Kate Phillips Backpacking in Australia

Arrived in Brisbane on Saturday and I was in a room of 7 with 6 boys!! Who were all smelly!! Met up with Ingvild (Norwegian friend from the bus who’d booked in elsewhere due to some confusion) and went to Subway (she’s obsessed)!!

After that we met Alice and Emily from the bus on the bar and sat there all evening chatting to their room mate.

The next day I was sat in the internet room at the hostel (Tinbilly’s) and Katy (Dom’s friend from uni) tapped me on the shoulder to see if I was who she thought I was!!! Was sooo strange seeing someone from back in England on the other side of the world!!! So we’re gonna hang round together for a bit (and hopefully get work together).

In the evening a group of us went down to the bar (with the intention of going dancing later on but we never made it) and had out $5.50 meals!! We kept getting approached by wierdos so in the end we started making things up!! I told one guy I was from Reckyavic (I know thats spelt wrong) and when he said I sounded very English I said everyone tells me that!!! Was very hard to keep a straight face with eveyone at the table laughing so hard!! After going to a different bar at a different hostel we came back and thought we were safe cos all the wierdos had gone. My room-mate (from Edinburgh) came over and I was lucky enough to get a full account of how he is “in charge of printers” in the office back home…zzzzzzzzzzzz!!

On Monday night a big group of us (friends of roomates of roomates of friends etc.) did the quiz and we came second by one point so we lost out on a free surf camp trip and bar tabs etc. So close!! By this time yet another Exeter graduate was there; Katy’s friend Shona who I remember from halls but never knew!! Small world….

Tinbilly’s was quite expensive (although another of my roommates said he could get me a job in the kitchen for free accomodation and food) so me and Katy booked in at City Backpackers….

Drove from Hervery Bay to Noosa stopping at Rainbow Beach on the way for a didgeridoo demonstration and a chance to throw some spears and boomerangs!! Also went to the beach to see the “amazing sands” which give the place its name but unfortunately the tide was in so I’ll just have to imagine the different coloured sands!!

Arrived in Noosa about 3 o clock and after dumping our bags at the YHA I went for a look round the town!! Its v pretty but also v expensive so we all cooked all our meals for the 3 days we were there!!

On the first evening we went to the welcome meeting for our free glass of wine and we met some people on the northbound Oz Bus so we compared stories and advice all evening!!

When we got back to the room we met our other room-mate - an old lady who must have been about 65!!!

On Friday me and Suzy walked along the headland through the National Park area on the lookout for Koalas but once again I didn’t see any!! Then we stopped at one of the beaches on the way back and watched the Surf Championship which was being held there!!

Left Noosa on Saturday to go to Brisbane…….

DAY ONE

On Monday morning the group met at 6.30am to watch a scary video about all the dangers on Fraser Island (enough to make you want to not actually go) and then to go get the car and the shopping for the trip.

In my 4×4 car there were 7 of us: me, Krupa (English) and Martin (German) who had met in Sydney, two German friends, Marie and Katarina and a French couple, Jesse and Laura.

We collected the car and were shown how to load it all up properly (lots of stuff in the roof making it v top-heavy) and then went to the supermarket to get all the food for the 3 days!!! Which was v difficult. The French people wanted nice cheese, the Germans wanted to take salad dressing and Martin disagreed with everything (so decided to skip meals randomly while we were there!!!).

We got the ferry over to the island and then put the car into 4×4 mode and set off through all the sand to Lake Mackenzie which was so so pretty!! It was so nice to swim in because it is fresh water and its so clear!!!

After that we had our first picnic and then set off for our campsite at Central Station!! The campsite was really nice and we were shocked we had been told to stay there. We had a really nice pitch and there were showers and toilets etc. nearby. Unfortunately as we started to plan our amazing BBQ it started to tip it down and so we ended up sat in the back of the car with my torch (only 2 people brought torches with them) and some bread rolls!! After that we went to bed at 7pm cos there really wasn’t anything else to do!!!

DAY TWO

After a really BAD night’s sleep (my sleeping bag end was in a puddle so I had wet feet all night) we awoke, had some brekkie and were about to set off for the beach on the East side of the island where you can drive by the sea when the camp rangers came by. They asked for our permit (which was stuck to the tent in the roof of the car) and it turns out we probably weren’t meant to be there but we talked our way out of it. 

At the beach we had loads of trouble switching from 2wd to 4wd but some Australians helped us out then we drove up to Eli Creek. Here we had a swim and a wander and then it was my turn to drive (yay). Driving on the sand was really cool!!! We stopped at the Maheno Wreck (a ship wreck on the sand) and then carried on up the coast quickly because you cant drive on the beach during certain times due to the tides!!

At the north end of the island we found a park with BBQs and cooked all our BBQ that we couldn’t eat the previous night and it was so yummy!!

After lunch we visited Champagne Pools and then made our way back down the beach towards Cathedral Beach campsite!! It turned out we weren’t allowed to stay there without paying so we were gonna go camp further down the beach with all the other cars but Martin had other ideas. After shouting at all of us and stomping off to see the girl at the desk he decided him and Krupa would pay to stay there for the night and the rest of us could go camp on the beach!!! So thats what we did, we dropped him off and then had a really good night camping on the beach!! The only downside was no toilets, it was SO scary going off into the bushes in the dark!!!!!! Wish I hadn’t drunk so much beer then I wouldn’t have always needed it!!

DAY THREE

On the final day we picked up Martin and Krupa at 7am and headed to Lake Wabby, a really dark green lake next to a huge huge amount fo sand!! We were sitting in the lake (felt gross after no showers) and these huge catfish were swimming around us which was odd!!!

Following that we headed back to the ferry and stopped at this bar near the ferry where you can swim in their pool if you buy a drink!!

We made plans to all get together in the evening to cook all the food we hadn’t eaten! Had a good evening playing French drinking games with a box of red wine (yucky stuff) and then the game ‘I have never’ which is so funny with foreign people who don’t quite understand!!! Krupa and Martin didn’t come which was a shame cos I never got to say goodbye to Krupa and I got on with her really well!!!

The next (early morning) it was time to head to Noosa….

(dont think I’ll ever get rid of the sand!!!!!!)

After a few days relaxing again in Airlie Beach we heaed on the longest trip ever inland to Kroombit Cattle Ranch). We drove the length of England in one dayin a really full bus so we couldn’t spread out!! Add to this the fact that loads of people had been out the night before drinking and you have the recipe for a horrible day!!

The cattle ranch was in the middle of nowhere but on the approach to it we saw lots and lots of kangaroos bounding across fields which was amazing! I’d had my glasses on all day on the lookout and had seen some baby ones in a school field but these were proper big ones and driving through the dusty fields it sudden;y felt very Australian!!

In the evening we met the northbound bus and had a bucking bronco competition with them!! I think we won!! Then we dodged poisonour cane toads and huge spiders and lots of flies all night!! I opted out of having a shower because I didn’t fancy sharing it with a frog that can suiddenly spurt poison at you!!! All of us went to the toilet in pairs before bed and then decided we’d just cross our legs if we needed it later!!!!!!!

The following morning we went goat mustering on horseback!! I’ve never even sat on a horse before (at least if I have I have no recollection) so this was quite a scary thing for me to do but I got thos really old horse called ‘Freckles’ and he knew what to do so I hardly had to steer!! I thought they might let the beginners walk in a circle round a yard for a bit, but no!! We were straight out there with the rest of the group!! Was good fun, even saw a massive snake (needless to say couldn’t gallop away cos I was scared and Freckles was probably trying to fall asleep again)!!

After that we had a “Goat Rodeo” but my attenpts at lasso-ing a goat were unsuccesful!! Was close but you only got 4 goes in the ring (maybe I can practise at home with Martine’s goat - only joking)!! Some people managed to catch two at opnce but thats just lucky!!

The cattle ranch was really good fun!! Worth doing what seemed like a massive detour to get to and I feel like it was proper Australia!!! But I think 1 night was enough, there’s only so long you can be on full-guard against deadly insects!!!

Just back on dry land (although still rocking) after my three days at sea!! The trip was absolutely fantastic, sad to be back on boring dry land!!

On Day One we got onboard at 8.30 am and it started to tip it down. We got allocated our cabins (sooo tiny that we ended up sleeping up on deck at night, till the huge thunder storm which made us all clamber back into out sauna-like cabnins). After dumping all our stuff in the cabins we had a toilet demonstration - you had to physically pump this lever until the toilet or shower emptied and then use this other lever to fill it back up again which caused much amusement cos you could always hear people pumping way below deck!!! Then we set sail towards the Whitsunday Islands!! The weather got worse and worse till we were all wearing yellow rainmacs and clinging to anyopne and anything (a good way to make friends)!! Everyone felt seascik and terrified and somebody had to climb down to my cabin to get my travel pills for everyone cos I didn’t want to (or couldn’t) stand up!! The mini storm passed and then the weather cleared up for lunch (all the food was fantastic - amazing considering the size of the galley kitchen). In the afternoon we went snorkelling in Blue Pearl Bay and it was so pretty down there. I’ve never done snorkelling and that was a good way to start!! The only bad thing was the lycra stinger suits we had to wear every time we were in the water to protect us from jellyfish!! In the evening we all chilled out with our beers playing cards and looking at the stars (had an astrology lesson from the skipper).

On Day Two we awoke to really calm water and set sail round some of the islands before the rain set in again!! We had breakfast and during this we saw a giant turtle swimming next to the boat and then we got the tender boat to Whitehaven Island where we hiked to the top of the island to see the lookout point and then went to Whitehaven Beach (apparently voted one of the best in the world - was v white). In the afternoon we did some more snorkelling and then stopped (dont know the technical term) near Hayman Island (apparently the destination of Posh n Becks and Brad n Jen for their honeymoons) for the night!! This time we were all tired out (not everyone sleeps well on boats although one guy said some people don’t sleep as well on the Queen Mary as I did in my miniscule bed) and so our card game kind of fizzled out, helped by the rain!!

On Day Three we awoke to slightly choppier water and had brekkie and snorkelled straight away! My snorkel was broken so I kept breathign in salt water and soon gave up and went to sit on the beach with the German girls (who have the longest hair I have ever seen) before we all got back on board and Richard the skipper tried to sail us home. This time we properly sailed (with all the sails up as opposed to using the engine) and it was v v scary!! Have you ever tried to eat tortilla wraps while being thrown about a bout with rain soaking you?!! Mine was mostly water cos I chose a bad place to sit under all the drips!! After that we sailed back but we always seemed to be about to tip right over and we all wished we hadn’t just eaten!!

All in all the trip was fantastic. On board there were two sets of twins, another set of sisters, germans, russians, swedish, finnish, english and dutch people (and Australian if we include the crew) and we all got on really well and it was fun to get away from the mainland for a bit!! The crew were so funny, a joke for every occasion and last night we all met up again (on safe dry land) to have a meal and go out dancing!!!

Tomorrow I leave for a cattle station at Kroombit and then its on to Hervey Bay to go 4×4 safari-ing on Fraser Island!! I’ll be camping and everyone who’s already done that trip has been telling me all sorts of stories (snakes, dingoes, insects…)