planetaub Me&Shirley

Aub's bit
Shirley's bit

31/8/02

Shopped in the morning as we're out of food. D & I went fishing on the pier in the arvo, not something I'd want to do on a regular basis. D caught 8 puffer fish, I caught 3 other things, not sure what, one was quite big. Good fun, got a bit cold by the end. We found some more pubs in the evening and stayed out until 3am, we got absolutely hammered and ended up naked in the swimming pool at 4am, doh!

29/8/02

Got the ferry to Great Keppel Island. It's not that big but has a resort on it, although that was empty. There's no harbour so the boat just runs onto the beach to let you off. There was a bit of wind but once you got out of it it was really nice. We walked through the resort to start with and to get our bearings, after coffee and an enormous pile of potato wedges, which the local rainbow lorikeets seem to like, we went to Putney Beach which was out of the wind. The sand is the same as that on Whitehaven Beach, very fine and squeaky. It was really warm and the sea was too. It was really clear but it got deep quite quickly and there wasn't much too see. After a couple of hours lounging around D and I decided to try wakeboarding, it was only $50 for a 20 minute lesson. You start off on a training bar on the side of the boat before you progress to the tow cable. We both got the hang of the training bar straight away. The cable is different though, much harder to get up. I got the hang of it after the 4th attempt and was OK after that, I even tried doing some slalom and some jumps, I guess being a snowboarder helps. D had trouble though, he couldn't get the hang of keeping his left leg bent so he kept falling off, he was nearly there. On his last go he had it for a while then fell off again and hurt his back, doh! Went out in Yeppoon in the evening and ended up talking to a bloke called Jeff.

27/8/02

Drove down to Yeppoon. 1st couple of sites we tried didn't have any cabins for Daz, in the end he decided to stay in a hotel on the sea front. The reception chick there told us about another campsite on the beach not far away, they had a no vacancy board up but we asked anyway and they had just got a cancellation, nice little site. We went out for a meal in the evening, the only place we could find was a Thai restaurant, it was excellent the food was really good. I couldn't eat it all so brought home a doggy bag.

25/8/02

Ill all day, stayed in bed.

23/8/02

Up early again as we have booked another day on the Great Barrier Reef. Similar set-up to Quicksilver but smaller. It didn't seem to have too many people on it so it wasn't too crowded. The weather cleared up beautifully, the sun came out and there was no wind. Hardy reef was good, there were millions of fish, same as before but in greater quantities. There were some big wrasse, like Gonzo, there was a huge fish that hung around behind the boat, not sure what type it was but the guy on the sub said it was 12 feet long and weighed about 400kg. The water was a bit colder but they had enough wet suits for everyone so we could stay out for quite a while. On the way out and on the way back we saw some humpback whales. Not close up, 200m away maybe. On the way back we saw a mother and calf which was jumping around a lot. Another good day but very tiring. We went to the pub over the road for a few then to bed.

21/8/02

Up late strangely! No sign of D until 12ish when he turned up with Jo, the bird he pulled last night. She seems OK, a local who works on the boats. Sat around by the pool for a while, didn't do much else.

19/8/02

Up @ 4:30am to pick up Daz. He didn't clear customs until 5:45 as he was the one they decided to search, probably something to do with the skin head and Arsenal shirt combination. We drove all all the way back up to Rockhampton, it wasn't too bad a drive, the 1st couple of hours seemed to go by really quickly. The weather has got worse, it's windy and raining, hope that doesn't last too long, it's still warm though.

17/8/02

Drove down to Bundaberg where they process sugar and have a rum distillery. We'll do the tour when Daren gets here. We went into town, it was really quiet for a Saturday arvo. Some of the locals look a bit scary, like they have too much sugar in their diet!

15/8/02

Drove to Rockhampton. Had a quick look around the town, there's some nice old buildings. Brought Daren's tent, sleeping bag and ground mat, hope he likes it.

13/8/02

Drove to Mackay. Stopped next to the Giant Mango or lunch.

11/8/02

Sort of lazy day, up lateish then into Townsville to look around. We went to Reef HQ, they have a reef in an aquarium, it's OK, Aqua World in Perth was better. Everything else was shut as it's Sunday, they haven't got the hang of Sunday shopping yet. Came home for a swim, went and saw Men in Black 2 in the evening, very funny.

9/8/02

Up stupidly early to go to Dunk Island, we were getting picked up @ 7:15am but for some reason I woke @ 4:15 and couldn't sleep again after that, doh! It was very windy and the sea was a bit rough as was the trip, especially as the boat wasn't the biggest thing in the world, but it was on;y a short trip (½ hr) so was OK. The island isn't very big and we had already planned to do the circuit walk of it, the brochure we had said that would take 3½ hours. As it was the weather helped and hindered us. When we got there and sat down for a coffee the heavens opened and it threw down the rain. It stopped after 10 mins or so but that was the pattern for the rest of the day, lots of wind with brief heavy showers every hour. We didn't really notice it too much as the whole island is rainforest and you can't see the sky when you're in it. There were a few places where there were openings in the trees and we had to run for the next bit of cover. I appear to be waffling, back to reality. We did the circuit walk including the extra 2.2km hike to the top of Mount Kootaloo, it was 11.4km in total, all but the last 1km through rainforest. We didn't get too wet and the sun even came out just as we reached Coconut Beach for lunch. It was all rather pleasant. The boat ride home wasn't as bad as the morning. On the way back to the campsite the driver was telling us the history of Mission Beach (we were the only 2 in the bus) when we had to stop in the road as 3 Cassowary chicks were crossing, as we got up closer we could see dad in the bushes right next to us, fantastic!

7/8/02

Went into Cairns and had a proper look round, it's OK. Drove to Kurrimine Beach where we're staying for the next few days. It's very quiet, beach is OK but the weather seems to have got worse, there's a lot of wind. Went for walk up the beach anyway.

5/8/02

Drove around Port Douglas so S could take a photo of the marina then down to Cairns. Went into town and found the mall and Coles, we need some food! Out with all the folks in the evening for a last meal together, ended up in the RSL club, it's very posh though. Ate everything and was absolutely stuffed. Said our goodbyes, wont see M&D for another 6 months, again. It's been quite nice travelling with them and it will be different being on our own again. We had a walk around the night markets then found a pub, called the Woolshed, that was open. They had some backpacker thing on the drink was stupidly cheap, vaguely remember deciding to come home @ about 3 something, not quite sure.

3/8/02

Got picked up @ 9am by the lady from the car hire company, we hired a 4WD for 2 days. It's a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, it's brand new and it's automatic so Mum can have a go. 1st stop was Mossman, had a look @ the river but didn't go all the way up to the gorge as we didn't have time. Next stop was Daintree, not much there just a couple of shops and a timber cutting museum so we drove down to the river ferry. Over the river is all beaches and coves, it's magic. 1st stop was a lookout high on a hill, the Alexandra range lookout, that let you see Cape Kimberly and Shipwreck Bay. Next we drove down to Cow Bay for lunch. Went swimming in the sea 1st, very warm. The beach is nice white sand and there's not many people, 20 @ most. After lunch we drove past Hutchinson Hill to Thornton beach, another nice quiet one, then onto Cape Tribulation. It was a bit busier here, the beach was still good but there were too many people. Having done the sights we started on the road from Cape Trib to Cooktown, it's unsealed gravel road with steep hills all the way and is the reason you need a 4WD. It was bumpy, there were lots of corrugations, potholes, creek beds and 2 streams that we had to go through. The hills were really steep, up and down. It was excellent, mother didn't think so, it gave her a headache, everyone else took turns to drive. After all the up's and down's the road settled down to flatish, well graded gravel track and I drove us all the way to Cooktown. Some loony coming the other way too fast nearly collided with us on a blind crest, didn't see what happened to him as he swerved out the way as I was too busy keeping us on the road, hope he rolled, idiot! We got to Cooktown just before 7pm and it was dark. The motel was nice, our first bit of luxury for ages. We went and got fish and chips for dinner from the place over the road as so many people had recommended it, it was really good. Went to bed and watched TV until 1:30, sad as there was nothing but "Kylie night" that was worth watching.

1/8/02

Went on a boat cruise to the Great Barrier Reef. The boat was a huge cat called Quicksilver 8, very big and fast. We watched a few videos on the 1hr trip out on the reef and what we were going to see. They have a huge pontoon moored next to Againcourt Reef, from there they have all the activities. We went snorkelling as we don't like diving. It was excellent, the pontoon is in 8m of water but it's on the edge of the reef so you can swim right over it, @ one point it's only about 1m below the surface. There's loads of fish, can't remember the names, there was a huge tame one called Gonzo hanging around the pontoon, I swam with a parrot fish for a while, there were zebra fish, wrasse, long pointy things, giant clams, sea cucumbers, small neon fish, large deep purple fish, loads! The pontoon has an underwater viewing area and semi-submersibles so you can get a good look @ everything. Didn't understand the guide to well on the sub though as he was Norwegian and his English was very much like early Arnold Schwartzenegger movies. There was an all you can eat buffet lunch, mainly salad but very nice. Dad missed it though and most of the other stuff as he got seasick after the snorkelling, very unlike him, Mum reckons he was too excited this morning. A very very good day in the end. Ride back was as smooth as the ride out, Dad managed not to be ill.

30/8/02

Left Yeppoon and spent the day driving to Hervey Bay.

28/8/02

Lazy day. Aub and Daren popped into town whilst I did the washing. Drove them to the golf course, dropped them off and then came back to the campsite. Sat in the sun and wrote a letter to Mum.

26/8/02

Did a boat trip to the Whitsunday Islands. Our first stop was Hamilton Island which is the most developed. Walked around the town and then we headed to the beach. Back on the boat for lunch and then we went to Whitsunday Island where we stopped Whitehaven beach. It was beautiful. 5km of pure white sand, could have stayed there a lot longer than the two hours we had. Really enjoyable day.

24/8/02

Sporting day. Tennis, swimming, crazy golf and more swimming. A fun day in the sun. Went into town for a few drinks.

22/8/02

Cloudy again so we went for a drive. Popped to the shops then drove to Shute Harbour. There wasn't much there so came back to the campsite. Went out for a quiet afternoon drink, ended up having a little more than I had expected and pizza which was nice.

20/8/02

Another day driving, this time to Airlie Beach. Weather still cloudy but warm. Had our 1st night out with Daren. We all got very drunk. D got escorted from the nightclub so we decided to go home. On our way home D could hear music from a bar so he decided to go there. We left him to it.

18/8/02

Another day driving, this time to Brisbane. Popped to the hypermarket next to the caravan park which was enormous. In the evening we popped over the road to see M and T to collect an airbed.

16/8/02

Lazy day, popped to K-Mart and brought a chair for Daren. Came back for lunch and sat in the sun for a while. Went for a swim which was lovely as the pool was heated.

14/8/02

Visited Eungella National Park where we saw two Platypuses in the river. Did a short walk through the rainforest which was good. It was a good day and the scenery was beautiful as we drove up into the hills.

12/8/02

Bit of a rush to get the ferry to Magnetic Island (made it). Caught the bus to Horseshoe Bay and from there we walked along part of the coast. First stop was Balding Bay which was very nice. Swam and sunbathed for a while. Walked to Radical Bay where we stopped for lunch. Continued along the coast passing Florence Bay and Arthur Bay. We then headed inland to see the Forts which were built during the second world war. Saw two Koala's on the way up, good view from the top.

10/8/02

Left Kurrimine Beach and headed south to Townsville. Beautiful scenery along the coast, especially as we headed through the hills. Stopped at a lookout and could see Hinchinbrooke Island in the distance. Stopped at Crystal Creek. Would have had lunch there but we had no bread, so instead we walked down to the creek and saw the bridge which was built in the 1930's by men who were unemployed. Drove up to the village, Paluma, which is up in the mountains. Nice view from the top. Continued to Townsville and arrived about 3:30pm.

8/8/02

Lazy morning. Managed to plan the route for next week. Drove into Mission Beach which looks gorgeous but again very windy. Sat in a picnic area just away from the sea and had lunch. Did a short walk at Lacey Creek where we were lucky enough to see a Cassowary, well the back end of one! These are an endangered species, they're flightless birds, smaller than an emu, black with blue heads and red flappy bits.

6/8/02

Hangover!

4/8/02

Strolled around Cooktown, pretty place. Walked to the top of Grassy Hill to look across the bay. Captain Cook walked to the top of this hill when his boat was grounded here in 1770. We stopped at the Lion's Den hotel for lunch before making our way back to Port Douglas.

2/8/02

Another trip to to Karunda, a small village up in the hills. Took the cable car up which took you above the rainforest. A couple of stops on the way both with walks through the rainforest. Very good interpretative centre at the second stop, Barron Falls. Sat in the park in Karunda and had lunch, looked around the shops before making our way to the station. Took the train back which followed it's way down the mountain and went through 15 tunnels.

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