TravelStream™ news feed for member carneyt2 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/carneyt2 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:01:19 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/carneyt2/vodkatrain_2007/1200363480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/carneyt2/vodkatrain_2007/1200363480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/carneyt2/vodkatrain_2007/1200363480/tpod.html Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:01:19 -0400 The Last Escape 2007/2008 (Vodkatrain & the World)

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Broome, Australia

The trip from Perth to Broome took us about 2-3weeks and was held up some what by the TWO BREAKDOWNS, that we had! (God damn Maui Camper Vans!!) Our first stop was Lancelin which was our first taste of a town in the middle of no where, out on the windy coast. We went sand boarding out on the sand dunes, which was great craic although I don't think that any of us were to good at it!

Next stop Cervantes taking in the famous Pinncles (wierd rock formations in the bush.)

Kalbarri followed that, where we spotted our first live kangaroo's in the football filed across the road from the campsite and on the campsite also! Made a visit to the Karoke night in one of the local bars and actually got up and sang although there was so many of us I am sure my crowing was masked! Drove to the scenic gorges and walked over the cliff tops taking in the views. The ocean looked beautiful, but to rough to swim in.

Denham - met some Aussie blokes actually from Scarbouragh where we were in Perth and the skipper of a local yacht. So had great nights craic having the chats and secured ourselves some discounted prices on the
yacht trip the following day. Headed out to Monkey Mia early the next morning to catch the feeding of the dolphins. Then set off with our Aussie skipper Chris (for free) to the pearl farm out in the middle of the ocean and to find ourselves some sea creatures.Great day on the boat - fab weather and getting to see some dolphins, turtles and dugongs. Then scorched ourselves on the beach after for a few hours!
The next morning, after departing Denham and driving about 30km down the road breakdown number 1 occured! The Fan belt apperantly went! Hence we had to get towed back to the campsite amd ended up being stuck there for 2 days before we got a replacement camper van. So had to lie out by the pool and hang out with our new mates and have BBQ's!

Finally, having got the van, we set off to Coral Bay. It was amazing with white sandy beaches and beautiful clear blue waters.Went on a quad bike and snorkelling tour which was the best craic, racing up and down massive dunes and over the beach at 60 km/hr- brilliant. Then went to Oyster Bay an another bay snorkelling and got to see a turtle.Due to time constraints with the death of Maui 1 we were torn between Exmouth
and Karjini National Park but on the locals advice went with Karjini - and it was a good decision. A tough drive but really got into the heart of Western Australia. Stopped over at a roadhouse in Nanturra for the night. Out in the wilderness apart from scrub there are lots of mines so the local dudes came up for a bit of craic and beers for the evening!

On to Tom Price and Karjini the next day. It was unreal right in the middle of the bush there are these big gorges
with rock pools down at the bottom of them. Did a walk around a couple of gorges and swam in the them which was fab apart from the shoals of fishes in the second one!On then to another roadhouse in the outback
where we overnighted and then on to Portheadland the next day.Made great time the next morning and stopped in Portheadland for lunch and
motored on the out to hit the beach about 250k out the road. Unfortunately this was when breakdown no 2 happened when the electrics went when we were literally in the middle of nowhere. The nearest road house was still about 50km away. Eventually we managed to flag down a lift on the deserted road to bring me and Yvonne to the roadhouse and get a mechanic out the van. He was zero help and we all had to get a lift with all our stuff to the roadhouse to await the Maui people to send another rescue mission! Ended up all the next day at the Pardoo Roadhouse, hanging with the locals until finally someone arrived to tow the van. The driver kindly agreed to give 3 of the girls a lift to Broome and Elaine, Catherine and I hitched a lift with a truck driver of one of those massive road trains! We sat in his cabin behind the driver and passenger seat where he has his bed! Quite an experience! Arriving in Broome was a BIG relief!

Broome - Croc Farm, Carol Service, Open air cinema
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Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia

Sleeping in a proper bed in Hervey Bay was sooooo good and set us up for another day of driving as we decided to head straight to Byron Bay although there was plenty of places that we could have stopped at along the way. One of them that we did stop at for a couple of hours en route was Steve Irwin's Zoo - the Tigers were the highlight there and was good to see all the signed memorabilia remembering Steve Irwin.

Byron itself is gorgeous, another place that I could have spent weeks in. Really chilled out with lots of kooky shops and places to eat. Spent some time on the beach, inspected the Lighthouse, wandered around and took a day trip to see Nim Bin where weed is readily available and inhabited by aging hippies - surreal to say the least!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/carneyt2/vodkatrain_2007/1218506400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/carneyt2/vodkatrain_2007/1218506400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/carneyt2/vodkatrain_2007/1218506400/tpod.html Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:47:08 -0400 The Last Escape 2007/2008 (Vodkatrain & the World)

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Fraser Island, Queensland, Australia

Despite having "done" Fraser already I agreed to go again with Conor this time departing from Hervey Bay. Totally different experience as was the two of us and 7 other strangers. The hostel and garage that gave us all the gear were really well organized and even though it takes longer on the ferry to get to Fraser from Hervey bay than Rainbow Beach I would recommend going with Palace Backpackers.

The gang we were with were all English - 3 lads and 4 girls. Things were not looking good when on the first night everyone else apart from myself and Conor were in bed by 9 on the first night!! Needless to say we had to make abit of a dent on the supply of alcohol we had brought so soldiered on ourselves! Plus something was needed as it was absolutely freezing and the sleeping bags supplied were rubbish (top tip for Fraser bring your own WARM sleeping bag!). We spent most of the first day in the jeep making our way across to the East side of the Island where we could camp so we were delighted the following day when the sun came out and we could go and see Indian Head, the Champagne pools and Eli Creek. The tide was in really early that day so had to be off the beach and camp set up by 3pm and were then free to walk down to the Creek etc. The evening proved to be a bit more eventful when the English Lassies and Lads got stuck into the goon and were playing truth or dare and streaking around the Campsite by 10pm! Conor and I had a great laugh as spectators (well obviously we partook in the goon just not the streaking!)

Thank God we were getting off the Island the next day. Fraser is cool but I have defo had enough to do me for a few years at least and next time will be going with a lot more clothes and a sleeping bag made for Alaska
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Agnes Water, Queensland, Australia

We rose earlish the next morning some nursing worse hangovers than others and eventually managed to get on the road and arrive in Agnes Water (sister town to 1770) at a reasonable hour in time to check out the sunset over the beautiful beach and have a few beers and BBQ. The following day we took a trip around the local area on chopper bikes which was brilliant - real Hells Angels! Conor and I left Mick and Leanne and booted it on to Hervey Bay that evening! No rest for the wicked
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Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia

After departing the Powerplay we were pretty tired and had to face into the drive down to 1770 with Mick and Leanne in tow (friends of Conor's that we had met in Cairns. By 7pm we had enough of driving and decided to stop in Rockhampton for the night. The town was pretty busy because the Rodeo was on but we managed to score beds in a local hotel where there was a nightclub open til 5am! Had a good laugh there but not recommended to stay there more than a night!
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Airlie Beach, Queensland, Australia

We arrived in Airlie Beach a little hungover from our night out in Townsville to be pleasantly surprised by what greeted us in Airlie. Really nice beachside resort with great atmosphere and buzzy feeling around the place. Another place that could defo have stayed for a few nights and chilled out. Bars are busy every night and there is also a "Lagoon" in the centre to lie out at.

Unfortunately, we only got to spend one night there before heading out on the PowerPlay Catameran that was to be our home for the next 2 days and 2 nights sailing around the Whitsunday's. The boat held 16 people and was all very civilised compared to some of the stories we had heard about the Party Boats that that you can get. This was more focused on the whole scuaba dving and snorkling that you can do around the Islands. So although we were a little bit aprehensive after being told by the Captain that this was not "a party boat" on our arrival the next 2 days turned out to be really really good. I ended up doing 4 dives and am really glad I kept at it. I enjoyed the last 2 dives so much more as I got used to the breathing and could relax abit. The Coral and the fish at the Reef was amazing to see although I think Conor got to see more doing the snorkling - he even swam with one of the massive turtles that inhabit the area around the Reef. We also got to see the famous Whitehaven Bay which has been voted one of the best beaches in the world. No one lives on the Island that is on and it is protected as a National Reserve. It is absolutley beautiful - the sand is really that white and the water that clear and blue!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/carneyt2/vodkatrain_2007/1219818900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/carneyt2/vodkatrain_2007/1219818900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/carneyt2/vodkatrain_2007/1219818900/tpod.html Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:08:27 -0400 The Last Escape 2007/2008 (Vodkatrain & the World)

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Townsville, Queensland, Australia

Arrived into Townsville in blazing sunshine once again - this is why I love this country! Booked into somewhere half decent with a TV in the room! Townsville is quite big and has a massive lagoon as they call them (seawater pool on the beach for people to swim and avoid the stingers that are out in the Ocean!) at the end of the Pier. We did very little on the first night and deciding to go out at about 10pm on a Monday night turned out to be a very bad decision as was deadsville and everything was closed by 12! Tuesday night turned out to be a lot better when all the students emerged wearing very hick Cocktail dresses - I was convinced there was a fancy dress on. Conor tried to persuade me that is how students dress. Obviously we were quite drunk!

In between the drinking we took a trip out to Magnetic Island which is gorgeous. Lots of stuff to do there too. Spent the morning on the beach and then went to check out the Wildlife Park in Koala's Resort. It was small but defo one of the best that I have been to in Australia. We got to touch and hold lots of the animals and the guide was really interesting. So if you have a chance to go I recommend it!
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Mission Beach, Queensland, Australia

We took a bit of a detour in land away from the Coast after departing Cape Trib to take a look at the Milla Milla Falls where..... wait for it........ Peter Andre filmed his video for Mysterious Girl! Ha ha. It was worth the trip and I even went for a swim in the rock pool under the fall - it was balticly cold! Arrived at Mission Beach that evening and pretty much legged it the next morning - there is not a lot to do in Mission Beach and unfortunately the white water rafting in Tully was off for the month of August. Very disappointing so decided to motor on to Townsville instead
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Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia

We departed Cairms on the beautiful sunny Friday and drove the few hours drive to Cairns taking in Mossoman Gorge along the way - as Gorge's go it was lovely! Conor has now decided to become a professional Gorge Discoverer following his experience.

The drive along the Coast to the Cape was beautiful although the twisty roads needed concentration. Cape Trib itself is little more than a few hostels along a stretch of road with no real centre to it. Really nice place to chill out and do rain forest walks and the like (obviously we did not do that). Instead we did Zip-Lining along cables that were strung over the Rain Forest Canopay. Was a bit of fun but not quite the Gibbon Experience. Met up with a mate of Conor's and his girlfriend and had a few drinks with them which was good craic and then hightailed it out of there early on Sunday morning!
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Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Finally back on the road again to explore the long awaited for East Coast. Amazing to wake in Cairns and have warm sunshine again and be able to wear and shorts and string vests! Cairns is a great spot - really lively with a great night life and lots to do. In hind sight it would have been a good spot to stay in for a few days and do day trips to Cape Trib, Tully etc but instead we hired a car and headed up to Cape Trib ourselves for a couple of nights. But not before we spun around Cairns for a couple of days and did the obligitary boat trip out to the Great Barrier Reef! Was a great day - Conor (who can't swim!) and I both did an intoductary Scuba Dive where they basically tell you a couple of things about the breathing regulator and then you are lashed into the water and brought down 10meters to admire Coral and fish and stuff! I think that I can safely say all I was thinking about was breathing and not having a freaking panic attack under water!! All was going well until we went on our second dive in the afternoon and Conor ran out of air in his oxegan tank about half way through the dive and the instructor had to drag him up to the surface! He was grand though and probably more traumatised by the fact that he had to swim/doggy paddle back to the boat with the tank on his back on his own!! We really got to admire the Reef properly when we did a helicopter ride over it and got to see it from the air. The colours and size of the tiny bit of the reef that we saw were amazing and being in a helicopter for the first time was also a treat!
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