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Hi everyone,
When Zoe signed off last week we had seen very little of the sun here on the east coast of Australia - that has yet to change! The weather has been a severe disappointment and details will emerge in due course.
Zoe gave you the details of our trip to the Witsundays on board the Avatar - she neglected to mention one of our shipmates, a Canadian called Greg who was f**king nuts. He loved all the attention that his antics brought (splashing around and yelling shark when we first went snorkeling) on to him. It was amusing as a bystander to watch the way he and the deckhand Tom rubbed each other up all the wrong way. Still, it takes all sorts to make a world and as long as there are not too many of him around the world may still be a safe place.
From Airlie Beach we caught a night bus to Rainbow Beach with a short stop off and change of bus in Hervey Bay. Rainbow beach is one of the jump off points for trips to Fraser Island which is the world's biggest sand island. We arrived at RB on Sunday early afternoon, checked in to our hostel and had time for a trip to the beach for a quick session of body boarding before going for the briefing for our Fraser Island self drive safari. At the brief we were given a whole load of bulls*** info about the trip, watched a video about the trip (also bulls***) and were allocated into our groups. We had 4 lads and a girl from England who were all 19 years old, 2 Irish girls who were a great laugh, Sam Huddlestone's brother Mark's best mate Pete, Zoe and me. The criteria for driving were that you had to be over 21 years of age and have had a full licence for over 2 years - this meant only Zoe, Pete and me were eligable to drive much to the annoyance of the group of lads who were all self professed "really good drivers".
Part of the briefing was to place orders for the booze you wanted for the 3 day 2 night trip onto the island. Whils most of us selected a modest amount of beers and cheap ass wine known as GOON, the hero boys went for 24 cans of lager and a 4.4 litre bag of GOON each. Needless to say, as we loaded the Landcruiser we all had our suspicions that the bulk of this liquor would be making the return journey with us. We left the briefing with strict instructions to be up at 7am for a pancake breakfast and then we would be onto loading the trucks and off we go for 10ish.
Up we got on the Monday and we were told we could have 2 pancakes each I managed to snaffle 7 and Zoe got 4 down her neck - result. We were then shown the kit which we checked and loaded quick smart to then be subjected to hanging around for a couple of hours before eventually getting on the road by about 11. I asked the guy if we needed to check the tents before loading them and was told that I was free to do so but that would only delay proceedings, besides, they get checked meticulously before they are sent out. I took the guy at his word and was to regret it before too much time passed.
Anyway, off we set and we got the ferry over to the island so that I was churning our truck through deep sand shortly after noon. Our itinerary directed us to Lake Mackenzie for our first stop and it was truly beautiful, even with an overcast sky and a bit of wind and rain in the air. We left the lake and headed back to the coast with Pete driving so that we could get to our campsite on the beach before dark. Unfortunately our tour company had misinformed us about safe driving times on the beach and the tide was too high when we got back to the coast. It would have been dark before the water receded far enough to be safe so we had to turn back around and return almost to Lake Mackenzie to take the inland route to the campsite. This was a little hairy - serious off roading in the dark with a load of lairy beered up lads singing in the back. We got through and commenced setting up camp and getting the dinner on. It was right about now that I realised why they hadn't wanted us to inspect the tents before we set off - they were almost worse than s***! We got them put up and all crossed our fingers that the rain would hold off over night.
When we woke in the morning we realised that our prayers had most definately not been listened to. Our tent and its contents (people, sleeping bags and rucksacks) were drenched and we weren't the only ones. There was wall to wall cloud forming a perfect surround and when we spoke to the guy who had come out to fix one of the trucks he told us it wasn't likely to change for the next few days. Our tour company had made no mention of this severely s*** weather that was just over the horizon, choosing only to warn us of the dangers of too much sun and dingo harrassment. Wet and miserable we packed up camp and set off up the beach to the north of the island and a place called Indian Head. The rain was so torrential that we got up there and didn't even get out of the truck - few pictures out of the window and we turned around to head home. The group decision was to cut our losses and get the ferry off the island a day early. We stopped at the shipwreck on the beach for obligatory photos and then made our dejected way off the island. Back on the mainland we found that only one of six groups who had set out the previous day had stayed on the island, five groups including us had come home early. The fact that we had commenced the trip meant that refunds were no longer an option and with our money now safely banked the tour company became a wealth of meteorological information and gave us a run down of how this weather has been brewing for a while and was set to stay until the end of the week - wan**rs. Also, when I asked about the tents they cheerfully told me that they are not meant to be all weather tents, more of a festival tent really, and you can't even get waterproof tents. With Fraser Island firmly written off as a bad experience we checked into a hostel for the night only to find we were to share a room with a different but equally crazy Canadian who was boozing and partying until the small hours. We were up till quite late drinking all the left over booze so it didn't matter too much to us. Tomorrow would be another day and the sun might even come out.
On Wednesday morning we got the bus from Rainbow beach down the coast to the town of Noosa. We had been advised that nothing much actually happens at Noosa but that it was a nice place to visit anyway. We can now confirm that nothing actually does happen at Noosa and that it is a really nice place. We visited Travel Bugs in town and booked a trip to Australia Zoo for the Friday and then we managed to wangle free use of a retro styled tandem chopper bike for an hour long ride along the coast. What a laugh that was, impossible to control, the chain kept coming off and I'm sure we were a danger to all other road users but it certainly put a smile on our faces.
Having spent Thursday walking around the Noosa National Park, checking out the coastline and the surf beaches and reading on the beach we were set for our day at the world famous Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo. The place is exactly as I imagined it would be, but unfortunately lacking the big man himself. We saw some enormous crocs - crikey! - and tigers - holy guacamole! - some kangaroos, koalas, tortoises, elephants and a whole host of other animals, birds and snakes. We caught nearly all the animal displays and saw everything they had to offer. All in all a very worthwhile experience. Our last night in Noosa was pretty uneventful as we packed and readied ourselves for visiting Marty and Macca in Burleigh Heads the following day.
Marty and Macca are a two guys that I played rugby with at Bowdon many years ago. True blue Aussies who lived in the North West for a handful of years and who both moved back to Oz with their families a couple of years ago and who have now settled in the Gold Coast town of Burleigh Heads. We got off the Greyhound on Saturday afternoon and Marty met us at a bar by the beach. Having downed the obligatory schooner we were off to meet his family (wife Kacia, daughter Talia and 4 week old son Tommy) and have a barbie prior to heading round to Macca's house where Zoe and I were to stay.
After dropping our kit at Macca'a and saying hi to his wife Dawn and daughter Libby (both of whom I knew from England) we set off to meet Macca at work. His shift ended at 8.30ish and we journeyed over to a local bar for one of the best nights out to date on the Oz east coast.
On Sunday we passed a rather eventful morning by the swimming pool at the complex where Macca and Dawn live and then headed down to Skilled Park to watch the Manly Sea Eagles get beaten by a single point by the Gold Coast Titans. The game was close all the way and noone who I have spoken to since the game can fathom the reason for the penalty whigh gave the Titans the win.
Monday and on the move again, this time further down the coast to Byron Bay. The place is a kind of Mecca for surfers and all the shops either sell or rent out surf gear. The place is also home of the most easterly point on the Aussie mainland so we packed ourselves a lunch and hiked along the beach to check it out. In keeping with the weather to date it was grey and overcast but with the waves marching in it was truly majestic. We had also been told that whales have been seen cruising up past Sydney over a week ago which means they will be in this area any time soon - not today baby. Not to worry. Byron is also the home of the infamous Cheeky Monkeys bar, so we did our bit to keep up the British reputation and headed down there to take advantage of the food and drinks offers. The place is a real dive but as I got more and more free beers my opinion of the place mellowed and I left thinking it wasn't too bad.
When we booked our tip down the east coast we were sold a day trip to a place called Nimbin. The girl at the agency couldn't explain why the trip was good but only that we should trust her and have a look. Tueasday was the day and so we boarded a rainbow painted bus bound for Nimbin. Turns out the place is a timewarp to the 60s where pot is smoked by all and free love is the only way of life. It was a forgettable experience but good for a laugh. We stopped for a BBQ on the way home (the second in Australia and also the second in 4 days) and then visited a swimming hole with a waterfall jump off. By the time we got there it was getting dark so for once in my life I turned down the opportunity to leap into water. Once back in Byron Zoe booked herself in for a surf lesson for Wednesday morning and I tried to confirm our onward trip to Sydney for Wednesday evening.
Did I mention that the weather has been bad on the east coast? Well apparently this has had two major effects - (i) the resevoirs are full for the first time in years, and (ii) the Pacific Highway has been washed out into the sea. This means the Greyhound cannot run from Byron to Sydney and we are stuck in f**king Byron. I was informed that the road would be fixed in time for the 10.50pm bus on Wednesday night so I booked us on it and we would have to wait and see. With the bus booked we hooked up with our new Swiss friend Philip and we got the pizzas while he got the beers - actually he got a 4-pack of Malibu and coke and 2 cigars which was a bit random to say the least.
It is now Wednesday evening. Zoe is an accomplished surfer, the sun has shone for most of the day and we are still her in Byron Bay with a hostel booked for the night. The 10.50pm bus was pure wishful thinking and the road is proper closed still. We are now booked on a bus back up to Brisbane tomorrow afternoon and then a night bus from Brisbane to Sydney on the inland New England Highway route. This had cost us an extra $80 and reduced our time in Sydney by a day but hell, what can you do about the weather?
Tune in next time for the next exciting instalment.
See you all soon,
Nick.
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