Bondi Baby
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Fraser
I had a really good opening line for this post but I forgot it.
Fraser not Frasier.
Quick run through - This is the largest sand island in the world. Yes, all sand and when I got back I could tell. Obviously I hadn't showered in about 3 days (standard for the trip thus far) and when I got back to Hervey Bay (try to think North Dakota accent when you say it and it will be a lot more funny) I dug sand out of my ears for a solid 5 minutes in the shower and went through about a dozen Q-tips. This sand not to mention all of it in my camera and ipod wow sucked. The good thing about this sand is that it is Silica sand so Jo and I had a go with her silver jewelry at the inland lakes. I know what you are thinking how can there be lakes on an island of sand but let me tell you something else - it is covered in rainforest, and dingos, spiders, lizards, snakes and many other killing things. Yeah so these lakes are formed by an impermeable layer of organic decaying material from the trees. It's cool because the lakes are next to huge dunes (think Sahara desert since there is more sand on Fraser than the Sahara). We were in a Land Crusier with 10 people and some shitty tents and went at it. Bought some beers and some meat for the barbie and went to it. It was a self drive tour and so our group consisted of a pretty cool but also pretty high maintenance Irish couple, a conservative older (28) Swiss couple, three Irish teacher girls, one Brit girl, Jo and myself. Was a hell of a time out there but our group was a bit lacking. Next time I go we will rent our own 4wd and take the high fiving white guys out there. Plus whoever else I know who wants to go to Australia and is reading this. I will start taking applications immediately.
The sites
Champagne pools - rock formation where sea water comes over the rocks and stays frothy and is great for swimming. The only salt water you can swim in around here because it is full of stingers, is a tiger shark breeding ground, and the rips will pull you out in a matter of seconds. Oh yeah the nearest hospital is a good few hours away by helicopter. I also saw an article when we got on the island about one of these self drive tours tipping their Land Cruiser (hereafter known as jeep) over and being lifted out. Don't worry mom we were safe drivers who all used good judgment. Yeah so we bathed in these pools for awhile and it was quite refreshing.
Indian Head - Highest point lookout used for spotting marine life. We saw a ray and some turtles. No sharks. We did see a stupid surfer where there were no waves and were taking bets on whether he and/or his board would survive. Ran into Jonnny up here too which was cool (he had his tour with a different company since he arranged it all the way back in Byron. I think of that place every time I surf though because my board is from Bay Action a surf shop back there. Good info I know.
Nahemo wreck - I really have no idea if that was the name of the ship but I think it started with an N. Yeah a big rusty ship on the beach that people take pictures of. There seems to be a lot of wrecks on and around the island and whole coast. Presumably because of the reef. I will ask Cpt Cook when I see him.
Colored Sands/The Pinnacles - Eroded sandstone think Bryce Canyon that are nice but it was too sunny to see any colors. The story is something about a rainbow protecting a girl and eventually setting up pinnacles in the sky to watch after all the women of the island. Whatever.
Lake Wabby - The best place. A lake you had to hike about 3k to get to and our whole group didn't want to walk (losers I tell you) so Jo and I did anyway. We ran across the dunes diving head first down cliffs and running down them into the lake. Hey bros its like the sand beaches at Enders in the olden days only about twice as big and a lot steeper. Whoa cool. The best part is the sand doesn't hurt at all you would think it would scrape you but after that initial leap you just can't stop. Silica sand is what the aboriginees say.
Lake McKenzie - Obviously all of these places have other names that are native but I don't know them and probably couldn't pronounce them either. This place is desert oasis in the middle of the rainforest 8k from the sea. One of the most beautiful beaches and clearest water I have ever seen. Certainly the best lake beach. Fiji might prove this point incorrect. Ran into the crazy Swedes from our original bus and the dictatorish one actually talked and smiled. Interesting turn of events. Also ran into JP here and this guy Josh from Canadia that is Jewish in every since and for some reason keeps showing up. I don't know how to avoid people in places that I don't know.
Eli Creek - Great floating in a cold clear creek all the way to the ocean. People come here and chill, play cricket with a tennis ball, and drink beer in the water. Cricket by the way is not a sport. It can last up to 5 days and they have time to eat, have tea, and change clothes built into every test.
The rest of the trip was nice we bumped along in our jeep (didn't think I would use it eh?) over sand tracks nearly getting stuck about 100 times. Luckily they had me the 4x4 king to throw in tips and driving skill. The girls were all lovely and cooked for us each night. I set up tents and unloaded the jeep in return. I thought it quite fair. We ate like kings and I decided early on that since the food was communal that I should gorge myself and try to get my moneys worth. I guess A$20 for 3 days isn't too bad though. Tents were amazingly hot and we didn't get to camp on the beach because of the crazy girls who needed showers and crap. There was a full moon which is always good when you are in a place with no lights. The bedtime each night was 9pm and many groups got fined for not abiding by this. Luckily, my group was good and were all in bed. Except Jo and I, yeah we are rebels. The girls got trapped in their tent and I laughed for hours about that.
Fraser not Frasier.
Quick run through - This is the largest sand island in the world. Yes, all sand and when I got back I could tell. Obviously I hadn't showered in about 3 days (standard for the trip thus far) and when I got back to Hervey Bay (try to think North Dakota accent when you say it and it will be a lot more funny) I dug sand out of my ears for a solid 5 minutes in the shower and went through about a dozen Q-tips. This sand not to mention all of it in my camera and ipod wow sucked. The good thing about this sand is that it is Silica sand so Jo and I had a go with her silver jewelry at the inland lakes. I know what you are thinking how can there be lakes on an island of sand but let me tell you something else - it is covered in rainforest, and dingos, spiders, lizards, snakes and many other killing things. Yeah so these lakes are formed by an impermeable layer of organic decaying material from the trees. It's cool because the lakes are next to huge dunes (think Sahara desert since there is more sand on Fraser than the Sahara). We were in a Land Crusier with 10 people and some shitty tents and went at it. Bought some beers and some meat for the barbie and went to it. It was a self drive tour and so our group consisted of a pretty cool but also pretty high maintenance Irish couple, a conservative older (28) Swiss couple, three Irish teacher girls, one Brit girl, Jo and myself. Was a hell of a time out there but our group was a bit lacking. Next time I go we will rent our own 4wd and take the high fiving white guys out there. Plus whoever else I know who wants to go to Australia and is reading this. I will start taking applications immediately.
The sites
Champagne pools - rock formation where sea water comes over the rocks and stays frothy and is great for swimming. The only salt water you can swim in around here because it is full of stingers, is a tiger shark breeding ground, and the rips will pull you out in a matter of seconds. Oh yeah the nearest hospital is a good few hours away by helicopter. I also saw an article when we got on the island about one of these self drive tours tipping their Land Cruiser (hereafter known as jeep) over and being lifted out. Don't worry mom we were safe drivers who all used good judgment. Yeah so we bathed in these pools for awhile and it was quite refreshing.
Indian Head - Highest point lookout used for spotting marine life. We saw a ray and some turtles. No sharks. We did see a stupid surfer where there were no waves and were taking bets on whether he and/or his board would survive. Ran into Jonnny up here too which was cool (he had his tour with a different company since he arranged it all the way back in Byron. I think of that place every time I surf though because my board is from Bay Action a surf shop back there. Good info I know.
Nahemo wreck - I really have no idea if that was the name of the ship but I think it started with an N. Yeah a big rusty ship on the beach that people take pictures of. There seems to be a lot of wrecks on and around the island and whole coast. Presumably because of the reef. I will ask Cpt Cook when I see him.
Colored Sands/The Pinnacles - Eroded sandstone think Bryce Canyon that are nice but it was too sunny to see any colors. The story is something about a rainbow protecting a girl and eventually setting up pinnacles in the sky to watch after all the women of the island. Whatever.
Lake Wabby - The best place. A lake you had to hike about 3k to get to and our whole group didn't want to walk (losers I tell you) so Jo and I did anyway. We ran across the dunes diving head first down cliffs and running down them into the lake. Hey bros its like the sand beaches at Enders in the olden days only about twice as big and a lot steeper. Whoa cool. The best part is the sand doesn't hurt at all you would think it would scrape you but after that initial leap you just can't stop. Silica sand is what the aboriginees say.
Lake McKenzie - Obviously all of these places have other names that are native but I don't know them and probably couldn't pronounce them either. This place is desert oasis in the middle of the rainforest 8k from the sea. One of the most beautiful beaches and clearest water I have ever seen. Certainly the best lake beach. Fiji might prove this point incorrect. Ran into the crazy Swedes from our original bus and the dictatorish one actually talked and smiled. Interesting turn of events. Also ran into JP here and this guy Josh from Canadia that is Jewish in every since and for some reason keeps showing up. I don't know how to avoid people in places that I don't know.
Eli Creek - Great floating in a cold clear creek all the way to the ocean. People come here and chill, play cricket with a tennis ball, and drink beer in the water. Cricket by the way is not a sport. It can last up to 5 days and they have time to eat, have tea, and change clothes built into every test.
The rest of the trip was nice we bumped along in our jeep (didn't think I would use it eh?) over sand tracks nearly getting stuck about 100 times. Luckily they had me the 4x4 king to throw in tips and driving skill. The girls were all lovely and cooked for us each night. I set up tents and unloaded the jeep in return. I thought it quite fair. We ate like kings and I decided early on that since the food was communal that I should gorge myself and try to get my moneys worth. I guess A$20 for 3 days isn't too bad though. Tents were amazingly hot and we didn't get to camp on the beach because of the crazy girls who needed showers and crap. There was a full moon which is always good when you are in a place with no lights. The bedtime each night was 9pm and many groups got fined for not abiding by this. Luckily, my group was good and were all in bed. Except Jo and I, yeah we are rebels. The girls got trapped in their tent and I laughed for hours about that.
Rewind
Yeah after leaving Brisbane we stopped at the Australian Zoo. Yes. Crikey. Steve Erwin. Boy was it neat. All the animals seemed drugged but petting Koalas was the bomb. The kangaroos were about to tip over and there was this really old albino one that looked like a Star Wars character. When does the 3rd installment come out anyway (someone please write me about this)? Yeah so we saw dingos, wallabys, emus, tigers, elephants, cows, Harriet the 176 year old tortoise (oldest in the world), camels, and all kinda other animals. The Tasmanian Devils were the bomb they ran in a figure 8 chasing each other/getting a workout for the entire 20+ minutes that we were looking at them. The camels ate and smelled. The tigers jumped in the water. The koalas (which we also saw wild in Noosa on the path to Tea Tree Bay) sat and scratched and ate a couple of leaves. The main thing is we didn't see Steve. Everyone we asked said he buzzes around on his red moped all the time and is there 90% of the time but I don't believe it for a second. He has like Dr Doolittle 2 to film. Yeah got our pictures taken while feeding Indian Red Elephants and didn't have any money so we took our proofs. The proof is proof that we were there. This is also what should have happened on the beautiful Bahaman cruise a month or two back. That seems so long ago but I miss you guys. Anyway thought you would like to know. Damn, almost forgot we saw a Croc feeding. It was Agro Steve's fav croc and he tore up some meat. Apparently he is really fat but this is the way that they want him???!!! I don't really know the proper usage of multiple sentence end marks. I also keep messing up on typing because this keyboard has no letters printed on the buttons and the backspace key is tiny. Shit. Later.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Nooser
Yup that's what the Brit folks call it. In reality it's Noosa and it was one of the best places yet in Aussie. It's basically a high class surf town set next to a beautiful rainforest national park with some good surf. Not good surfers (at least me).
We got into Noosa last Monday or something and I know that you have missed reading my updates but I have just been quite busy and unable to find the time in the day to place myself in front of the computer. In the past I have lived in front of these all consuming machines but today I find myself free of all attachment to technology or reality. No mobile phone, no laptop, these are things I couldn't have imagined only about 6 weeks ago but now I don't see the reliance that I once had returning. Anyway I bought that surf board in Brisbane off some lucky roulette winnings and I finally got a chance to put it to use after a short stopover in Mooloolaba. The only thing memorable about this town was a great spaghetti bolognese dinner with about 6 of my travel compatriots. I feel myself thinking more and more the way Ignatius J Reilly did but cannot seem to get it down through typing.
Showing up at 8:30am at a full hostel leaves much time to fill before knowing if you will have a place to stay that night. Luckily the Halse Lodge only a hop, skip, and a jump from the beach had many supplied activities. Namely ping pong. After the short stint on the table in Surfer's we went at it with a renewed vigor that we didn't know we had in ourselves. Between the Danes, Americans, English, and one crazy Dutch girl the ping pong table was a source of amusement for the 5 nights we had there. Whoa what rallies.
A night of the OC and the lesbian kiss on Tuesday.
Surfing was rad. First chance to try the board and I have got to say I looked damn good laying on that thing for hours at a time. We went to a point off of Tea Tree Bay every day and the breaks were gorgeous on about 3-4 ft waves. Perfect curls all the way down. The unlucky part is that I only caught about 3 waves a day and they were the shit waves that nobody wanted or pulled out of. So yeah I layed out there on the board and got a tan. I guess that's being one with the ocean. John (the Pope) tore it up. He's from SoCal so I expected it but I wasn't prepared for the show that he put on. Good shit. Lots of rocks under the water about a foot from your board and I think I got about 100 minor cuts. Luckily the ocean is a healing mother and she closed the wounds as quickly as she opened them. I progressed somewhat over the 3 days of surfing but I think I will still need a little time with the board to get truly acquainted.
I ran one morning because I am feeling very out of shape and slothlike. I think it was about 8k next to the ocean in the hot sticky forest air and it took like 55 minutes. I was certainly not impressed and vowed to get more exercise in. I have failed miserably at this but at least it was a good thought.
Beautiful wine country. Yes, we went for a wine tasting and loved every moment of it. I tried all kinda stuff from this beautiful country and got a little buzz after my 3rd wine tasting of the day. The third one luckily had free bread and dip so that was dinner for the night. I tried a sparkling Shiraz which is quite interesting. Red wine champagne kinda thing. Pretty far out there.
One night out at the Rocks after our German roomies told us to go "make party" was quite amazing. Danced the night away in the cheesiest crappy music palying little place I have ever seen. And this place was supposed to be hot.
Amazing sunsets. Laid back lifestyle. Comparable to Santa Barbara JP says. Another good place to open a burrito stand. Speaking of burritos one night I decided we needed a fiesta so I showed them an all out American Burrito fest. I tried to find Rotel stuff too but to no avail. They have no cheeses that melt well. Well the bus was here but if I had to pick a place in Oz to live for awhile this would be it. Highly recommended to all you fools. Ta Da. Jo taught me that.
We got into Noosa last Monday or something and I know that you have missed reading my updates but I have just been quite busy and unable to find the time in the day to place myself in front of the computer. In the past I have lived in front of these all consuming machines but today I find myself free of all attachment to technology or reality. No mobile phone, no laptop, these are things I couldn't have imagined only about 6 weeks ago but now I don't see the reliance that I once had returning. Anyway I bought that surf board in Brisbane off some lucky roulette winnings and I finally got a chance to put it to use after a short stopover in Mooloolaba. The only thing memorable about this town was a great spaghetti bolognese dinner with about 6 of my travel compatriots. I feel myself thinking more and more the way Ignatius J Reilly did but cannot seem to get it down through typing.
Showing up at 8:30am at a full hostel leaves much time to fill before knowing if you will have a place to stay that night. Luckily the Halse Lodge only a hop, skip, and a jump from the beach had many supplied activities. Namely ping pong. After the short stint on the table in Surfer's we went at it with a renewed vigor that we didn't know we had in ourselves. Between the Danes, Americans, English, and one crazy Dutch girl the ping pong table was a source of amusement for the 5 nights we had there. Whoa what rallies.
A night of the OC and the lesbian kiss on Tuesday.
Surfing was rad. First chance to try the board and I have got to say I looked damn good laying on that thing for hours at a time. We went to a point off of Tea Tree Bay every day and the breaks were gorgeous on about 3-4 ft waves. Perfect curls all the way down. The unlucky part is that I only caught about 3 waves a day and they were the shit waves that nobody wanted or pulled out of. So yeah I layed out there on the board and got a tan. I guess that's being one with the ocean. John (the Pope) tore it up. He's from SoCal so I expected it but I wasn't prepared for the show that he put on. Good shit. Lots of rocks under the water about a foot from your board and I think I got about 100 minor cuts. Luckily the ocean is a healing mother and she closed the wounds as quickly as she opened them. I progressed somewhat over the 3 days of surfing but I think I will still need a little time with the board to get truly acquainted.
I ran one morning because I am feeling very out of shape and slothlike. I think it was about 8k next to the ocean in the hot sticky forest air and it took like 55 minutes. I was certainly not impressed and vowed to get more exercise in. I have failed miserably at this but at least it was a good thought.
Beautiful wine country. Yes, we went for a wine tasting and loved every moment of it. I tried all kinda stuff from this beautiful country and got a little buzz after my 3rd wine tasting of the day. The third one luckily had free bread and dip so that was dinner for the night. I tried a sparkling Shiraz which is quite interesting. Red wine champagne kinda thing. Pretty far out there.
One night out at the Rocks after our German roomies told us to go "make party" was quite amazing. Danced the night away in the cheesiest crappy music palying little place I have ever seen. And this place was supposed to be hot.
Amazing sunsets. Laid back lifestyle. Comparable to Santa Barbara JP says. Another good place to open a burrito stand. Speaking of burritos one night I decided we needed a fiesta so I showed them an all out American Burrito fest. I tried to find Rotel stuff too but to no avail. They have no cheeses that melt well. Well the bus was here but if I had to pick a place in Oz to live for awhile this would be it. Highly recommended to all you fools. Ta Da. Jo taught me that.
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