My month Down Under

Our first stop was Cairns which is a small, friendly town. It does not have any remarkable features but it is a popular destination as it is so close to the Great Barrier Reef. As I came to Australia once before I did not join my friends when they went to the reef so I spent the day relaxing and I went to the Botanical Gardens. Penny and I went on a day trip to Cape Tribulation which is just North of Cairns along a scenic coastal road.

We had a number of stops and went to Mossman Gorge which is where a wild river cuts through rainforest and which looks very dramatic. Every thing in Australia seems to be dangerous however. Our guide told us with delight to watch out for crocodiles, deadly spiders and even plants which could leave you in agony for months. He also repated "No worries" amd "Kick back and relax" seemingly after every sentence.

The best part of the day was when we strolled through Daintree rainforest which has been there for a least half a million years which means that dinosaurs had strolled through the same forest as me. The climate has kept it constant and as a result it is a world heritage site. We saw trees which moved themselves and plenty of mangroves. It was amazing to think how old it was and how little it had changed. We went on a river cruise and saw a five metre crocodile called Albert who was pleasant enough to stay sunbathing on the side.

After three days in Cairns we boarded a bus and went down to Townsville where we caught the ferry to Magnetic Island which is a very relaxed island about 20 mintues from the mainland. We spent two nights there at a very nice youth hostel. On the one day we went on an epic walk and explored the island. We saw 5 koalas in the wild. They sleep for 20 hours a day and look as if they are going to nod off at any moment. As you can imagine they do not move much. We visited a few secluded beaches which were stunning but because of the rick of jellyfish stings you cannot swim in the sea. We left Magnetic Island and caught a bus to Airlie Beach.

We stayed at a huge hostel called Magnums which was absolutely crammed with backpackers. We only stayed for one night but Airlie had a fantastic party atmosphere and we went out that night along the party strip. The next morning was a bit of a struggle to get up but we had to go and to the port and board out boat, Whitehaven SV, to start our cruise of the Whitsundays.

There were 24 passengers onboard and 3 crew and luckily there were no annoying people as we had to spend the next 2 days and 2 nights in a very small area! We went to Hayman Island where we snorkelled and saw a lot if fish. We had to wear stinger suits which made us all look extremely funny especially with the hood on. I saw a turtle who was very mellow and we saw a huge fish.

We sailed around Hook Island and went to the other side of the Whitsunday Island to visit Whitehaven beach which is supposedly one of the top 5 beaches in the world. Unfortunately it rained when we were there but you could see how beautiful it was as it had pure white sand which swirled around the sea.

It was fun being on a sailing yacht and at night the stargazing was phenomenal. I could see stars as far as the eye could see and they almost seemed to be touching the trees on the islands.

We departed the boat midday on the third day and spent the day in Airlie before we caught an overnight bus to Hervey Bay. We travelled around Oz on Greyhound buses which were efficient and reliable.

Hervey Bay does not really have much gonig for it but it is the gate way to Fraser Island. We started our tour to the island there. We had a briefing and were put in groups of 9. We had to discuss a shopping list and buy food for the next three days. Luckily our group was friendly and easy going which made group decisions relatively easy. We all hopped on our 4 wheel drive and caught the ferry across to Fraser, which is the largest purely sand island in the world. It is said that all the sand from Australia's East coast eventually ends up on Fraser Island. It is a beautiful place and the beaches are the high way. I drove along the beach which was an exciting experience with the sea crashing against the beach. We camped on the island which was fun. We had to make sure all our food was loaded up as there are lots of dingoes hovering around.

When we were there we went to the wreck of the Maheno which is a ship which was beached following a cyclone in 1935. A wedding actually took place on board when the man who had to guard it got married. We went to Lake McKenzie which was beautiful. It has crystal clear water surrounded by sand beaches. It really did look like paradise. The whole island was a special place abundant with natural beauty.

We were sad to leave. The night we were back on the mainland we caught a bus to Brisbane. Penny left us as this point to go to Byron Bay and then Uluru, which I went to last time I came. In Brisbane we stayed with a guy who we met on our China tour. He showed us around the area and we went to the Botanical Gardens which were huge. Brisbane is a fantastic city. It is a good size with a great, cosmopolitan atmosphere. The buildings look relatively old and it had a good cultural scene. Daisy and I enjoyed wandering through the streets and salivating at the menus of the street cafes.

After two nights there we moved onto Byron Bay which used to be a whaling station but which is now a thriving meeting place for all sorts. It is small and has a laid back atmosphere with lots of hippies milling around. There are a lot of backpackers here and it is quite a party place so we spent an obligatory night in the cheesiest club, Cheeky Monkies.

We did manage to get up the next day and walk to Cape Byron which has a picturesque lighthouse. We also stood at the most Easterly point of Australia which felt much the same as the rest of Australia! With little else to do besides relaxing, drinking and surfing we left after two nights and made our way to Port Macquarie.

Port Macquarie is a small town which is a good place to unwind and enjoy the simpler things in life! It was the third town to be established on the Australian mainland by European settlers in 1821 and was a convict settlement. I went to St Andrew's church which was entirely built by convicts. The church wardens were very friendly and I stood in the nave for about 20 mintues listening to their stories from the pasy. When I mentioned I was from Hereford the olf man started talking about apples which made a refreshing change fomr the usual blank looks when I say where I am from.

We went to a koala hospital which was so adorable! Poorly koalas are looked after by volunteers. One koala got badly burnt in a bush fire and cannot climbe trees so the volunteers put a pole up so she could shimmy her way to her favourite fork in a tree. We saw them being fed which was the liveliest we had seen any koala! We also went to Douglas Vale winery where we tried Isabella port which is supposedly the only port made from Isabella grapes. It was delicious but unfortunately we did not think a bottle of port would last in our back packs.

It did not stop raining in Port Macquarie so it was time to leave and we headed on down to Canberra: what an unusual capital city! The land it is built on was chosen in 1908 after the government could not decide to call Melbourne or Sydney its capital. As a result it is a purpose built city which makes it alnost souless. When the site was chosen only 50 people lived here and every last detail was designed. There is a lake right down the middle called Lake Burley Griffin making everything seem far apart.

The city centre was tiny and so quiet! As a town, Canberra is a lovely, a bit like a theme park as it is so green, but as a capital I am not sure if it has suceeded. We visited the New Parliament house which is where the House of Representatives and the House of Senators sit. We had a tour which was very interesting. Voting is compulsory in Australia and as a result at the last election over 90% of people making the Government quite a good representation of the people. We also went to the Old Parliament which looked quite dated! The Prime Minister used to sit in front of a window which faced onto a busy road, and the glass was not even bullet proof! Our penultimate stop was lovely Melbourne which is a fantastic city. There is so much to do there and it has a vibrant atmosphere. A tight cluster of buildings make the city centre with free trams making it extremely easy to get around. Our hostel was in a great location in the city centre. We went to St Kilda which is situated on a stretch of beach overlooking Port Phillip Bay just out of the city. It is bursting with individual shops and delicous cake shops and cafes. We visited our friend's cake shop, who we met in Thailand, and sampled some delicious chocolate cake.

We went on a Penguin tour one day! Amongst visiting more wildlife parks and sampling wine we got to see the Penguin Parade at Summerland Beach on Phillip Island. Every evening the little penguins waddle their way up the beach to their homes in the grassy areas. It was amazing to see nature in action, especially as they seemed oblivious to the crowds of tourists sat gawping at them. They mostly come up in groups and they put their heads forwards and run to make a mad dash to the safety of their burrowns without being eaten. They are only one foot tall and only weigh a kilo! They do the same every day after sunset. The next day was Anzac Day which commemorates the Australians who died at Gallipolli in WW1. We attended the 6am dawn service at the Shrine of Rememberance. There were so many people there and we watched the sun come up behind the memorial. It was interesting to listen to the patriotic speeches from another country. Later in the day we went to the Old Melbourne Gaol which is where the infamous bushranger, Ned Kelly, was hanged. We tried on his 'armour' even though I think it was for kids and I am sure his real armour may have been made of somehting more substantial. We read all about the people who were killed there. It was quite a spooky visit and afterwards we went on the Watch house experience where a constable pretends to arrest us. We were put in a cell and the lights were turned off. It was a bit of fun!

We spent 5 days in Melbourne and enjoyed wandering the streets which were bursting with cafes and bars. We were sad to leave but we had to get to Sydney as that is where we were catching our next flight.

I had spent five days in Sydney when I came to Australia last time. As a result I struggled to find things to do. I went to Darling harbour and to Circular Quay to look at the Opera House again. We went to the historical Rocks and looked at the markets. Sydney is a very 'cool' city but in my opinion there is not a great deal to do. How ever it was extremely nice to chill out a bit and spend my days wandering around the area. So onto Fiji!