I think it is fair to say that Lulu and I were remarkably restrained at Brisbane airport considering how over excited we both were to be seeing each other, certainly no one would have got a word in edge ways for the next 5 hours and that didn't even include an update on the soaps ;-) The wine was opened on our return to the appartment and we finally managed to stop talking enough for us both to fall asleep about 4am.
The following day (Sunday) the sun was out, a rare occurence I was finding out, and we had arranged to meet up with the lovely Em who Lulu and I met in London years ago and now lives in Brisbane. We went to a fab restaurant on the river called the Jade Buddah and after Lulu had done her usual trick of sweet talking the guy incharge we went from there being no room for us to having a booth table for the rest of the afternoon ... gotta love her.
I tried my first Moreton Bay Bug which was nice but I think badly cooked . After way to much wine we headed upstairs to the cocktail lounge and where they had a chocolate fountain on the bar which was free and a very extensive cocktail list ... it was messy and not very pretty the following day.
Monday morning and luckily Lulu's work commitments didn't start until Tuesday so we had a quiet day. Lu brought me up to speed on all the soaps at home which took a good few hours, we made a semi plan for our road trip and eventually had dinner and watched a movie.
The rest of the week in Brisbane Lu was at work and I was suffering from a bit of travel fatigue so I kicked back and spent my time finally completing my insurance claim and getting that posted off to the UK, sorting out some stuff other adminy bits and swimming in the hotel pool. Weather was pretty awful all week so didn't really entice me to get out and about. Brisbane is a nice city though from the bits I saw, like all Aussie cities it has a nice mix of old and new, its on the water and the shopping center is quite compact. On our last night in Brisbane (Thursday) we met up with Em and another girl Lu used to know, Rachel, and went for a Vietnamese meal which unfortunately wasn't great but we had a good time anyway.
Friday arrived and it was time to hit the road. After a quick lunch we picked up our hire car (Toyota Corolla) from Thrifty who we lovingly named Henri. We just about managed to squeeze our luggage into the boot and headed out ... just as the heavens opened!
We were headed to Maroochydore via Mooloolaba and a couple or hours and a few pit stops later we arrived. Mooloolaba looked like it was nice and had it not been throwing it down we would have probably stopped but we decided to head on to the hostel after a quick drive through. Our hearts and spirits sunk a little further on arriving at the Cottontree Backpackers (recommended by Lonely Planet, should have known not to trust them). It was very small, cramped, hot and not very clean. We had a nice meal out at the Blue Bar between Maroochydore and Mooloolaba and tried to pick up our spirits.
Saturday morning and with a new lease of life we set off for Hervey Bay which is the nearest mainland town to Fraser Island where we hoped to do a tour. We checked into the Next Backpackers which was like positive heaven compared with the night before and had the added bonus of an in house bar!! After freshening up we had a chat with Mark on the tour desk about Fraser trips and what the weather was doing and over night we decided to have a down day in Hervey Bay on Sunday and head out to Fraser Island on Monday and do our own trip rather than a tour.
The rest of Sunday we uploaded photos and then prepared for our trip to Fraser i.e. buying food and wine and packing smaller packs. We went to the cinema in the evening to see Valentines Day which was good, what was not so good was that we had forgotten that the kitchen at the hostel closed at 9pm so when we emerged at 8.50pm from the cinema we realized our carefully planned pasta dinner was not happening so we hit the Noodle Bar and got some take out.
5.30am the alarm went off on Monday (8th March) morning and sleepily we made our way down to the Aussie Tracks office where we had to watch a video about driving safely on Fraser Island as its all off road driving and there have been some bad accidents over there. Eventually we had been fully briefed, we had our maps and our high tide times so we knew when we couldn't drive on the beach and we had our esky (cool box or chilly bin) filled so we headed off in our very beat up Suzuki Jimni. Once we picked up some ice from the petrol station we headed off to catch the ferry.
It was very very grey day an on the ferry on the way over it started to rain quite heavily, I was starting to lose heart. We arrived on to Fraser about 9am and after driving down the one bit of 'tarmac' road which was so full of pot holes it was barely recognizable as a road. Then we were onto the sand roads and in 4whd for the rest of the time we were there.
Our first stop was a place called Central Station in the middle of the rainforest which was little more than a few information boards, camp site, 5 long drop toilets and a lot of mosquitoes! Back in Jimmy the Jeep and we headed south to check out some lakes that Lu didn't see last time she was here and because of tide times we were limited on beach driving time.
The lakes were ok but what made us most happy was when at 11am the sun came out and stayed out for the rest of the time we were on Fraser Island. We headed straight for the beach and a lunch stop to soak up some rays but the flies were a little unbearable so we headed in land to make our way to Lake Mackensie. Long bumpy drive but eventually we arrived and it was mind blowing like a caribbean beach and sea surrounded by rainforest. We dived striaght in the water which is fresh not salty, it was so nice I never wanted to get out but eventually we did as we had to get to where we were staying before the sun set to avoid the dingos. The tide was out by now so we powered up the beach and were there in no time at all. We cracked open the wine, flipped a couple of burgers on the barbie and were tucked up in our beds by 9pm when all the power went off.
The following day we were up really early (6.30am) and after a quick brekkie and shower we headed up the beach stopping at Eli Creek first. There was no one else there and we walked down the creek in the water which was lovely way to start the day. Next stop was the wreck of the Maheno which is on the beach and again we were pretty much the only people there which afforded us some great photos. It was at this point we discovered what the popping sound was that we could hear as we were driving up the beach - jelly fish, little blue ones popping away as we drove over then ti was like giant bubble wrap.
Next stop was India Head and finally the Champagne Pools which is the highest point we could drive to in our vehicle. These are rock pools right on the beach and when the sea comes in the water frothing over the top of them makes them look like champagne glasses. We had a littel swim in them and dried off in the sun before heading back down the beach and attempting to get to Lake Mackensie again before we left via Lake Wabby. Wem anaged to get to lake Wabby but it clouded over and rained and we were running out of time to catch our ferry so we decided to have lunch by the side of the road and hea for the ferry which turned out to be a wise move.
Back in Hervey Bay we had a night at the Next Backpackers again before heading for Agnes Water the following day. We drove leisurely up to Agnes Water stopping for a drink on the way and when we arrived it was just about lunch time so we just popped down to the beach which looked lovely and this is when I discovered that I had left my camera battery and charger in Hervey Bay, AGHhhhhh!!! I gave them a ring to see if they could send it up to Airlie Beach in time for our Whitsundays trip but they couldn't guarantee it and I got nervous that it was going to get lost so I decided I was going to drive back and get it and Lu really really kindly offered to keep me company. 6 hours round trip later and we arrived back into Agnes Water minus a bit of our sense of humour and checked into our hostel for the night where we had a beer and went to bed. All in all a bit of a disaster on my part.
Another day and we were back to rubbish weather for the drive to Airlie beach which was going to take us about 8 hours so we set off at 6.30am. We arrived in Airlie Beach late afternoon and the sun was back out so we check into the hostel and with the Whitsundays trip people before showering and heading out for a few bevvies and something to eat.
Loaded up with Goon (for those of you that don't know what this is its very nasty, very cheap wine in a box) and enough clothes to last us a few days we caught our catamoran for our 2 night 3 day trip in the whitsundays, there were about 20 American college students on our boat (18 to 20 in age) me and Lu and 2 other british girls about the same age. The crew were all British and great fun so we had a really good time despite the students. I got to do 4 dives on the barrier reef which were ok but the viz was really poor so I didn't get to see it at its most beautiful but we did see a couple of black tipped reef sharks, crayfish, napoleon wrasse, moray eels, clown fish, star fish and so on. The weather was a bit unpredictable and we did find out on day 2 that a cyclone was on its way which was already creating strong winds and making sailing interesting to say the least. By the time we got to Whithaven Beach on day 2 the weather was just awful and we were pumpled with rain and sand bit like dermobrasion but not as pleasant. So no stunning photos of the beach unfortunately.
Day 3 and after a final dive we headed back to Airlie Beach where we arrived just before lunch and Lu and I headed straight off as we wanted to get to Magentic Island that night so we had a 4 hour drive u pto Townsville to catch the ferry. It was about an hour after we set off that we had one of the more hysterical moments on the trip. We had both dropped into hunger silence in the car, we decided we were so hungry that McDonalds was looking appetising but could we find a sign for one, normally there are hundreds. Eventually we saw one in a town called Bowen so we turned off but could we find the McDonalds, no. Evntually I asked a gentleman that looked like he might frequent McDonalds but this toothless wonder couldn't help so we had to ask at the Thirsty Camel bottle shop. Once we had our Big Macs in had we ate in silence, god did it taste good and I never thought I would say that.
The weather had improved as we approached Townsville and even more as we headed for Maggie Island. Once there we caught the bus to Horseshoe Bay where we were staying which took about 20 minutes. It was just as we were nearing the YHA that I spotted wallabies and managed to embarrass Lulu for the first time ever by shouting 'Mate look, wallabies' ... the whole bus turned to look at me and Lulu had her head in her hands.
Once checked in to our very cute bungalow we walked dow nto the bay to check out the sea and bay area and we decided to sit and have a beer in the sun ... really lovely relaxed feeling about Magnetic Island it was so nice. As it was Mothers Day Lu and I decided to have a nice meal at the restaurant at the hostel which has a really good reputation and to treat ourselves to a bottle of bubbles. Was a lovely way to remember our Mums and one we're sure they would've approved of.
The following day we did the Bushman tour round the centre at the hostel which is where we got to feed a red tailed black cockatoo with sunflower seeds from our mouths, stroke a wombat called Womablina (Lulu held her for a photo later), handle lizards, crocodiles and snakes and I finally got to hold a Koala, Barney, who wasn't quite as cuddly as I thought he would be in fact I was pretty much told if I tried to do anything other than hold him very still he would bite me and apparently the fact that he grabbed my boob whilst I was holding him did not mean I could bite him. It was areally good 2 hours and our guide was brilliant, really knowledgeable and had such a good rapour with the animals it was lovely.
We had lunch at a place called Noodies in Horseshoe bay before lying on the beach for a few hours and then moving to the pool at the hostel. Mid afternoon we got an opportunity to feed some parrakeets which were beautifully coloured but very noisey and viscious we were left with scratches all over our hands and arms - glad I had my shots. We had dinner at a place called Barefoot Food Wine and Art which was very poor for the price unfortunately. Our last day on Maggie Island I was quite sad as we had had such a lovely time and was so great to see so much wildlife just wandering around - Lulu went to the toilet at 1am to find a Wallaby stood by the toilets, there were wild Koalas in the trees, lizards, frogs, moths, butterflies, birds and so on - we wished we had booked for longer it was so nice to kick back and relax.
But next stop was Mission Beach so we caught the afternoon ferry and picked Henri up at the port and heade north. The weather got worse and worse as we headed up the coast and by the time we got to Mission Beach it was throwing it down so we headed straight out for a Thai meal at a place that was recommended called Nana Thais and was really really good before showering and hitting the hay.
Suddenly we were down to the last few days of our adventure and we were headed for 3 days of luxury at the Shantara Resort in Port Douglas with our verandah deck straight int othe pool. We made a short stop in Cairns to do some shopping and get some lunch, didn't like Cairns much it was a bit too touristy and reminded me a bit of Blackpool. Port Douglas however was lovely.
As soon as we checked in we were straight in the pool and lying in the sun which had come back out, it was heaven. We had dinner at a cool little place that evening just outside of PD called The Beach Shack. The waitress was really lovely and so good at her job and the food was mind blowing we left stuffed to the gunnels.
The next few days we just chilled by the pool had lunch and dinner out and our last night together we ate at a lovely place called On the Inlet where the fish was superb and we had the most amazing Baramundi dish I've ever had, my mouth is watering just thinking about it now. We wandered bac kto the hotel slightly tiddle singing' Thank you for being my friend' from the Golden Girls.
Lulu left just before lunch the following day but not before I had shed a bucket of tears, it had been so nice to have someone to share the trip with that knew me. So I stayed on one more night at the hotel catching a few more rays and repacking for the next part of my Aussie Adventure.
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