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Published: February 2nd 2010
Well......................................needless to say that the weather did not improve once we arrived back to Airlie Beach, but we were rejuvenated after a relaxing time on a tropical island and a quiet, comfy sleep. Although, I have to admit that I did not even make it a week before I had to have a break from the tent. In my defence, if it wasn’t for the rain, I think I would have lasted longer! Long Island is a beautiful tranquil island and I would love to go back (when the sun is shining). We caught a ferry from Airlie Beach and it took about 40mins to get to Long Island.
We spent the last day relaxing in Airlie beach. The weather DID NOT improve, still rainy, so we decided to take a drive to Cedar Creek Falls. After a rather wet hike to the top of the falls - a very disappointing walk, the view was better from the bottom of the falls, we cooled down in the creek falls. We spent the rest of the day by the pool (in the rain) and playing put-put. Duncan you would have enjoyed it, it was an 18 hole with lots of challenging holes!!
We left Airlie Beach on Thursday and headed for the Capricorn Coast - named because it lies along the Tropic of Capricorn. And would you believe it, that the morning we leave the sun decided to shine! Oh well, another time maybe.
This was our first long-ish drive. It took about 5 hours, and the scenery was the same most of the way. We’d left the rainforest and the land was mostly flat and scrub with scattered farms of sugar cane and banana palms. But most importantly, it didn’t rain and it was good to see the sun again. The temperature rose to 32’C, and the humidity seemed to have dropped as well!
We were staying in Capricorn Caves Holiday Park, and for the first time it felt like we were actually staying in the bush......BIG spiders, BIG stick insects and BIG frogs and tree frogs. I know that I am from SA but remember that we have spent the last 5 years in the UK - where you hardly get flies! Oh, they have BIG flies too.
After setting up our tent, we decided to do a guided tour of the Capricorn Caves - an above land cave with about 18 chambers. It was really beautiful to see, and believe it or not they have even use a chamber as a wedding chapel. It sounds cheesy, but it is serenely beautiful. The acoustics within this chamber are 0.01% off the Sydney Opera House, it was amazing to hear. Afterwards we took a drive to Yeppoon (the closest town with a beach), where Billy enjoyed a swim.
We decided to stay just the one night in Capricorn caves and rather spend 3 nights in Hervey Bay. So, after our first dry night things seemed to be picking up. It was another 5 hour drive through the Fraser coast to Hervey Bay - with not much between, although we thought we saw the Great Dividing Range.
The sea is gorgeous to see with the sun shining on it; it is still the beautiful turquoise colour. And fortunately (I think) we are far enough south to be safe from the stingers, which means we can enjoy the sea without worrying that we might get stung.
We had a decision to make - we realised that you could STILL get to the Great Barrier Reef from Hervey Bay (for a price and you had to fly there in a little 8 seater) but we also wanted to do a 4x4 guided tour of Fraser Island - the worlds largest sand bank. After MUCH thought, we decided on Fraser Island. I know it is our last chance for the Great Barrier Reef, but the weather is still unpredictable, with bad weather expected this weekend. So, we are doing a 2 day tour of Fraser Island. I don’t really know what to expect, but I am sure that it will be fun, and from the pictures I’ve seen, really beautiful. We’ll see!!
Billy here - I have a bit of a gripe that I need to get out of my system. Before we left SA we stocked up on spare tent pegs and a rubber mallet from Mr Price Sports. After less than 2 weeks of our 4 month trip all the pegs we bought are now bent beyond belief and look like a figure of 8 and the mallet head has come off the handle and split in 2. I won’t be buying anymore supplies from them. Other than that camping is great! I just need to change the batteries in the rain sound for the tent. It wasn’t working last night.
Life Lesson #2 - When camping in tropical Australia, you are almost certainly guaranteed to lose weight. The mosquitoes here will gladly help themselves to half your body’s supply of blood. My personal weight loss campaign is on good track
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Carryn
non-member comment
Lovely to hear from you!
Sounds like you are having good fun!! I will take your word and not buy any camping gear from Mr Price Sport =) The 4x4 tour on the giant sanddune sounds fun!! Can't wait to see pictures =) Sending lots of love C