Entries about beaches

First of all, a huge apology to anyone that cares that this post is almost 3 months overdue! Mostly Cape Trib Connections, I'm sorry! (My main excuse is that someone sat on my computer and the screen cracked. So I couldn't access my pictures and had to carry a broken computer around for awhile before I could get around to fixing it. Sad day.)

There may not be much to do in Cairns aside from go out and party every night at the same 4 or 5 main bars and then sleep off the night before at the lagoon. And repeat.

However, there's a lot of things you can access from Cairns, such as the Great Barrier Reef (just wait, that story is coming next) and Cape Tribulation and the Daintree Rainforest. Both of these are a must do when you're in the area, and Cape Tribulation was actually pretty awesome!

Anna and I opted for a tour that seemed the most personal and a smaller group. We also picked one that let us spend the night up in the Daintree Rainforest, there's not really a “town” but a collection of a couple hostels that you can stay at. Unfortunately we only had time to stay one night, but two or three would have been better, if we'd planned it out better (timing and food-wise) and if we'd known how much we'd like it there!

Cape Tribulation was named by James Cook in 1770 when his ship hit a reef, he wasn't in a good mood at that point as shown by other names in the area, including Endeavour Reef and Mount Sorrow. Surrounded by the Daintree Rainforest, which is the oldest rainforest in the world, there's lots to see and do.

We stopped at several lookout points along the way, and our driver / tour guide told us about some of the history and stories along the way.

We went for a brief “rainforest walk” which, though it was on a boardwalk, was still informative on the plants we could see. The guide pointed out some of plants were several years old and still only a meter tall but since a storm had blown down a bunch of trees and opened up the area to sunlight, it was now quickly growing as fast as it could in just a short couple months. The new leaves were still a light / bright green and very obviously new growth from the rest of the plant.

We then got dropped off at our hostel, a cute sprawling place with bungalows that were within walking distance to the beach. After a quick lunch we headed out to the beach and to explore.

Since we had a choice of hostels, not all of us from the bus were at the same hostel but we saw familiar faces as we wandered the beach and nearby boardwalks and paths.

We were warned about crocodiles in the area, and kept a wary eye out for them, and unfortunately avoiding wading in the waters.

When we first crossed this, the tide was out so it was relatively shallow, but still gave us some pause. On our way back it was a lot deeper with the tide coming in and after staring at it for awhile, decided we'd better not and turned around to take the long way back.

This area is particularly special in that it's the only region where two 'world heritage areas' meet, the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef.

That night we decided to splurge and do a guided night walk. It was cool to be walking around at night in the forest, but unfortunately we didn't see as many things as I was hoping for. We saw a lizard or two, and could certainly hear owls hooting nearby.

The next morning we were up early, no time to sleep when you're exploring a new area! Though it was tough to drag myself out of bed, I knew if I didn't, Anna would see something cool! Like that time I took a nap and she went and found wild koalas on Magnetic Island...

We met up with a couple of other people from our bus (they also did the night walk) and we went off exploring down a dirt road that eventually led to a trail and a river. Supposedly you could swim here, but we didn't have time and the water was pretty chilly too. Also it definitely looked like crocodile territory!

Luckily we were at the right place at the right time walking down the road, and we were lucky enough to see a cassowary!

I wasn't able to get a good picture of him on my simple point and shoot camera, but this is what they actually look like: (google image)

On the way back, someone suggested we walk along the beach instead of back along the dirt road. Ok sure, that sounds fine. We just have to be back to our hostel in time for the bus back to Cairns (he'd already told us he wasn't going to wait for us if we weren't there).

In the end, the beach wasn't the best way to go back, it ended up being very rocky, to the point where we were climbing over boulders as well. Anna and I felt frustrated and super rushed since we didn't how how long it would take us to get back and we didn't want to miss our bus. It would have been a lot of fun if we'd been able to take our time and enjoy it, chasing crabs and I always love rock scrambles. But this was more 'look out crabs, we're coming through' and then Anna throwing in some Swedish phrases.

We did however make it back to our hostel. And then the bus was late (they apparently tell you an early time on purpose, hmph). Once back on the bus we headed back across the Daintree River, this time on a boat, looking for crocodiles. We managed to spot several of them and learned about a lot of the problems crocodiles are facing. Crocodiles have lots of problems with hunting and baiting in the Northern Territory and other parts of Australia, but luckily they're protected along the Daintree River. (If I'd written this 3 months ago, I could have included the crocodile names, yes they had names since the tour guides see them almost daily and get to know them and where they live, but unfortunately I didn't write them down.)

We also stopped by the Mossman Gorge, and had a little time to wander the trails and explore.

There was a beautiful sunset and moonrise as we headed back into Cairns. I loved our trip with Cape Trib Connections and the combination of freedom to do what we wanted and explore, but the commentary of a guide on the small bus giving us history, information, and stories. I'd highly recommend these guys!

How do you pass up an opportunity to go horseback riding through the bush, along the beach, and through the surf when you're on Magnetic Island?

It's simple. You don't.

Although it's a bit expensive, Horseshoe Bay Ranch is comparable to other horse rides in Australia. And it's definitely worth it. We were just a group of 4, plus the owner and 2 volunteer guides.

There are no words to describe riding horseback through the bush and being surrounded by wallabies hopping everywhere, so I'm not going to try to describe that. But it was awesome!

Eventually we made it out to the beach, and walked along the sand for a bit. The weather cooperated and we actually had sun!

We then stopped for a break and to take the saddles off before going into the water. Once the saddles were off, the horses immediately were on the ground rolling around in the sand with their legs in the air, perfect picture of happiness. So cute!

We suited up with stinger suits (the last of the season) and then hopped back on the horses, bareback, and headed into the water.

That was pretty awesome too, I think the horses liked the refreshing water too.

All too soon we were headed back to the ranch and it was over. I'm glad the horses seemed happy and well cared for, and they've done this routine so many times they know when to walk, trot, and stop, and all you have to do is hold on! (Sorry there aren't more pictures, I was too busy trying to hold on! )

Another 'must-do' as you travel the East Coast of Australia is go sailing in the Whitsundays. Made up of 74 islands, it's simply gorgeous, and the Southern start of the Great Barrier Reef. Featuring one of the purest, whitest beaches in the world, it's the kind of trip you cross your fingers for full sun!

There are many boats and tours to choose from, day trips to overnight or even two or three night trips, from party boats to hopefully non-party boats. Ansley (another American that I met in New Zealand and have kept in contact with) had recommended Ragamuffin (a 3 day, 2 night trip), as that was the one she'd done and had loved it. It's a 53' Admirals Cup yacht, and it looked awesome. Although I did actually choose this one and reserve it, it ended up being a slow week and there wasn't enough people booked for that boat to sail, and I got switched / upgraded to Solway Lass. Built in Holland in 1902, she's a classic tall ship with lots of history and the tour was for 3 days and 3 nights!

We boarded after dinner the first night and motored out of the harbour and into the Whitsundays for a couple hours, before anchoring for the night. Obviously rooms and beds are small, since we're on a boat, but luckily we were only 13 people, on a boat with a capacity to sleep 32. This meant it was mostly 2 people to a room of 4, and gave us a little more room than if it'd been packed. The boat itself is 127' including the bow sprit, and 20' beam, two masts and 12 sails (though the most we had set were 3).

Hmm, I can't believe I didn't take any pictures below or of the berths!

Since it was dark when we left the harbour, we were anxious to wake up and see where we were. We woke up to this...

Our first stop of the day was Whitehaven Beach. The pristine, super white, famous beach I mentioned before. We anchored on the other side of the island and hiked over to the beach. We got to wear these awesome, sexy, stinger suits for the water since it was still stinger season. There are some intense jellyfish (such as the box jellyfish and the irukandji) that you don't want to mess with.

The clouds and sun alternated, providing us with everything from storm clouds (complete with rain!) to sunshine and blue sky. It was great to see the difference the sun made, all in just a half an hour!

After we'd spent some time at the beach, we headed up to a lookout point. Unfortunately, there were tons of people about and everyone was so focused on 'getting that perfect picture' that no one seemed aware that everyone else was trying to do the same thing. Which led to lots of frustrated people. We were also on a time schedule because of the tides, we had to get back to the beach or we wouldn't be able to get back to the boat!

That afternoon we set the sails and the sun came out for a lovely afternoon sail. Off the bowsprit was a net you could hang out on, though it wasn't the most comfortable, it was certainly the most awesome place to hang out, and that's where I spent most of my time!

Our second day was the snorkeling (and diving if you added that extra) day. I'd been very torn with the diving option, it was additional money, but I'd heard really good things about the area (again, from Ansley). I did decide not to dive, and save that for when I'm farther north, and from what everyone who went diving said, I totally made the right call. Apparently there was barely any visibility and they didn't even see many fish.

We did do a bunch of snorkeling and saw tons of fish. The fish were definitely used to people, some boats (including ours) were even feeding them (at least it was “Great Barrier Reef Approved Fish Food”). I was a little disappointed in the state of the coral, it didn't look so good. My guess was it was too popular of a place with all the boats going there and people not used to having fins continually got too close. Our boat didn't even give out fins to swim with, saying most people damage the coral with them.

That afternoon we went to another snorkeling spot, but this one had less visibility and we didn't really see much. By that point we were also getting cold and a lot of us didn't stay in the water very long.

Our third, and final day, involved a bush walk up to a lookout and then an afternoon sail back to the harbour. The weather didn't really cooperate that day and was pretty overcast and rainy. But still such an awesome trip! And of course I felt like I was on a boat still that night and even felt like I was swaying the next day

When travelling in Australia, particularly along the east coast, it's a must to see Fraser Island. While I didn't want to miss out on Fraser Island, I was skeptical after hearing some of the stories about the different companies that run tours. You can do anything from a day tour to a three day tour, ride in a bus or do a tag along 4wd tour (where your group is split into several vehicles, depending on the size and everyone can take a turn driving). I certainly didn't want to do a day tour and the bus was definitely out, but there were several tag along tours to choose from. I turned to TripAdvisor to see if anything stood out. Many of the companies recommended by travel agents (such as Wicked Travel had mixed reviews, however one company immediately stood out. Dropbear Adventures. Out of the 188 reviews on tripadvisor, 181 were excellent, 6 were 'very good' and only 1 negative review. I was astonished by the reviews and immediately decided to go with them. Best decision ever.

From being picked up at the hostel by the owner himself, to how smoothly the paperwork, safetly introduction video and vehicles were sorted, I was impressed.

As quick as possible we all packed our stuff up in the cars and left Noosa for a two hour drive from Noosa to Rainbow Beach, where we'd catch the ferry to Fraser Island. This 2 hour drive was a good opportunity to chat with the people you were in the car with and start getting to know some of the people you'd be spending the next 3 days with. Unfortunately, I ended up in a car made up entirely of Swiss who all knew each other and though they tried to speak English, they inevitably slipped back and I was left on my own. The following days some people switched around in cars and so I was able to be in different cars.

Once we got to Rainbow beach we hopped on the ferry and saw our first glimpse of Fraser Island.

It was a short ferry ride and soon enough we were driving on the sand, where all normal road rules still apply, such as speed limits and driving on the left.

I had no idea Fraser Island is as big as it is, it's almost 80 miles long! The eastern beach goes most of the length of the island and is the main driving area. It seems to go on forever!

Our first stop was our campsite so we could change and have lunch. One of the reasons I'd chose Dropbear Adventures was that food was included, which is a nice change for backpackers.

We were right next to the ocean, just a sand dune separating us from the water and you could always hear the waves.

Our tents were already set up with sleeping pads and sand already in them. You just had to claim one, but make sure you didn't keep any of your belongings in the tent when you weren't in it, dingoes are very present on the island and never hesitate to steal a tent if they think there's something good in it.

Our afternoon adventure was to Lake Wabby, one of the many freshwater lakes on the island.

The water was chilly, but in a refreshing kind of way.

We headed back to camp for dinner, drinks, and then I spent the night laying on the beach looking up at the sky. The stars were absolutely incredible!

And it was so great being so close to the ocean, but unfortunately due to stingers, sharks, and rips, you couldn't swim in it.

But you could watch the sunrise!

We did a lot of driving that next day, since it was our only full day on the island.

And spent some time at Eli Creek, another freshwater spring (where our camp drinking water came from).

We went to the Champagne Pools, where water washes over the rocks and there's lots of little fish in the water.

We hiked up Indian Head, which was a sacred area for the Aboriginals and had gorgeous views, we even saw a shark swim by down below!

There's a famous shipwreck on the island, called the Maheno. You can read more about it here.

Fraser Island wouldn't be complete without some dingoes!

Our last day a storm came in, but we were headed inland for some bush driving and a rainforest walk anyway. Though we did stop at Lake Mckenzie which certainly would have been better had it been warm and sunny.

It wouldn't be Australia without a ridiculous sign.

We took a walk in a rainforest and there was another freshwater stream, this one almost difficult to see as it flowed over the sand.

All too soon it was time to say goodbye to Fraser and head back on the ferry.

Though since I was headed all the way back to Noosa, my trip wasn't done. After we dropped some people off we headed for another beach drive along Rainbow Beach.

Right at the end Mark got stuck and we all got out to push and eventually had to tow him out. It would have been disappointing if no one had gotten stuck the whole trip, so this was good timing. And he was very stuck.

But we pulled him out, no problem.

We took another ferry and watched the sunset and then we were all ready to be home after a very long three days.

I would highly recommend Dropbear Adventures to everyone. It's an unforgettable trip!

The following photos courtesy of Dropbear.

There are several options if you want to see 'The Great Ocean Road', a famous coastal drive in Victoria. Featuring beautiful coastlines and beaches, limestone cliffs, and even farmlands and rainforests. Ideally, renting a car would be the best to see the road and towns, but this isn't always financially feasible, especially travelling alone. The next option is going with a tour company, I chose Go West Tours.

What I didn't realize was the Great Ocean Road was built by returned soldiers in 1919-1932 and dedicated to those killed during World War I, technically the road is the world's largest war memorial. The road is 243 kilometers (151 miles) and travels from Torquay to Allansford which is near Warrnambool.

The 14 hour day tour started at 7:30am when the Go West tour bus showed up at my hostel in Melbourne and picked me up. The tour guide Nicky, immediately hopped out of the bus and introduced herself and once we were settled in on the bus we drove around Melbourne picking up a couple more people before heading out of the city. There were a lot of aspects of the tour that I appreciated, but the first thing I noticed was how the guide kept us informed on what we were doing. As we headed out of Melbourne she told us where we were going next and how long it would take, and talked a bit about the surroundings we were driving by.

Our first stop was Bells Beach, and of course my first photograph is of a colorful bathroom!

Bells Beach is a famous surfing beach, though there was only a couple people out there that morning. Bells Beach has actually been named a surfing recreation reserve and is protected.

We all hopped back on the bus and were offered candy to hold us over while we headed towards the next stop major stop, a morning tea and cake break.

We stopped to see if we could find some wild koalas at one point, though they are wild and hard to predict so unfortunately they were all curled up high in the trees and hard to see. There were some beautiful birds there though too.

Nicky took the opportunity to stop at several lookout points along the road, when they weren't crowded with other buses, and even drive by pictures came out well. While we were driving, Nicky had an ipod playlist with music that coincided with what we were doing. There was surfing music (Beach Boys and others) while we were near Bells Beach, and then driving along songs that had lyrics about winding roads and a beautiful sunny day (luckily it was just that!) which I thought was quite clever and a nice touch.

Lunch was pre-ordered for us from a Thai restaurant which was surprisingly good, and then we had some time to walk around and enjoy the town of Apollo Bay. Nicky would tell us how much time we had before we had to be back to the bus, which was nice to be able to plan. Everyone usually returned right on time and it saved the awkward waving and yelling and herding everyone back to the bus.

After Apollo Bay we stopped at the Great Otway National Park’s cool temperate rainforest and had a half an hour walk through while Nicky told us about the huge towering trees.

Finally we arrived at the 12 Apostles. These were created from limestone and sandstone erosion. They're forever changing and these will one day collapse and new ones will be carved from the shoreline.

From the 12 Apostles we went to the Loch Ard Gorge and the now collapsed London Bridge.

London Bridge used to look like this:

But has since fallen down to this:

After that it was a long drive back to Melbourne. We took the inland road which was quicker but we still didn't get back to the city till after 9. We did stop briefly for dinner if people wanted, and a break for the driver. Though wifi is offered on the bus, it is dependent on cell service and I seemed to always time it wrong cause it never worked for me. At least the bus was nicely air-conditioned (or in our case, heated since it was windy and chilly) and I was glad I'd chosen the tour company with the smallest bus. With only 24 people on board, it gave the opportunity to meet and chat with most of the group throughout the tour, with everyone offering to take each others' pictures for them.

I'd certainly recommend Go West Tours, if you're looking for a small company with tours that have a personality and cover a lot of ground. Also, many thanks to Go West Tours for the discounted tour!