The Final Leg
It’s only taken me a few months, but here – finally – is the last installment of our road-trip diary (though not the end of this travelogue, I hasten to add). What can I say? I’m a little on the crap side and got lazy. Sorry!!!
But I must make amends, so let the tale of Hervey Bay to Sydney be typed henceforth. In proper English.
Up hill and down dale
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Betsy the trusty Landcruiser (and Santa) |
When I last set finger to keyboard we were in Hervey Bay, the launch pad for many a trip to Fraser Island – and who were we to go against the trend? We were staying in Escape! Backpackers, just across the road from Beaches, both of which run very similar self-guided 4WD tours at the same price ($125). The main difference is that Escape! send you off with a table and electric light – a definite advantage when trying to cook on an island completely made of sand.
So there we were in a Toyota Landcruiser with 9 other bods, with 3 days’ food and booze on the roof and, um, an inflatable Santa out the window (the Irish lads’ idea!). You couldn’t exactly miss us, especially not after Declan’s Flipper impressions on the barge across to Fraser.
Day One started with a quick walk to Wangoolba Creek (very pretty) and Basin Lake (clear and cold!). Fraser Island has a lot of ‘perched’ lakes, literally part of the local groundwater and unbelievably fresh – if you’re having a dip and feel thirsty, don’t bother getting out to find a bottle: just take a gulp. A firewood gathering expedition followed at Central Station, and then it was my turn to drive – mwahahahaha!! And I wasn’t too bad, if I do say so myself.
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Lake MacKenzie plus nutters |
We spent a fair while on the sunny shores of Lake Mackenzie, having head first diving competitions and learning the art of making sand-free sandwiches, after which it was time to go bombing along the beach, minding out for waves (saltwater on the vehicle = $300 bond lost) and watching for hidden washouts (crashing also bad): loadsa laughs. One word on food preservation though, and it’s nothing to do with ice: lock it all in the van or the dingoes will get it. Them there critters is damn clever, and they know what lives in eskies.
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Maheno shipwreck |
The next morning – after a beautiful sunrise – we set off fairly early, trying to keep to the hostel-issued itinerary. If you dawdle too much you get caught by the tide, as the shoreline is the only ‘highway’. Northwards we went, visiting the rusty Maheno shipwreck and colourful sandstone Pinnacles on our way to Indian Head. Another reason to keep to the timings – or be early – was identified: too many other 4WDs equals no tourist-free piccies of the sights. Oh yes, and watch out for the day’s firewood stop at Dundabarra cos we very nearly went without a campfire that night!
After setting up camp by Indian Head (and watching the antics of fellow travellers attempting to make it through the loose sand without getting stuck) it was time for a wander along the beach to Champagne Pools for a ‘bubble bath’ in the large rock pools. Very relaxing. And sunset on Indian Head of course: beautiful, though if you look down you can see tiger sharks after their dinner – eek!
And so came our final day on Fraser. I took a walk up the dunes before breakfast, and it was gorgeous. No other footprints but mine, very few sounds bar the waves. I didn’t realise at the time, but it was probably my last true ‘natural’ experience of the road trip – need a few more now methinks.
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Come on down to Lake Wabby |
We packed up and headed back southwards, but no sooner had we started than we saw another bunch broken down, took their phone number and headed for the closest resort (a few more hours on the beach and they’d have been stranded by water and by the last barge..). Following the Good Deed for the Day it was time to drift leisurely down Eli Creek – very cold, but fun, honest (and it saves you walking back after you’ve wandered to the ‘jump’ point) – and then to Lake Wabbie. You might be tempted to skip Wabbie, but don’t – it’s a fair walk, but add a few minutes and you could be windmilling your way down a massive sand dune at high speed before plunging into a very deep lake. Loads of fun!! And then it was time to head back to Hervey Bay and get very drunk on the $10 rum and coke jugs… Mmmm…
Alcomaholic Edumacation!
Just north of Hervey Bay is the town of Bundaberg, home to Bundaberg Rum (more popularly known as Bundy, which has a polar bear as it’s mascot… yep…). It’s also home to the Mon Repos turtle rookery where you can see turtle eggs being laid and hatching, though this wasn’t the right time of year.
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Bundy gooooood |
Given that Bundy is probably our favourite drink in Australia we had to pay homage, though swimming in the vats is discouraged (damn!). A very interesting tour in itself – Rob had plenty of valves and pipes to puzzle out – even if the highlight was the free samples at the end 🙂 We also took a peek at the Cooperage next door that had made the original vats for the distillery, 60 times the size of the diddy souvenir barrels they make these days.
Unfortunately we didn’t spend any longer in Bundaberg, which did seem like a nice town, but we decided to head on to Noosa…
Family Ties
Once upon a time there was a family of Kiwis in Dunedin named McInnes: lots of brothers and one sister. All grew up and had little kiddiewinks of their own, but few stayed in Dunedin. One brother moved to the North Island, another moved to Western Australia, and the sister wandered off to Noosa, never really staying in touch. So it came to be that Rob, born in Dunedin and brought up closer to Auckland, finally met an aunt he’d seen once plus a gaggle of cousins who looked Maori but have Aussie accents. Best of all, they offered free accommodation and are great cooks!!
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Meeting rellies for the first time |
Noosa is a really lovely place, in fact I think it’s my favourite of all those we saw. Admittedly we didn’t do many touristy things while there – too busy catching up with all these rellies – but the whole atmosphere was very relaxed and generally chilled. Aunty Ces owns the lovely Caf� Le Mignon in town (*plug, plug*) aided by arty Kirsten, and bead working Dee is just across the road – very crafty types these girls. We spent most of the time either in the caf� or wandering around the coastal and inland area, staying with one or another for about a week and generally enjoying every minute.
The temptation to stay was massive, but eventually we had to face those credit card bills again… and the fact that all our work gear was stashed in Sydney. Ugg. So we waved our sad goodbyes and promised to return (though not for impending Christmas, which would have been a blast). Wish I’d taken a few surfing lessons…
‘Homeward Bound’
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Sunrise on Fraser Is. |
Ugg. This is a word I like to use when resigned to something I’m not too keen on, but don’t have any choice. Facing reality and having to get back to Sydney was one such case, though it wasn’t too bad in the end.
We left Noosa with little aim other than to get to Sydney, completely missing out the Gold Coast (too touristy anyway) and Brisbane (ugg), with only an overnight stop in Byron Bay. To be honest, from the look of Byron I wasn’t too sad to be skipping most of it’s commercialised hippy charm though – from the reviews I’d thought there’d be far fewer neon signs, but it looks more like a flea market that realised there’s more money in shops. Or maybe that’s just me glossing over the real charms of the place. We missed out on Nimbin too – something to remember for the return visit to Noosa!
So there we were, belting it from the lower reaches of Queensland to the capital of New South Wales, full of paranoia regarding our lack of funds and poor chances of landing a job before Christmas. There are plenty of backpackers in Sydney around Christmas and New Year, all with a working holiday visa and few with more useful skills than typing and picking up phones, so the agencies have full books and so do the hostels.
As it happened, we didn’t need to worry quite so much: our friend Nick let us stay on his floor for a couple of weeks, the agency who hired me last time I was in Sydney took me on as their own receptionist a couple of days later, and Rob got his old job back after a week or so of working for Nick. Amazing! And then we got a flat in the building next door to Nick; followed by Jen getting back and moving in with us for a while…
Ok, so that last step probably shouldn’t have been taken. A few weeks on the road and the three of us were tearing our hair out, so we knew the dangers. We also knew we were broke, so there you go. Jen stayed until we got back on our feet and managed to buy some furniture, then a couple of Canadian girls named Desiree and Kelly moved in, followed by a pair of Irish lads (the Two Barrys) when they decided to make their way up the coast on their own road trip.
And what else have we done since our return? You’ll have to read the next installment!