Fraser Island

So the night before we left for Fraser island we got a full briefing of our 4WD and our itinerary. There were 11 of us, 5 scottsman, Korean, Japaniese, the Dutch Rudders again and us. We were packed into a Toyota Land Crusier which is considered an 11 seater.

So the next morning we were off bright and earlier to Fraser Island. We took the ferry across and then in our first 20min of driving on the great sandy beaches we encountered car troubles, over heating. We didnt stop the car until the full smell of burning was intense and the alarm went off in the car because the temp was at 110 degrees! Not good. After pulling the coolant top off way to early and coolant spirting out of the car like a geiser, we were lucky enough for a highway patrol car to come by and fill us back up with coolant. We were then on our way after one more quick stop to let the car cool down.

Our first destination was Lake Wabby for a couple of hours and then on to our Aboriginal campground, camp Kagari.

The driving was full on 4wd driving at parts and on the beach it was just amazing. The fact that the beach is the main road on the island is incredible, its the 75 mile highway, and its beach the whole way.

The second day we spent at Eli creek during the day and one to another campground that night. Getting to the campground was 4wd the whole way. Pretty exciting.

And the last day was the best. They definately save the best for last. It was Lake Mackensy. It is absolutely beautiful. The water is crystal blue and just incredible. We definately could have stayed longer.

Our way back was plauged with car trouble once again with us stopping about 6 times on the way to the ferry. We finally got back an hour late but luckily the car was in perfect condition so we didnt have any charges.

Belated entry....

Hello people,

So this is late but we have recently had very limited mobile phone coverage, let alone internet, so this is a catch up. We also don't have the camera on us so we can't add photos but will do tomorrow.
I believe when we left you when we wereheading off to our Noosa Everglades trip. This was a lot of fun, although did involve a little more canoeing than we would have liked. The tour was virtually thrown in with our Whitsundays and Fraser Isalnd package and we didn't have to pay the local taxes so it was well worth it. We had a pretty good crew of people with us, Camp Sweden, Team Germany and a pair of Dutch rudders. As well as another couple where the bloke was aussie and the chick was born in Canada!!! Weird. Night 1 got pretty rowdy with plenty of goon being sported around, since glass was prohibited in th e national park. So Laura and I didn't have the greatest nights sleep and thinkgs in the morning not looking much better! But we powered on and on day 2 we took a massive canoe and hike up to this enclosed sandpatch which was pretty impressive.
From here we travelled up to the delightifu Rainbow beach. Which has a local population of 1,000 but in the summer reaches up to 30, 000!
We had a FREE dolphin feeding included with our trip, which lwft at 5.45 so we took advantage of that the 1st morning. The ferry across was really nice however they failed to mention that if you actually want to feed the dolphins than its a $2 donation! With our rush of leaving in the morning we didn't have a cent on us so we got to watch all the other happy people feeding the friendly sea creatures!
We were a couple of days early for our trip but we mangaged to sneak into the hostel carpark and stay for free which was great! From there we left to Fraser Island for our self guided 4WD thru Fraser Island

Noosa

We landed in Noosa yesterday, and this is where we go on our Noosa everglades self guided canoe trip tomorrow for 3 days. Im looking forward to it as i really dont know what to expect.

Driving up the coast yesterday we hour lunch break stop i a town called Caloundra which had a beautiful beach. We spent a couple of hours playing in the ocean there cause the water was so nice and warm. We made a quick stop allong the way to buy some fresh strawberries from a family that seemed to have a strawberry farm in their backyard.

Just a quick update from my last one... we had an amazing day at the water park, i havent been in about 8 years so its was long over due! Then the next day we decided to sit through a 2 hour presentation on timeshares so that we could get a $120 food voucher. That night we had a very nice dinner, thanks very much Wyndham resorts!!

We've now headed up to Brisbane. We've spent the day walking around and have finally, after much shopping around, booked our trip to Fraser Island, the Whitsundays and got a couple of extra's thrown in, a dolophin feed and a 3 day trip down the noosa everglades. So I think we've done well with our bargaining.

Ok im off now but will update with some pictures when i get a chance.

Here are some of our pictures thus far....

So carrying on from Todd's last post.... we spent Sunday evening at his friends house who was having a bbq while watching the NRL game, which is the final rugby league of the year.  

Monday morning we took a few pictures in front of the the famous big Golden Guitar in Tamworth and then headed on down the road to Byron Bay.  However we didnt quiet make it there and instead stayed slightly south in Ballina.  The next morning we went for a run along the water and took a couple of pictures in front of their famous Big Prawn and left town and headed up to Byron Bay.

Byron Bay so far is my favorite place we've been to.  Its such a cute little hippie town yet trendy at the same time. Its a beautiful place with beautiful beaches and is surrounded by forests, its just a gorgeous place!!  We stayed there for 3 days and managed to find a place to park our van up by the beach where the police wouldn't move us on or fine us.  

One of the days in Byron we took a day trip to a place called Nimbin which is a complete hippie town where weed is sold freely.  Interesting little town.  Its also known for its waterholes which we managed to find and spend a couple of hours at.  

We are now in the Gold Coast at Todd's cousin Kirrily's place.  It reminds me a lot of Floriday. We are planning on going to a big water park tomorrow so im really looking forward to that.  

Thats it for now.....

Laura 

October 3rd

A sunny and rushed saturday was the seen for our departure. With the Newcastle Jockey Club hosting a day at Broadmeadow, and time of departure being at prime nap time, reliable Pamela 'Flash' Merlin was the only person able to witness our sending off.   So with out to much of a hoop-la we set off. 

Tora handled the terrain beautifully and we landed in Australia's self proclaimed Country Music capital, Tamworth, in the early evening. After a brief drive-by Edward St where the old family homestead was, we arrived at my friend Muzz's house. Fairly casual night to break us in, which included a splash of Thai and a raid of Muzz's beer fridge.

On Sunday I enrolled Laura in the Tour of Tamworth which included St Ed's Primary, the now gutted Roasary (where i went to school for many years), McCarthy (my high school) and the new city mall. We also managed to slip up to the Services Club and sneak in a quick ale, cheers RoHan! 

Todd