Sunday 30 August 2015
Friday 28 August 2015
Hervey Bay
I woke up early (probably because I went to sleep so early) and decided to Facetime my mummy. It was nice because there was no one around at 7am so the Internet was quick and it was peaceful. I then decided to go for a run on the beach and was joined by an enthusiastic Matt. I'm very slow compared to him though so I made him sprint to places so he actually felt like he'd done exercise.
After showering we had a quick breakfast of toast before heading back to the bus stop for our 9.45am bus down to Hervey Bay. There was a stop for lunch at a fuel station where we bought some cooked sausages and added them to some bread we already had to make sausage butties. We also had some spicy mayo left so they weren't bad sandwiches. Back on the road we arrived a few kilometres out of Hervey Bay but luckily noticed a minivan with the name of our hostel written on the side. We hadn't booked a pick up but went over and got in the minivan with no questions. Five minutes later we arrived at the hostel and checked in. Very easy.
We had some time to kill so went for a walk round the town, onto the beach for a bit and then stopped for an ice cream at a place that had 72 different flavours! I was in awe and took a little while to choose what I wanted. Finally I settled on panna cotta ice cream with a raspberry sorbet. The sorbet was a vibrant red and tasted delicious and the panna cotta was a nice subtle sweet companion. I'm very excited to get to New Zealand and try ice cream there. I remember my grandparents telling me years ago that they had the best ice cream they've ever tasted in New Zealand.
We headed back to the hostel for 4pm as we had a briefing for our Fraser Island trip which we were embarking on tomorrow morning. After being told what to pack and what food to bring we split off into groups (there was 29 of us in total). Matt and I ended up in a group with two German couples and one German girl that we'd actually met in Airlie Beach. There are a lot of Germans in Australia. We wrote a list of what food to get for the next three days and then I booked a taxi to take us to Aldi. Yes, Aldi. Oh how I've missed Aldi. However, one of the German couples had their own campervan so they drove there with the German girl. This meant that the taxi was split between four of us and it wasn't cheap. At $15 each way that worked out as $7.50 each. We would have been better off going to the small spa supermarket next door instead. Aldi is cheap and we got lots of good snacks for ourselves as well. The taxi thing annoyed me though as it would have been cheaper if we'd all got one together and the other three never offered to contribute towards it.
When we finally got back to the hostel it was gone 6pm so we cooked a lovely tea of pasta with pesto, a red pepper, red onion and pork and fennel sausages chopped up. It was delicious and we made too much so saved some for our lunch tomorrow. After tea we popped across the road to buy some goon for $10 (Aldi over here doesn't sell alcohol) and then returned for a tea of canned rice pudding and chopped up banana. It sounds like baby food! It wasn't as good as the one we'd had the other day but it was still quite pleasant.
We had a quick play of a quiz on the computer (obviously a Harry Potter related quiz) before showering and going to bed. We have to check out at 6am tomorrow morning so it will be an early wake up.
Agnes Water
Probably should have mentioned in the last blog that we were heading to Agnes Water which was a nice nine and a half hour bus journey. So at half 9 we arrived in Agnes Water and were greeted off the bus by various hostel workers. They all wanted us to stay with them but we'd researched which were the best so went with a nice Irish girl to a hostel called Cool Bananas. She took us in the back of her beaten up van a few minutes down the road to a lovely hostel where we checked in and dumped our bags. I changed out of my pyjamas (the bus was cold so pyjamas seemed sensible) and we got a lift down to the supermarket and post office from the nice Irish girl. We bought food for breakfast and lunch in the supermarket before munching on a pear on our walk back to the hostel. We ate bread and peanut butter as a late breakfast before taking advantage of a washing machine and washing most of our clothes. This meant we had to wait for the washing to finish so we sat on a comfy sofa in a little outdoor courtyard and caught up with social media and discovered One Direction have split up.
There weren't any dryers but it was a lovely sunny day so we hung our clothes out to dry on the washing line and headed to the beach. We were going to surf but the surf is better in the morning and it was now around 2pm. Instead we had a picnic of ham and spicy mayo sandwiches (being careful of the sand) and enjoyed the tranquility of the almost empty beach. We played some beach football with a very tiny ball and paddled in the sea until it started to get a little chilly.
Back at the hostel (the beach was only a 10 minute walk away) we showered and took in our lovely clean dry clothes before heading down to the outdoor seating area by the kitchen to wait for our cooked meal. You could sign up for a meal here. A little old Aussie guy wearing a beret comes along and serves you up some grub. We were a little disappointed though as it seemed like it was a frozen pack of chicken schnitzels with frozen veg, mashed potato, a piece of sweet potato and some runny gravy which lacked an awful lot of taste. This cost us $7 each and we realised we could have made something way better ourselves for less than that. However, the little man also made crepes after for an extra $4. We decided to share one (there wasn't seconds so Matt was obviously still hungry) and we were very happily surprised. After the mediocre main course I wasn't expecting much so when we were given a huge crepe filled with loads of vanilla ice cream, fresh strawberries and bananas, tinned apple pieces topped with maple syrup, chocolate sauce and caramel sauce and finished with a sprinkling of cinnamon my face lit up. I'm glad we shared one as it was huge!
After a cup of tea (free at the hostel) Matt went to Skype his family and I fell asleep on a sofa waiting for my phone to update. I decided to go to bed and told Matt he could wake me if he finished skyping early as there was a beach party at the beach tonight. However, by the time Matt finished it was a little too late and I was far too sleepy so we decided against the beach party and just had a good night sleep instead.
Fraser day 2
Our tent buddy Daniella woke us at half 5 as she wanted to see the sunrise. We slowly got up and went to sit on the beach for an hour, watching the sun slowly appear. It was rather lovely. We wandered back to the tents at nearly 7am and sat down to have breakfast. Tony, the guide, put on some tunes loud enough to wake everyone else up so by the time we'd finished our bowl of muesli the rest of the group had appeared. We made some sandwiches (salami and ham and lettuce and tomato and mayo) for our lunch before washing up our stuff in the disgusting bowl of washing up water. We filed into the cars and set off for a resort called Happy Valley, five minutes along the beach, to fill up our water bottles as the water had just run out. A few people bought a stupidly expensive coffee from a shop before we all convoyed on to Eli Creek, also known as hangover creek. Tony told us all to bring nothing with us and wear nothing but our swimmers (Aussie language there). We walked along a raised walkway beside the creek for a good 70 metres or more until we walked down some steps and got into the chilly water. It came up to my knees so I lay down and floated along like it was a lazy river. It was shallower at some points so I used my hands to push myself but it was great fun!
After a couple of goes along the creek Matt and I threw a ball for a bit and I even did some headers (the ball was very light and soft) until it was time to go onto our next destination. There was going to be a stop at the ship wreck but when we drove past it there were at least three buses of tourists so Tony decided to leave that until later. This meant that we stopped for lunch very early (11am). It was at another little resort place with picnic benches where we sat and ate our sarnies.
Before getting back in the cars our car did a swap so that a few of us could drive today. Our German friend Yonas (that's how his name sounded) drove first along the beach on hard sand meaning it wasn't too difficult. We stopped near the very north of the island at the champagne pools which are little pools formed when waves crash over rocks. We parked on the beach and walked up to a viewpoint overlooking the beach before heading down to the pools. I chose to swim in the biggest pool first which happened to be the coldest. There were quite a few fish though. As it was the coldest it meant that the other pool felt very warm when I sat in it. They weren't too deep (I could stand) but were beautifully clear. We had quite a bit of time here so when I felt a little cold I decided to dry off on my towel for half an hour or so.
Back in the cars it was Matt's turn to drive. He seemed a little nervous but set off okay until we left the beach and went on a soft sand track to reach a beach on the other side of the island. He couldn't get in the track lines quickly enough and therefore ended up being quite far back from the other cars in front. It was only a five minute drive to our next stop but he got warned by Tony that if he can't keep up he can't drive. I felt bad for him as it didn't look easy but other people seemed to be able to do it.
Where we'd stopped was a place called Indian Head. You walk up to the cliff and look down into the magically clear water. We saw some sharks and eagle rays and dolphins from around 40 metres up. Everyone got rather excited and it was so lovely to see that our group weren't just interested in getting drunk but found all the wildlife incredible (the average age was probably about 20).
We walked back down to the cars after only around ten minutes. It was still Matt's turn to drive so we climbed back in the cars and set off. We drove along the beach this time so the first bit was okay. After a few minutes we stopped to watch a whale out in the sea. However, after seeing the whale we hit constant soft sand which meant Matt had very little control of the car. He kept automatically going into third gear at points when he needed lots of revs so we all shouted at him in a helpful way. I figured that it's not our car and we're not paying for the fuel so rev as much as you want to. We had to keep up some speed in the soft sand as well so we wouldn't get stuck. It was probably the hardest bit of driving that had been done so far so when we arrived at the ship wreck Matt got a deserved well done from Tony. He also decided he didn't fancy driving again.
We'd made it to the ship wreck! It was pretty spectacular. Apparently around 65 feet of it is still under the sand and the bit that's still there is only a small part of the front of it. There weren't any casualties with this ship. After it was used as a cruise liner in the early 20th century and then to ferry soldiers in the wars the Aussies used it to test weapons. The reason for this was that the Americans had thrown around a hundred bombs at this ship but it was only hit twice. Either the Americans have bad aim or the ship was decent. So when the Aussies had blown it up the ship washed up on shore and has stayed there for a good many years. The whole group got an nice picture together before it was back in the cars and my turn to drive. I'd learnt from watching Matt so I stayed in second gear most of the time and I actually loved it! It was so much fun and not as hard as I thought it would be. I didn't have much control but just tried to keep the wheels straight and managed fine. Everyone in the car in front said I was better than the boys so I felt quite chuffed.
We had a quick stop at Eli Creek again on the way back so people could wash off the sea water before it was back in the cars and I was given strict instructions. We were about to drive through some deep water (the tide was quite high) so I had to keep very close to Tony's car and go as soon as he did, not leave it ten seconds because he would go when the waves were out. I did as he said and got across fine but the two cars behind didn't move. Someone had left something so ran back for it making Tony a little pissed off. He then had to get out of his car and tell them when to cross so it was safe. I secretly felt a little smug.
I drove to the Happy Valley resort again so we could get some more water but I realised when we stopped that I must have been nervous because I was a little shaky. Matt noticed that I was nervous when I was driving because I wouldn't stop talking. Verbal diarrhoea as my mummy would say. I'd done a good bit of driving now and I wanted Yonas to drive in the soft sand so I let him drive back to the campsite.
For tea tonight it was herb, garlic and beef sausages with potatoes and red onions all cooked on the barbie finished off with some ice berg lettuce and spicy mayo. Delicious! We didn't eat all of our sausages so saved some for sandwiches tomorrow. When I'd been barbecuing I'd spoken to a girl that felt very homesick. She'd only been away two weeks but she had a year still to go which was probably the daunting thing. I noticed that she'd disappeared when I'd finished eating so Daniella and I went to find her. She was sat on the beach crying. After a hug I started talking about random shit to take her mind off home and it worked! She was laughing after a few minutes. We spoke about TV programs (she was English) and where we'd been so far. After a while Matt joined in and brought some alcohol with him. We had different people join in conversations at different points which was rather lovely. When it got to 9pm I decided it was time for bed as I'd been up early so said goodnight.
Fraser Island
Checking out at 6am meant that we were up at half 5 along with half of the hostel. We sleepily ate some toast and peanut butter before having to watch a really boring video on driving and camping on Fraser Island. It lasted about half an hour and afterwards our guide for the next three days told us to forget everything we saw on the video and just do as he says. So we'd all wasted half an hour of our lives. Nevertheless, all 29 of us filed outside to the four 4 wheel drives that were sat just outside the hostel. We lost out at this point because other groups had already chosen cars so we got stuck in the guides car. I wasn't too happy about this because I worried I wouldn't get to drive but the guide, Tony, assured me I would. Basically, if you're over 21 and have a licence you are allowed to drive one of the cars on Fraser Island which is the largest sand island in the world. This means driving on sand. I was very excited.
We set off in a convoy at around half 7 so we would get to the ferry on time. They called it a barge rather than a ferry for some reason but we happily sat and looked out into the sea for the half an hour journey to the island. After a quick toilet stop we drove into the centre of the island along bumpy tracks (of course they were sand tracks) that weren't too bad to drive along. I think they'd recently been tidied up. The tracks ran through a forest that covered the island (apart from the beaches and lakes). About half an hour later we arrived at lake Birrabeen, our first attraction. It was rather lovely. White sand and pretty clear water, surrounded by trees. It wasn't very hot but the majority of us went straight in the water, braving the coldness. There were a few pathetic girls that stood in their bikinis ankle deep and didn't move in any further but they missed out as the water felt really fresh. We had quite a bit of time to kill at this lake so dried off on our towels when we'd had enough of the water. Matt and I also kicked a ball around with a lovely German guy called Thomas who had the coolest job ever. He works for a anti-virus computer company but gets sent over to different countries for conferences so still gets to see the world.
Our next stop was Eulong resort around a ten minute drive along more tracks. This was just a hotel like place with a few little shops. Not the nicest destination to have lunch but I think we stopped here because our guide wanted to buy a pie or something. Matt and I had our left over pasta for lunch which filled me up nicely ready for a short drive to the next lake. To get to this one we had to drive onto the beach and along it which was way cooler than driving through trees. The beach was huge and there wasn't many people on it. No one was swimming in the sea because stingers and sharks roam around the shallows but there were quite a few fishermen stood ankle deep with their lines out in the deeper water. Not a bad place to do some fishing.
We parked on the beach and set off on a walking track to lake Wabby. This track was 2.4 kilometres so it took us over half an hour to walk uphill until we reached these sand dunes that fell down into a lovely little hidden lake. Matt chose to walk an extra kilometre with a couple of other people up to a view point but I was lazy and instead chatted to some Essex girls whilst sat beside the lake. Hardly anyone swam here but of course I had to see what it was like. It was very cold but again felt quite fresh. There were also fish that would come and nibble at your feet so no need to pay for one of those fish spas! We stayed at lake Wabby until nearly 4pm before walking back along the same track through the trees to the beach. Some Germans decided to come back later than they were meant to so while we waited we played with a football. Actually, I stopped playing as soon as Matt was joined by other boys as they were all far better than me.
When the whole group were reunited we drove another ten minutes or so along the beach to our campsite which sat just off the beach behind a few trees. All the tents were already set up so all we had to do was shotgun one. We shared with the German girl called Daniella. The tents were pretty good. They kind of looked like mini tepees and the material was good quality thick durable stuff. They were also a khaki green which I liked; nothing too garish. There was a large trailer next to these tents that had covers attached and underneath was a large table, a hob and a barbecue plus all the essential cooking tools. We'd bought some burgers last night so we chucked them on the barbie and had them with cheese and barbecued red onions in a bun topped with ketchup. Delicious! Our mini group that went shopping yesterday had also bought garlic bread (we had to wrap it in foil and put it on the barbecue to cook it) and potatoes. Matt and I were in charge of potatoes but unfortunately the water took forever to boil so they weren't ready until everyone had finished their food. People were too full to eat any of them so we put them in a bowl, wrapped them in cling film and saved them for tomorrow. We'd had two burgers each so I was very full but the burgers had been amazing. We've decided we should start barbecuing everything from now on. It's far more exciting.
After we'd eaten everyone got on the alcohol so for us that meant opening our $10 box of goon. The whole group of 29 joined in with some drinking games that involved learning names. It was quite fun and went on for around an hour until the group dispersed and the very drunk ones went to play more games on the beach. We also went onto the beach with our German crew but we were a tad more civilised and spent our time looking at shooting stars and learning German words (starn schnopper is German for shooting star but I've probably spelt it wrong). I had enough to drink so I was chatty but I wanted to drive tomorrow so stopped after a while. As it got dark very early everyone ended up going to bed early. We had started drinking at 6pm and I was ready for a good nights sleep.
Sunday 23 August 2015
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