Apologies for not writing sooner, I never seem to have my diary and notebook with me whenever we pass a cheap internet place and decide to spend an hour or so online. Actually I still dont have it so I may be missing bits out but I'm do my best.
Firstly, as ever, many thanks for all your blog posts, emails, Facebook messages etc. I do get very excited when I go online to see who I've heard from. Hopefully so far I've pretty good at returning messages and emails, it's just the blogs that have slightly gone down hill...
So I last left you a couple of weeks ago, on a cliffhanger, about Steve Irwin's Australian Zoo. Now I'm not a fan of zoo''s, never have been. I think that's because Mum never did either as she thought it was cruel and so therefore I've always thought the same thing. Dont get me wrong, I'm sure most still are and so I dont advocate them, but this isnt a zoo. Steve Irwin AKA 'The Crocodile Hunter' and his wife started this 'zoo' 'back in 1991! Not many of you would know this but the TV series 'The Crocodile Hunter' began in 1992 so he did what he loved for many, many years. They opened the zoo in the hope that they could save and conserve many of Australia's endangered and hunted species, as well as other animals from across the globe. They bring animals they find in the wild that have been hurt, hunted or are finding it hard to survive for any number of reasons to this zoo to protect them. Their hope is that they can breed certain animals here and one day release them back in the wild when it's safe and new laws against hunting have been put in the place and they can flourish once again. The pens and cages that these animals are in are sizeable, and their carers and handlers are visibly in love with the creatures they work with. It really is a joy to see these animals so content and healthy.
There is a daily show that not only introduces you to many different and beautiful birds (I nearly got knocked out by a speed demon cockatoo who was let loose in the arena!), elephants, snakes and crocodiles but they tell you some gut wrenching facts about how endangered they are, why and what we as a society and individuals can do to stop this - pollution, hunting and poaching as well as adoption and donating money to animal charities. One fact that really shocked both of us was that the arena we were sat in held 5000 people. The amount of tigers left in the wild across the world wouldnt even fill that arena . They are critically endangered and stunningly beautiful. We acutally managed to catch their tiger 'show'. There were 5 amazingly beautiful Bengal and Sumatran tigers, ranging from 2 to 5 years old, in an enclosure with a cool, deep pool in it - I didnt know this but tigers are 1 of 2 cats who like water. Their trainer had been with them since they were all pups and had reared them every day since then, so these tigers visibilly adored this guy. He made toys out of sticks and plastic bags and ran around with them so they would chase and 'kill' them, even throwing them into the pool towards the crowd so the tigers would literally jump into the pool to catch them - a fantastic photo if your camera was up to it! It was touch and go for a second when the trainer was in the pool with the tigers, turned his back for a split second and one of them jumped into the pool on top of him like an attack but he was ok. I'm sure they would never actually attack him, but with wild animals, their instincts do kick in sometimes!
We also saw and walked amongst many kangaroos. They are kept in a huge enclosure which you can walk through and feed and stoke them. They are very placid and dopey animals with quite rough fur, and very sweet. We saw lots of crocodiles and learnt some fascinating facts about them - they can live to 80/90 years old, can grow to 2 tonnes, can use their tail and back legs to jump up out of the water to catch food on banks and in trees (so watch out!!) and are one of the fastest mammals in water. We saw lots of amazingly cute koalas and I even got to hold one and have my picture taken!!!!!! Something I had wanted to do since I arrived in Sydney and it was not a let down! His name was Jaffa and he was only a few years old but weighed a lot! His fur, again, was acutally a lot rougher than I had imagined, but it was like holding a baby and just a wonderful experience. We got a lovely photo to bring back with us and frame for nostalgia (although we need to do a photoshop job on the original as I look pregnant because of the way I was holding him!). Anyway, so all in all a fantastic day.
Next, was Fraser Island. Kav had been going on and on about this since we left London so I was very intruiged and quite excited. I imagined a gorgeous, secluded island with long beaches, sun shining, the waves rushing up onto the sand... nope, wasnt going to happen. We woke up in the morning to one of the heaviest downpours of rain I have ever seen in my life. I would have laughed and laughed if I didnt know Kav would have literally throttled me! Bless him, he was so upset, standing under a shop awning in a raincoat, soaking wet (optomistically wearing sunglasses!) but, we just said that we would make the best of it and enjoy our day and that's exactly what we did!
Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world and can be reached in around 10 mins from Inskip Point, just past Rainbow Beach where we were staying - a charming little seaside village that is worth a visit on it's own. Fraser island was, for years, used by the logging industry but is now a World Heritage National Park. Now, like most people there were a couple of things that we didn't know about this island 1) there are no paved roads on the island 2) you can only access or drive on the island with a 4WD vehicle - so we were immensely relieved that we were in a 4WD bus and not in our caravan when we reached the beach at Inskip Point to catch the cable ferry across and realised that you literally drive to the barge on the beach! I think our caravan would have got stuck as soon as we left the paved road. The journey on the barge was short and in no time our bus was on the beach of Fraser Island.
The first thing that hit us was how empty the 75 mile beach was - in fact there was no one on it. I know it was raining but this seemed strange. That is until I realised that the 75 mile beach also acts as the 'highway' to the north of the island. As we raced at high speed on the beach it was surreal to see the waves on one side and the sand dunes on the other!!! Plus this 4WD bus like nothing I'd ever seen before. It was like those old coaches you went in on school trips, except this one was built for Indiana Jones type excursions! It came with seatbelts for one - something that we all scoffed at when told to where them. We kind of all looked at each other to see who was going to be a wimp and wear one and who was going to be brave and not. Sorting the men from the boys as Kav would say. If only you could have seen it, as soon as we put one wheel on that beach we were all grabbing for those seatbelts with looks of terror but excitement on our faces!
We were on our way to the only resort on the island for morning tea and managed to see a few dingos roaming on the beach and more excitingly a White Bellied Eagle sitting on a STOP sign. Suddenly our bus came to a halt as our driver became aware of a felled tree that was blocking our path on the beach and as it was high tide there was no way around on the water side. Just for a second I thought that the bus driver was going to attempt to go through the sea and I was contemplating my exit when he turned around to take a gravel road inland - phew! The road to the resort was bumpy but we made it and enjoyed our tea and muffin before going off to the Moheno shipwreck. We also met another couple from England at this point and chatted with them throughout the day - the only other proper conversation we've had with other people in 2 months - I'm serious!! - it's usually just me and Kav in the RV every night playing games! If I come back sounding like I'm from West London, that'll be Kav's fault!!
On the way up the island we stopped at The Moheno - a ship that was built in Scotland for Australia in 1905 to act as a luxury cruise ship to New Zealand. It served it's purpose well until during WWI it was recalled to act as a floating hospital for the troops. By the time the war had ended the ship was too old and expensive to run and so was sold to the Japanese in 1935. As the ship was being towed to Japan it hit a cyclone and subsequently ended up shipwrecked on the island ever since. It is an amazing site to see a ship washed up on the shore, but what's even more astonishing is that 2 floors of the ship is buried under sand - so you only get to see a small part of the ship, and that's impressive enough!
From here we went up to Eli Creek which is fresh water stream that runs through the forest and into the sea. At first we weren't too impressed but as soon as we stepped in the water and started to head down it with leggings rolled up and raincoats securely done up, we realised why it draws so many visitors. The water is so refreshing and clear and nothing like streams we're used to. You can even drink the water like so many other creeks in Australia.
After lunch we headed to the rain forest part of the island for a spot of walking but I think the drive itself was even more exciting that the walk. Our huge bus was weaving in and out past huge trees on a path which in parts was just about large enough to get through. It really looked and felt like something out of an Indiana Jones film. The only thing that kept everyone in their seats were the seatbelts that were by then we were so grateful for. But we made it to central station for our walk which was more of a gentle 20 mins stroll through the forest and back on the bus to Lake McKenzie - the highlight, the money shot or what ever you want to call it.
This is a fresh water lake in the middle of the island and it is stunning. To be honest I don't think anyone can describe it, you have to see it for yourself. And when you step into the water it is even more special. The water is crystal clear and all you can see is this beautiful blue lake which is surrounded in forest and white sand. And because of the rain it gave the whole place a slight mist which made it even more exotic. The water is also really warm and is slightly acidic (roughly the same value as human skin) and because of this acidity acts a cleanser. When you come out of the water your skin feels unbelievable and your hair feels so soft - "10 years younger'' most people say. I think Lake McKenzie is one of the most stunning places that I have ever been to. From Lake McKenzie we headed back to Rainbow Beach on our bus and managed to spot a few more dingos along the way and our trip to Fraser Island was over.
From Rainbow Beach we drove more North and through a town called Bundaberg, famous for it's Bundaberg Rum (apparently!). This rum is made purely from molasses and is sold mainly in Australia and New Zealand with 1% of its stock being sold elsewhere in the world. The reason I know this is because we (I mean 'I') decided we were going to do the tour around the distillery. We had a very animated and friendly guide called Matt who looked about 21 years old and you kinda got the feeling he loved his job purely for the free booze - who wouldn't?! We took a leisurely stroll around the grounds, bondstores and such and into the bar for the tasting session. I'm not a huge rum drinker but this stuff was actually pretty nice. On it's own it's a bit potent, quite bourbon like, but with coke it's lovely and refreshing. They do bottle 'alcopop' versions with ginger beer and other mixes and a sweet liqueur with chocolate, caramel and coffee in it - yum. It's tastes a bit like Tia Maria and is the same colour and consistency but also tastes like Baileys if you add a bit of milk or cream to it. Kav was designated driver (hee hee) so I polished off mine and his free samples. Then we took a wander into the shop and purchased a gift pack which is one bottle of the original red label and 2 bottles of the special liqueur. Apparently you cant buy this liqueur in the shops anywhere anymore because the demand was so high they couldnt meet it, so you can only buy it there. We'll bring them home so if anyone wants to try it then give me a shout!
After falling into the RV after our distillery trip we decided we were travelling north too quickly and need to slow down otherwise we'll have nothing to do when we get to Cairns. We are, reluctantly, giving back the campervan on Wednesday and are then flying down to Melbourne to do Victoria and some parts of New South Wales we missed out on. Once you get up towards Cairns there isnt as much to do or see, unless you are a huge snorkelling/diving fan and want to spend every day in the Great Barrier Reef, or walking everyday in the Daintree, so to help us slow down I flicked through our Lonely Planet guide (dont ever go travelling without one!) and found a couple of little towns that I thought sounded nice on the coast, with an island nearby that we could do a day trip to. These 2 little towns are called Agnes Water and Town of 1770. It is called such because Lieutenant James Cook, on Wednesday 24 May 1770, went ashore near Round Hill Head with a party of men in order to examine the country, accompanied by Joseph Banks and Dr Solander. It is possibly the smallest town I've ever encountered and therefore only had one caravan park, which was beautifully situated right on the beach and we were designated a parking spot right on the water where we watched the most incredible sunsets you've ever seen. The next day we went into Agnes Water to do some grocery shopping and to book our day trip to Lady Musgrave Island. It's not that famous, but it sure is pretty. It's right at the start of the Great Barrier Reef and is a coral cay. I can't do it justice by describing it so take a look for yourselves - http://www.spiritof1770.com.au/. We walked aboard the Spirit of 1770 cruiser at 8am in gorgeous sunshine and enjoyed the 90minute fast cruise to the island at the front of the boat. The sun was beating down, the sea breeze was cooling, the water gets clearer the further you travel out and we magically managed to see a school of dolphins. Right in front of us we saw 2 or 3 backs and fins peeking out of the water. The closer we got we saw more swimming just in front of the boat for a few seconds and then they disappeared. It was quick but just fantastic. When we got closer to the island they took us down 'manta ray alley' where we spotted quite a few rays as well as turtles and very pretty looking coral. We docked at the pontoon which was our base for the day and then boarded a little boat with a glass bottom to the island where a guide took us on a 30 minute walk though the island where we saw amazing birds and turtle nests, and incredible trees. When we got back to the beach I even held a sea cucumber which looks like a big poo and feels like jelly - Kav took a great photo of my very unsure and disgusted face! Back on the pontoon we went in a semi-submersible and sat downstairs so we could see all the different fish and types of coral, then Kav did some snorkelling which was apparently amazing and I sat on the pontoon taking in the scorching sun and reading my book. They served up a great buffet lunch and morning and afternoon teas and we headed back to 1770 for dinner and a good night's sleep.
So I've now reached up to the beginning of this week so if I write anymore I wont have anything to tell you in the next blog. Right now we are in Port Douglas, just under an hour up from Cairns, hoping to drive up to the Daintree National Park and maybe do some more of the Great Barrier Reef.
This morning I managed to kick the very large handbrake in the RV with my second smallest toe which I'm sure is broken but Kav assures me isnt ''a hair line fracture at the most'' he reckons, but I'll keep you posted in case I need surgery or something!
Ooh, talking of breakages, I stupidly managed to break my camera way back in the Blue Mountains so any donations towards buying a new one would be fab!! Just kidding, please don't send me money!
Much love to all of you, did have a little cry the other night because I'm a bit homesick, but wouldnt miss any of this for anything. I just wish you were all with me.
Lots of love,
Sally xxx