An island, more beaches and a borderline city

Rainbow beach

The 120km drive from Noosa to Rainbow beach was a pretty uneventful one, other than the usual me belting out tunes in the privacy (and soundproof-ness) of my car of course. And the last 53km are even less eventful and will make the 2hour drive feel like 5 if you ask me. Mind you I always love and will never pass up on the chance to drive through a national park, but the part through the Toolara State Forest is just mainly straight and quite frankly will make just about anyone’s eyes droop if you ask me. The Great Sandy National Park is pretty cool, but as you’re driving about 100km/h you don’t have much chance of seeing shit. So the drive is a long ass one but the reward is great because at the end you’ll find yourself in the charming town of Rainbow beach. It’s not big but it’s got all the comforts you need, especially to head off to K’gari, more commonly known as Fraser Island. 

Fraser Island

From 1992 this 123km long island has been listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site and rightly so. 

I won’t forgot soon how this biggest sand island in the world was featured on some kind of documentary my dad happened to stumble upon on a school night over 6 years ago. I remember how he called me down from my room to come see this extraordinary natural phenomenon that had formed on the other side of the world. 

So when I finally had (and took) the chance to go and actually visit this awe-inspiring place I was more than grateful for life. 

Major tip to get the most out of your east coast trip is to make friends with someone working at a travel agency to get the best deals and inside information on the best tours! 

I was lucky enough to have a friend who works at Peterpans adventure travel agency in Byron Bay so I was absolutely sure that I got the best deals which brings me to the tour I did for Fraser Island.

Initially, me being me, I didn’t want to do the silly tourist tours and experience the north east coast by my self but I’m actually really glad I did do the tours I did. Some things are just best explored with a professional and good people around you. Which is exactly what I got with Dingo’s and Rainbow beach adventure company.

The 3 day 3 night tour was everything and more you could want or expect! It certainly was for me anyway.

Day 1 asphalt to sand

A(nother) safety and general information briefing done, cars assigned, stuff sorted and packed in before folding ourselves in the cars later we were on the road !

With 8 of us to a car and 4 cars in total per group things got snug and friendly pretty quickly. When you put 3 Irish lads, a French, Swedish, North Korean, English and Belgian chick in a 4WD things are bound to get fun.

Ten minutes of asphalt, a couple 100meters through soft sand and a ferry ride later I managed to get us safely onto Fraser Island. Woooooo!

It was low tide that morning which makes driving on the beach just about the same as driving on a hard packed dirt road (minus the dust lol). Quite easy in other words, still super exciting as I had never driven on a beach before but not the more difficult thing to do. 

So AUX cable plugged in, stereo on full volume, a car full of strangers, a big ass sand island and the sun shining bright we were off to a great start already.

Two hours driving along the eastern highway beach later we reached Eurong, one of the three settlements on Fraser Island where we took a short break to switch drivers before we headed land inward toward lake McKenzie. 

Lake McKenzie is yet another one of those stunning natural phenomenons found in Australia. Being one of the over 100 freshwater lakes on the island, Lake McKenzie is quite famous for it’s clear water. It is, in fact one of the clearest lakes in the world. We spent a great afternoon swimming in the warm clear water, making new friends and using the silica sand as a natural body scrub. 

After a long drive to camp in the rain (including rain leaking into the car) we all gladly cooked dinner together and get to know each other and the rest of the group (all 32 of us) better over drinks, games and music. 

Day 2 headlands, pools, creeks, shipwrecks and sunsets

Indian Head to the south

That pretty much sums up day two for ya haha. With the sun out all day it was the perfect day to take a hike up Indian Head for some panoramic views of the island. After that morning stroll up the hill we drove across the beach to relax at the champagne pools for the rest of the morning. 

Champagne pools

highway cruising

Another beach lunch later we headed back down the highway to visit the SS Maheno shipwreck.

This once 120m long dream liner (cruise) ship got washed ashore with a cyclone in July 1935 while being towed from Sydney to shipwrecks in Osaka, Japan. As all the attempts to reflect her had failed, for the past 84 years the wreck has been slowly corroding away on the eastern beach of Fraser Island. Right on the highway.

We got there in the early afternoon as the tide was coming in so the waves were quite spectacularly crashing into and going through the ships remains.

Fraser crew

Happy (floating) days

Our last stop of the day would be Eli Creek. This fresh water creek has a year round temperature of about 18degrees thanks to the constant flow of about 80 minion litres of fresh spring water flowing through everyday. 

Jenny and I floating
around
(RIP that bikini :( )

With the black tubes we brought with us from camp we spent the rest of the afternoon floating down the stream, playing volleyball and chilling on the beach.

Once back at camp we all headed down to the beach for some sunset drinks. Meeting a couple locals on the way. The dingoes that live on Fraser Island are quite unique as they are the last remaining ‘pure’ dingoes in Eastern Australia. Though these guys may look very like ordinary (domestic) dogs, they are quite the opposite, they are, in fact, just as wild as the shark swimming just off shore or the kangaroo’s hopping cross the mainland. My point being that they are dangerous and not to be taken lightly. There have been plenty of cases where people get attacked by these wild dingoes and people have even died at their “hands”. Dingo fences have been placed around the townships on the island and when camping outside fines apply concerning leaving food and rubbish out as they may (and will) attract dingoes which can have potential dreadful consequences. 

Common sense rules are widely spread as well, like don’t go wandering about at night, don’t go wandering about alone (at any time of day), don’t approach wildlife, don’t make eye contact ect.

Anyway, we had a banging sunset on the beach with the entire group before heading back to camp for dinner and more (drinking)games that went well into the night :p

Day 3 Green, blue, sandy and asphalt again

Lake Wabby

Admittedly waking up early the next morning was pretty painful but was well worth it once we were back to cruising on the beach again. This time we were heading for Lake Wabby! Which is, incidentally, again one of those extraordinary features of Fraser Island. It so happens that this lake is actually slowly disappearing, it’s quite literally being swallowed by a massive sand dune to the east. The two kilometre walk through bush is easy enough though the last couple hundred meters across the sand dune may provide magnificent views it also slows you down by 300% lol. 

So after the famously blue lake (McKenzie) we were all pretty stoked for this green lake. No idea why it’s so green but it’s the deepest (12m) and least acidic lake on the island thus permitting several fish-types to inhabit the lake. One of those are the tiny ones that munch away on your dead skin.  Anyway, once it began to rain we all skidded back up the dune to the walking track back to the trucks for lunch.

waving Fraser Island goodbye!

Luckily, by the time we all got off the track the sun had come back out and was drying us all up nicely so we had lunch before packing everything back up again to head all the way back down the island toward the ferry that would put us back on solid (asphalted) ground. 

Once back at the hostel, everyone got all their stuff back, got their rooms allocated, clothes washed and had a shower we headed out with a big bunch of our group for dinner. It was a great ending to another great adventure as the following day we would (almost) all split up again and go our own ways on our travels.

Agnes water

Friday the 19th of April I headed out of Rainbow beach with Helena, one of the girls I met on Fraser Island. It was so good to have a travel mate even for the day. We drove the 322km (+about a 100km of wrong turns and not the shortest route ideas lol) up to Agnes Water in one go. Agnes Water is known (among backpackers mostly) for it’s cheap surf lessons and chilled small town vibes. It’s the last stop on the east coast heading north where you can swim in the ocean (without risking dying/getting hurt from jell fish and other marine life), as well as being the last stop you can actually surf because of the great barrier reef that limits waves forming to the north. This also makes it the most southern access point to the Great Barrier Reef.

I had set myself a good week between my Fraser Island tour and my snorkel day out on the Reef in Cairns (approx 1,500km straight up the highway). In the past couple weeks though, I had made up a decent little map of all the things I wanted too see in-between, which was about 98% rainforest and waterfalls. Anyhow, as I only had a week to see all that beauty I wanted to (and because it was pissing down rain the following morning in Agnes Water) I only stayed the night and headed off further north on Saturday morning.

Although I still made a slight detour to Seventeen Seventy. Which simply intrigued me. There was absolutely nothing there really but it was one of those weird sights in Australia that you get drawn too. The town of Seventeen Seventy (1770) has simply been named so because James Cook had his second landing on Aussie land in May of 1770. Other than the Marker commemorating the landing there really isn’t much else to do. So it wasn’t a very lengthy detour but the rain had stoped and the sun was doing it’s best to come through too.

Rockhampton

roo garden

Off to Rocky. A good 3hours later I was wandering through the free zoo right next to the Rockhampton botanical gardens. I was very pleasantly surprised by this little zoo. It had all the great Aussie animals all as well as some very ‘typical’ zoo animals. Needless to say I was extremely happy with this unexpected find (as I was originally heading for the botanical gardens which I always love doing). I fuelled up on scones after a lovely walk through the botanical gardens too before heading back into to to officially cross the Tropic of Capricorn. 

Rocky's beautiful botanical gardens

Koala chills

made some friends 

WELCOME TO THE TROPICS

In search of warm weather and (more) good times

Back in aus, back home

My flight from Singapore landed in the early hours of Saturday morning, once reunited with Nala I headed straight for a spot I found next to the beach in Kirra the week before and slept pretty much most of the day. 

parking lot naps are my
speciality by now

It was a great day, full of naps, a swim in the ocean, a good book, a walk on the beach and pancakes for dinner. It was good to be home again.

It’s amazing how such a (relatively) small space, the inside of my Toyota RAV4, can become home. In all it’s possible ways. 

I had decided to (finally) take on the great tropical north of Queensland, Australia and that I would start back in Byron. So an hour back down the road I met up with all the wonderful people I lived with the past couple of months. I booked all my adventures through a friend at Peterpans adventure agent and went for drinks in the evening.

So my north-east coast trip had started! 

First stop: Byron Bay, April 2019

There’s so so much to do in Byron and surroundings I’m really happy I ended up living there for 3 months but it wasn’t until my very last day there that I finally went kayaking with dolphins (woohooo!) 

There are two major kayak adventure companies in Byron. Both located right next to the beach and right next to each other haha!

I booked my tour through the YHA, and went with Cape Byron kayaks. The other company is Go sea kayaks which offers (as far as I know) just about the same tour in the bay along Cape Byron. 

It was a great morning, a little chilly perhaps but all blue skies and loads of fun. The wind created some decent waves but we saw some turtles and I’m pretty sure I got a glimpse of a dolphin or two! The tour is very well done with occasional information on the bay and the surroundings and ending with tea coffee and tim-tams on the beach.

The Pass from Fisherman's lookout

If you're only passing through Byron for a couple of days the lighthouse walk is an absolute must. My advice is to take an afternoon or even a day for it. Pack your swimmers, a picnic, a surfboard, snorkel gear and whatever else you'd want on the beach and brace yourself for some of the best beaches in the world!

looking east toward Wategos
 and the headland
from Fisherman's lookout

Starting at main beach, which is always busy but has lifeguards and is merely a stroll across the road from town. Check out the shipwreck on your left or head to the right along the beach toward Clarkes beach. Head back to the walkway to get some great views across the boardwalk that swings you around to The pass. This world famous (longboard) surf beach also has a great lookout which provides you with panoramic views across the bay with heaps of chance to not only see loads of surfers but also dolphins, sea turtles and whales (June to Oct)!

The pass

If you're out of luck and it's high tide there isn't much of a beach going on here, so if you're not into the surf scene trod along the lighthouse track toward Wategos beach. Wategos has sort of a bay going on where heaps of fish are to be discovered while snorkeling. 

When you're all filled up with your picnic, surfed, snorkel and swam to your hearts content head back to the track for the last leg, about (half an hour to) an hour before sunset to finally reach the iconic lighthouse. 

lighthouse walking track

After a long day beaching around it's time for that well earned glass of wine or beer, which only tastes better with the magnificent views you'll have from the lighthouse. Get your picnic blanket out again and plant yourself in the grass and enjoy the panoramic views and (hopefully) magical sunset before walking back down again. 

Don't wait too long after the sun has set though,

it gets pretty dark pretty soon and there's no street lights 

on the way down.

Anyway, for me a shop, a lovely and unexpected afternoon catch up on the beach with a friend and quick shower later I was on the road again, off to Hastings Point where I’d set up camp for the night before heading further up to the Gold Coast.

Gold Coast

Broadbeach

So Tuesday I made my way up to the Gold Coast once again, yet this time I was headed for an old friend. I met Jenny over 4 years ago at the very first stud I worked at in Australia November 2014, we caught up again in February 2015 when I was heading up the coast that time and now April 2019 I found myself on the Gold Coast once again. It was so great to catch up after all those years even for the two short days we had. 

I don’t think I’d ever be able to actually live full time in Surfers Paradise (heart of the Gold Coast you could say) but I’ve definitely learnt to appreciate the beauty of the southern Gold Coast this time around.

Brissy

Two refreshing days Iater I headed up another two hours up the coast to Brisbane. Hello uncharted territory !! (personally uncharted obvs)

Southbank from the Victoria bridge

A little explanation here: During my previous Aussie adventures I ventured up to the Gold Coast to visited Jenny for about a week after which I drove up North west about 90k past Brisbane (thus bypassing it) for another horse job. I got pretty sick here though pretty soon so I ended up only staying for about 3 nights after which I decided to head back down to Port Macquarie where a Eva lived at the time, the daughter of my dad’s best friend. Thus I ended up crashing with her for a good week before heading down further back to Sydney to pick up my incoming sister instead of heading back up again.

So Brissy, woooo! I’d heard so much mixed ‘reviews’ about the city so I was dying to go explore it for myself and I’m very happy to report that I really liked it.

Southbank

Found a hostel about 4 (big) blocks from South bank with free parking, Brisbane backpackers resort is quite a decent hostel. It’s got just about everything you’d need or want from a hostel. Front desk staff are friendly, there’s a pool, kitchen isn’t too bad, rooms are pretty roomy with a fridge and cupboards, en suites and balconies. Only down things is that the night manager dismally failed at his job one of the nights I was there by failing to shut down a group of party people shouting and playing music on their balcony.  

Anyway, hostel is a good enough place to have as a home base to explore the city.

So Brisbane city is divided by the Brisbane river. South bank is (very famously) the perfect place to hang out with the big lagoon and the parklands which stretch over a good 17 hectares. It offers great places to chill, eat, drink and enjoy the views across the river. 

Venturing across the river into the CBD, the botanical gardens or to Kangaroo point is easy with the free city hopper ferry which has two stops along south bank, one right across the river next to the CBD, one on Kangaroo point, close to the botanical gardens and a few other that take you a bit further down stream. It’s a great way to see the city from a bit of a different views point plus, it was pretty warm in the ferry haha.

First day I ventured through the CBD, it had been almost 6 months since I’d been in a capital city like this and I honestly quite enjoyed it for the two days I was there. I’d bypassed Sydney on my way up and didn’t go back to Melbs after leaving end of October so it was nice to have that big city vibe going on around me again. Even though I’m very much a small city/country side-kind of person, I do really enjoy big cities every now and then. There’s just something in the buzz of a big city that I just love. And Brissy had just that buzz going. I spent the day pretty much (window) shopping, eating and just wandering around south bank until it got too cold when I went back home for a nap and to layer on some more clothes. 

When in Brisbane I most definitely suggest to explore south bank in the evening/at night too. There’s always something going on.

Day two was even colder and rainier so I hopped onto the free ferry and ended up falling asleep most of the way (typical me lol). Anyway getting off close to the Botanical gardens to wander through as I love to do. to head back into the city for a shelter from the rain in the form of a coffee. 

On your way out of Brisbane (north) it’s only too easy to make your way to Mt. Coot-tha, an easy drive up the mount leaves you with a magnificent 360° view of not only Brisbane but all the surrounding area. The cafe offers wonderful food and drinks with the views free of charge, there’s also walking tracks to waterfalls, other lookouts or all the way back down the hill to the planetarium.

For me it was time to hit the beach again, the Sunshine coast to be precise. And mercifully it was warm and sunny again when I reached Noosa. 

Noosa

newly redone boardwalk
from town to the headland
national park 

I had been told that Noosa is much like Byron, but more ‘grownup’ whatever that may mean haha!

But infact I was pleasantly surprised it to be correct. Noosa (heads) is a lovely little town and a very busy one at that as I had made my way up there on the first weekend of the Easter holidays. Jam packed with families I very luckily found a parking space quite quick so I could explore Noosa Heads, the national park. The walkway along the headland offers absolutely magnificent views all round and is easy accessible. The beaches along the way provide great surf (watching) opportunities as well as lookouts and fairy pools to refresh. The headland walk reaches all the way around to Sunrise beach, it’s an almost 11km return walk well worth doing.

surf watching 

I slept on the Noosa sea scouts grounds, which is a lovely family owned property/camping a little out of town (7km) with all the facilities you could wish for, all for the great price of 18$ a night (for just me and my car). 

Noosa is a great place to stop and rewind from the hustle and bustle from Brisbane, if I had the time I would’ve definitely stayed for at least 3 or 4 days but allas, time wasn’t in my favour (as usual lol) and just like that I was on the road again because Fraser Island was waiting!

Also, Noosa police patrol street parking seriously, got fined for standing in a free spot for too long  🙅)

sunset surf-sesh done right

Can't wait to tell you all about Fraser Island and 

my week chasing waterfalls in the tropics 😍

Stay tuned for more tropical adventures !

xoxo Liz