Whitsundays & Airlie Beach (13th - 17th Dec)

My apologies for the lack of updates, a I've not really had much time for updates - and when I have had time I've not been near an internet connection.

I arrived in Airlie Beach on the morning of the 13th and the weather had vastly improved since Fraser Island. I checked into the hostel and had a walk round, it's not a very big place and is pretty much bars/restaurants/hostels/shops etc.

I bought myself a book to read from the local second hand book shop - I figured 3 days on a boat I'd need a book.

I got some food supplies then spent the next 2 days relaxing by the pool at the hostel over looking the bay, swimming at the lagoon, drinking with some people from the hostel avoiding anything remotely strenuous.

The next day I was up early ready to head down to the marina, stopping off at the bottlo on the way for some beer.

We were greeted at the marina by Cookie, he was the dive instructor and general tour guide too (and a Kiwi). He introduced us to Bree, a girl from Canada who was in charge of the food and then Brad our captain from Tazzy.

After a briefing on general safety, we all introduced ourselves (we had a group of 15) then the 4 of us who were going to dive had a separate talk about diving.

An hour or so later we arrived at our first destination, blue pearl bay. I had enough time for some snorkeling before my first dive, it was amazing how many different species of fish there were. Below are just a couple of photos to give you an idea.

After 30 mins of snorkeling it was time for my first dive. Cookie walked us through the basics in a shallow part of the water (locating and unblocking the regulator, clearing water from your mask and learning the basic hand symbols). We then lay horizontally underwater whilst Cookie made our buoyancy neutral so we didn't sink or float (we had weight belts and a jacket which can fill up with air).

We were then ready for our first dive, it was very different how I imagined. I found breathing and moving very easy, it was the equalising that I found the hardest - you are supposed to equalise the pressure in your ears every 1 foot you descend by pinching your nose and blowing. My left ear never wanted to equalise and I also kept forgetting because it's hard to comprehend if you are ascending or descending with no landmarks around.

It was a fantastic experience, even though most of the time I was busy concentrating on what to do, so I didn't spend enough time just looking at the marine life.

Below is a picture of me holding a sea cucumber, Mark is on the right.

In the afternoon we headed for a inlet next to one of the islands for some shelter for the night. We ate a massive meal and drank beer whilst watching this beautiful sunset.

That night we had a perfectly clear sky and were treated to a display of shooting stars. We also had a dolphin circling our boat, he would catch a fish and then show off his catch to us before disappearing for a while.

The next morning we set sail for Tongue Bay and had breakfast there. It is a big breeding groung for green turtles and we must have seen at least a dozen surface for air right next to out boat. Below is a photo of one, they are probably 4 feet long.

A short walk from Tongue Bay brought us to the lookout over Whitehaven Beach. National Geographic named it the second best beach in the world and you can see why...

We spent a couple of hours sunbathing on the beach, didn't do much swimming because it is stinger season. Below is a group photo (L to R, Sarah, Sarah, Kirsten, B, Helen, Allesandro, Mark, Mark, Marie-Anne, Me, Lorraine, Torge, Matt, Kari and Jonathan)
In the afternoon we visited another bay where we had time for another snorkel and a dive. This dive was far more enjoyable, I had time and composure to really appreciate the environment. We swam through huge cliffs of coral, some were 6 or 7 metres tall.

On the final day we spent the morning kayaking in pairs, then taking turns to do some snorkeling, with the other person staying with the kayak. At one point Cookie spotted a turtle, so he took a few underwater photos, but we were too far away to get in the water in time.
Most people didn't spend that much time snorkeling, I was surprised because this was our last activity before returning to Airlie Beach.

So I stayed out as long as possible and I was rewarded for my efforts - a huge green turtle swam straight past me, I followed him for about ten minutes, he didn't seem bothered by my presence. It was an awesome sight, they are so graceful in the water. I didn't get any photos of this, but I'll upload one of Cookies photos of the other turtle when I get a chance [EDIT updated below].


When we returned to the boat Cookie was throwing some breadcrumbs off the side of the boat. This encouraged the batfish to come up and feed, these fish were pretty big, I think around 3 feet long.

Eventually we had to return, everyone agreed the trip far exceeded our expectations. We had perfect weather, a friendly and knowledgeable crew, great food and above all a great bunch of people. We all seemed to be on the same wavelength and it made the trip all the more enjoyable.

Brad, Bree, Cookie & Me

Fraser Island (Day 3)

Day Three (Finally)

Only half of our group stayed for a third day, this was by far the best day. After breakfast we set off for Lake Wabby, in the car park we saw a Lace Monitor, he must've been around 4 feet long.

We also saw a couple of Golden Orb Spiders, this one had just caught some breakfast.

A short walk from the car park took us to the lookout over Lake Wabby. This lake is slowly being engulfed by a sand blow, it is an incredible sight - a mini desert surrounded by a forest on three sides and a lake on the other.

We made our way down to the lake, there is a steep bank down to the lake, probably about 40 metres at a 45 degree angle. Greg had provided us with a modify body board and we took turns racing down the slope into the water.

We spent most of the morning there, swimming in the lake with Catfish and Cormorants all around us. Greg left early to drive the bus round the other side of the lake. It was sunny all morning and luckily the clouds came over just as we had a 1.5 mile walk across the sand to have lunch at the bus. It was really strange walking across a desert in a forest.
After lunch we visited another fresh water lake, but it was raining and we'd seen enough lakes. So we decided to head back early and have a bit of time to relax before the journey home. Greg suggested we sneak into the main 5 star resort and get in the hot tub, and if anyone asks we didn't hear it from him.

So we successfully infiltrated the resort, it wasn't hard - the rain had cleared most of the guests & staff inside. So we sat in the covered hot tub for an hour or so. Helen has a good photo of us all in the spa, I'm waiting for her to email me a copy and then I'll add it here.

That evening we returned to Hervey Bay and I had a meal with Helen & Richard. We were joined later by three Canadian girls from our tour, had a good time drinking & chatting - there's not a lot to do in Hervey Bay so we just stayed at the hostel bar. Hopefully I'll be meeting up with Helen, Richard & Natalie (one of the Canadians) in Sydney at New Year, I might also catch up with H&R in Brisbane if we have time.

The next day I had to myself before my overnight coach to Airlie Beach, so I went for a wander down the esplanade. It got pretty hot by lunchtime, I grabbed some lunch and spent the afternoon trying to copy my photos to CD on a PC with no high speed USB. Below are a couple of snaps from Hervey Bay.

Fraser Island (Days 1 & 2)

This place was simply amazing, it is the largest sand island in the world and is made entirely of sand - to get around you have to use a 4x4. It is huge, about 150 km long and on average 15km wide.

Day One

The tour I was in had a coach of about 30 people and one guide (Greg), he was really knowledgeable and entertaining.

Our tour started as soon as we arrived, first went to Basin Lake and then Lake McKenzie. These are both perched dune lakes, they contain fresh water and are about 100m above sea level. The water is trapped by an impenetrable layer of composted organic material deep within the sand.

The weather wasn't brilliant, it was overcast but still quite warm. It remained this way for the whole trip, with the occasional shower and an hour or two of sun. This actually aided our trip, there aren't any roads, just sand tracks. If it had been sunny we would've spent half our time digging the coach out of the sand.

This is a picture of me at Basin Lake.

After the lakes, we had lunch a Central Station. This used to be a logging village with its own train station. It now just contains an eating area.

The majority of Fraser Island is a world heritage listed nation park, and there are strict rules we have to follow when on the island. The main things to remember were general stuff like no littering, but also we had to be conscious of the Dingo population on the island. So we couldn't leave food anywhere, or even leave the coach unattended with the door open.

When the logging stopped in 1991, there was a big Dingo population and they scavenged for food. Their natural fear of humans had gone and there were numerous attacks, any offending Dingos were killed. The 200 Dingos now living on the island have retained their fear of humans, and they no longer seek out humans for food scraps.

After lunch we went on a 30 minute walk through a section of sub-tropical rain forest. This rain forest is a long, thin strip of the forest in the centre of the island. The rest of the island is mainly eucalypt forest.

A view from the rain forest

The rainforest was spectacular, there was a fresh water stream running through it. All the water has been filtered through the fine sand and was crystal clear. The water is so pure there is barerly any kind of life in there.

After the walk, we went to another fresh water lake, then back to the resort in the evening. We all headed to the bar for drink & food in the evening. The group was quite a mix, Canadians, Americans, Brazilian, Korean, German, Italian.... I spent most of my time with a couple from London (Richard & Helen) and two girls from Cardiff (Sarah & Sophie). I'm waiting for Richard to send through the groups photos - they were all taken on his camera.

Day Two

The majority of the second day was spent on 75 mile beach on the eastern side of the island. It's no good for swimming because of the vicious currents and sharks. It is one long stretch of beach ( actually 62 miles long not 75), and is the main way to get around on this part of the Fraser. It is the only beach also registered as a national highway and had an 80kph speed limit.

Me on 75 Mile Beach

We drove all the way north to Indian Head - an outcrop of volcanic rock - and spent lunchtime at the Champagne Pools. They are a set of huge rock pools, so you can actually do some protected swimming on the dangerous east coast. We were warned that the rocks are extremely sharp, I only managed to get waist deep before a wave pushed me towards a small rock and gashed my foot pretty badly.


Greg said he is always patching up people who swim in the rock pools here, pretty much everyone in our group had some minor cuts on their hands or feet. Mine was quite spectacular and dissuaded anyone else from taking a dip. It was about 500m back along a wooden boardwalk to the bus and the first aid kit, and my two inch cut left a bloody trail all the way back!

After lunch we drove back past Indian Head and walked up to the top, it was named by James Cook when he first sailed past. Hundreds of Aboriginals gathered on the rock to see his ship sail past, he thought they looked like Indians - hence the name.




Heading back south down the beach, we stopped a the Maheno shipwreck. The ship was wrecked in 1935 when it was being towed to Japan to be sold as scrap. It was originally a lot taller than this, but the boat has gradually decayed.





The Maheno was a luxury cruise liner, after several attempts to re-float it they auctioned off the parts. Some of the beach houses here were built from the timber of the Maheno.


Next we stopped at Ely Creek, this was fast flowing shallow stream - due to my foot injury I didn't take a dip.


The girl in front of me had just stepped in the creek when this eel came out to say hello. He was easily a metre long and didn't seemed phased by our presence at all.

Well it's taken me almost 2 hours to post this, so I'll do a day 3 update on Sunday when I return from my sailing/diving tour.

I was somewhere around Sydney, on the edge of the Botanical Gardens...

When suddenly there was a terrible roar all around me and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around.





So I decided to take a short cut to the Opera House through the Royal Botanical Gardens. The whole area is very picturesque, I was taking a view panoramic shots when I saw what lookedlike a flock of birds. I took a picture and thought nothing more of it until I got closer to a strange looking tree...

There must have been somewhere between 500 - 1000 huge fruit bats hanging from every tree around me!!

They were making loads of noise, I could even see a mother flying with a youngster clinging on.

This was by far my favourite sight in Sydney, just because it took my completely by surprise - I had no idea these beasts were there. I got some great photos / videos, I've just chosen a couple here, I'll pick the best ones when I get home.

That's it from Sydney, I'm off to Fraser Island tomorrow for 3 days. I'll be back at this hostel on Sunday/Monday with an update.

(If the title & opening pargraph sounded a little strange, don't worry - you just haven't seen Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas)

Sydney Part 2

This is the view from the end of the street where my hostel is situated, just out of shot is the Harbour Bridge and the tips of the Sydney Opera House. The tall thin building in the middle is the Sydney Tower, I went up there on Tuesday. The next photo is of the Harbour Bridge from the top of the tower. I was 50/50 on if I should go up, glad I did - even though it took about 5 minutes before my hands stopped shaking.

Next is a photo from the Sydney Opera House, there's not much I can really say about it without sounding corny - it is stunning though.

This internet connection is painfully slow, so I'll have to miss out some other photos.

So far the trip has been great, it helps when you meet some good people in your first hostel. There were two Irish girls, one Welsh, a couple of guys from Germany and one guy from Holland.

They'd all been at the hostel a few weeks and were all sound, I only had two nights in Sydney so we didn't have a big night out, but had a few beers and played some poker on my second night.

Visiting the Aquarium was pretty good too, the best parts were two giant tanks with glass tunnels. One tank had seals and the other had various sharks and fish, but the most impressive inhabitant was the giant Manta Ray - it must have easily been seven feet across.

The wildlife park next door was good but less impressive, it had a large variety of Aussie wildlife with an impressive amount of marsupials. But everything was behind glass walls (including the Koalas & Kanagroos).

My favourite highliht from Sydney deserves a separate post, so that's coming next...

Quick Update From Sydney

You'll have to forgive the lack of photos, I haven't found an internet cafe that lets you connect a camera. So I'll be posting a bigger Sydney update when I arrive in Hervey Bay tomorrow.

The journey here was pretty good, the Virgin flight to LA was amazing, I had two seats to myself and watched Pirates 2, Clerks 2 and the Da Vinci Code. I also listened to the funniest podcast ever, check out www.rickygervais.com, I found it hilarious.

The only headache in the journey was changing at LA, we arrived there and were waiting in line for 30 mins before they put any staff on the border control desks, only just made the flight. I mainly slept on the LA - Auckland flight, no trouble changing at Auckland.

Arrived 11am Monday in Sydney, it was a lot cooler than I expected (around 21C) found the hostel and had a walk round Sydney for a few hours. Watched the cricket, then went to bed about 8pm.

Tuesday, woke up around 9am and had a good day looking round the shops and going up the Sydney tower. Went to the Opera House but my camera battery ran out. Had a few beers with the guys/girls in my room then hit the sack.

Wednesday, got up early and returned to the Opera House with a full battery, took some pics, I've just returned from crossing the harbour bridge - didn't do the climb, it looks insane.

I'm now off to check out the Aquarium, then I'm heading down to Bondi for the afternoon to do some shopping and sunbathing. I have a 7pm bus to Brisbane (17 hour drive!!), followed by a 5 hour bus ride to Hervey Bay. Hopefully I'll be uploading some photos there.

The weather has been getting warmer everyday, it's now probably around 25C. It'll only get warmer as I travel north.

That's all for now, I'll fill in the gaps when I can upload some pictures.

My Itinerary

So here's my full itinerary

2nd Dec -

Fly from Heathrow

3rd Dec -

Still flying

4-6th Dec -

Sydney

7th Dec -

Hervey Bay

8-10th Dec -

Fraser Island Tour

11th Dec -

Hervey Bay

12/13th Dec -

Airlie Beach

14-16th Dec -

Whitsunday Sailing/Diving Tour

17th Dec -

Cairns

18th/19th Dec -

Kuranda Skyrail

20-22nd Dec -

Undara Rainforest Tour

23rd Dec -

Fly Cairns to Brisbane, meet up with Jason

24th Dec -

Australia Zoo

25/26th Dec -

In Gympie with Jason's family

27-30th Dec -

Brisbane to Sydney camping trip with Jason

31st Dec -

New Year's Eve in Sydney

1st Jan -

Fly Sydney to Alice Springs

1-4th Jan -

Uluru/King's Canyon Tour

5th Jan -

Fly Alice Springs - Melbourne

6/7th Jan -

Camping with Alison

8-12th Jan -

In Melbourne (Neighbours tour, plus the Aus-Eng ODI on the 12th)

13th Jan -

Fly Melbourne - Sydney, last night out in Sydney

14th Jan -

Fly home

15th Jan -

Arrive back at Heathrow, in Sheffield by 5pm

Test (India)

This is a quick test to see how my blog will look.

So I've uploaded a couple of photos from my India trip last year. You can click on any photo for a bigger version.

I took these photos in Kanha National Park, from the safety of on an Elephant. They have a tiger conservation program and we were lucky to get such a good sighting - she'd just fed so wasn't in a hurry to move anywhere.











A couple of snaps from the Taj Mahal