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Published: July 29th 2006
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Whilst in Byron Bay we managed to enjoy(?) a long, wet walk along the coast on the first day. Then Zoe had a surf lesson (and stood up FIRST time!) whilst I took advantage of the free surf board hire at the hostel & annoyed the locals by getting in their way!! That evening we had a few drinks, saw a band, and took advantage of a $2 curry (under a quid!).
After a bus journey to Brisbane (watched a cheesy film) we sorted out some accommodation & planned our visit to Australia Zoo, home of The Crocodile Hunter himself, Steve Irwin. After an early start we arrived at the Zoo about 9:30 to find all of the staff in fancy dress to celebrate Bindi's birthday (Steve's daughter); this meant all kids got in free, and there were a fair few around! It did also mean that the man himself was there!! Saw an awesome tiger show, a bird show, a snake show before he came into "The Crocoseum" to give a croc show. It was madness, just like watching him on TV!!! He even jumped in to the water to "piss him (the croc) off!!" Excellent, and well worth
the admission fee!!
After yet another bus journey, we arrived in Hervey Bay in time to find out about our 6:15 check out the next morning to prepare for & head to Fraser Island for our 4x4 camping adventure. It's the biggest sand island in the world, and has rainforests & lakes on it; main residents are the Dingos, so we watched a vid on what to do if you see one (seems to be stand still & look stupid!). I took up the 4x4 driving duties, and after a trip to the supermarket for supplies we got the ferry (45 mins).
Upon arriving on the island our group (of 10 people) decided to stick with another 4x4 from the hostel & we headed off on the 15k drive to Lake McKenzie - this ended up taking much longer than expected due to the rough terrain tracks (and also a crazy bus driver trying his best for a head-on collision!) It was absolutely beautiful - tropical in appearance, but looks can be deceptive as it was freezing! We eventually set up camp near the beach with the 2nd group, and were visited by numerous dingos during the night, including one that tried to steal a box of wine whilst we set up the tents!!!
We were awoken at 7am by a park ranger, who told us that we needed permission to camp where we did, as it was quite dangerous due to the large number of dingos in the area!!! Luckily, he chose not to fine us, and just asked us to move on! This was made tricky as the beach (the island's main highway!) was at high tide, so we couldn't go anywhere for approx 3 hrs! It was at this point that a Polish couple in our group kicked right off at us because there were no facilities at the camping area we used - had to go to the loo (behind a bush) in pairs so someone can watch for dingos! They smashed a back light on our 4x4 (and tried to blame Zoe's driving!) before storming off to go home, much to our delight as they had given nothing but negativity to the group & this meant more room for us in the 4x4!!!
The weather took a turn for the worst on this 2nd day, but Zoe's speeding up the beach (looking out for ditches!) meant that we got to see the Champagne Pools (large rock pools which the waves crash over and make bubbles) and Indian Head (a cliff top from which you can see great views - spotted dolphins!). Used the facilities (including a luxury shower!) at a near-by camp ground before setting up camp for the night by the beach. Luckily the rain/wind held off until we were all in bed, but a rough night was had by all.
Unfortunately there was no let-up in the weather the next morning, so we went for a bush walk to a sand-blow (desert) in the middle of the island; this was made all the more bizzare by the rain hammering down. Then had lots of fun taking the tents down in a terrential downpour! We later visited Eli Creek, which in the summer you can float down to the sea in; most of us chose to walk down it anyway in our wet clothes, but Zoe & another chose to dry off a bit in the van. Cruised back down the highway/beach, before making our way back across the island on rough tracks to catch the ferry - only nearly got stuck once! We were all very glad to make it back to the hostel in one piece, and after hitting the hot showers me & Zoe took advantage of the hostel's pizza night! Have spent a day on the beach today, and are catching another night bus to Airlie Beach tonight, so we can go to the Whitsunday Islands.
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mum
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scary
the day at the zoo sounds great, although you had to put up with the kids at least steve was there.you will now be able to drive in any conditions after your 4x4 experience inc coping with road rage.its raining here by the way