We did go to Fraser Island for a daytrip. It's also on the world's heritage list since it's the world's largest sandy beach with a tropical rainforest as well. It was a beautiful island and the bus took us for a ride on the highway - meaning the beach itself. We came across a huge shipwreck, a real dingo (we learned that this is not a dog, but it's closely realted to the asian wolf) and we went for a swim in a lake surrounded by a beach.
Shipwreck in Fraser Island
The best part was a big lunch buffet. Being a backpacker, you usually have noodles or really cheap meals, such as junkfood. Imagine eating simple food for weeks and then being served a buffet..Well, it was the kind of dinner where you fill up your plate so much that you feel stupid (you actually need 2 plates). And when you start eating you don't have time to socialise, you just eat and once in a while make the "mmm" sound. We became full for hours. And the meal certainly wouldn't have been so good if we hadn't been on the backpacker diet for such a long time.
History: Fraser Island is named after a british captain who came to the island in the 19th century with his pregnant wife. There came a mutiny on the ship and the remaining crew entered the island, but were struck down by local aboriginees. Captain Fraser was killed during the fight whilst the wife Eliza, lost her baby. Next she was captured by the aboriginess and help captive on the island for 9 months. She was eventually rescued by a rescue team and went back to britain where she became rich and famous for selling her exotic story.
Brisbane
We set out for Brisbane on tuesday evening and stayed once again in Chinatown. Our hostel was huge and overcrowded with a 20 bed dorm and here Astrid got a diploma for having the best last name of all guests in the hostel! Fineally some recognition.
We like Brisbane. We enjoyed strolling in the botanic garden and hunting for vintage shops in different areas. We stumbled upon a very charming shop with charming staff and fell in love with all their dresses. Turns out Brisbane has a lot of vintage boutiques, antique shops and used books to offer. We also found a greek cafe with delicious greek (of course) food.
Eli Creek
Another day we worked our way through a museum, an art museum and the even more modern art museum. The last one was quite funny. One of the installations was different people singing horrible versions of Micheal Jackson songs. Another room was filled with ballons. If you're going to Brisbane - you should definitely check out all the park areas and have an ice cream. The park workers are hot, so the view is astonishing.
Lake McKensie
We fineally made our way to a concert. We found some good live music in a club called 'the zoo' where no backpackers, only locals were hanging out. There were several indie bands playing for us. Our Brisbane stay was ended with brownie and chunky, choc cheesecake. Mmm!
Port Maquarie
Our next stop was a small town 5 hours from Sydney. Port Maquarie was a very quiet and relaxing place. Not very touristy, in fact we meet Australian people staying in hostel. We skipped all the places where backpackers usually go to get drunk for a week, such as Byron Bay and Surfers Paradise. The hostel owner was very proud of us and as experienced backpacker he told us how the backpacker culture has changed a lot during the last couple of years. From young people wanting to experience local culture to people travelling to drink and party. He was now selling the hostel..
The hostel itself was quite historic dating back to 1888. The owners were as mentioned backpackers and meet each other while backpacking. It was a charming place and so old, it's gotta be haunted. We could sit outside in huge couches on the front porch and freeze in the autumn breeze. Cause' now it's getting colder - 17 degrees in the evening! Astrid was freezing and every time she uttered anything about the dropping temperatures she found no sympathy. People would reply "What? You're cold? But you're Norwegian!".
Trying out vintage dresses
Port Maquarie was one of the first places where the convicts from Britain settled. Astrid visited several old churches and a historical churchyard. When it came to the wildlife we did not find the dolphins Tony (hostel owner) promised us. However we did find a rain forest filled with squeaking bats. Some of us are certainly living up to 'do something everyday that scares you'.
We also visited Australia's one and only Koala sanctuary. Here 200 local volunteers are taking care of sick and orphan koalas. They call these baby koalas: Joey's and I think they are like grandchildren to them. They feed them with milk bottles. One of the koalas was called Randy - coincidence?
We did go snorkeling in the great barrier reef. We were on two sites and we even had a guided snorkeling trip (while bumping into other snorkeling people). There were masses of aquarium fishes in all sizes and colours. We even spotted three sharks! Unfortunately we have no pictures from this trip, but we can assure everyone that we looked absolutely stunning in our wetsuits. The funniest part was when Astrid was swimming next to a Japanese girl and she suddenly cried out in excitement "Look! Nemo is downstairs!".
The following day we signed up for Uncle Brian's trip to the rain forest. However it was cousin Brad who turned out to be the guide of the day and we were all placed inside Gus the bus. This man was seriously talking non-stop for 10 hours and we still don't know if any of it was true. Cousin Brad guided us through various sites in the rain forest and Randi even managed to catch a glimpse of a platypus! This is the weirdest creature we know - it's a mixture of a duck, a beaver and a turtle. We also went for a swim in a dead volcano filled with warm rain water. And we also did some swimming in the Milla Milla falls - which is a waterfall you can swim right through. This where they made all the herbal essences commercials and where Peter Andre (remember him?) did his famous "Mysterious girl" hit video.
We felt privileged to be swimming in the same water as him. Other memorable moments from the trip:
- when we were tricked into screaming at an old lady standing by the road, who suddenly picked up toy snakes from a big box (no, this didn't make any sense to us either)
Millaa Millaa Falls
- bus karaoke and dancing
- Randi almost shared a kiss with a Swedish guy
In the end, it was a really weird trip - but more important, it was fun!
We ended up staying in Cairns for a whole week. We loved our hostel and spent a lot of time hanging around there - dividing our time between the hammocks and the poolside. It is so far the best hostel we've come across. A very friendly atmosphere and a very entertaining staff. Not to mention the free evening meal at wild local restaurant Woolshed and free coffee. Astrid participated in cultural exchange and performed "kjerringa med staven" - loosely translated "witch with stick".
Eventually we had leave our favourite Australian home and we went south to Magnetic Island. Since it was low season and poor weather it was a quiet island. Astrid celebrated her birthday and got to feed rock wallabies by the beach. We actually learned from one of the locals that if they came across an orphan wallaby, one of the women in the village would adopt the wallaby for a couple of weeks and keep it - naturally in her bra.
Crazy bus-trip with Uncle Brian's
Astrid desperately wanted to see a real koala in the wild. We searched the woods, because we had been told that the island would be overcrowded by koalas. Well, eventually Astrid spotted one eating leaves in the top of a tree. He was eating with one hand and grabbing onto the tree with other hand. He didn't mind us at all, but it was a sacred moment.
Vulcano lake
We went to the other side of the island on foot and the locals were astonished by this. It was only 1,5 hour, but for them this was quite an accomplishment. Maybe Australians don't walk so much? In the evening we had a real birthday dinner and the last treat of the day was a gigantic spider in our bungalow. Disappointingly enough, not the same size of our earlier encounters with spiders on the island.
From Magnetic Island we set off to Airlie Beach - which is the gateway to Whitsundays. This is a group of islands famous for their white, sandy beaches. As well as, 'the best job in the world' which belongs to a guy working on one of the islands (Hamilton). Unfortunately the weather was bad and the two days we spent there shifted between showers of rain and glimpses of sun. So with no excursions during our stay, we spent the days strolling along the esplanade, reading a lot and searching for chocolate cake. This is a place usually overcrowded by tourists, but like the rest of the east coast, it's been rather quiet because of low season, bad weather and the cyclone. It was only the two of us and a Mexican girl in the dorm..
Feeding rock wallabies at Magnetic Island
Astrid got a free guiding trip on the beach and spent hours learning about Australian history, nature, animals, culture, climate and immigration. Cause this guide turned out to be a history geek as well. If you ever go to Airlie Beach - make Pat your guide!
In real backpacker-budget-style we decided to take an overnight bus to save money on accommodation. 13 hours! We are now in Hervey Bay which is situated next to Fraser Island. We're staying only a few minutes away from the beach stretching on for miles and miles. The hip thing around here is beach walking. This is walking on the beach for hours - kinda like Forrest Gump except that it's walking. We've checked out a pier some hours away which is amazingly 800 metres long, a water park (for kids) and we've shared a dorm with Norwegian and Swedish people for the first time. We'll probably go to Fraser Island soon..
History: Fraser Island is named after a british captain who came to the island in the 19th century with his pregnant wife. There came a mutiny on the ship and the remaining crew entered the island, but were struck down by local aboriginees. Captain Fraser was killed during the fight whilst the wife Eliza, lost her baby. Next she was captured by the aboriginess and help captive on the island for 9 months. She was eventually rescued by a rescue team and went back to britain where she became rich and famous for selling her exotic story.
History: Fraser Island is named after a british captain who came to the island in the 19th century with his pregnant wife. There came a mutiny on the ship and the remaining crew entered the island, but were struck down by local aboriginees. Captain Fraser was killed during the fight whilst the wife Eliza, lost her baby. Next she was captured by the aboriginess and help captive on the island for 9 months. She was eventually rescued by a rescue team and went back to britain where she became rich and famous for selling her exotic story.
