19.08.07
Posted in
Australia, Travel
at
7:18 am
by
Andy
I have two excuses for the lack of updates here. First off Internet connections are very expensive (especially for wifi) and after driving many hours I just don’t have the energy or inclination to sit in front of a computer. I’m currently in Darwin (a great city) taking a few days rest and as a friend discovered the free wifi at the library I’m trying to make the most of it. Expect a flurry of email and facebook activity from me today.
About a month ago we visited Fraser Island. The worlds largest sand island, and at over 120km long I can confirm (having seen it from the air and close up) that it is indeed very big. Due to budget restraints we had two options for seeing the island. Either jumping on one of the tour buses or doing the backpacker self drive. In one sense I wanted to do the self drive as caining along sandy tracks and a big long beach in a 4×4 is definitely my idea of fun. The opportunity to meet some great other fellow travellers also appealed. On the downside, by doing this trip you end up cramped into an old Toyota (sounds familiar) with 8 - 11 strangers who could well be 18 year old yout’s with little other interest other than getting wasted and you could end up with an idiotic driver like myself who would scare the living daylights out of you as a passenger.
The other option was a two day tour in a large bus full of tourists. Not something I generally like doing, but the bonus points here were comfort, all you can eat buffet food and knowledgeable guides who can explain what you are seeing. Although the tour was more expensive for less time we went with this as we didn’t want the risk of other idiots ruining our visit. Besides, the idea of cooking and camping didn’t really appeal as that is exactly what we are doing day by day here anyway.
As it turned out I was happy with our decision. The tour was excellent and reports of the coldest weather for 10 years and backpackers freezing on the beach made me even more smug about it. Our guide (who was a spitting image of Lou from Neighbours) was extremely informative about the incredible island which is formed entirely from sand. We learned how the island was formed, how the vegetation (which is incredibly diverse) manages to grow and survive there despite the lack of soil and how the island is constantly changing. We also learned of the many different and abundant wildlife species on and around the island and although we saw a great deal including humpback whales, we didn’t see any dingoes. Some of the silent, crystal clear creeks running along with golden sand river beds were incredible as were the cold but stunning lakes surrounded by sand dunes. The silicone sand surrounding lake Mackenzie was beautiful and pretty interesting when viewed using macro to go in close. I could go on and on about this place but it really has to be seen to be believed.
While on Fraser we also went up for a brief flight over the island taking off and landing on the beach. This served to illustrate just how big the island is and take in the marvellous sights from the air. We also got to see the numerous sharks swimming metres away from the shore and even spotted a Manta ray. Awesome stuff.
Due to the petrol that runs through my veins I was also in awe of some of the machinery used to get around the island and the skill of our driver who managed to get a huge bus down tracks where numerous dedicated 4×4s were getting stuck. This served to illustrate that I have to return here one day and hire my own 4×4 for a few days of fun.
After our two days on Fraser Island we went out for a day’s whale watching in Hervey Bay. This spot is where every year hundreds of humpback whales come to rest after the long migration north to mate. We were sold by the guaranteed sighting or return trip offer and the incredible pictures of whales breaching close to the boats and whales eyeballing the passengers. Unfortunately for us it was nothing like that. We spent several hours searching without a sighting, and then when our skipper did find one it just swam along without showing off at all. Still this is nature doing it’s own thing and not a zoo and thanks to my wonderful Canon toys I was still able to get some good pics.
Looking back on it now it did seem like a waste of time and money as the whales we saw and Byron Bay, The Whitsundays and on the Great Barrier Reef in Cairns surpass the experience we had at Hervey bay. That said, it all comes down to luck. We may not have seen any and we were there to early in the season. August is the time when they really come out to play. In actual fact, the highlight of the trip for me was seeing and hearing the dolphins playing along side the bow of the boat a mere metre away from where I was standing. They almost seemed to be vying for our attention. “Don’t watch the whales, they’re boring. Look at what I can do!”
08.08.07
Posted in
Australia, Travel
at
1:21 am
by
Andy
Well after the Mongol Rally and the Rickshaw Run one needs another challenge. By comparison though, this is a lightweight undertaking. We have the comfort of a pop top camper (think cooker, fridge, sink, double bed, dinning table… finally I’m a home owner) albeit 26 years old, and a mere eleven thousand kilometres to cover on well paved roads… Easy.
Australia is big. Very big. Take a look at the picture below to see just how big it is compared to Europe. We will not be trying to cover it all as we have a very limited time here. What I would like to do is a loop from Sydney via Cairns, Darwin, Alice Springs and Melbourne.
We picked up our 1980 camper on Tuesday 10th July. We’d seen several and this was the best for the money. After lots of problems trying to access my funds the cash was handed over and we drove the beast back to Dan’s. The very friendly sellers even invited us back for dinner when we return to Sydney.
This post originally started as a day by day diary, but having read over the first few days scribblings I’ve ditched it as it was just too boring. Here instead are the condensed highlights (check the maps page for some nerdy details).
We got off to a late start on Wednesday 11th after running round sorting the paper work for the van and getting some last minute shopping done. We appropriately left Sydney crossing over the harbour bridge managing at least two hours before our first breakdown… simply a flat battery (I’d purchased a spare / auxiliary that day but hadn’t fitted it. Upon doing so I couldn’t get a good connection as the cables were so oxidised).
Over the first few days I’ve been amazed by the beautiful beaches we’ve seen up the east coast. So long, clear, clean and empty. Then there are the waves that on occasions have been huge. Also very striking is how friendly people are, often just approaching us for a chat at the rest areas and camp sites, which as it happens is a great way to get tips and advice for our journey. A week in and we’ve seen a lot of the stereotypical Aussie things including possums, wallabies (albeit dead at the side of the road), boomerangs and surfers. Despite the road signs, though, I’m yet to see that elusive Koala.
The true highlight of the the New South Wales stretch of the trip however has to be Byron Bay. Here is the original entry from my day by day post:
Day 5
Byron Bay, dolphins and whales. Everything else is insignificant. We drove up to Cape Byron Cape before 8 am and were treated to the sight of a pod of dolphins swimming not far away from the rocks. Very much enthused by this we were amazed to spot a humpback whale breaching several kilometres out to sea. This was what we’d come here to see but couldn’t believe our luck after only 15 minutes. The whale was so far out that this cropped photo can do little other than confirm what it was.
Later went for a walk around the cape and once again up near the lighthouse we were treated to this spectacular display by a huge pod of dolphins playing in the surf. Incredible stuff:
02.08.07
Posted in
Australia, Travel
at
8:48 am
by
Andy
I was recently commended by a Polish friend on keeping a blog so thorough and up to date throughout this trip. Here I am over a month into my visit to Australia, two weeks into another monumental road trip and not a single word about it all here.
So here goes a lazy half hearted attempt at describing my time in Sydney. Our first shock upon arrival was how cold it was. A clear blue sky with a crisp wind blowing reminded my of Madrid in the winter and what it was like to feel cold. It took me a while to adjust and I even shied away from a shower until it occurred to me that this shower had hot water… Too long in Asia.
We made our way in what seemed to be a extortionately expensive taxi (once again, too long in Asia) to Dan and Holly’s place who had very kindly offered to put us up for our stay in Sydney. They’ have a lovely little house in Paddington which, as I was to discover, is a nice area located very close to the center of the city.
After six and a half months on the road it was a bizarre sensation meeting friends from back home. So much to talk about but after only three hours sleep on the flight over (damn Singapore Airlines and their fantastic in flight entertainment) we were in no state to socialise. Dan treated us royally setting up the spare bed and providing his full dvd collection for us to raid.
That evening it was time for another shock. This time of the cultural variety. We went to a pub called London. This might sound a bit strange but it was so weird being in a pub situation so like home after so long. Believe it or not at first I felt a little uncomfortable but it wasn’t long before the beers sorted that out.
We spent nearly two weeks in Sydney and the time was divided between meeting with friends, sight seeing and looking at camper vans. Not only were we able to celebrate Dan and Holly’s engagement and Holly’s birthday with their friends but Gareth was able to make it up from Melbourne to meet us. We spent two days out on the harbour seeing the sights with Gareth (”local” knowledge is invaluable) and we even manged to squeeze in a beverage or two. We also met up with Gareth and Nathalie for dinner one night were I devoured a huge pork schnitzel, and I mean huge.
It was great to see familiar faces, especially after so long. Think about this for a while, six months without seeing any of your friends. This meant a lot to me.
Apparently we were lucky with the weather. Shortly before we arrived they’d had gales and lots of rain. We were blessed with lots of sunshine and blue skies. We managed to see Watsons Bay and Manly after some picturesque ferry trips across the harbour. We viewed the Sydney opera house from many an angle as well as checking out the CBD, The Rocks, several of the parks and a very hip quay of which the name escapes me. Another sight that is not normally synonymous with Sydney was the USS Kitty Hawk, which was in port for a few days. This huge aircraft carrier is apparently only a small pup compared to some of the newer nuclear powered ships. Still looked pretty impressive to me. During the time it was in the harbour the papers claimed an estimated $180 million were spent by the crew… I’ll leave you to figure out on what most of it was spent.
I didn’t get round to going up the view tower, walking out on the famous bridge, going over to beach or enjoying the nearby coastal walk. They’ll have to wait until I return in September.
As I mentioned the rest of our time was spent looking at campers. Touring in a camper van here is one of the cheapest ways to travel once you add up hostel costs, meals out and bus tickets. We were a bit clueless to start with but some tips from Martin, who we met in Malaysia, got us started and after checking out rental deals and seeing some terrible vans in the Backpackers Car Market we started looking privately. Dan managed to find us a decent selection online and I spent Sunday (accompanied by a monster hang over) and Monday checking out a few. On the Sunday we saw two good vans, both Toyota Hi Ace pop tops from the 80s. The friendliness of the sellers was incredible. Along with being offered tea and biscuits, both owners picked us up and dropped us of respectively at the station and the first chap even gave us a lift from his place to that of the second camper. At the second guys place we were shown around the farm and Espe even ended up riding one of their horses.
The searching for, looking at and contemplating what to do was quite stressful. We were talking about quite a bit of money (in fact a third of the money left for the trip), add to that all the paperwork and the worry of re-sale I wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do. Time will tell.
Personally I was very impressed by Sydney. With its many beaches, green areas, stunning harbour and diversity of restaurants and bars, I could happily live here. I can also understand why Dan among many others decided to come over.
Another culture shock was one of the bus journeys we took. The driver actually counted the number of passengers and stopped letting people on one we reached the limit. A far cry from the passengers on the roof in India and luggage piled up in the isle in Cambodia.
The final shock that I’ll mention are the prices. Coming from Asia I couldn’t believe how much everything cost. Food, beer, transport… all were about 10 times what we are accustomed to paying.
Right, that is enough waffling. I’ll leave you with a question. What is the most photographed building in the world? I don’t know but the Sydney Opera House has to right up there…
