New Arrivals

On Tuesday 16th July I was grateful for Marie taking me for morning tea at Max and Freda's house, so I could also pick up a couple of things, such as my rather neglected oboe! This was followed by a trip into town to see Toby and Rachael, and a new aboriginal exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA). For dinner we ate a tasty takeaway from Marie's local recommended Indian restaurant.

South Bank beach by night

The following day I relocated back to Ralph's abode in Boondall, ready to meet (and surprise!) sister Hester and her boyfriend, Colin, upon their early arrival the following morning. Ralph drove us around some local sights - Shorncliffe to see the sea and Tincha Tamba reserve to see wild kangaroos. Sadly the dreary weather did not make a great morning for walking, and it in no way compared with London's current heatwave... A stroll around town seemed a good idea as Hester and Colin were determined to remain awake longer than I had managed, in an attempt to offset the effects of jetlag. Soon after dark they were flagging and it was time to take them home.

Hester, Colin and kangaroo

On Friday I looked at some sights we had seen, as well as some new ones, with Hester and Colin - although their memory of the previous afternoon's walk was not great! In the evening we met up with Marie for dinner followed by a few drinks with Toby and Rachael.

Late walk around town to offset jetlag

The next day got off to a slow start and I went and watched Ralph's football team in the rain (very British); an excellent performance saw them beat the number one team in the league to take the top position. This was followed by a trip into town to meet up with Hester and Colin, where we picked up by Melinda and taken back to her house in Springwood. After tasty lamb shanks for dinner everyone was close to ready for bed, which came soon after watching the conclusion of Manchester United versus Sydney All-Stars.

Another awesome sunset on return from the footie

Sunday Melinda, partner Ryan, Hester, Colin and I left for a trip to North Stradbroke Island. It was still early when we got off the ferry and we drove north towards some beaches. We bumped into an orchestral group doing a photo shoot for the Stradbroke Chamber Music Festival the following weekend, but felt asking to borrow their instruments for our own pictures may be crossing a line! Back on the road again, we stopped when Hester spotted a koala - the first wild one I have seen! A local directed us to a tree where we could find another 2 koalas... Once we had seen our fill of koalas and beaches we carried on to Point Lookout for a scenic coastal walk, allowing us to spot dolphins and whales out at sea. The remainder of the daylight was spent by an ultra calm Brown Lake, and on an empty beach, before a trip to a pub to view the sunset. We were tired but thankfully in high spirits as we returned to the ferry - the lowest tide in a long time prevented the boat crossing on time. On our return to the mainland we went for dinner with Melinda's parents, Mark and Robin, where we stayed the night and were introduced to "All Aussie Adventures", watching several comic episodes!

Melinda, Ryan, Colin and Hester en route to Stradbroke Island

Home again, home again?

Thursday 11th July was another recovery and getting up to date day. I checked out the local area, and Marie took me and her brother Michael to 'the best Vietnamese restaurant in Brisbane' for dinner! The following morning I took another trip into the centre of town, checking out the West End on foot and making my way over to South Bank to have lunch with Mark (the first person I had stayed with in Brisbane) before he headed back up to Cairns for another 6 weeks of work!

Metal pelicans - you don't get them in London

On Saturday Marie took me to Sunnybank to sample yum cha, or morning tea. In this huge restaurant an assortment of dishes were brought around on trolleys, offering an amazing selection from which to choose! Pretty full up after this we continued walking around the local shopping centre and enjoyed some icecream in the winter sunshine. I also sampled the Dark 'N' Stormy cocktail, made using 'local' Bundaberg rum and ginger beer.

Yum Cha

Sunday morning I attended Marie's local church service before we travelled (just) out of Brisbane to meet Ros for lunch at a pub overlooking Redland Bay. I then returned to the centre of town to catch up with Geordie friend Anna, who I had met in Cairns and also bumped into in Airlie Beach, during her brief stay in Brisbane.

Marie and Ros at Redland Bay

The next day I finally saw Toby, from London, who had been travelling round Australia for a couple of weeks with his girlfriend Rachael. We went to Lone Pine Koala sanctuary with a couple of Rachael's friends where there was an abundance of native wildlife to behold. Activities included koala hugging (they reek of eucalyptus) and kangaroo and lorikeet feeding, and I made my first platypus and Tasmanian devil sightings!

Toby and Rachael

It's always sunny in Queensland

Monday 8th July we called in at Hervey Bay for morning tea before finally reaching the 'Sunshine' Coast. On this occasion the name did not seem quite appropriate however as we were greeted by rain and wind. We still made the most of time in Noosa, driving up a hill for a short elevated walk to an impressive 360 degree lookout, and wandering along the waterfront.

Noosa sunset

We had to bid Laura farewell the following morning, as she was catching a flight back home to Estonia in the afternoon. The remaining three of us ascended a hill in Noosa National Park and dared Hell's Gate, a windy coastal hilltop reminding me of similar childhood walks in Devon. We drove on along the coastal path with a couple of stops and retired for the evening near the Glasshouse mountains.

View back to Noosa from coastal path

On Wednesday morning it was grey and rainy again and the tops of the distinctive Glasshouse Mountains were not visible so we opted for a gentle walk through the forest with some nice vistas rather than an ascending hike. Following this we proceeded to central Brisbane. I said my goodbyes to my travel companions as they checked into a hostel while I looked round town until Marie, a family friend who has visited us in London on several occasions, kindly drove me to her home in Oxley.

Glasshouse Mountains in the clouds

The long and winding road

We made an early start on Wednesday 3rd July to allow plenty of time for a walk along the waterfront in Bowen and still reach Airlie Beach in time for a tour of the Whitsundays. The boat took us to South Molle Island, our base for the next couple of days. We strolled along the beach to see the sunset before dinner and a reasonably early night - the rooms seemed like luxury after the previous night's accommodation!

Whitsunday sunset

The next morning we sailed across to the main Whitsunday Island. We had a view over the famous Whitehaven Beach, and later headed over there for a spell of exfoliation using the beach's constituent bright white silica. Back at the hostel we tried our hand at opening coconuts using a spike on a pole - not easy but significantly less of a challenge than using a small knife had previously proved to be.

THE Whitsunday view

Friday morning allowed us some time to explore our island and check out the best island walk in Queensland - an ascent to a view over many of the Whitsunday islands. After some fish feeding it was time to return to the mainland. Not quite ready to move from this lovely area, we hung around the lagoon and stayed the night in Airlie Beach.

View over South Molle Island

Early Saturday morning meant time to return, well refreshed, to the road, with newly acquired travel mate Alex; he had also been on a Whitsunday tour and we were heading in the same direction. Our first stop was Mackay for breakfast and some quick explorations of the waterfront and botanical gardens, before continuing on to Yeppoon for the customary barbecue by the beach. The final leg for the day was to a campsite by the Boyne River, and right next to the highway, making it not the most peaceful night's sleep!

Waterfront at Mackay

Next day we took a short drive across to Tannum Sands to visit mum's cousin JoAnne, and husband Jeff. They treated us to a cooked breakfast which kept us going all day! A walk along the local beach was followed by a visit to the small towns of Agnes Water, for some swimming, and 1770 - so named because of James Cook's landing there in the same year. The penultimate stop of the day was a brief walk about in Bundaberg before relocating slightly south to a campsite for the night.

With Jeff and JoAnne

Farewell FNQ

Monday 24th June was spent recuperating and catching up on things, and Tuesday brought another meet up with Steve, this time for a drive a little way North up to Yorkey's Knob where the boat and I would be staying a while. I spent some time familiarising myself with the local area by walking along the beach and up Yorkey's Knob, a small hill with good views and expensive houses at the top! In the evening I stopped for refreshment in the bar, watched some Wimbledon replays and met Paul, originally from Bethnal Green but now living in Australia.

Yorkey's Knob Beach

On Wednesday I tried my luck using Cairns public transport again. I managed the first part ok but the second part took some time as the required bus stop was at the opposite end of long Smithfield Shopping Centre. Eventually I made it to Cairns Tropical Zoo where I passed a large portion of the day, looking around and watching various shows. Determined to master the buses I continued on to Palm Cove to check out the scenery at a different beach. I proceeded along beach and through rainforest to Clifton Beach where I caught the bus home, again via Smithfield Shopping Centre. It was past dark when I finally got back.

Crocodile taunting

I was in need of another easy day on Thursday so I returned to the local beach and spent time working on my tan!

On Friday I returned to action again, using the morning to take a walk around the local golf course. The afternoon saw me meeting some friends made in Cairns for a tour of the boat and a drive to nearby Kewarra Beach to test out their new car while also making full use of barbecue facilities. The barbie seemed to work rather slowly on this occasion, making the food taste all the better when it was eventually ready. Time was getting on and as my Geordie friends deemed it too cold to swim we walked along the beach for a while before I was dropped back at the boat.

The following morning I got up before sunrise to meet Paul for a rainforest walk. As he had mentioned he was training to climb Kilimanjaro I was sure to be in for a challenge over the following few hours. Other than a few scratches I made it through unscathed ready to meet up again with Steve and Tanya at the marina to hand over the keys to the boat and return once more to Cairns.

Cairns sunrise

The subsequent two days saw more relaxation by the lagoon, barbecues, live music and trips to local jazz bars, and some (drunken) shenanigans in celebration of Canada Day!

On Tuesday it was time to leave Cairns indefinitely :( Friends from Cairns came and bade me farewell at the car pick  up location; they hopefully still consider me their friend after apparently spending 2 hours in the midday sun waiting for all the paperwork to be completed! My new travel mates, Laura and Anaise, and I started off along the Bruce Highway heading south. After a quick food stop we continued on, through some familiar territory, until making a slight detour to Mission Beach. Here we made a stop for food and sunset watching! Not satisfied with the distance covered we proceeded on through Townsville and made our way off the beaten track to our campsite for the night. We saw many wallabies grazing on the roadside grass!

Mission Beach

We are Sailing

Monday 17th June: Over the following three days I spent more time planting trees and tested out a local swimming hole. Steve also taught me various skills including axe wielding, fire making and using a 'dingo' vehicle for digging and heavy lifting!

Very early on Thursday morning - before sunrise - we left Diwan to once again head south to Innisfail. After some cleaning and maintenance work Steve's new boat was launched in the Johnstone river. Rigging up was hard work and required putting the mast up and down a couple of times after noticing some jammed parts. Eventually we got the boat into the water and motored it along to a friend's mooring. A hard day's work called for a buffet dinner at a local Italian restaurant.

Boat on the water with ominous looking clouds

Next morning meant time to start the sailing trip for real! Final preparations were made and Steve, Tanya's son Beau and girlfriend Emily, and I started on our way out to sea. Our first destination, Russell Island, took several hours to reach, during which time we each took turns at the helm. We invaded the island and climbed a boulder for improved view before mooring overnight at nearby Normanby Island.

Skipper on course for Russell Island

We set off for our next target island, Fitzroy. A few hours later we jumped off and set up tents ready for the night before taking some time to have a drink and explore. 

Sunset seen from Fitzroy Island

The next stop, the following morning, was Green Island, a rather flat island, making it almost invisible as we left Fitzroy. We made it there without mishap and spent a while wandering around before setting off for final stop Cairns. This last leg was heading into wind and made for a more tumultuous trip. We returned freezing cold and soaking wet and I was ready to check back into the hostel for a warm shower and early night!

Leaving Green Island

Delights of the Cairns area

Tuesday 11th June was another day for taking it easy, strolling around a few places, soaking up some sun-rays and cooling in the pool.

On Wednesday, energy restored, I went on a trip to the Saxon and Hastings reefs. Again the weather decided not to be in my favour (despite having specially booked the day with the best forecast) and wet suit hire seemed a good idea for keeping warm for the hours I would be in the water. I had booked to go on a scuba dive and after a slow start, and neeeding to be given extra weight to stop floating back to the surface, I found it exciting to be swimming among the marine life. Enough so that after the barbecue lunch I signed up for another dive in the afternoon at the second reef!

On the sea floor

Thursday was a good opportunity to take a trip up to Kuranda on the 'Skyrail'. As with the trip on Tuesday this relied on public transport and again meant a long wait in spite of having done prior research on the timetables. My friends from the hostel and I couldn't have asked for better weather though and the views from the cable car, both over the rainforest and out to sea were phenomenal. We spent a while walking around the markets in Kuranda before we ran out of energy and could no longer stand the heat, returning by bus to Cairns for a refreshing swim.

Barron Falls, on the way to Kuranda

The next two days showed more perfect weather, and the best way to make use of it seemed to be by relaxing by the lagoon (public pool to make up for the unsuitability of the sea for swimming), which I had not swum in to date. We also stocked up on supplies to make the most of the free to use barbecuing areas. The poolside thermometer read 39C in the late afternoon although we were dubious...

Cairns lagoon, overlooking the sea

Sadly I had reached my last day in Cairns; I managed to get a lift up to Port Douglas with a couple of German backpackers where I visited the beach and walked round the Sunday markets before meeting up with Tanya for the drive back up to Cape Tribulation.