Oz XXIV - Rainforest meets Reef

I finally made it to the end of my East Coast odyssey when I arrived in Cairns. I spent a week in the area and went further north staying in Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation. Cairns is good for everything around it rather than the city itself. It is a tourist town set up for families and backpackers. There are lots of tacky tourist shops and tour agents. In saying that it has relaxed atmosphere and I had a good time while I was there. The weather was good, it was hot during the day and stayed warm in the evenings. During the day the beautiful people crowd the lagoon (a man made swimming pool on the esplanade) lying out in the sun. I caught up with the nautical Surrey girls from the Whitsundays and we stayed at Bohemia Central. It is a nice hostel, with good facilities, clean rooms, a good location, and a cool little bar on the premises. There are lots of backpacker deals in town, while I was their I always had a free evening meal at Rhino Bar.

I went on to Port Douglas and I had my run in with Team Japan at Port O'Call. Port Douglas is a resort town for those with some cash in their pockets. It is much prettier than Cairns. The beach is reminiscent of Mission Beach, but much busier. Port Douglas also has very aggressive Mosquito's which land on your face and try and bite you (or actually bite you as a friend of mine discovered). I then went on a tour up to Cape Tribulation with Tropics Explorer. On the way we stopped at the Daintree River to do a Crocodile spotting cruise. We spotted a big Saltwater Crocodile and a Freshwater Crocodile, we also got up close and personal with a tree snake. The drive up to Cape Tribulation has some great views as you wind up through the Daintree Rainforest. From one of the lookouts you can see the Low Isles group of islands where Steve Irwin was killed. Cape Tribulation was named by Captain Cook when he struck a reef off the coast and the Endeavour nearly sunk. When you wander round it doesn't feel like it has changed and you wonder whether this is what Captain Cook saw himself. It is an undeveloped place with a few accommodation options and a couple of shops. There are certain sections of the beach that you aren't allowed to walk along because Saltwater Crocodiles live there, it isn't unusual to see them sunbathing on the beach or swimming in the sea. Cassowaries also live in the rainforest, but I again didn't bump into any. I stayed at Ferntree Lodge which has good accommodation and location but the kitchen is appalling. The kitchen at Ferntree Lodge is probably the worst I have come across in Australia. Dead insects littered the kitchen, the facilities were completely inadequate, there was one bowl and one spoon for everyone, and the staff couldn't of cared less.

Choice can be paralysing. We have firmly established that the East Coast is setup for backpackers. It means that when you want to do something then there are a multitude of ways to do it for a variety of different prices. The Great Barrier Reef has arguably the most options of any on the East Coast. For starters you can jump on a boat from Cape Tribulation, Port Douglas or Cairns. They then visit different types of sites, some go to islands, others to cays, or to the inner reef, or to the outer reef. Now within these different types of sights are different places. You then also need to factor in the speed and quality of the boat, which becomes more important when you realise that getting out to the reef isn't the smoothest of crossings. After much deliberation I finally choose Silverswift from Cairns. It is the fastest ship out of Cairns and stops at 3 different sights on the outer reef. It was a pretty rough journey to get out there and back, within 10 minutes of leaving port people were throwing up on the back deck. There was one time where we hit a particularly big wave and everyone on board let out a collective gasp as we crashed down on the other side. In saying that I and the majority of people were perfectly fine. The snorkeling was excellent. I had heard so many reports of coral bleaching and lack of fish that I was surprised to see the variety of colours and fish. It was worth paying the extra money to go to the outer reef on a decent ship. I got alot of great photos and even managed to find Nemo. I spotted a turtle from the boat, but unfortunately none while I was in the water.

Oz XXIII - Hop, Skip & a Jump

There is a tendency for people to rush up the East Coast in a little over a month. I have been lucky enough to have the time and money to spend 3 months. It means I have visited alot more places and spent alot more time in places, rather than just have a pub crawl interspersed with overnight bus journeys.

I stopped in Bundaberg the night before 1770. A regrettable decision. Before I went to Bundaberg everyone asked why I was going there as the only reason to go there is to find fruit picking work. I also made the unfortunate assumption that I would find accommodation easily. I ended up staying in Bus Stop Hostel (right next to the Greyhound Bus Stop), more juvenile detention centre than hostel. It seemed to be a converted warehouse with very few friendly people. The room I stayed in was a mess with the occupant's belongings spread everywhere and half eaten food lying around. What made matters worse was that there weren't any windows in the room so there was no way to get rid of the smell of damp. The town itself isn't that bad it just lacks personality and while I was there the weather was grey and unwelcoming. I did get along to the Bundaberg Rum Distillery and did their tour which was pretty good.

After a month in 1770 I went to Rockhampton. Rockhmapton is not a tourist town. I went to the Tourist Information office and asked how I got to here and here, and was told that without a car I wasn't going here or here, but the only place a bus went was the Botanical Gardens (which were pleasant). The woman at the Tourist Office was, however, awfully impressed by my being from Essex and asked me to pass on her best wishes to Jamie Oliver. I was lucky enough to be in Rockhampton on a Friday which meant I could go and watch Rodeo practice at the Great Western Hotel (owned by Keith Urban). I started the evening with a steak in the beef capital of Australia. It is a bit of a peculiar sight bull riding. It is certainly impressive but also has a car crash quality to it. One guy got his hand caught on the reigns and was dragged around for a while. Another guy got his leg trapped and was dragged and then trampled by the bull. While he lay motionless in the middle of the ring the rest of the cowboys ran in to distract the bull and this lasted a good few minutes. Eventually they calmed the bull and the guy struggled to his feet.

My next stop was Mackay. Mackay has a lot less character than Rockhampton. When you enter Rockhampton it feels like you have stepped back into the 1980s. People walk around in checked shirts and big hats. There are quite a few historic buildings. Another reason why I liked Rockhampton was the taxi driver who picked me up from the Greyhound bus station. Every other word was bloody, I wasn't sure if this was because he was angry until I realised he used bloody like other people would use ummm. Although I wouldn't necessarily recommend walking around Rockhampton at night, it is a bit dodgy. Mackay in comparison is much plainer. I was staying at Gecko's Rest which is a fine hostel apart from the Bogan's (Australian Chavs) who stalk the corridors. Outside of town there is a huge bay and if you walk down on to the mudflats you can see thousands of tiny crabs wandering around.

After Mackay I went to Airlie Beach for the Whitsundays trip. Airlie is renowned as a party town for backpackers and does have the feel of a Club Med seaside resort. The hostels are known to be particularly bad for cleanliness, facilities, and bed bugs. "Goodnight, mind the bed bugs don't bite", had little meaning for me until I reached Australia. When checking into a hostel you should always check your prospective bunk for tiny holes in the wood where they reside, you also need to check the mattress for blood spots, and if you are against the wall they can nest in unpainted mortar. You will know when you have been bitten by bed bugs because you have rows of itchy chicken pox style spots. They are taken from hostel to hostel in rucksacks and sleeping bags (hence why sleeping bags are banned in most hostels). I was under the impression that bed bugs were tiny but apparently they can get up to an inch long. A girl I know woke up to discover bed bugs crawling over her breasts. The yachts on the Whitsundays are not immune, backpacker yachts don't let you take bags with zips on board (as they nest in the zips). Alot of the cheaper boats are infested and even the higher end racing yachts like British Defender have problems. In the classy Whitsunday Magic this wasn't a problem, I could have as many zips as I liked.

I am probably doing Airlie Beach a bit of a disservice. The scenery is pretty and I stayed in a good hostel at Backpackers on the Bay. Just make sure you avoid Beaches, Magnums, and Koalas. I would suggest not going closer than a barge pole to anything relating to Koala Backpackers. I have not heard a good thing about any of their hostels. I have been told that their Fraser Island Self-drive trips are pretty appalling. Two 4x4s went out on one occasion, one group had half the food needed for the trip and the other group had all the food but an empty gas bottle. I did break the rule of avoiding Magnums when I stayed in their resort on Magnetic Island. Magnums always looks cheaper than other hostels but that is because all you get included is your bed with a bottom sheet. They do not give you a top sheet, a pillow, or a blanket. For all of these luxury items you have to pay a fee and a deposit. I had one of my worst nights sleep their surrounded by a choir of snorers. In saying that Magnetic Island is very pretty and I had a good evening watching toad racing with a German guy called Leonard. The toad racing was highly entertaining with a very funny Aussie bloke running it. He auctioned the toads before the race and had a variety of nicknames for them. Whenever the bidding got to $16 he would give the toad a kiss (sweet 16 never been kissed). A big crowd was watching, including US Navy guys on shore leave who seemed to have more money than sense when it came to purchasing toads. US Marines and Navy personnel have been a feature in alot of places on the East Coast. They have been participating in the largest naval training exercise in history with Australian forces. I always find it amazing to see how young the military guys look. I would imagine that the Marines have got to be pretty pleased to have been posted to the East Coast of Oz rather than Baghdad.

On from Magnetic Island I went to Mission Beach. It is one of the more undiscovered spots on the East Coast. I stayed at the Beach Shack. It is a very small pleasant hostel, you cross the road and you are on the beach. The beach is beautiful, it is a tropical paradise lined with palm trees. I went swimming there and had stingrays swimming beneath me. I also went walking in the rainforest on the lookout for Cassowaries. Cassowaries are very similar to Emus except thy are more colourful, aggressive and have bigger claws. I didn't see any and I'm not altogether sure what I would have done if I had (apparently running away isn't the best method of not getting clawed).

Oz XXII - Dorm Etiquette

There are certain unwritten rules when staying in hostel dorms. Whilst they are unwritten they are pretty straightforward, don't be a muppet and think about the other people in your room. Generally people stick to these rules, however, when there is a group of people in a dorm (rather than just solo travellers) the rules can go right out the window. I stayed at Port O'Call hostel in Port Douglas. The first time I was there I was a in a room with an Italian called Mario (ex-professional footballer) and a German guy. Both nice guys, friendly, and non-snorers (all important). The second time I stayed there, after my Cape Tribulation trip, I was unfortunate enough to land in Tokyo. In general Asian travellers are very friendly and slightly mental. However, a group of Japanese boys is a whole different story. I arrived in the dorm to find the other 3 beds each had their own laptop. They had their clothes hung around the room and generally behaved liked I was some kind of weirdo for daring to enter their place (they had been staying there for 10 days, which is a bad sign in itself). I went into town for a few beers and came back to find Tokyo 1 watching a DVD on his laptop. I had a wash and went to bed. At 1am Tokyo 2 returned stomped around the room and then had a shower. He then decided it would be a good idea to use a hair dryer. I wasn't impressed and banged on the wall, advising him that if he wanted to use the hair dryer in the future (and continue to be a ponce) then he had better stop using it. He did. He then decided to open a few beers and turn his laptop on. I wasn't impressed. At 3am Tokyo 3 returned stomped around the room and opened a beer. His friend took him outside. At 5am Tokyo 3 woke up got a beer and turned his laptop on. Now I can't say using your laptop at night is one of the rules I would have told people about before but it is now going on the list.

The Tokyo triplets only saving grace was that they didn't snore. Snoring is possibly the most disruptive thing in a dorm. Generally when people are muppets and come back drunk the distrubance only lasts a few minutes before they pass out. However, snorers can go for the whole night. I have returned to dorms at night to be greeted with choirs of snorers. I have taken it on myself to wake these people if they are lying on their back. It is really frustrating when they are lying on their sides and still snoring. I had one guy in Sydney who seemed to choke to death throughout the night. Another guy in Canberra snorted loudly on the hour every hour.

Oz XXI - Whitsunday Magic

There are certain must-dos on the East Coast of Oz. Fraser is one of those, so is a cruise around the Whitsunday Islands. There are numerous boats you can choose to cruise around and for different periods. I originally choose the Solway Lass which is a tall-ship for flash-backers (backpakcers willing to pay a bit more cash). Unfortunately this was booked up so I paid an upgrade fee and found myself aboard the luxury 5 star Whitsunday Magic. It is another tall-ship but intended for couples with cash in their pocket and not backpackers. Not only was the ship better than I originally planned but I was out cruising around for an extra day (cash back). The weather was perfect for the 3 days and the sea was as flat as a pancake. Even though the wind was very low we managed to get powered by the sails for an afternoon. The sunsets were great with the last one being especially dramatic.

I do enjoy the finer things in life and I was in for a treat. The food was superb. We had breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner. I have never eaten such a high standard of food for so long. The sort of food where the presentation looks so good that you don't want to spoil it. Not only was the food good but the crew waited on us. There were a few backpakcers aboard and once we boarded we were having a cup of tea, one finished and asked the crew where we should take the dirty cups. The crew member (Captain Jack, not the real Captain) was taken aback as they normally just come round and pick up after the guests!

I was lucky that there were 4 more backpackers on the boat and we got on really well. I was sharing a room with a girl who lives not more than 30 mins drive from me at home. It was nice to be outside the backpacker bubble chatting with Australians on holiday and different aged travellers rather just early-twenty somethings. The crew were a good bunch aswell and they would generally stay up with us at night showing the 'games' they play on the party-boats. If you happen to play the blanket game just give them the blanket and don't get too confident with the 'My little Piggy' game either.

We had one full day of snorkelling at a couple of different sites. The quality of the coral was good and at the Blue Pearl Lagoon the fish swarmed around us as the crew fed them. We also had a morning on Whitehaven beach. It is a stunning white beach. The sand is so fine that you can polish jewellery with it, and if you were to drop your camera on the beach it would be as good as dropping it in the sea. It also makes a squeaky sound as you walk on it.