Australia - Sydney to 1770
Trip Start
Dec 26, 2008
1
6
13
Trip End
Jul 17, 2009
Sydney,
New South Wales,
Australia
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
So I guess you're all wondering how we've been getting on ... so here goes ...
So we left New Zealand with little mayhen aside from Soph seemingly falling over her own feet in the petrol station just before we handed the camper back. As if we managed to tour the whole country in a campervan on dodgy roads and doing extreme sports no problem and she somehow knacks herself 2 hours before we leave for Australia. It makes a change from me being the accident-prone one. Thankfully there were just a few grazes, but nonetheless she broke into a hysterical fit of laughter and tears and milked it big style on the plane ... the air stewards were all male and they fussed over her all the way to Sydney and gave me plenty of free plonk (to numb the earache of Soph's whinging).
We arrived in Sydney and chatting to the Passport Control guy we discovered that our plans to travel all the way up North to Cairns may be scuppered as they are right in the middle of the monsoon season ... what monsoon season? Is it just is that thought Australia is always hot and sunny?
Thankfully the South is usually dry and although it was 6.30pm, Sydney was still very hot and humid. The first job was to find a bed for the night and still being a little tiddlie from the booze on the plane I delegated the task of phoning round the hostels to Soph who had temporarily stopped complaining about her knee.
A long and stuffy shuttle bus ride later and we arrived at Boomerang Backpackers. This was to be our first real experience of hostels (as the 2 in America we opted for private rooms). After checking in we were directed to the 3rd Floor ... NO LIFT!!! For the first time we felt the harsh reality of carrying our lives around on our backs.
1st Floor - yeah not so bad
2nd Floor - sweat and swear words
3rd Floor - can't breathe ... can't speak
Only to find an extremely cramped 6 bunk dorn with no air-con ... Oh joy! So this was why it was only $22 per night! We dumped our bags and went for a mooch around Kings Cross which is the central party district and did well not to spend any money.
After a sticky night we awoke to a scorching hot day. We walked to Sydney Harbour and looked around the Opera House and Botanical Gardens. It must have been at least 35 degrees and still the fitness freaks were jogging along the waters edge on their lunch breaks - we wished we had their energy but were sweating enough walking. Needing to get our of the sun we went to the Youth Hostel Association for advice on our forthcoming trip up the coast (as the so-called information centre on George Street was about as useful as a chocolate teapot!). We were assured that our plan to head up North was not impossible as the rain is on and off and most people manage to do the trip with no problems. We signed up for our YHA cards and purchased our Greyhound bus tickets.
Our 2nd day in Sydney we took a train / bus out to Bondi Beach; it was really busy as it was another scorcher. We stayed out of the sun as it loves to burn people. Back in the city centre we went to Tribal Travel (as recommended by our hostel) and booked all of our tours, accommodation and buses for the trip up North. Little Miss Organised (Soph) was pleased to have an itinerary as we only have a short time here and she didn't want to miss anything major.
That night we embarked on a 13hr overnight bus ride to our next stop Byron Bay. Arrived at our destination at 8.30am with broken necks, sore bums and having had very little sleep we were not in the best of moods. A girl collected us from the bus stop and took us to Aquarius Backpackers & Motel just near the beach. We couldn't check in until 1pm which was frustrating because all we wanted to do was curl up on a bed and die somewhere. What would be do for the next 4 hours? ... Weetabix on a bench ... Soph had a radge ... posted our warm clothes home - they will be on a ship for the next 3 months ... back to hostel. Finally checked in and it was actually quite luxurious ... wants to be for $36 per night ... was the only place free in Byron over the weekend.
It was so hot outside and I really wanted to do some exercise so we did a mini workout in the dorm and tried to figure out the pilates bands much to the amusement of our roommates.
The hostel had a fairly lively bar so that evening we had a few drinks with our roommates before heading into town. We had heard big reviews about the nightlife in Byron and were expecting a real party town. I think our expectations were a little high as there were a few lively bars but nothing that exciting, especially for a Saturday night. After a few more drinks and tolerating some cheesy music we went for some Tapas on a balcony bar and watched all the youngsters staggering by. We had been invited to a party in a campground outside of town and of course I wanted to go but the prospect of a 20 minute walk in the dark with spiders and snakes beneath our feet meant Soph was having none of it and we retired for the evening.
Sunday was a beautiful day so we went to the beach to catch some rays. We laid for a while but it got too hot so we jumped in the sea to cool off. There were some big waves and it was fun being tossed around by them. Later on we walked to 'The Pass' at the end of the beach which is a famous surf spot. We watched hundreds of surfers waiting to catch their perfect wave as the sun set.
The next morning we caught an early bus to Noosa. We arrived midday and boy was it hot (it gets hotter and hotter the further North you go). At the hostel we booked our trip to Australia Zoo (Steve Irwin Zoo) for the next day and went for a mooch around the town. Later on we did a jog / speedwalk (about time) followed by a much-needed early night.
Another early start and we were off to the zoo. On the way we were treated to some of the funniest clips from the Crocodile Hunter series. Highlights of the day were; watching the crocodiles being fed, Soph patting a Koala's bum, feeding the elephants and kangaroos and a tropical bird crapping on my head ... I'm still waiting for some good luck! Soph really enjoyed the day but as I've been to some big zoos before and I'm not that easily impressed I think Soph got more out of it than I did ... I was hoping for more croc action and it was a shame Steve Irwin wasn't there anymore and it felt a little sombre.
That night the words of the Passport Control guy rang around our heads as the heavens opened ... we took a refreshing stroll in the rain nonetheless. The next morning was much brighter so I went for a jog along the river then went back to wake Soph to go for a swim in Noosa River before it got too hot. At first the dip was refreshing but then we started to feel stinging sensations all over. We thought it was jellies so we jumped out to ask a local who advised us it was just sea mites which are harmless although a little annoying.
It was a sunny evening in Noosa and lots of families were making use of the public BBQ and picnic areas down by the river so we decided to buy some 'Coopers' (real Aussie beer) and join them for the sunset. Later on we had a good time back at the hostel drinking with our room buddy Onnie and some fellow travellers. Soph got the spins and crashed out but I stayed to finish the 'Goon' (cheap wine) with the others. My 6 monthly extreme case of hiccups hit me hard. I didn't want to wake up the girls back in the dorm with my chirps so I resorted to sitting in front of the candy machine stuffing my face until they had gone. It was pitch black in the dorm and I was unable to locate the ladder up to my top bunk. After trying to climb in the bottom bunk with Soph and receiving a sharp response, I laid on the floor and passed out.
I awoke to Sophie prodding and taunting me and asking me why I was on the floor ... she obviously didn't remember my troubles during the night. Darn that Goon!!!
After a bacon and egg muffin we were on the bus again to Rainbow Beach where we would leave for our Fraser Island adventure. Still hungover at the briefing at 2pm we were not the most enthusiastic of campers. There were 22 people in our group and we were separated into 2 teams. In our group there were 2 Irish sisters (Paula and Ashling), 2 Canadians (Tyson and Erin) who are experienced campers and 4x4 drivers ... woo hoo! 1 Swedish girl (Maria), 2 Germans (Yvonne and Evelyn AKA Cookie Monster), a gobby Welsh lass called Grace and an American girl who is clearly nuts (Christina).
We were subjected to a couple of DVD's about the island and then sent to the supermarket to get the provisions for our 3 day camping trip. Trying to figure out what 11 people need for 3 days was quite a task but we managed - no thanks to the crazy American and Cookie Monster!
Next morning we packed our little pac-a-sac with necessities only and met our group to check over all of our camping equipment and load up our land cruiser. This was not much fun as it was pouring with rain ... the words of the Passport Controller again ringing in our heads! GRRR!!!
We made our way to the ferry on the beach ... and still it rained! On the island we were not allowed to drive on the beach until the tide went out at 1pm so we sat in the rain. We were then subjected to a 35km gravel road which was very bumpy ... and still it rained. Nonetheless Paula, Ashling, Soph and I kept the spirits high by singing along with the iPod and passing lots of sweets around.
Eventually we arrived at Lake Birrabeen and went for a paddle in the rain (apologies there are not many photos on Fraser Island as it didn't stop raining). We arrived at our basic campground and put up our 4 x 3-man tents in the pouring rain with redback spiders running over our feet (why did they tell us to just take flip-flops?). At this point we didn't realise the American was crazy so we agreed she could sleep in with us. We were yet to make dinner and the cooking area was 800m from the campground so we filled up with truck with all the food and cooking stuff. The rest of the group set off walking while Tyson, Soph and I finished loading the truck. We were about to set off when the crazy American reappeared to get her purse out of the tent. As we had been advised not to go anywhere alone due to the dingoes I told her to get in with us. She refused and said she would rather walk. We could still see the others up ahead so I told her to hurry up and catch them as she was insistent on walking. Down at the picnic area there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing as to where to settle which was very frustrating as it was still pouring with rain. It was a good half hour before we were unloaded and settled when Soph and I noticed Christina was missing. We asked the other guys if they had seen her down at the picnic area ... some thought they had and others hadn't. It was still light so Soph and the Irish sisters walked back up with trail to the campground shouting her name and checked the tents and toilets but she was not there. It was dark by the time they arrived back down at the picnic area with no Christina. Most people didn't seem bothered and got on with the BBQ but the Canadians, Irish sisters, Soph and I were all really concerned as it was thick forest, raining and lots of dingoes were around. Tyson and Erin being used to driving in bad weather in Canada offered to go and look for her in the truck. After about an hour of driving around a 5km radius they returned unsuccessful so we decided it was time to make the emergency call. Ashling called the hostel first who did very little to help and told us to call the police on the island. The police were really thick and Ashling kept having to repeat what had happened ... it was as if they weren't taking us seriously ... they were like joke police!
Tyson and Erin headed back out in the truck and we were going out of our minds with worry waiting for the police to arrive (the police were about an hour away and we were worried Christina would stray further during this time). About another hour passed and thankfully this time the Canadians arrived back with Christina. It turned out she had been having dinner with another group of campers in a neighbouring campsite and was actually annoyed that we hadn't found her sooner ... we just didn't get it! We were so relieved that she was back but also very angry that she was so inconsiderate. The police didn't even show up so it was a good job she hadn't been eaten by dingoes!!!
It really ruined the night and the worst thing was we had to share a tent with her. It was torrential rain all through the night and we didn't sleep a wink. In the middle of the night Christina wanted to go outside in the rain; by this point we had had it with her and told her to shut up and go to sleep.
It was still raining when we got up so it was pretty miserable dismantling the tents and eating our cornflakes. The mood in our camp was not great!
We went to Lake Mackenzie and the rain subsided for a couple of hours so we had a swim and relaxed a little although we were bothered by the huge marsh flies that give a nasty bite. While we were having lunch a Guana came along and pinched one of the other groups' bags of meat ... it was funny watching the big lizard scoffing while the group ate empty sarnies!
The rain started up so we got back in the truck and headed along the beach to the Moheno Shipwreck follwed by Indian Head at the top of the island where on a clear day you can see masses of sharks, rays and turtles in the sea ... we saw nothing except some crazy people swimming in the shark infested waters you are not supposed to enter!
That night we stayed at K'Gari (an Aboriginal campsite). We managed to make dinner and just about get the fire going before a storm began. This was supposed to be our party night and thankfully another group of campers nearby invited us to their lit shelter where the owner played his digeridoo and another guy played his guitar. There were about 50 people and we all had a merry sing-song and forgot about the pouring rain, the snakes and the spiders for a little while. Everyone was in a good mood and we had a right laugh with Paula and Ashling who we plan to meet up with in Thailand.
On Sunday ... hooray it wasn't raining ... we packed up the camp pretty quickly considering we were all really hungover. We made our way to Lake Wobby as we were unable to drive on the beach until 2pm. It was already boiling hot at 9.30am so the 2.5km walk through the bush to the lake was pretty rough. We had been wishing for sun all weekend but now that we had it we all sat in the shade of a tree complaining about our many marsh fly bites and how hot it was ... typical hey!!!
The experience on Fraser Island had many ups and downs. All in all we enjoyed most of it although it would have been better if it wasn't so wet and the American hadn't done a number on us ... we have since found out that she is hitchhiking around Oz on her own .... crazy hey!!!
Once we were back on the mainland we emptied and cleaned the truck ... they really make you work even though you've paid for the trip. We got our first shower in 3 days ... it was so good!!! Went for a bite with Ashling and Paula and then flaked out.
Monday lunchtime we got back on the bus to 1770 (where we are now). We arrived in the evening and pretty much went to bed as still not caught up on sleep. 1770 is supposed to be a chilled out little hippie town that hasn't changed since Captain Cook landed here in 1770 but as it poured with rain all day yesterday and is still pouring with rain today we haven't seen much of it although I did go for a sopping wet jog yesterday morning to burn off some of the junk from Fraser.
I was really hoping to do a surf lesson here in 1770 as it's cheaper than the South but it's not looking promising with the rain (they don't do the lessons when it's bad like this). We leave here on a night bus to Airlie Beach at 8pm today ... if the weather fairs up by 3pm we hope to do a Scooteroo trip around the area.
From Airlie Beach we have a 3 day 3 night sailing trip booked around the Whitsunday Islands and Outer Great Barrier Reef ... hopefully the weather will fair up for us. From there we are hoping to head up to Cairns for the last few days if it's not flooded!!!
We will update you again before we leave Australia.
Hope it has warmed up a bit at home for you all ... although it's not that great here at the minute anyway BOO!!!
We are really enjoying our time here but we are looking forward to better weather in Asia YAY!!!
Love to you all x x x
