My Lonely Planet guide book had a suggested walking tour of Brisbane which sounded like it was worth a go, to see some of the older parts of the city. Having spent the morning doing the all important job of uploading photos and updating my blog, I missed out on being able to take in the views from the top of Brisbane's city hall by a few minutes. Two of the older buildings that really stand out are the former Treasury and Land Administration buildings, both now serving different purposes, one as a hotel and the other as a casino.
Having spent my last few weeks visiting some relatively small places, its nice being back in a proper city for a while with all that comes along with that, cafes, bars and good public transport. I had been looking forward to visiting the South bank area, where there is an inland beach, but unfortunately this was closed for refurbishment when I got down there. Having walked across the river I got myself and beer and by the edge of the river and watch the world go by for a while, before getting the Catamaran ferry back across to the other side of the city. Am looking forward to my next destination, Sydney.
Monday 24 September 2007
Monday 17 September 2007
Sun 16th Sept - Australia Zoo
I headed the 70km north of Brisbane to pay a visit to Australia Zoo, which is the home of the late Steve 'Crocodile Hunter' Irwin. Well worth the visit. I'd already experienced some of the stuff on offer, like feeding the kangaroos, but they have a wide array of shows and experiences on offer. Even when you're just walking around the zoo you can come across some of the keepers bringing one of the animals around. The Asian elephants were impressively majestic even through they were being given a shower.
I paid a few extra dollars for an up close and personal experience with the wombats. They have a nickname of being the bulldozer of the bush, apparently able to run at speeds of up to 40km/hr in short bursts and built fairly solidly. We got to spend about half an hour with them which was great fun.
I thought that some of the merchanise on offer here was a little tacky but they do plough a lot of resources into conservation, so I suppose its all in a good cause.
When I got back to the hostel I'm staying at I bumped into a crowd of Irish people who were on the same Whitsundays sailing trip as me, small world!
I paid a few extra dollars for an up close and personal experience with the wombats. They have a nickname of being the bulldozer of the bush, apparently able to run at speeds of up to 40km/hr in short bursts and built fairly solidly. We got to spend about half an hour with them which was great fun.
I thought that some of the merchanise on offer here was a little tacky but they do plough a lot of resources into conservation, so I suppose its all in a good cause.
When I got back to the hostel I'm staying at I bumped into a crowd of Irish people who were on the same Whitsundays sailing trip as me, small world!
Sat 15th Sept - On to Brisbane
Another 3 and a half our drive, turned into something a little longer, with their being a lot of roadworks underway at various points along the highway. When I did finally get to Brisbane, I tried in vain to drive close to where I'm staying for the next few days, but was defeated by a number of confusing one way streets. In the end I found a car park which is about a 5 minute walk away from where I'm staying and set off on foot to find the place. There's a music festival on here in Fortitude Valley with live music on some of the streets around Chinatown, so I'll have to go and check some of that out and sample some of the Chinese food.
Thu 13tf - Fri 14th Sept - Fraser Island.
Picked up at 7:40 in time for the 8:30 ferry over to Fraser. Our tour is being conducted by Brett, a former truck driver who adores his 4WD Unimob Mercedes bus, which has a little stairway which opens at the back of the bus for getting on and off. Landing on the beach, felt a little bit like we were storming the beaches at Normandy. I'm looking forward to seeing the island over the next 2 days. For those who don't know, Fraser Island is an enormous sandbar, measuring 120km by 15km, the worlds largest sand island. Brett gave us a safety speech before letting us out and about, which included a few interesting bits of info. The island is home to 6 of 8 venomous snakes that live in Australia, although hopefully we wont be seeing any of them.
Availed of the opportunity to go on a scenic flight of the island which really gives a fell for the size of the island. I couldn't get over the amount of vegetation which covers the island. Apparently it takes any trees or plants up to 4 times longer than normal to grow here, because of the lack of nutrients in the sand. The vegetation is interrupted by a number of inland freshwater lakes as well as some 'sandblows' which are basically large sand dunes. Unfortunately we didn't spot any marine life from the air.
We stopped for lunch at a place called Happy Valley and then went on to visit Ely Creek and the Moheno Shipwreck. At various points along the beaches here, fresh water literally seeps out of the ground and runs out into the ocean. One of these such places is Ely Creek, the water was pretty shallow (and cold), so I decided just to walk it, up to my knees in the water.
The Moheno has been stranded on Fraser island for 72 years and is gradually decaying. A large chunk of the wreck is below the sand level, with the rudder stuck out on its own with no remnants of the ship in the immediate vicinity.
At the end of day one we paid a visit to the Champagne pools and Indian Head, before heading back to our camp site for dinner. Normally you can see sharks and stingrays in the water from Indian Head, but unfortunately the visibility in the water isn't god at the moment as a result of some stormy weather that hit the week before last. The tents we're staying in are really comfortable, they have floor boards and proper beds, and once the zip is closed it doesn't really feel like you're in a tent at all.
Sitting round at dinner was good craic, our group is made up of an interesting mix of holiday makers (both Australian and International) and a few backpackers. The night ended with a bottle of scotch being consumed by some of us which was produced by Karl, a larger than life South African guy who's here with his wife.
Day 2 was all too short. Up at 6:45 for breakfast, then we headed for Lake Waby, one of the inland freshwater lakes. Getting there involved a 2km walk, first through forest and then up hill through what is probably best described as desert. Most of us went for a swim, which was very refreshing after the walk through the hot sand. After having some time to dry off, we then had another 2.5km walk through hot, soft sand back to the beach to meet Brett and our tour bus before heading on for a picnic lunch.
After lunch we headed to another of the inland lakes, Lake Birabeen which has sand similar to Whitehaven beach in the Whitsundays, i.e very fine white sand. After a swim there, and some more time to dry off, unfortunately we had to head back to catch our barge back to the mainland. Great few days though.
Availed of the opportunity to go on a scenic flight of the island which really gives a fell for the size of the island. I couldn't get over the amount of vegetation which covers the island. Apparently it takes any trees or plants up to 4 times longer than normal to grow here, because of the lack of nutrients in the sand. The vegetation is interrupted by a number of inland freshwater lakes as well as some 'sandblows' which are basically large sand dunes. Unfortunately we didn't spot any marine life from the air.
We stopped for lunch at a place called Happy Valley and then went on to visit Ely Creek and the Moheno Shipwreck. At various points along the beaches here, fresh water literally seeps out of the ground and runs out into the ocean. One of these such places is Ely Creek, the water was pretty shallow (and cold), so I decided just to walk it, up to my knees in the water.
The Moheno has been stranded on Fraser island for 72 years and is gradually decaying. A large chunk of the wreck is below the sand level, with the rudder stuck out on its own with no remnants of the ship in the immediate vicinity.
At the end of day one we paid a visit to the Champagne pools and Indian Head, before heading back to our camp site for dinner. Normally you can see sharks and stingrays in the water from Indian Head, but unfortunately the visibility in the water isn't god at the moment as a result of some stormy weather that hit the week before last. The tents we're staying in are really comfortable, they have floor boards and proper beds, and once the zip is closed it doesn't really feel like you're in a tent at all.
Sitting round at dinner was good craic, our group is made up of an interesting mix of holiday makers (both Australian and International) and a few backpackers. The night ended with a bottle of scotch being consumed by some of us which was produced by Karl, a larger than life South African guy who's here with his wife.
Day 2 was all too short. Up at 6:45 for breakfast, then we headed for Lake Waby, one of the inland freshwater lakes. Getting there involved a 2km walk, first through forest and then up hill through what is probably best described as desert. Most of us went for a swim, which was very refreshing after the walk through the hot sand. After having some time to dry off, we then had another 2.5km walk through hot, soft sand back to the beach to meet Brett and our tour bus before heading on for a picnic lunch.
After lunch we headed to another of the inland lakes, Lake Birabeen which has sand similar to Whitehaven beach in the Whitsundays, i.e very fine white sand. After a swim there, and some more time to dry off, unfortunately we had to head back to catch our barge back to the mainland. Great few days though.
Wed 12th Sept - Rockhampton to Hervey Bay
Road trip to Hervey Bay took a little longer than I expected, about 4 and a half hours. Wont be doing anything mad tonight as I'm being collected at 7:40 in the morning for the trip over to Fraser island, coming back to Hervey bay for one more night before I complete the last leg of my road trip and make my way to Brisbane.
Tues 11th Sept - Mackay to Rockhampton
After picking up my photos, of which a handful of them came out pretty well, I headed for the Finch Hatton Forge in Eungella National Park. I was originally thinking I might stay over night in the National Park (which is meant to be a good spot to see the platypus), I decided to just pay it a brief visit and then head on to Rockhampton, in the heart of Australian beef country. I went on one of the walks in the National Park which takes you through the forest until eventually you emerge at a waterfall. A short distance from the car park I could hear something hissing at me from the undergrowth, which gave me a bit of a shock, thankfully it turned out to be a goana and not one of Australia's venemous snakes! :)
When I got down to Rockhampton I spent the night at the Criterion hotel which is a lovely old Victorian building. The rooms were a little shabby but the building itself has the feeling of an old country house almost, except that there's a bar and a restaurant downstairs..
When I got down to Rockhampton I spent the night at the Criterion hotel which is a lovely old Victorian building. The rooms were a little shabby but the building itself has the feeling of an old country house almost, except that there's a bar and a restaurant downstairs..
Sat 8th - Mon 10th Sept Sailing the Whitsundays
We boarded the Atlantic Clipper just before 4pm on Saturday afternoon, setting off around the Whitsunday islands, returning on Monday afternoon. On Sunday morning we awoke to the sight of islands on either side of us. We had spent the night just off Tongue Bay, and headed over to Whitehaven beach for a couple of hours after an early breakfast. Only 7 of the 70 odd Whitsunday islands have any development on them, so it was fantastic to visit one of the unspoilt ones. There's a few walking tracks and some signs warning about dangers of jelly fish, but other than that, its pristine. There's about 40 of us on board the Clipper , a mix of German, Irish, English, Scottish, Swedish and Brazilian. Apparently Whitehaven beach is the 3rd nicest beach in the world, although exactly who travels round to all the beaches to figure this out, I've no idea. The beach is made up of perfectly white sand, and the water is the mix of blue colours you'd expect on a tropical island. Tranquility in a nutshell, made even more beautiful by the fact that the only way you can get here is by boat, unless you're a really good swimmer.
We headed back to the Clipper at 10 and then set off in the direction of our snorkelling spot on one of the islands. It was my first time snorkelling and it was really amazing. We were all dropped at the beach, which was made up of rocks and was pretty uncomfortable to walk on barefoot, however the experience in the water made up for this. From about a metre from the shore you could see fish in the water. Unfortunately I managed to graze my toe against some of the coral, hopefully not doing any damage to the coral in the process.
After going back on board we headed further north to a spot from which to watch the sunset. What a day! We ended the night consuming whatever was left of the alcohol we'd each brought on board with us. I went to bed relatively early knowing htat I'd be doing more driving as soon as we got back to the mainland.
We got back to Airlie beach at around 1pm and I hit the road for Mackay, further south. It would have been nice to stick around for one more night in Airlie, there's a gang from the trip going out for drinks but I need to get moving. Found a spot in Mackay to get some under water photos I took while snorkelling developed. Hopefully there'll be a few half decent ones.
We headed back to the Clipper at 10 and then set off in the direction of our snorkelling spot on one of the islands. It was my first time snorkelling and it was really amazing. We were all dropped at the beach, which was made up of rocks and was pretty uncomfortable to walk on barefoot, however the experience in the water made up for this. From about a metre from the shore you could see fish in the water. Unfortunately I managed to graze my toe against some of the coral, hopefully not doing any damage to the coral in the process.
After going back on board we headed further north to a spot from which to watch the sunset. What a day! We ended the night consuming whatever was left of the alcohol we'd each brought on board with us. I went to bed relatively early knowing htat I'd be doing more driving as soon as we got back to the mainland.
We got back to Airlie beach at around 1pm and I hit the road for Mackay, further south. It would have been nice to stick around for one more night in Airlie, there's a gang from the trip going out for drinks but I need to get moving. Found a spot in Mackay to get some under water photos I took while snorkelling developed. Hopefully there'll be a few half decent ones.
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