Right. first off i have to apologise for my lack of updating since the last post. and to thank marty for keepin it goin for the last while.( but what did you do to the layout??? ) thers really no excuse other than im havin a great time travelling up the coast. Never really get a chance to update pics and blog. but here i am now , and ive prepared a long one 
We're currently , and very near the end of travelling up the Gold and Sunshine coast of Australia. we started off at Coffs Harbour which was a nice little start to the journey , only 8 hours from sydney but still a big enough bus journey. We arrived in there at about 6am and had to wait til about 8am to check in , at which point it was straight to bed for a couple of hours kip. We had punch night that night and met some of the monkeys from the australian rugby squad.
COffs HArbour
From Coffs we got a bus at 6am to Surfers Paradise , which as the name suggest is only a paradise for surfers. It came across to me as a tacky cheesy 1980s miami vice kind of timewarp mixed with the kind of arses you find in the likes of Ibiza. We stayed a couple of nights there but nothing spectacular occured in our time in surfers. in a word. it was poo
From surfers we went on up to |Brisbane where we met up with Marty and Jacqui again. It was Sineads birthday to to celebrate we went down to the riverside and had the BBQ . I think marty mentioned it before n a post.
Next day we went to Dreamworld which is kinda like alton towers or that chessington place . anyways we had an excellent day there , and as marty mentioned the scariest ride i did was holding the Koala. Not really tho . i went on a few of them and got drenched on the log ride. Got pic taken with the Koala too as i mentioned which to me is a a high point. and i enjoyed it
At dreamworld we also apart from teh crazy rides. stroked a kangaroo and tackled a croc
Yes alright well that croc aint real but these fookers are. The one on the left is 2 metres long and the other guy is 4 metres and hes got 4 metres left to go!!
They had a tiger show at Dreamworld which was pretty impressive , they had these 3 Bengal tigers and the would show us some of their natural behaviours , like making them sit on their back legs , or as they found out by accident that they can jump huge distances to tackle their prey. They were transporting the tigers and one of them spotted an escaped bird from one of the other enclosures and in a flash it had jumped up and taken out the lil birdie. So now they show this in their show. was prety cool
Drenched after the Log ride
Dreamworld is where Aussie Big brother is filmed. 2 avid fans
This is why i cant come home mum!
We left Brisbane on Thursday and went to Noosa. Which has been one of my favourite places so far on the trip around Oz. They have a rainforest National park that exists on the Sand which is pretty rare occurrence. was really chilled out nice little town. liked it alot.
From Noosa we headed up to Hervey Bay which is the launcing pad for trips to Fraser Island. We started the evening in |Hervey bay at 3pm the evening before going to fraser. where we recieved a briefing on how to drive the 4x4's and how to avoid nasty situations involving dingoes. That was all lovely and we were put into our groups of about 10-12 people . We had a great group. 7 of us were irish , 2 were SLovenian and the other was English , so it was pretty cool.
We bought all the shopping for 10 people for the next 3 days in preparation for the next day.
We got up at 530 to pack our 4x4 , once enverything including tents food , cookin stuff was in we were off to the ferry where we took the 45min ferry over to fraser itself. got off and stated exploring the sand tracks and tackling sand dunes. .
Interesting Facts on Fraser Island
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Scientists believe Fraser Island has developed over a period of approximately 800,000 years. It's sand comes from the tablelands of northern New South Wales, washed into the sea by the big rivers of that area, and strong sea currents carry it north.
Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world stretching 123 km long and covering an area of 166,038ha.
The dingo population on Fraser is regarded as the purest strain of dingo remaining in eastern Australia.
Fraser Island once had flourishing timber and sand mining industries.
Fraser has over 40 freshwater lakes and is home to half of the known 'perched' lakes in the world.
Fraser Island was discovered by Captain James Cook in 1770.
There are no paved roads except in the resort areas.
There are no domestic dogs and cats allowed onto Fraser Island.
There are around 230 species of bird life.
Lake Wabby is being reduced in size due to a massive sand blow advancing at the rate of around 3 metres a year.
Dingoes were once used by aborigines to flush out game.
The Aboriginal name for the island was K'gari which means 'Paradise' .
Central station has no trains! It was the central Forestry Department station / centre between 1920 to 1959.
Fraser Island was World Heritage Listed in December 1992.
The Island was named after Eliza Fraser who was shipwrecked there in 1836.
There are 30 sandblows, which are areas of mobile unvegetated sand, along the eastern and northern coast.
Fraser Island sits on a huge reservoir of fresh water.
Almost the entire island is protected.
Sand contains no significant nutrients, yet Fraser is composed almost entirely of vegetation covered sand and boasts towering rainforests.
Eli Creek is the largest freshwater creek on the eastern, ocean side of Fraser pouring 120 million litres of fresh water a day into the sea.
190 hectare Lake Boomanjin is the largest lake on the island.
Lake McKenzie's beach is considered by some to rank amongst the world's top ten beaches.
Sandy Cape lighthouse at the northern end of Fraser Island was built in 1870.
Indian Head is the most eastern point on Fraser rising 60 metres from the water, and Sandy Cape is the the most northerly point.
so its a cool place then.
We spent half a day at Lake McKenzie which is an amazing sight. 2 tone clear water. looks like somethin out of a sandels brochure. really sweet.
We had a couple of encouters with dingoes along the way. the first night when we were drinkin one came up to the campsite and had a stare at us and was pretty close before he got scared and left.
It was like a school camping trip , having to do the survival , pitching tents for 3days etc. but with spectacular views of sharks swiming with turtles and rays and beautiful lakes and sand dunes.
Loved it.
AFter Fraser we headed back to Hervey bay where we stayed a couple of nights and then left for Airlie beach which is the gate way to the Whitsunday Islands
The Whitsunday Islands were originally formed by volcanic action. However, after the last glacial period (30 to 50 000 years ago) the sea level rose, leaving the higher coastal peaks as islands.
The Aborigines of the Whitsunday Islands were called the Ngaro and are among the earliest recorded groups in Australia. Often called the 'Island People' their territory expanded north - south along the island chain. They also inhabited the coast of the adjacent mainland. In their occupation as maritime hunters and gatherers, the Ngaro became well known as skilled navigators.
In 1770, the Cumberland Islands were discovered by Lieutenant James Cook. On Whit Sunday Lt. Cook sailed through and named the passage between the northern islands, the Whitsunday Passage. Later, once surveyed, the Cumberland Islands were divided into smaller groups - the Whitsunday Group, the Lindeman Group, the Anchor Islands and the Sir James Smith Group.
During the mid 1800s the Whitsunday Group were the first to attract the attention of the pioneers of the mainland coast. In the 1880s, grazing leases were granted for the islands. It was not until the 1920s that 'dreamers' built galvanised iron huts for guests. Cruise ship passengers rowed ashore for tropical fruits, tea and scones. The first day trippers from the mainland were the Prosperpine residents. They arrived on the island aboard the weekly mail boat.
In 1962, the islands became more accessible when the road from Airlie Beach to Shute Harbour and the jetty were completed.
Right now im on Magnetic island of the coast of Townsville. So called by Cpt Cook because of his dodgy compass. Really beautiful island. we rented a small car called a moke to drive about. only $45 for the day between us so pretty cheap. here for the next 2 nights so am just chillin again.
Hope you are all well.. i will see you soon
love steve
