed into Alice which was very hot and dry. We went to our hostel and then spent the rest of the afternoon in the town, where we soon learned that travelling down the west coast like we had planned would be extremely expensive. As it was also stinger season we wouldn’t be able to go into the water without stinger suits on as well which was a bit of a pain. So we booked a flight from Darwin to Perth which wasn’t too expensive seeing as we booked it pretty last minute.
Then the next day we started our 3 day rock tour. We had to get up at 5am and one of the guy’s alarm in the dorm kept going
off and he kept sleeping through it which was really annoying. We got complimentary breakfast from the hostel which was toast and spreads, but I guess that’s better than nothing. Then at 6am we were picked up by our rock tour bus and guide Lee Rat!
On the first day we drove to King’s Canyon and did a 6km hike in the heat of the day which was really tiring as it was 41 degrees. However we got to stop at the Garden of Eden halfway through the hike and go for a swim which was really refreshing. The first part of the hike involved climbing a steep hill called heart attack hill which lived up to its name! Due to the heat and the fact that our guide loved to talk the walk took us 5 hours!
That evening we went to a campsite on a working cattle station we had a campfire which we had collected wood for earlier in the day and cooked chilli con carne on and slept in swags. Which are basically glorified sleeping bags. I was paranoid that some sort of creature would get into mine during the night and we kept hearing the
cows mooing but other than that sleep came quickly.
On day two we were woken at 4am and we went to The Olgas where we did a 7km hike into the Valley of the Winds which was really windy but other than that it wasn’t too bad as there was only one steep section. Then in the afternoon we went to the aboriginal cultural centre at Uluru and discovered some more about their way of life and beliefs. That evening we watched the sunset over Uluru and had tea of green curry. This time we swagged it up at the Ayers Rock resort so at least they had showers and toilets for their camping ground which was a welcome change.
Again we were woken up at 4am so that we could watch the sunrise at Uluru. Then we headed on a 9km base walk. Some people could opt to climb Uluru but it had been closed due to strong winds so they also joined us on the walk. We then headed back to Alice Springs where we stopped for lunch on the way, the flies were so bad we had to eat on the bus and it really wasn’t
a pleasant experience. After lunch we stopped at a camel farm where we got to ride and race the camels which was fun and a lot like riding a horse.
Our driver was really knowledgeable and told us loads of information and stories on everywhere we went. He also liked to save any animals in the road. So we got to hold and see a thorny devil and a blue tongued lizard as he stopped the bus to rescue them and place them off of the road.
When we got back to our hostel that afternoon we headed straight for the pool as it had been in the 40’s for the last 3 days. However the pool water was warm so it wasn’t as refreshing as we hoped but it was still good.
That evening the entire tour group went to the rock bar for food and then Bojangles afterwards. We weren’t allowed to walk back to the hostel as Alice has a big problem with teen gang muggings at the moment so we had to get a cab back even though it was really close.
The day after we didn’t have to catch our train
Fraser Island
The light aircraft we went in. till 6pm so we spent time shopping and sending parcels home. Then we went to the train station and checked our bags in and boarded the Ghan ready for our 24 hour journey to Darwin.
As we had seats for the journey it was really difficult to sleep as they weren’t that comfy. Also we made friends with a 10 year old girl who wouldn’t leave us alone or stop talking, so that made sleep challenging. At 9am we stopped in Katherine and had 4hours to kill there. We went on a gorge boat cruise but we were only able to travel up the first gorge as it had rained too much and entrance to the second gorge was cut off by rapids. We were taken to some aboriginal paintings on the cliff face. Then we were given carrot cake and coffee once we were back on dry land. Unfortunately we didn’t see any crocs which was a shame.
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Clive
non-member comment
East Coast & red central
Brilliant and informative read Kirstie, i really enjoyed that! Hope Simon's looking after you both and you're not missing Ash too much :-).