Another city, but this one was different. Where Brisbane felt generic, Melbourne felt unusual. Of course the eratic trams, fantastic modern architecture, and art on tap aided this feeling but there was something else. Unfortunately even with five nights sleeping in the centre of the city I did not discover what this was.
Everything we did in the city was enjoyable. From walking through a living rainforest in the Melbourne Museum to drinking in a “traditional English pub”, it was a treat to be here. It is also very multi-cultural which strangely makde it feel like home for me! The weather was also cooler here with a low of 19 centigrade!! The standing joke in Melbourne is that you’ll experience four seasons in a day and they’re right! It felt very cold one day and then a high of 37 the next!!! This meant much of our time was spent going to and from the hostel to change clothes!
The most enjoyable part for me was the vibrant energy of the city - especially at night. This was probably amplified by the dazzling lights (see below). The staggering choice of restaurants, cafes and bars that line the Yarra River running through the centre of town led to evening wanderings along this very busy area just to soak up the atmosphere. Awesome…
Photo by Cat Hirst
The Whitsunday Islands lie mid way along the Queensland coast and is bordered by the Great Barrier Reef. As such it enjoys extremely calm waters known as the Coral Sea. It is made up of 74 amazing islands. Our sailing voyage lasted three days on a 97 foot yacht around some of the best islands:
The weather was ok but even on a bad day the scenery is stunning:
We spent the days chilling on the beaches gearing up the energy to go snorkeling. It was effort as we had to wear stinger suits due to the deadly (as so many organisms are in Oz!) jelly fish around. When we did it was absolutely incredible! The fish, corals and other sea life were stunning. The most colourful organisms I had ever seen in the reef. It was awash with sea life. I even saw a sea turtle and got swamped by fish when the captain of our boat threw some fish food in. It was like being in a rainbow. A fantastic experience and one that I will never forget.
Fraser Island is a place of amazing beauty and as such is a World Heritage sight. It is a sand island and the only place in the world where rainforests exist on sand dunes! It is also constantly evolving as it is essentially a massive sand dune:
We went on a two night three day self drive 4×4 tour. It is a common backpacker trip where 10 people are thrown together to camp and drive and see all that Fraser Island has to offer. We met up with some great people and bonded especially well after putting up our first camp in the left overs of a cyclone! The weather was pretty bad that first night (see below) but we just got drunk and got on with it!!
We went swimming in fresh water lakes, running down sand dunes and watched the stars! We also saw the world’s purest bred dingos (below)!! It was an awesome trip but is so common that it will soon be almost impossible to control leading to much human impact. It’s a shame so go whilst you can!!
With our Greyhound bus passes we will be touring up the east coast from Brisbane to Cairns. Just a 2 hour coach ride north from Brisbane is Noosa. An idyllic place on the Sunshine Coast with great surf, golden beaches and a fantastic nature reserve. Being close to Fraser Island also makes this place a tourist hot spot and so is always busy. However, Noosa is the place you’d imagine an Australian beach resort to be.
Whilst we were there they had a world suirf competition and was also entertaining the come-down from the Mardi-Gras fest in Sydney - therefore it was VERY busy! But also very entertaining. The surf comp was great and although I am already an amazing surfer, some of the guys out on the waves could have taxed me! I might have to come back here when I am good and have a go!!
Brisbane is the capital of Queensland and is the third most populous city in Australia. It is also strangely similar to London - even from aerial photographs! It has a central winding river that runs through the city and even has an area called the South Bank which has 70’s concrete buildings like The National and Hayward Gallery in London. It’s also as smelly as London which is not a good thing and is in a poor state compared to New Zealand cities. Although the wildlife is a little different - on walking through the botanical gardens we found some lizards which find it homely in the sub tropical climate here!
With only three nights here we made little impact on the things to do list as we were busy sorting out our trip for the east coast. We did manage to go for a river-side walk which afforded nice views of the skyscrapers:
Welcome to Australia!! The heat wave hit us as soon as we stepped off the plane! It was very hot in Brisbane. We met our friend Amy and hired a car to get us to Byron Bay (roughly 150km south on the coast). It was lush! Byron Bay is virtually unspoilt with local shops and no fast food joints! The Bay is also beautiful:
We also tried a surf school. It was awesome. I want to surf all the time now!! Plus I look really good doing it!
I assure you that is me!! I picked it up quickly but lost it soon after Amy said “Nick’s a natural!”. She jinxed me!! Very upset about that but can’t wait until next time. I think Cat and I will just hire surfboards seeing as we know the basics. Basically Australia is a lot of fun!!!
