Friday, May 25, 2007
Corramandel
Our penultimate stop was at a place called Corramendel. Its basically an old mining town and heavy on fishing, we joined some old fishermen for some beers in the local hotel and the next day headed to a hot water beach, where you can sit in the sand and its on the surface of boiling water, rastrick burnt his back.
Tauranga
A little drive away we stopped at Touranga to see Mt Maunganui and the coast line, very picturesque but there not much to do apart from fly in a helicopter to a live volcano, which we wanted to do but at 700 bucks we decided against it.
Matamata
After Rotarua we headed for Hobbiton. We thought as we were in NZ and Hobbiton is the only piece of set in the whole country left we thought we'd better visit it, as it may not be there for much longer if the film company get pissy.
Its totally overpriced but its still cool it go where the film was made. The holes are quite old looking now, the tree and lake is prob the most recognisable part along with bag end. The owners of the land are not allowed to do anything to the holes. The film company gave them a really shitty contract whereas they can only show people the site and not touch or change anything. They are not even allowed to plant wild flowers as there are wild flowers in the film. Its safe to say that as soon as i get back im going to watch all the films to spot the locations we have seen. Its a little sad but its such a huge thing over here. People have even proposed at the entrance to bag end.
Its totally overpriced but its still cool it go where the film was made. The holes are quite old looking now, the tree and lake is prob the most recognisable part along with bag end. The owners of the land are not allowed to do anything to the holes. The film company gave them a really shitty contract whereas they can only show people the site and not touch or change anything. They are not even allowed to plant wild flowers as there are wild flowers in the film. Its safe to say that as soon as i get back im going to watch all the films to spot the locations we have seen. Its a little sad but its such a huge thing over here. People have even proposed at the entrance to bag end.
Rotarua
After Taupo we drove onto Rotarua. On the back of a pretty bad hangover we headed for a extreme entertainment park. Its pretty much what everyone doees in NZ, apart from a few other atrractions. Rastrick went all out. First he Zorbed because he didnt get to do it in Oz. Then it was onto the bunjy swoop which looked pretty fun, finally the extreme freefall, where you get held up by a huge fan.
Later we headed to a hot spring by a river, pointed out to us by a local for a dip.
The next day it was time for white water sledging. Basically going where all the people in the rafts go but we just have a plastic sledge to keep us afloat. Needless to say its bloody tiring. I got trapped in one rapid and i could barley breath afterwards. You basically have to swim away from any rapids if you get caught. You also have to duck dive after going down them otherwise you get stuck aswell. The best part is where you swim upstream back into a rapid and surf on it, doing tricks and stupid stuff that the instructors showed us how to do. Its pretty good fun, but youve got to be fit to do it. Our legs were like jelly afterwards and the intructors still had two more runs to do after ours!
Later we headed to a hot spring by a river, pointed out to us by a local for a dip.
The next day it was time for white water sledging. Basically going where all the people in the rafts go but we just have a plastic sledge to keep us afloat. Needless to say its bloody tiring. I got trapped in one rapid and i could barley breath afterwards. You basically have to swim away from any rapids if you get caught. You also have to duck dive after going down them otherwise you get stuck aswell. The best part is where you swim upstream back into a rapid and surf on it, doing tricks and stupid stuff that the instructors showed us how to do. Its pretty good fun, but youve got to be fit to do it. Our legs were like jelly afterwards and the intructors still had two more runs to do after ours!
Taupo
Heading on from Napier we hit Taupo, withing 20mins of arriving me and green were headed off to the airport to do our skydive while rastrick stayed in town. Upon arrival we got booked in and then they kindly showed us a dvd of a jump, as if we werent nervious enough already. After the dvd we got suited and got introduced to our foreign and insane tandem masters! Into our stupid looking dive outfits and they began to film us for our dvd's. We climb into the plane, a strange pink flimsy looking thing and then took off. We are all squeezed in the hold of this plane practically sitting on each other while the masters are going whooo and yeeeahh, and we just say uuuhhhh yeahhh, whoo. Green was first to jump and as the door slid open as 12000ft and he edged towards it his eyes bulged intensly, the plane banked and he drops out just like that. Im next and i get edged towards the door, seriously heavy breathing going on, im hanging out the plane, then we drop! I dont remember the first few seconds of tumbling. only when we are freefalling my master taps me on the shoulder and we outspread our arms and begin to look around. I can see Mt Doom from LOTR, Taupo lake and just about 100miles in all directions. Eventually the parachute opens and we cruise liesurely back to the airport. My legs were pretty shaky afterwards but im pretty sure im not going to forget that experience!
That evening we celebrated with some beers and i cant remember the rest.
The next day we headed off for some jet boating and a walk around a thermal park. Was pretty stinky stuff, the bioling mud pools were pretty cool, seriously hot water. You can get the jist from the photos, the return journey in the boat waas a bit insane with the driver doing 360 spins in 5 inches of water and at about 50mph.
That evening we celebrated with some beers and i cant remember the rest.
The next day we headed off for some jet boating and a walk around a thermal park. Was pretty stinky stuff, the bioling mud pools were pretty cool, seriously hot water. You can get the jist from the photos, the return journey in the boat waas a bit insane with the driver doing 360 spins in 5 inches of water and at about 50mph.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Wellington
We took the ferry from Picton to Wellington and had a wander round town. Then drove up to Mt Victoria and went in search of the Hobbits.
We eventually found the route down to the film location. It is pretty impossible to spot, luckily we had a basic guide pointing us in the right direction. The locations look nothing like they do in the film a little dissapointing but, it is a national park after all.
The other locations just outside of Wellington were a bit similar to the film however a local WETA guide told us that Peter Jackson, took the ground from one area a tree from another, mountains from the south isalnd and then worked it all together with a bridge that was 2inches tall. It makes trying to remember the scens a little difficult.
After Wellington we journeyed on to a place called Napier.
We eventually found the route down to the film location. It is pretty impossible to spot, luckily we had a basic guide pointing us in the right direction. The locations look nothing like they do in the film a little dissapointing but, it is a national park after all.
The other locations just outside of Wellington were a bit similar to the film however a local WETA guide told us that Peter Jackson, took the ground from one area a tree from another, mountains from the south isalnd and then worked it all together with a bridge that was 2inches tall. It makes trying to remember the scens a little difficult.
After Wellington we journeyed on to a place called Napier.
Blenhiem
We also routed via Blenhiem to do some wine tasting and purchase some quality wine at a reasonable price. The first time i've ever drunk wine that cost more than a fiver. The sunset that evening was a blood red, pictures with the tree and rock are from that night.
We cooked a chilli and had our wine, the wine was very tasty with a hint of passfruit about it, the downside, it tastes just like the five pound bottles back home after the third glass.
We cooked a chilli and had our wine, the wine was very tasty with a hint of passfruit about it, the downside, it tastes just like the five pound bottles back home after the third glass.
Greymouth
On route up to Picton to get the ferry to the north island we stopped at Greymouth, there is nothing to do there!
Fox Glacier
After Queenstown we headed over the crown range to Fox glacier. At the top of crown range was probably the best view ive ever seen, ive got it photographed in a panorama so cant upload it. Green and Rastrick were asleep in the van at the time, it was of course very early in the morning at 11 o clock. The drive took us up a mountain range along the flats and into the rainforest. NZ has the most diverse landscape in the world. After driving through torrential rain and fog we arrived at Fox Glacier. The area around fox has a rainfall of 10m per year and on average it rains for 200 days a year. The day of our walk it was sunny!
We headed up the mountain with our bearded guide, we asked him if he'd ever walked any other glaciers, he said no, this is just a job, we asked what his main proffession was, he replied a Hunter!?!
The walk was quite tough up 500m through a rainforest, also the only place in the world where glaciers meet rainforests. The glacier itself was pretty cold but easy to climb, it was not full of crevices as it doesnt form like that, it is also growing longer and in the last 15 months has grown by 80ft.
We headed up the mountain with our bearded guide, we asked him if he'd ever walked any other glaciers, he said no, this is just a job, we asked what his main proffession was, he replied a Hunter!?!
The walk was quite tough up 500m through a rainforest, also the only place in the world where glaciers meet rainforests. The glacier itself was pretty cold but easy to climb, it was not full of crevices as it doesnt form like that, it is also growing longer and in the last 15 months has grown by 80ft.
Queenstown
Our dirve down to Queenstown rivals the best drive ive ever had, weaving through mountains and foothills, expecting to see the 'tricksy little hobbitsis' at every corner. We passed numerous large lakes and got a glimpse of Mt Cook, NZ largest mountain. On our wat down our road map points out all the filming locations for Lord of the Rings, however to get to most you have to take a 4wd car or a helicopter, the views are amazing nonetheless.
Upon arrival in Queenstown rob and joe went straight off to do their bunjy jump. 43m from a bridge, heralded as the first bunjy ever, im a little jealous of not doing it but if you stand and watch you'll see why.
Elated after their jump we drove into town and headed for our camp spot. Then we took a gondala up to the top of the mountain for some scenic views and finally ended the evening in an ice bar at -8 degrees drinking a polar bear cocktail.
Upon arrival in Queenstown rob and joe went straight off to do their bunjy jump. 43m from a bridge, heralded as the first bunjy ever, im a little jealous of not doing it but if you stand and watch you'll see why.
Elated after their jump we drove into town and headed for our camp spot. Then we took a gondala up to the top of the mountain for some scenic views and finally ended the evening in an ice bar at -8 degrees drinking a polar bear cocktail.
Christchurch
We flew in NZ without any problems, picked up our camper and went for a quick tour of Christchurch. Checked out the centre and the botanical gardens and got very dissapointed that the crusaders bulls super 14 game was in SA and not NZ. New Zealand is a flying visit for us and each post will probably be very small as we only stay in each place for around a day.
We got underway with our 6hr drive to queenstown in the evening and camped outside a place called Ashburton. NZ is very much like the UK, however with a grand population of Bristol its a bit sparse. Id say the biggest city is prob the size of plymouth, if not smaller.
We got underway with our 6hr drive to queenstown in the evening and camped outside a place called Ashburton. NZ is very much like the UK, however with a grand population of Bristol its a bit sparse. Id say the biggest city is prob the size of plymouth, if not smaller.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Sydney
After our long bus ride down from the surf camp we managed to get to Sydney, over the harbour bridge and into the centre via a quick tour and visit to Kings Cross.
Got on the phone to Sarah and she toured us down to a place called Darling Harbour for a great drinking spot but rather on the expensive side for backpackers. The rest of the night was straight forward, beers until dawn. We also met up with a guy called dave who was going to be on our flight to NZ and ended up staying in our dorm too. Dave was a great lad the only problem was he snored like a trooper, and i had to sleep above him, the bed was vibrating from his nostril power.
The next day we headed over to Manly for a look around and chilled on the beach most of the day, hired some boards and got destroyed in mammoth surf, its not that the waves were so big you couldnt surf them, but as they came in they just jacked right up out of the water and every time we tried to pop up, pretty much just got thrown off. At first we thought its probably because were not that good, but then we saw guys with fun boards and they were having just as much trouble as us. We only manged about 45mins in the water and then got out bruised and beaten.
The following day we had a trip to the blue mountains, however they werent blue and to be honest we cudnt even see most of them, as the fog was unbelieveable. Australia being hot all year round is a myth. We did a few hikes and by midday the skies cleared and we could see the rock formation of the three sisters and some huge waterfalls. We took a cable car back up the mountain and it was a little sketchy. Nothing strapped you in and it was about a 25 degree slope. Rastrick decided to hang his feet out the bottom of the car, suddenly we climbed even steeper, it was safe to say he got scared and quickly reeled his limbs back in.
That evening we headed to Kings Cross to party with the pimps, hoes and pushers. Was a pretty good night, spent at a place called World Bar drinking Long island ice tea out of tea pots, no idea why! On the return journey i almost got in the mix of some guys getting chucked out, then a taxi pulled up with a guy covered in blood, he jumped out and proceeded to wipe blood on the front of the taxi and shout "I call the police", in a foreign accent, then ran off, while the taxi driver shouts " I'l call the fucking police!". Also spotted some working girls, and some guy try and get some business!?!
The next day we did a walk from Coogee to Bondi and checked out the beaches and surfers. Some guy got his board smashed up just as we came along so i quickly snapped a shot. Had a quick swim at Bondi, while trying to avoid the floating rubbish everywhere.
In the evening me and Sarah went for a bit of a walking tour up and over the harbour bridge and down to the opera house before we said cheereo.
Got on the phone to Sarah and she toured us down to a place called Darling Harbour for a great drinking spot but rather on the expensive side for backpackers. The rest of the night was straight forward, beers until dawn. We also met up with a guy called dave who was going to be on our flight to NZ and ended up staying in our dorm too. Dave was a great lad the only problem was he snored like a trooper, and i had to sleep above him, the bed was vibrating from his nostril power.
The next day we headed over to Manly for a look around and chilled on the beach most of the day, hired some boards and got destroyed in mammoth surf, its not that the waves were so big you couldnt surf them, but as they came in they just jacked right up out of the water and every time we tried to pop up, pretty much just got thrown off. At first we thought its probably because were not that good, but then we saw guys with fun boards and they were having just as much trouble as us. We only manged about 45mins in the water and then got out bruised and beaten.
The following day we had a trip to the blue mountains, however they werent blue and to be honest we cudnt even see most of them, as the fog was unbelieveable. Australia being hot all year round is a myth. We did a few hikes and by midday the skies cleared and we could see the rock formation of the three sisters and some huge waterfalls. We took a cable car back up the mountain and it was a little sketchy. Nothing strapped you in and it was about a 25 degree slope. Rastrick decided to hang his feet out the bottom of the car, suddenly we climbed even steeper, it was safe to say he got scared and quickly reeled his limbs back in.
That evening we headed to Kings Cross to party with the pimps, hoes and pushers. Was a pretty good night, spent at a place called World Bar drinking Long island ice tea out of tea pots, no idea why! On the return journey i almost got in the mix of some guys getting chucked out, then a taxi pulled up with a guy covered in blood, he jumped out and proceeded to wipe blood on the front of the taxi and shout "I call the police", in a foreign accent, then ran off, while the taxi driver shouts " I'l call the fucking police!". Also spotted some working girls, and some guy try and get some business!?!
The next day we did a walk from Coogee to Bondi and checked out the beaches and surfers. Some guy got his board smashed up just as we came along so i quickly snapped a shot. Had a quick swim at Bondi, while trying to avoid the floating rubbish everywhere.
In the evening me and Sarah went for a bit of a walking tour up and over the harbour bridge and down to the opera house before we said cheereo.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Surf Camp
After Byron we headed to a little place called spot X for a surf lesson and about 2hrs surfing. I thought it was going to be terrible as the waves looked shite but i was pleasantly surprised, caught a few nice clean breaks, also took a few brutal nose dives when i got up too late, but it was probably the best surf ive had out here so far.
Later on while playing a game of table tennis I leant over to pick up the ball, and from my nose gushed what seemed like a cupful of sea water. This was about an hr after surfing. I knew id cleaned out my sinuses in one wave but I didnt realise i'd kept some water behind. That was a first for me after surfing. The next day we headed for Sydney. Only 4 days until NZ, we've heard its very cold and snowing, i only have one jumper, and today is the first time ive worn trousers in 8wks, the cold is going to hurt!
Later on while playing a game of table tennis I leant over to pick up the ball, and from my nose gushed what seemed like a cupful of sea water. This was about an hr after surfing. I knew id cleaned out my sinuses in one wave but I didnt realise i'd kept some water behind. That was a first for me after surfing. The next day we headed for Sydney. Only 4 days until NZ, we've heard its very cold and snowing, i only have one jumper, and today is the first time ive worn trousers in 8wks, the cold is going to hurt!
Byron Bay
After Brisbane we headed for Byron while picking rastrick up on route. We also had a quick stop off to do some hydro zorbing. 3 people jump in the ball full of water and then roll down a hill. ITs pretty good fun however it lasts all of 10 seconds and cost us 20 bucks. Its possibly the most expensive entertainment for the shortest amount of time, definitly recommend it though. I just ended up being sat on by a chick the whole way down as you cant really move, as its too slippery.
We got to Surfers pretty late and hit a ton of traffic heading down to Byron, the driver a guy called Glen couldnt believe we have to deal with similar traffic everyday. The town where he came from didnt have traffic lights for over 100k around.
We arrived in Byron late, got checked in and headed straight out to meet up with another one of greens friends. We drank at his hostel then headed to a place called Cheeky Monkeys. Its pretty much like any huge student night while your at uni but this ones full of backpackers. After the bar we went to the beach with a guitar till around 530 and then stumbled home.
The next day was spent sleeping mostly and then in the evening we watched Scoop, the film by Woody Allen, its not too bad but a bit wierd and quirky.
The next day was Nimbin Mardi Grass. No its not a typo, Mardi Grass is Australia's national weed smoking festival and it only happens in a small town called Nimbin. IT has a bit of a legendary status along the coast. Annually the whole town gets together to celebrate the fact that they a dependant on Marujuana as their main income. To say the least its a very strange place. They have bands playing and even have the hemp olympics where you have to see how far you can throw a bong!?! The town is mostly full of hippies and old people but every year crowds draw for the festival and the highlight the Pro-legalisation march. The whole town march down the street all dressed up, the were the weed dancers and people with banners, about 30 people carrying a massive joint and at the back was captain reefer, a proud weed preacher. At the end everyone else joins the march and walks down to a field for a few talks from the organisers. Dissapointly we missed the joint rolling finals in the town hall as we had to leave! Nimbin is a very odd place. I will try and post the photos asap as i had a great spot at the front of the crowd.
We got to Surfers pretty late and hit a ton of traffic heading down to Byron, the driver a guy called Glen couldnt believe we have to deal with similar traffic everyday. The town where he came from didnt have traffic lights for over 100k around.
We arrived in Byron late, got checked in and headed straight out to meet up with another one of greens friends. We drank at his hostel then headed to a place called Cheeky Monkeys. Its pretty much like any huge student night while your at uni but this ones full of backpackers. After the bar we went to the beach with a guitar till around 530 and then stumbled home.
The next day was spent sleeping mostly and then in the evening we watched Scoop, the film by Woody Allen, its not too bad but a bit wierd and quirky.
The next day was Nimbin Mardi Grass. No its not a typo, Mardi Grass is Australia's national weed smoking festival and it only happens in a small town called Nimbin. IT has a bit of a legendary status along the coast. Annually the whole town gets together to celebrate the fact that they a dependant on Marujuana as their main income. To say the least its a very strange place. They have bands playing and even have the hemp olympics where you have to see how far you can throw a bong!?! The town is mostly full of hippies and old people but every year crowds draw for the festival and the highlight the Pro-legalisation march. The whole town march down the street all dressed up, the were the weed dancers and people with banners, about 30 people carrying a massive joint and at the back was captain reefer, a proud weed preacher. At the end everyone else joins the march and walks down to a field for a few talks from the organisers. Dissapointly we missed the joint rolling finals in the town hall as we had to leave! Nimbin is a very odd place. I will try and post the photos asap as i had a great spot at the front of the crowd.
Brisbane
Catchup time. We left Rainbow beach for Brisbane. Arrived about 3 and were booked into the Castlemaine brewery tour for 4. Quick change and we caught the tube to the brewery. The tour was relatively boring apart from seeing the brewery in action as its still working, there was major wastage on the amount of smashed bottles going along the production line. The highlight was obviously the 4 beers we received on exiting the tour! However everything is all wrong with beer over here. The weaker castlemaine aka 4x is called gold then the stronger is called bitter and then a further strength was called sparkling, very odd.
After the tour we met up with greens mates Matt and Jordan. We ended up going to Jordans place to be fed lamb and steaks while drinking on his balcaony playing pool overlooking story bridge. Pretty cushy place seeing as he pays no rent!
The next day we went to Australia Zoo. The home of the late Steve Irwin. We were privaleged enough to watch his life story on the coach going there, it was great!?! You do get to walk around with kangaroos and stroke koala's, even hold one if you want to pay, we fed the elephants and then watched the croc show, where a large croc called Murray was the choice for the handler to parade round with a big slab of meat. The zoo has images of Steve Irwin everywhere. We even signed the memorial. On the return leg we got to watch the tribute to Steve'o that was even better!?! The bus driver was very fond of him.
The next day rastrick left us to go to surfers paradise, whereas we could'nt be bothered to pay for a bus. Me and green checked out the shops and then watched Spiderman 3 in the evening. The biggest cheese fest ever made!
"I didnt want things to be like this!" - so why did you go around killing people for 2 and a half hours!
After the tour we met up with greens mates Matt and Jordan. We ended up going to Jordans place to be fed lamb and steaks while drinking on his balcaony playing pool overlooking story bridge. Pretty cushy place seeing as he pays no rent!
The next day we went to Australia Zoo. The home of the late Steve Irwin. We were privaleged enough to watch his life story on the coach going there, it was great!?! You do get to walk around with kangaroos and stroke koala's, even hold one if you want to pay, we fed the elephants and then watched the croc show, where a large croc called Murray was the choice for the handler to parade round with a big slab of meat. The zoo has images of Steve Irwin everywhere. We even signed the memorial. On the return leg we got to watch the tribute to Steve'o that was even better!?! The bus driver was very fond of him.
The next day rastrick left us to go to surfers paradise, whereas we could'nt be bothered to pay for a bus. Me and green checked out the shops and then watched Spiderman 3 in the evening. The biggest cheese fest ever made!
"I didnt want things to be like this!" - so why did you go around killing people for 2 and a half hours!
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Fraser Island
The following day we were up early and started packing up our 4wd Toyota Landcruiser for extreme sandy conditions.
The girl helping us didnt really know what to do so we improvised with how everything should pack together and got it right when the guy in charge came round. I was the first designated driver and we all set off on a convoy to the barge. Once on Fraser we set off at high speed heading up the island trying to beat the tide as you cannot drive at certain times. Driving on sand was relativily easy although some people in our group could not grasp it. I drove all the way up to a place called Eli creek where we stopped for lunch and a little dip then continued on to the Maheno ship wreck. Finally we set up camp a little further north and began drowing our goon and beers. The strange thing about Fraser and Oz is that it feels like summer but it gets dark by 6. So on our first night we were all plastered and ready for bed by 10, nightmare! I slept in the van as i couldnt be bothered to sleep in a tent and its a good thing i did as when moring came we had a huge thunderstorm and everything got soaked.
Indian Head was our first destination to try and spot some sharks but we were unsucessful, just a few large shadows. After that we headed to lake Mackenzie for a dip in tea tree filled waters. After an hour of serious 4wd we made it all shaken and groggy. We swam and saoked in the revitalising waters and then left to set up camp, after the hour return journey from the lake. This time we started drinking later, but i got screwed on goon and felt like shite, i think we made it to 1230 this time though.
In the moring we went to lake Wabby, which is surrounded by huge sand dunes, me and Rasta borrowed someones bodyboard and went down a track they had made, with a little ramp at the end. Rastrick went down no problem, and skidded along the water. I however decided to take running leap and flew down a little skewif and hit the ramp at high speed, i proceeded to fly through the air however i became aware that i had left the board behind, so ended up doing a flip into the water while the board slowly skidded along the surface, i reckon it looked awesome from the top though!
On our return we noticed a nasty crack in the windshield, we got stung for 250 bucks when we got back to the garage and we dont even know how it got there. We didnt have many bad sand moments, we got stuck twice in the sand but managed to quickly get out before we dug ourselves in too deep, unlike one van we passed so deep they were trying to dig out the axles themselves.
4wd on Fraser and sailing the Whitsundays are the best things we have done so far in Oz, at the moment we are in Brisbane, but that post is for another time.
The girl helping us didnt really know what to do so we improvised with how everything should pack together and got it right when the guy in charge came round. I was the first designated driver and we all set off on a convoy to the barge. Once on Fraser we set off at high speed heading up the island trying to beat the tide as you cannot drive at certain times. Driving on sand was relativily easy although some people in our group could not grasp it. I drove all the way up to a place called Eli creek where we stopped for lunch and a little dip then continued on to the Maheno ship wreck. Finally we set up camp a little further north and began drowing our goon and beers. The strange thing about Fraser and Oz is that it feels like summer but it gets dark by 6. So on our first night we were all plastered and ready for bed by 10, nightmare! I slept in the van as i couldnt be bothered to sleep in a tent and its a good thing i did as when moring came we had a huge thunderstorm and everything got soaked.
Indian Head was our first destination to try and spot some sharks but we were unsucessful, just a few large shadows. After that we headed to lake Mackenzie for a dip in tea tree filled waters. After an hour of serious 4wd we made it all shaken and groggy. We swam and saoked in the revitalising waters and then left to set up camp, after the hour return journey from the lake. This time we started drinking later, but i got screwed on goon and felt like shite, i think we made it to 1230 this time though.
In the moring we went to lake Wabby, which is surrounded by huge sand dunes, me and Rasta borrowed someones bodyboard and went down a track they had made, with a little ramp at the end. Rastrick went down no problem, and skidded along the water. I however decided to take running leap and flew down a little skewif and hit the ramp at high speed, i proceeded to fly through the air however i became aware that i had left the board behind, so ended up doing a flip into the water while the board slowly skidded along the surface, i reckon it looked awesome from the top though!
On our return we noticed a nasty crack in the windshield, we got stung for 250 bucks when we got back to the garage and we dont even know how it got there. We didnt have many bad sand moments, we got stuck twice in the sand but managed to quickly get out before we dug ourselves in too deep, unlike one van we passed so deep they were trying to dig out the axles themselves.
4wd on Fraser and sailing the Whitsundays are the best things we have done so far in Oz, at the moment we are in Brisbane, but that post is for another time.
Rainbow Beach
After Kroombit we had a long drive into Rainbow Beach. On the way we also discovered that our hostel had screwed up our 4wd package for Fraser and declared us no shows even though we told them we would arrive by 530 and when we were going to be later we phoned and told them. So we arrived pissed off and got booked into the hostel who were meant to be supplying our Fraser trip. They now said we could not go until Sunday, maybe. So we packed our stuff up the next day and went next door to get our trip done with another hostel. They let us go on Sat and didnt charge us any extra cash.
The day was spent catching our first surf breaks of Australia. The waves were clean 3-4ft and surprisingly powerful.
The day was spent catching our first surf breaks of Australia. The waves were clean 3-4ft and surprisingly powerful.
Kroombit
Whilst driving down to Rainbow Beach for our trip to Fraser Island we had an overnight stop at a cattle ranch in inland Oz. We proceeded down a dusty and bumpy road for about an hour before we reached lots of wooden looking buildings.
We booked in and were led to what seemed like converted barns to sleep in. They still had the double style top and bottom door to access the rooms. The evening was spent learning how to crack whips and riding a mechanical bull. I was rubbish at both, but mainly because jumped off the bull before I castrated myself. I saw no need to bruise my genitals so i bailed. While rastrick on the other hand decided to stay on for about 8 bucks all the shile screaming in agony, and i have it on video!
In the morning super tourist Joe went off at 6 in the morn to round up goats on horseback for the rodeo later that day. He was the only person of about 40 who voluntered as it cost 40 bucks! The rest of us went for a walk up the nearby hills whilst looking for black widows. The bush is so large out there that a plane crashed 50 years ago and they have only just found it.
After our walk we got to go clay pidgeon shooting with a 12 bore shotgun. I only managed to hit 2 our of 5. It turned out our skills actually lay at the goat rodeo. Where 3 people go into a ring and catch a goat, tip it up and then brand it. The cowboys on the ranch did a demo in 15 sec. We managed 17 seconds!
We booked in and were led to what seemed like converted barns to sleep in. They still had the double style top and bottom door to access the rooms. The evening was spent learning how to crack whips and riding a mechanical bull. I was rubbish at both, but mainly because jumped off the bull before I castrated myself. I saw no need to bruise my genitals so i bailed. While rastrick on the other hand decided to stay on for about 8 bucks all the shile screaming in agony, and i have it on video!
In the morning super tourist Joe went off at 6 in the morn to round up goats on horseback for the rodeo later that day. He was the only person of about 40 who voluntered as it cost 40 bucks! The rest of us went for a walk up the nearby hills whilst looking for black widows. The bush is so large out there that a plane crashed 50 years ago and they have only just found it.
After our walk we got to go clay pidgeon shooting with a 12 bore shotgun. I only managed to hit 2 our of 5. It turned out our skills actually lay at the goat rodeo. Where 3 people go into a ring and catch a goat, tip it up and then brand it. The cowboys on the ranch did a demo in 15 sec. We managed 17 seconds!
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