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This week we have travelled, been in Agnes Water and 1770, travelled South and completed Fraser Island. It has been, as the Aussies would say, freakin awesome!!! We are currently on Thursday night here after an interesting night and a busy day at the zoo, we are both pretty tired and staying at an interesting rest stop, anyway more of that in next week’s blog. We are still slack with our blog timescales due to the opportunities to get online and the speed of the wifi we use, but hay, we will get there in the end.
Tuesday, we travelled to Agnes Water and 1770, here we planned to dive on Lady Musgrave, a stunning reef on the Great Barrier. We were also, again, in the hope that Tom could complete his Open Water course so that we could both be qualified to dive as buddies. Agnes Water is pretty small, we headed for the water shore where we found somewhere to enquire about the diving and were soon directed to the only dive school in town. Here we bagged ourselves a bar ga jain. They told us that Lady Musgrave was now so over dived and over fished, that no one wanted to dive there, however, their boat is the only boat allowed into the 'green zone' reef and the diving there is amazing. So we booked a trip, and we booked for Tom to complete his Open Water for an additional $140 (70 gold nuggets) and for me to complete a refresher with Tom as it has been a couple of years since we have been in the water. Very happy with our deal and excited about starting it the next day, we headed again for the shore to find a place to stop for the night. We found amazing place, about 30m from the sea front with bbqs we could cook on and a rocky peninsular we could watch the sunset from. We had 12p fish cakes for dinner tonight, cooked very very slowly on the free bbq by Tom. During our cooking, 60 twist and go chopper bikes arrived to watch the sunset and have their dinner to, it was hilarious. We watched the riders leave after their stop and saw a mixture of people from the 'my boyfriend has made me do this' girls to the 'I am sooooo looking hot on this motorbike' guys who then cockily ride off before almost stacking it into another rider on the corner, plebs. The man leading the group looks like a skinny Hulk Hogan on a Harley and it seems a pretty popular trip. Early night tonight, in prep for some underwater fun and knowledge reviews in the morning.
Wednesday, the camper is now all decorated with Christmas decorations, looking gooood! We have red and gold tinsel, a hanging snowman decoration and our little, squashed but well travelled, Christmas tree (thanks Mum). We can also now play our $2 Christmas cd...unfortunately. Tom proceeded to play it, loudly, through the town and car park until we stopped. The horrendous, same tune as a keyboard demo button and singers that really shouldn’t sing music blared out and I must admit, I was a bit embarrassed as I thought , this wasn’t really the first impression I wanted the instructor to have of us, some nutty pommes, not that that was too far off the mark. This morning we had to watch 2 PADI videos and also take 5 tests about the course. I didn’t realise I had signed up to more tests but we both came through with flying colours. We also had to go and get Tom dive medical. In Oz, before anyone can complete an Open Water course, they have to have a dive medical. As soon as Tom started talking to the doc, he asked whether Tom had asthma, which he does, mildly. The doc then told Tom that he would fail his medical on the dot and would have to be referred to a specialist before going any further. Tom wasn’t impressed by this, especially as in the UK you get referred for a dive medical if you have asthma, not fail one. After a few strongly worded words, the doctor completed the test and passed Tom, he was even surprised at how good Toms eyes and lung function were, ha ha sucker! So panic over and the afternoon was in the pool. Getting back in the water was odd for both of us, although we loved it. Within minutes we were practicing all of the skills which Tom loves and I hate. Now last night, I had a bit of a mini mardi about the fact that I had to do a refresher. Not because I don’t think it’s a good idea, but it brought out a feeling the same as when I was 4 years old and mum and dad put me into ski school, the 'I know what I’m doing, don’t teach me' feeling. That and the fact that the thought of having to take my mask off underwater and practice an emergency ascent brought me out in a cold sweat. So after a pep talk from Tom in the morning, we completed both of these and more and was very proud that I survived and that we both were told that all of the skills had been completed perfectly. That was defiantly one of those, out of the comfort zone afternoons. Tom was buzzing, he loved it and was now only 2 more dives away from being qualified. Tonight Tom had to revise for his final exam, which for Tom, brings him out in a cold sweat. So tonight was my turn to do the pep talking and to play teacher for 5 hours. What we don’t know about air spaces under pressure and correct ascension rates now, isn’t worth knowing. We had our same free camp spot again tonight and saw the Chopper man and his crew again. This time he brought us left over dips over to have with our meal, nice man but same old crazy crowd, tonight we saw one guy so intent on taking a pic of himself whilst driving, that he nearly crashed, loon. 5 hours of revising...sleep.
Thursday, exam day for Tom. Early up for a few more hours of reading and testing then midday exam. The exam took place in the dive shop so I could interweb and arrange Christmas, while Tom sweated away. From his face, he wasn’t hopeful, however, as skeptical as he was, he passed with a 90% score. We were Very chuffed and proud. Celebration came in the form of a picnic on the beach and a cider, which all filled with sand as it was pretty windy. It gave it extra crunch. The reason for the wind is that the town of 1770 is the most Southern part of the Great Barrier reef and the most Northern surf beach in Australia. We had the best of both worlds, other than the fact that due to this weather, we couldn’t dive today as the wind was too bad so we were delayed a day from getting down to Fraser but lucky for us we had met Kate and Matt on the boat on the Whitsundays and had all agreed that we would hire a 4x4 together. They found us a great deal and we agreed and booked it to collect the van on Saturday. Friday night was going to be a mission on after the dive but it would be worth it when we got there. Tonight was our last night in our favourite spot and we were lucky to be there for the opening of a new restaurant on the front, which we had watched them build over the last three days. This place is the only restaurant with the sea view in the area and when we arrived on Tuesday it was all still being renovated, today, it was finished and tonight was the opening party. It was brilliant to watch someone’s dream come to life from afar. We didn’t have dinner nearly as posh as this place, but we did have a veggie stir fry as the chicken smelt a tad funny and there was no way we were risking our diving...
Friday we wake up early and get over for the dive boat. Pretty excited. The instructor is waiting for us at the bottom of the road and we run onto the boat. The ride out to sea was pretty choppy. We had brought sickness tablets as we had been warned but we really weren’t expecting the choppiness. Some people were a bit green for the journey, we were fine, the view was brilliant for 2 hours out to the reef. Once on the reef, the island we were near was stunning. Around us were loads and loads of Manta rays. We were told that these were so rare to see, even the instructor who had worked here for 8 months hadn’t ever seen them, here before. we were so lucky. The day even became a bit of a ' manta ray there, manta ray here'day. They were everywhere. Then there were the turtles that followed them,they poked their heads up for air. Then a little later...the dolphins. About 15 of them surfacing and the little ones jumping out. It was a sight and something again that we will always remember. The only let down was the bloody Germans on board who felt that snorkeling towards the Dolphins and Manta rays would be a good idea and scared the whole pack away. Even when they had gone and the German started swimming back to the boat, the dolphins came back and his wife started screaming at him to go back towards him, was a bit of a shame. After a snorkel, in jellyfish and really deep water (no point) we had a spot of lunch and then it was Toms turn to get in the water to complete his emergency ascent. The water had a really strong current and made this pretty difficult but with fish lungs like Tom, he managed it easily. We had to move the boat to get out of the current as our guide said it was like a river. Once moved, we both got in for our first dive on the reef. It was brilliant. Tom had a few more skills to do when we were at the bottom and then it was off and around the coral. We saw nemos, trumpet fish, lion fish, Moray eels, Tom saw a turtle, loads of amazing electric blue fish. It was a brilliant dive. We went up after 30 mins ish, had a quick break and then got in for the final dive of the day and the passing of Toms course. It was bit choppy again and I managed to slice my arm on the bottom of the dive boat steps on the way down, no rust though so no worries. Just as we were about to get back in , a huge Manta ray made its way towards the boat and our dive spot. We begged some guy to leave it alone so we could dive with it, but, as he was a German to, he selfishly got in the water and after it until it disappeared. Even when the guide teasingly told him that was out of order, he shrugged and didn’t care, git. This dive though, I got to see a turtle. It was all I wanted to see when we were here and we saw it. After all the diving we were pretty pooped and had a snooze against a dingy on the way back to the shore. Tom took pictures of my snoozing, thanks Tom, he’s trouble when he gets bored. Once back we had a mission down to Rainbow Beach to start our Fraser Island trip in the morning. It took 6 hours to get there, we had to stock up on coffee and rockstar red bull on the way to keep eyes open. Tonight, however, was Summer Solstice, the moon was HUGE and orange and absolutely stunning. Tom did a great job of driving, it’s a constant concentration game because rouge kangaroos lurk in the side bushes and jump out if you aren’t careful. With the deposit on this van, we didn’t want any roo jumping in our way. One thing to mention here was the radio on the way down. Bearing in mind it is Friday night and the nations radio station, one of the songs that was actually played was ‘Jessy is a slag who takes ecstasy on a Saturday night’. Those were the words, the whole way through. It was Rubbish!!! We arrive at midnight, battered and in need of sleep, but sods law, the moment the head hit the pillow...the eyes didn’t shut. Now too wired to sleep!
Saturday, we finally woke up about 7am in time to call home in Skype, wash our stinky clothes, sort the van out and pack for our trip. Tom filled the van with water, and had a snaking hose issue. I was inside and wondered why he was washing the van when we were in a rush. I looked out the window to see Tom standing there, after finally catching the wild hose, dripping wet, he he. We were a bit late meeting Matt and Kate and got told off by the witch on the campsite for parking, in the car park. We all headed down to get more supplies, a box of grog, otherwise known as a goon for $14, our permits and our 4x4. Oh it was a beast. The boot looked huge but unfortunately Kate is as Monica esque as me on the organisation fronts and so we quickly filled it with pretty much everything other than the kitchen sink! We were told some scare stories about Fraser island and about the ‘meat wagons’ which the locals call the big 4x4’s carrying 11 people. Anyone over 21 with a license can drive on Fraser. I am not sure though whether everyone can drive off roading as it is pretty hard core over there... WE boarded the ferry from the beach and drove 75 mile beach, which mum has informatively told me is actually only 58 miles long. We have found out that the measuring tools used by Captain James Cook, were pants, hence the difference. Matt and Tom took turns to drive on the trip and we first headed right to the top to Champagne Pools, stopping only for the Maheno Shipwreck. It was about 4.30pm and we couldn’t drive on the beach past certain times and tides (that was a science!) so we were short on time. We found a group there who said that the walk to the pools was at least 40 minutes. So we walked to the top of Indian Head, couldn’t see the pools and had to walk back down again to get to our beach camp in time for sunset. We camped on the beach tonight, bbq on, beer and wine out. It was brilliant. Star watched for a bit using Tom’s infinite knowledge of the universe, then slept, very well.
Sunday, baking hot in our tent, we burst out for air and because I was bursting for a wee. No loos here we found ourselves a pee bush. Our camping gas run out last night so we have a bbq only as a cooking instrument, and I Have to have a cuppa before anyone can get any sense from me so Tom and I drove naughtily along the beach to the nearest posh campsite to see if they had gas...they were shut. Tom made use of the facilities and had a nasty experience. He opened the toilet seat...to find..... a rat...a live one, looking at him. Tom quickly flushed the rat and then had to use the girl’s loos for fear of being bitten in a not so nice place, by a rat of all things! After 30 minutes, we tried our luck again for the shop, they didn’t have any gas, but they did have boiling water so armed with 4 boiling cups of water we headed back to add the tea bags. What we won’t do for a brew. Today we drove on an inland track, because we can’t drive on the beach due to tides till 2.30pm, and discovered the rath of the inland tracks. No one warned us that you had no sign post and 2 ft drop offs to drive over. We visited Lake Allom, where freshwater turtles swim at the shore. We then went to the lookout over the Knifeblade Sandblow. Still a few hours to use before we could get on the beach and drive further down the island so we went for a dip in the sea, all the time looking out for the ‘hungry tiger sharks’ we had been warned about. We didn’t see any, or get bitten by any. Lunch was BBQ leftovers at an aboriginal camping ground where we had to pay to use the loo and we had to ask if we could wee and pay later (no change pockets in bikinis) the reason he let us was because he believed in karma. We weren’t too sure whether he thought we wouldn’t pay and it was a threat or whether he meant his karma, We paid, no questions asked! After lunch we carried on down to Lake Wabby, again we got here quite late and as we started to walk the 2.5km trail to it, everyone else seemed to be walking our way and warning us of how far there was to go. When we got there, there was us and 4 others only., The best time to be there without the crowds. The only downfall was the walk back, being on the lookout for Dingos. There are loads here and you are warned never to walk alone etc etc so walking through their territory nearing dusk was a little intimidating. The view from the sandblow on the way out though was breathtaking. We were camping tonight at Central Station, it’s nearer Lake Mckenzie (the more famous one) for the next day and we thought it would be nice for a shower and some people. It took us hours to get there. All on inland tracks and getting darker by the moment. By the time we arrived it was pitch black and we had to rush to pitch up, get a beer down us and then start the barbie. This was rainforest but we had the benefit of toilets, although these were filled with giant spiders which was freaky. I think we broke the ‘no noise after 9pm’ rule as Kate and I nearly finished our wine goon but once again it was a fab night, the only sleep disturbance was the extra extra loud frogs or crickets in the trees. The rainforest canopy acts like a fish bowls so everything echos...noisy.
Monday we woke to, heat, panic, need air and water and those bloody frogs are still at it. Kate and I fashioned ear plugs from kitchen roll which helped. We didn’t need loud noise this morning, the heads were a little sensitive. We ate cold beans for breakky, true camping style and headed on our way towards Lake McKenzie. We took the wrong road, and nearly got stuck. The signs here are terrible so once we realized, the girls stayed quiet while the men maneuvered us the right way down the track. It was blumin bumpy. Our heads took a real battering today. Lake McKenzie took us hours to get to even thought it was only 11km. The trails were so extreme, yet when we got there, the car park was full of 4x4’s and 4x4 buses. I am sure that they are hiding some tarmac road somewhere and not telling the brit tourists! The lake was spectacular. Crystal clear water, soft white sand, beautiful. The shame was that there were a hundred other people sharing the experience with us but if we take the pics at the right angle, it looks like only us. We sunbathed, swam, lounged in the water for a while until we saw everyone else starting to leave. There was no way we wanted to get stuck behind everyone, we had a ferry to catch. Lucky we though this because not far down the track and we had to stop because a bus was bogged. The Israeli man in the van behind us stopped and went to nose at what was happening and tell the driver how to drive. When we asked him what was going on he tried to explain in broken English that the road was deep sand. He flapped his arms like a flaming galla and we couldn’t help but giggle at him. We waited our turn and hooned it up the hill. The trick seems to be to keep the speed up or you stop. Got through fine, just had to stop again a few hundred metres on as they had got stuck again. This time we weren’t lucky and got bogged on a hill. A man in an x trail ( that has about an inches clearance from the floor and should never have boarded the ferry) came screaming round the corner behind us and slammed on his brakes to stop from hitting us. We were all screaming for him to stop and he stopped a metre away from us. He then got out and walked back to another car...but left his in gear. It then proceeded to jump forward to us until one of his kids managed to pull the hand brake up. He was one of those people we were warned about...numpties. We managed to un bog ourselves once we could roll back and get a run up. We were then on our way and Tom did great driving us out to the ferry. Once back on dry land we took the van back and hoped that we would get our deposit back. We had noticed a small leak from one of the wheels, but it passed and we could go, phew. The four of us had dinner by the beach and swapped films and photos. We camped on the side of a road near a backpackers after our Fraser Island Adventure. Big thanks to Matt and Kate for great company and booking such an amazing trip.
We still have over 1000km to get to Sydney and 2 weeks today to get there in time for Christmas. Not long now, but still not very Christmassy!!!
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