After a week off work to finalise our bathroom renovation we escaped for a week to Hervey Bay in Queesland for some rest and relazation. Hervey Bay is very well know for it's whale watching tours from the months of May through to September so when we visited the place was very quiet, just the way we wanted it. After the renovations we deserved some time out and certainly made use of this.

We stayed in a two bedroom apartment right near the beach and treated ourselves. Trish was 6 months pregnant with Jordan at this stage so she needed plenty of rest so I would take Reagan swimming at the pool or to the beach. We even managed a night out for Trish birthday at an Irish restaurant next to our motel where Trish got a free meal because it was her birthday, I think she ate Guiness Stew... LOL

Great place to visit and definitly much more to see in the peak season, the Humpbacks seen here through their annual migration season are quite spectacular.

Hervey Bay is the stop off to get on to Fraser island so hopped off here for the night. Had to go through a long safety talk about all the dos and donts quite amusing australian DVDs etc. Also had loads of money taken from us for insurance and national park tax and all sorts of things. Quite boring and also had the fear of death put in to us about ruining the 4x4 and having to pay millions for it.

Hervey Bay is a small little town, not a lot going on. Had a feel of an american town withs its really wide roads down the town centre, quite liked it and had a walk around before going to bed realtively early after packing a small bag. did not get to sleep though and was really tired when i had to wake up early to catch the barge to fraser island

I spent the next three days in Hervey Bay, honing new survival skills whilst trying to make the most of what a small town can offer when you’re living on the streets. It’s interesting how all those simple everyday tasks that most of us take for granted, like having a nice hot shower in the morning or cooking porridge for breakfast, now become a bit of a mission and somewhat of a luxury.  Strangely, you become more aware of opportunities around you and you catch your self pinching salt & pepper and brown sugar sachets from coffee shops, or filling up all your empty bottles whenever you find a tap with drinking water!  I’ve also developed an unconscious ability to spot a public toilet anywhere I am, even if I don’t need it, oddly my eyes are mechanically drawn to those two little figures as if a radar was constantly working in the background of my mind.  As a result of this, I’ve become an expert on the subject of public toilets, and I’ve seen so many that I’ve started to rate them.  In third place I nominate shopping centre and library toilets, generally quite clean with plenty of paper and topped up soap dispensers, but a bit busy and unsuitable for washing your armpits or brushing your teeth. In second place I choose the disabled toilet, I know I shouldn’t use it but it’s so spacious and ideal when you need to get changed, you can also have a shave without being disturbed and the sink is low enough so you can even wash your feet if need be!  However, my favourite toilet to steel first place has to be the one in small petrol stations on the highway; most of these have showers (some even hot, what luxury) and you get your own key, so you can lock up for hours and pamper yourself pretending you’re in a spa, till the next hairy arse trucker starts banging on the door threatening to fire off a torpedo in his pants!

Harvey Bay is a great place to practice the art of homeless living.  On the beach front, the promenade, you’ll find free gas barbecues for anyone to use and picnic areas, public toilets every 200m and even a dozen free exercise machines, which have been installed by the council a few years ago and are very popular amongst the older generation.  Some of the toilets have cold showers, but one morning I decided I really fancied a hot shower so I walked straight into the bathrooms of a backpacker hostel, pretended to be staying there.  It worked a treat, and according to the receptionist lots of people do it, I know because I asked her on my way out :-)  Also, I get free internet access in many different places and at the library, I’ve discovered that you can plug your laptop and recharge it, as long as you appear to be working.

I settled in so well, that I decided to look for a job and stick around a bit longer.  I started with the easy option of using a proper recruitment agency, but they all told me that I needed an Australian bank account and a file taxation number.  So I opened an account wit NAB, one of the 4 big national banks in Australia, and applied for the tax number online.  Unfortunately this would take up to 4 weeks to be processed, so I couldn’t get a job till then.  Disappointed but no put off, I went round every single backpacker hostel and asked if they had any vacancies.  This too didn’t work, maybe I look dodgy, though I did have a shower and a shave and put on my ‘special occasions’ t-shirt.  There were a few jobs advertised, but for a minimum of 4 weeks, and I didn’t want to stick around that long.  Eventually I decided to pull out my Wwoof book, which I bought in Brisbane and try out a different type of work.  Wwoof stands for ‘Willing Workers On Organic Farms’, and basically you work 4 to 6 hours a day in exchange of meals and accommodation, no mohoney.  I paid £55 for the book, so just 3 nights in a warm and cosy house would pay for it self.

I struck gold when the second person I contacted accepted my request for a whopping week of wwoofing!  Unfortunately I had to leave Hervey Bay and drive back south.

I checked in Palace Backpackers by 4ish and went straight for a hot shower.  I had spent the last 3 days sleeping in the car and I was in need of a good wash, to say the least.  Then I hit the sack and 3 lads woke me up an hour later.  All from London, they were a pleasure to chat to and I was glad to share the room with them.  I remembered reading a blog about a bed-bug infestation in this hostel, so I mentioned it to them and as I was talking a noticed the brown stains on the bottom of the mattress above me.  Now I’ve never seen bed-bug crap before, but mine wasn’t a bad guess.  This made for a very uncomfortable night sleep by all of us.

I left Noosa at around 9.35am, back on the trusty old Greyhound. The usual standard 4 hour trip, and I was in Hervey Bay. There isn't a great deal to see here; apart from the strip of hostels and bars on the seafront, and the retail park around the coach station, this is another nothing town. However, what it is is the closest drop off point to Fraser Island. At Byron Bay I had booked with Wicked Travel into Beaches Backpackers, a small company which thankfully also owned a camp site called Base Camp, actually on Fraser Island itself. This proved to be an absolutely necessary choice...

Not much more to say here, didn't bother taking any photos. The hostel was okay, six share room with en suite bathroom. Moving swiftly on...

(Almost my last stop with Oz Experience)

We arrived into Hervey Bay on the greyhound, which was not too painful a journey and we managed to spot some wild kangaroos! Hervey bay was our stopping off point for Fraser Island the largest sand island in the world. The beaches hostel which came with our packages was not good, but we weren't there very long.

It was a 6.30 am assembly to get put into groups, get provisions and get packed into our 4by4 vehicles. We were in a group of 11 with 3 irish, and eight english including us, not exactly international but we all got on well.

It was a self drive option, but thankfully we had enough drivers that none of our group had to drive. It was proper four wheel drive country on Fraser island as it is so underdeveloped and you actually use the beach as the main highway. You have to watch out for planes landing and taking off on the beach and inland you ahev to make sure you don't get bogged down in the soft sand. It was all part of the adventure and at times you just had to go for it. In the back it was definitely a bumpy ride but you got very good at hanging on and leaning into the bends.

On the first day we made our way to Lake Wabby, a stunning mix of inland sand dunes and a clear lake at the bottom. It felt at times like you were walking through the sahara and the weather was perfect for it. After lunch of the bonnet of the car it was onto the beach driving which was very bazar, but alot smoother than inland. We saw the wreck of the Maheno which over the years has had a number of uses including bombing practice! Eli creek came next which was amazingly clear and we had a waddle through. The last stop was the pinnacles, mounds of coloured sand which have aboriginal significance.

It was an action packed day after a very early morning and we still had to make up camp. Thankfully with our package we did have a proper camp site with showers and toilets, even if beaches hadn't provided us with enough tent pegs! We set up our bbq and played card games under the stars.

Second day we woke up to sore necks after sleeping in the tent with hardly any mats or room. I assured myself this was part of the adventure and was character building, and jumped out of bed ( well sort of). Today the plan was to get to Indian Head to see the sharks. We got there in plently of time, but to avoid high tide you have to take an inland track onto the soft sand. This was causing a backlog of cars as people tried and failed to get up the track. After much pushing, revving and praying the cars ahead managed it and we got up in one to lots of cheers. Indian head was one of two rocky outcrops that caused the formation of Fraser Island. From this headland you can see sharks, rays, dolphins and sometimes whales. We didn't see all of these, but managed our fair share of sharks and rays which moved so gracefully through the water.

Champagne pools was next on the itinerary and were only a short ride away. They were right next to the sea, but the rocks created shallow pools for a relaxing dip and a sunbathe as the waves crashed overhead. It was inland after a bite to eat and onto Lake Allom. We drove through the inland tracks throught the rainforest and it really did feel like we were driving through the amazon which was amazing. Lake Allom was quite a small inland lake which didn't look too spectacular, but as you got closer you could see shapes in the water. These were turtles and there were so many of them close to the edge of the water. They were so cute and so tame, almost inquisitive. After a lot of photos and a lot of awes it was back to base camp for dinner, cards and another night cramped up on the floor.

The third day was our last day, but we still managed to fit in a lot, Lake Boomanjin, Lake Birrabean which had a strange combination of black and white sand and Lake Mackenzie which is one of the most famous spectacles on the island. All the lakes had beautifiul clear water and white sand, but the mix of colours at Lake Mackenzie was just magicial and we spent a goog chunk of the day there. On our way round these lakes we also stopped at Central Station, the old logging village and Pile Valley which had amazingly tall trees.

It was then time for the ferry home and back into 2 wheel drive and we were very sad to leave after an amazing three days.

We continued southwards to Hervey Bay where we were to take part in a 3 day self drive 4X4 safari on Fraser island, the worlds biggest sand-dune! of the group of 9 people, only 2 of us could drive so both had plenty of time behind the wheel bumping up and down the sandy tracks connecting the islands' villages and beaches. The whole island is made up entirely of sand so the only way to get around is by four wheel drive. We spent 3 days exploring the various parts of the island which included the stunning inland Lakes 'Mackenzie' and 'Wabby' which sits inside of a huge sand dune, and is slowly being eaten away by the sand. We also explored the wreck of the 'Maheno', which was grounded on the beach by a freak hurricane many years ago, the stunning champagne pools (created naturally by the crashing waves) and the breathtaking views from Indian heads where you can often spot sharks, whales and turtles (though none showed up the day we were there!!!).

Fairly short drive distanc(e wise) from Cooroy to Hervey Bay, but nice trip.  Drove through Gympie and around to Tin Can Bay, which is famous for the dolphins that come into the cove each morning.  They come into the cafe and are very quiet.  We were too late to see any, they come in quite early most mornings.  Then drove on to Maryborough, which is a lovely old river town.  The walk along the river is beautiful, all very cared for and well-presented, and the old buildings in the port area have been restored to their former glory.  The scenery between Gympie, Tin Can Bay and Maryborough is basically the same - pine plantation as far as the eye can see!  There must be thousands and thousands of acres of trees.
We arrived in Hervey Bay mid-afternoon and checked into the YHA - very nice indeed.   We had a self-contained cabin so Noel could watch the cricket and enjoy the nation of his newly-acquired citizenship completely trounce the nation he was born in!  His Aussie accent seems to have become broader since Australia's been beating England so decisively!  The YHA is about a 500m walk from the Urangan Pier where there's a great fish outlet.  You then walk a short distance around the beach and you're at the Marina, which has beautiful apartments and a big restaurant and shopping complex, so a great location all-in-all.
The next day we did a tour of Fraser Island, which lies just off the coast of Hervey Bay.  Fraser Island is the world's largest sand island and is listed as a world heritage site.  The island was logged extensively early on but is now national park and absolutely stunning.  The roads and tracks across the island are all sand so it is strictly 4WD only.  Our tour took us to quite a cross-section of the island, from eucalypt forest to rainforest to beautiful beaches and Lake McKenzie, which is a stunningly clear freshwater lake in the middle of a huge sand island!  Had a fabulous swim here.  Day tours are quite expensive ($135 pp, incl lunch) but well worth it if you just have a day, because they collect you, drop you off and look after you entirely in between!  Highly recommended.
We liked Hervey Bay so much we almost bought a house here, but in the end did not go ahead.  It's certainly high on our list when we're looking for a new place to live, though.  It has all the modern conveniences you could want, along with a beautiful location and great weather all year round.  We were not in time for whale-watching, but that also adds to the Bay's appeal.  Can't wait to get back there.

I  think the best things I packed were a small backpack to carry everything in during the day and the inflatable pillow my parents got me before I left.  Both very practical, and I use them every day.

The most impractical thing I brought?  High heels.  I love my heels...but really...when does a backpacker need heels?  All the bars we go to cater to backpackers, and backpackers are dirty people.  Half the people in the bars usually don't even wear shoes of any kind.

Things I wish I had brought along?  A watch...that would have been helpful...and more than one towel so that I could have a sandy beach towel and a clean bath towel.  Oh well!  Live and learn, and next trip...I will be prepared.

Howdy doody! You will never guess who i saw at Australia Zoo........... no not Steve Irwin (you sick bastards!) but i did get to watch Bindi dancing around on stage with the "Crocmen" (four clearly gay guys whos dancing and entertainment careers had hit an all time low) and also i saw Terri Irwin (Steves wife) and Wes Manion (Steves right hand man in the tv programs) do the croc show in the 5000 seater Crocosium. It was awesome! Basically Simon and I drove the van back down the coast from Noosa and got to the zoo nice and early. Looked round at all the animals (as you do! things like crocs, komodo dragons etc) then hit the Crcosium hard for some Bindi jigging followed by snakes, birds and then Crikey!!!!! (i still love you Steve Irwin) they brought out a huge croc and proceeded to make it chase Wes and managed to get it to do 8 death rolls, this apparently equals the Australia Zoo record. Terri Irwin also got involved dangling down bits of meat for the croc to jump up and catch. A pretty good show in all. Oh Bindi not only dances and sings about conservation but the young wonder also does a rap and boy can she spit some lyrics!

Getting to pet baby Aligators and poke Koalas was also pretty cool and the zoo is genuinely very good. My one problem is that Koalas are the most pointless animals on earth. Yes they may look cute but they sleep for up to 20 hours a day and when they are awake they hardly move. What makes them even more pointless is that their lack of energy is there own fault, they will only eat Eucalyptus (sp?!) leaves of which there are around 300 different types and yet none of them contain much nutrition. What makes then even more dumb is that out of the 300 hundred Eucalyptus varieties apparently on the whole they only really like 4 of them and when they cant get the one they really want they have been known to starve themselves to death!!!! Koalas are pointless!

Anyhoo after the zoo we headed back up the coast again to Hervey Bay where i have been for the past 5 days. Hervey Bay itself isnt anything too special but it is the main transfer point to Fraser Island (largest sand island in the world). When we arrived from the zoo we just chilled out and slept in the van in a random street but the next day we had a free night accomadation at the backpackers (Koalas, why name a place after a pointless animal?!) as we had to meet the other 9 people joining us in our 4x4 van (Tommy & his girlfriend Freya, her sisters Annica & Sophie, Liz, Brazilian Tatiana, Dutch Linda, Scottish Julie and Sarah). Then afterwards getting a briefing about safety and what not to do on Fraser Island. They showed us a video which suggested when i Dingo comes near that you should put your arms accross your chest as not to appear threatening (balls to that we ran at them with spades). The evening was passed with all you can eat Mexican food with some of the our team members and a few beers before getting a fairly early night as we had to be up and pack the van at 6.45 the next morning.

The morning came (12th Jan) and i overslept a little which disgruntled one of our group members Sarah (we will talk more about her later, i may even dedicate a section to her if i have time). We checked we had everything in the van, packed it and noted down all the bumps and bruises that the van already had as they are pretty battered. We then had a briefing which was mainly for the drivers and to tell us the best places to go. Then we were off, Sarah drove us to the ferry (35 minuts boat trip) over to Fraser Island. Once we got off the boat we headed down to the central station to take a look about but then decided to go to two lakes on the way to the main beach highway. The lakes were pretty damn awesome and were so fresh (just like taking a bath i guess) and then after an incredibly bumpy ride with Simon behind the wheel of the 4x4 (not his fault the tracks are mental) we got to the beach and Scottish Julie took over. Now they warned us that on the beach we may find that as some of the creeks flow accross it and so can cause deep cut aways and wash outs which should be checked with someone walking accross the first. Julie saw one and claimed she didnt have time to slow down so for some crazy reason decided to speed up and bombed through it at over 40km/h. Suffice to saw we all thought the van windows had smashed and Tommy had a 10 litre water bottle fall right onto to his head, we were all a little scared and Tommy concusssed! We made our cape up behind the beach on one of the sand dunes with a couple of the other Koala vehicles. By this time everyone disliked Sarah, she is a civilian who goes to war zones to do paperwork or something and talks like she is some army bird, she bosses everyone around and just pretty much pisses everyone off etc etc! (i hope she doesnt ever read this!). The evening was spent drinking beer and goon and chilling out getting drunk and ignoring Sarah (she told me i was insecure so i used my humour to hide it then the next day she told me i was arrogant so many times i had to walk away!).

We had to get up early the next morning as you can only drive along the beach 2 hours either side of low tide and had to make it all the way up to a cliff head to India Point. After walking up to the top of the cliff you could see out into the clear blue water and watch Dolphins, Barracudas, Stingrays and Tiger sharks swim around and generally just chill out. After that we all had a paddle about in the see for a couple of hours. They tell you not to get in the sea because of all the sharks and it was breeding season when i was there for the Tiger sharks so we were pretty dumb to be splashing around out there but a good time was had by all. Also the Brazilian in our car has absolutely amazing boobs so it was always good to see her in a bikini! We then went back to the camp and ate steak. Simon and I were asked to go and bury the blood from the meat (you have to bury everything to stop the Dingo's getting it) but we dug it in wet sand and ended up covering the beach in blood! We then got pissed again and played games and looked for shooting stars. After i went to bed i realised i was steaming and felt sick so i didnt want to be in the tent and went for a lie down outside it. The problem with that is that i was found by Liz asleep on the ground being sniffed by 4 Dingo's and when she chased them off and told me to go to my tent i simply replied that i would be fine and that they would be nice to me and fell back to sleep for a while :S!

The next morning was the last on Fraser so before catching the Ferry just after lunch, we went to Lake Mackenzie. This is one of the most beautiful and thus popular lakes on the Island so we took a splash in the water againl, chucked some wet sand and people and looked at the Brazilians boobies for a while. Then whilst waiting for the boat the worst pasta i have ever tasted was left uneaten and before i knew it we were back on mainland unpacking the van and collecting our security bonds for not ruining anything (one team had a tyre blow out and all lost the $60 bonds plus more). The evening was spent getting dinner with everyone i liked from the group and having a few chilled out beers and an ice cream sundae (i now weigh the heaviest i have ever been, not the best look!). The plan for the morning was to head up the coast so we could watch turtles hatch on their breeding beach but apparently the activity was low at the moment and the weather turned bad (we finally had sunshine whilst i was on the island by the way!). So Randles and I decided to stay as all the group were staying for an extra night as their buses up to the Whitsundays were cancelled due to floods.

So the next day we all met up and decided to go to Vic Hislops Shark Show. Vic Hislop is this Aussie bloke who catches man eating sharks and argues against protecting them due to the imbalance in the food chain and believes the Aussie government covers up shark attacks as not to cause hysteria with the public. Some of what he says made sense and he even had great white sharks in a freezer in the museum! After doing that the day and night were spent eating and drinking and messing about in the pool. At the end of the night all the girls and Simon headed off to bed. Tommy and I went to the club down the road called Moroccos, dont go there ever its full of men and weird mental fighty ones at that! We got back to the hostel room to find out that Freya had been sick all over her bed but in the dark light Tommy put his had in it thinking it was just a dress!

That leaves me to today where i am now still in Hervey bay. Later on we plan a long drive up to Rockhampton as a stopover before we get to Airlie Beach where we have a 2 day boat trip booked to go to the Whistsunday Islands. Hope everyone is keeping well in cold wet England. I am having an awesome time in hot wet Australia. Mum and Dad i will try and phone you tomorrow night your time.

Hugs and Kisses

Matt

We got an early bus out of Noosa to head for the Fraser Escape Backpackers in Hervey Bay, where we were going on a budget 3 day 4x4 tour of Fraser Island, the world's largest sand island, complete with local dingo population.

We thought we'd left plenty of time to check out and walk down to the bus, but it was Census Day! We had to fill out the census form which took about 20 minutes, and would have made us miss the bus and been left waiting for 4 hours had the resort not realised a few people were having the same problem and cranked up the minibus and catapulted us all down the hill and onto the bus!

We'd booked our Hervey Bay/ Fraser Island Experience online from Sydney. The package, costing $125 each, involved a night in the Hervey hostel on either side of the Fraser Island trip, a briefing meeting, 3 days driving around Fraser Island, 2 nights camping and use of a BBQ and being put into a group with other travellers for the duration. We had to chip in an extra $60 each for food, fuel, insurances, etc, but it was still a good deal.
At 3pm, we had a briefing with the Hervey staff, who put us into groups and told us what to expect. We all chipped into the food and drink kitty and four of the girls (me included) set off for the supermarket with a long list of stuff from the boys, much wishful thinking going on! Sirloins were out of our budget, but we got some cheaper steaks, veggies, beer, wine, coke, fruit, and snacks like chocolate and crisps for the ten of us for the next two and a half days. Aptly dubbed, Group 1, we spent the evening in the resort bar getting to know each other and deciding who was sharing tents with who (there were us, another couple, twin sisters, two boys travelling alone, a pair of girls who were travelling together and a single girl, so there were four double tents and one triple, which seemed to suit everyone fine - we also got use of sleeping bags from the hostel).

The dorms at Hervey were a bit random - some were two storey buildings, with a balcony along the front, but we ended up in a sort of portacabin affair with another couple from another group. Still, as I've said before, it was a bed, and we weren't staying long. We also wouldn't be in that room when we got back, so crossed our fingers and hoped for a nicer setting!

another long day on the road and nia's first driving experience.