TOP: Jenny and a curious & hungry dingo.
MIDDLE: Me behind the wheel of the 4x4.
BOTTOM: Me with fellow passengers cacking my pants before my first dive.
FEELING GO - MAKING THE MOST OF THE AUSTRALIA'S EAST COAST
(REMEMBER: IF YOU'RE MENTIONED BY NAME ITS COS I LOVE YOU DEARLY. IF YOU'RE NOT, ITS ONLY TO PROTECT MYSELF IN THE LIBEL COURT)
After the Jamboree there was nothing now stopping me finally snipping the piece of elastic that tying me to Sydney, and I was able to get on with my journey to see something more of Australia
First port of call was once more Byron Bay, but only for a day, sitting about waiting for the train which turned into a bus on the way to Brisbane. I spent a few days here visiting Trish, a friend from Lennox Head and Brisbane's prettiest waitress, and also sorting out my assult on the East Coast proper. If Sydney is London, and Melbourne is Bristol, then Brisbane is definitely Derby, at least thats the way it seemed to me. So you can see why I was keen to move on.
FRASER ISLAND
Off the Queensland Coast near to the small resort town of Hervey Bay is Fraser Island, the world's largest sand island. The idea here is to take a 4x4 and razz it around for three days visiting the various features of this remarkable place. Only keep an eye out for the dingos, they are the cheekiest animals you will ever come across and have no qualms about wandering right into your campsite, licking your barbeque and stealing your shoes. I was thrown into a Landcruiser with a cosmopolitan mix of British, German, Swedish and Italian. We all shared the driving and sometimes got stuck in the deep dry sand. But never when I was behind the wheel... Here's a few select snaps from there.
TOP: Jenny and a curious & hungry dingo.
MIDDLE: Me behind the wheel of the 4x4.
BOTTOM: Me with fellow passengers cacking my pants before my first dive.
AIRLIE BEACH & THE WHITSUNDAYS
Leaving Fraser Island and hoofing it on an overnight train to Airlie Beach then jumping straight onto a three day sailing trip around the Whitsundays is not the most relaxing of exercises but when your pushed for time and money thats what you have to do. The boat I was on was called JADE, and amongst its passengers was a lad called Paul who works in the workshop at the end of Wentworth Rd in Penistone, opposite Rusby's chippy. Small world, isn't it?
There's no pictures to speak of from this part of the trip, which is a shame. The snorkelling was unbelieveable, its hard to comprehend how much colour and life is down there amongst the coral until you see it your own eyes. I had a go at scuba but had some problems with my ears and so had to pack it in only a couple of metres down. Still, it was fun while it lasted. The town of Airlie Beach is nothing more than a string of travel agents and bars, and since I'd already used the travel agents... No prizes for guesses in this game I'm afraid.
MAGNETIC ISLAND
I had bumped into Steve, a mate from Sydney in Airlie Beach and he persuaded me to join him and a trio of Irish gals (Audrey, Emma, Niamh) on Magnetic Island for a few days, further up the coast, off Townsville, home of the mullet (more of that in a moment). Magnetic Island is named after Captain Cook's compass freaking out as he sailed by. Perhaps he should have stopped there instead: its another beautiful place. We stayed in a hostel with a resident crocodile by the name of Rin Tin-Tin, who is only there to stop himself becoming a handbag. There were also hundreds of rainbow lorrikeets who came to be fed once a day, and rare bush stone curlews walking about. We caught the tailend of a hurricane whilst staying there so when you weren't soaking in sweat from the almost constant humidity, you were soaking in rainwater from the dailt torrential downpours. A good spot for fishing though and I even got to meet teen punk rockers FRENZAL RHOMB who I had seen at the Jamboree a few weeks earlier.
Townsville is the home of the mullet, and after spending a day in awe of the examples on offer, Steve and I thought that we needed a bit of a trim. Mullets are obviously very much the order of the day, for when we had returned from the salon we noticed that the hairdresser had given us both mini mullets!!! A few frantic moments with scissors and razors managed to return us to out former looks, but it was a close run thing.
TOP: Having a "cheeky" time on Magnetic Island's jetty.
MIDDLE: Me feeding the lorrikeets.
BOTTOM: Rin Tin-Tin, the resident crocodile.
CAIRNS
Cairns marked the end of my East Coast travels. This is the stepping stone for exploring the Great Barrier Reef. I took a snorkelling trip out to the reef, and there's nothing much I can add to my time there than to let the pictures speak for themselves. Unfortunately I had the foresight to send them all home before writing this, so if you want to see any remind me when I get home.
17/06/01 - (The situation has now changed - here are some snaps!)
TOP: "Bonjour, je m'appelle Jacques. Ze majesty of ze sea, non?"
MIDDLE: If you've keen eyes you may see a blue spotted ray that I was following around, only to find out the next day that they are extrememly dangerous and should not be approached. Oops.
BOTTOM: A shy turtle - beautiful.
Nice place though, met some crazy cats and I now owe a lot for managing to pass myself off as bearing a striking resemblance to a young Burt Reynolds. But that, as they say, is another story...