Fraser Island -Hervey Bay -Maryborough & Tilt Train to Brisbane -Express to Nerang -Gold Coast, Qld. 9 hrs & 375km.

A Very Long Way for a Coffee and No Scones!

7.50 am. Ferry from Fraser Island to Hervey Bay.

8.40 am. Bus from River Heads, Hervey Bay to Pialba, Hervey Bay.

9.50 am. Bus Pialba, Hervey Bay to Maryborough West Station.

10.50 am. Train pulling out just as we arrive! Phew! it’s the Sunlander running late, not the Tilt train!

11.05 am. Tilt Train to Brisbane.  Breakfast leftovers for Lunch, Dining Car not open. The tilt train really hums along as it gets closer to Brisbane.

Love my ipod and my audiobook!

1.15 pm. Arrive at Nambour. Maybe I should have stopped here and headed down to Noosa ??

3.oo pm. Arrive at Roma St, Brisbane. No time for a Coffee. Could have stayed a couple of nights here too, as it’s been rather a long time since I’ve been to Brisbane.

3.30-4.30 pm. Brisbane-Nerang on Gold Coast Express.

4.30-5.00 pm. A welcome smile, a hug and a drive to the Gold Coast. Bliss, a take away Cuppa Coffee! Arrive just as it gets dark. Made it, only 1786km from Cairns!!!

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Fraser Island, Qld. Peter Myers’ Glorious Photography and the Marvellous Kingfisher Bay Resort.

Snap Happy at the Kingfisher Bay Resort!

Don’t wast time unpacking, this is photographer’s paradise. Head down to the jetty for those marvellous sunset scenes. Can you take too many sunsets? Never!

       

First thing next morning, we’re  paddling a canoe up Dundonga Creek to check out the mangroves. Kingfisher Bay resort is very environmentally aware and safety conscious so a ranger always guides you. A voice breaks the peace and tranquility to ask what the large holes in the sand are. The answer is swift and silent as a stingray passes under the canoe. The pristine waters show them to perfection. Sometimes you just have to enjoy the moment and forget the camera.

Canoe Paddle   Marine Activities  Marine Activities

Toddled off to the Village Centre “for a little smackerel of something” at the Coffee Rock Cafe and was disappointed to find it had just shut. Oh, Bother! as Winnie the Pooh would say. Another scone free day! Consoled myself at the General store looking at postcards and was soon distracted by a wonderful book of Fraser Island photographs by Peter Meyers. These wonderful images are all over the resort and in every room. Such an inspiration, look at the link and see for yourself. Peter is a ranger at the Kingfisher Bay Resort and is part of the Blue Dog Photo tour there on Aug 26-29. Photography the art of drawing light! Interesting Idea.

  

Saving myself for another excellent dinner, I had a snack and enjoyed a swim in the heated pool, the unheated pool and a very welcome, warm spa.

    

All packaged again and ready for an early start on the Ferry to Hervey Bay, then the tilt train to Brisbane and onto the Gold Coast.

Fraser Island has been magnificent and I’m so glad I finally managed to get here. Don’t be surprised if I’m back in the next few years to see the whales and the whale festival! Oh yes, and another swim in Lake Mackenzie!

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Fraser Island, Qld. The Maheno Shipwreck.

Unloved, Unwanted but Undeterred.

Fitting out Maheno

The Maheno has been slowly rusting away on the shores of Fraser Island since 1935. She was being towed to Japan for scrap and came adrift. Nobody wanted to pay to salvage her so she was left on the beach and waited for time to do it’s work. The picture above shows her being built in Scotland  in 1905. Old wrecks often become tourist attractions, but I wonder if such a simple (=cheap) solution would be allowed nowadays.

Now, imagine one of those annoying photographers who wait for ages to catch the wave just as it breaks. That’s me, I just love that beautiful blue sky.

            

The National Library of Australia has some old images and newspapers about the wreck (1935) and her subsequent abondonment (1936).  The Historic Shipwrecks Program has a photography competition and a database of shipwrecks, including the Maheno. The Maheno was even used for special commando training in WW2! This blog has lots of history, old images and details if your interested.

In it’s heyday, the Maheno must have seen lots of good times, love and laughter, and served a lot of scones in those first halcyon days as a luxury liner!

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Fraser Island, Qld. A Spectacular Day Trip.****4stars

A Magical, Whale of a Time!

After a hearty breakfast at Kingfisher Bay Resort we joined the Beauty Spots 4WD Eco tour to explore Fraser Island. Glad we weren’t driving, it was hard work at times, even for our most excellent guide. Fraser Island is World Heritage Listed and the world’s largest sand island, here’s the map link. Bit early (late June) in the whale season so we only saw one whale today, August to September is supposed to be the best time. Need an ipad to keep up to date while travelling! Some more great images here. Australian Geographic is having a week of photography workshops at Fraser Island from Sept 11-16, 2011. Here’s a list of the walking tracks but dingos can be a problem too.

  

Stonetool Sandblow Lookout was our first stop. It’s hard to believe the sand blows across the island and buries the forest. If you look closely you can see the top branches still sticking out of the sand.

  

Seventy Five Mile Beach is the Main Highway so it’s great splashing through the waves, bumping over the rocks and cruising along the sand.

 

Brief but wonderful scenic flight then morning tea at Eli Creek with all the 4WDers. From here there’s a boardwalk along the creek and you can wade back to the beach if you like. Fantastically clear water and best of all -No crocodiles here on Fraser Island just a lot of sharks!

  

A short way up  the beach is the Maheno Shipwreck and the multi- coloured sand Pinnacles, the Maheno was wrecked in 1935 and is slowly disintegrating into the sand. Plenty more Maheno photos on my next blog.

  

After a tasty lunch at Eurong we’re off to the old logging village of Central Station and a walk in the rainforest at Wanggoolba Creek. Funny, it’s so quiet!  Its all sand here so there’s no rocks to make babbling noises and such crystal clear water too. Bit eerie!

  

Why come all this way and not go for a swim in the magnificent heaven sent waters of Lake Mackenzie? Must be crazy! Note: it was freezing cold but great for your skin. Brrrrrrrrrr…. But it was the end of a wonderful day and there was somewhere to do a quick change and a nice warm bus ride back to the resort.

  

No luck with scones today but rather looking forward to another tasty dinner at the Sandbar Bistro and catching up on writing a few postcards. I still love getting postcards, don’t you?

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Sydney Opera House. Nick Cave’s ‘The Ship Song’. Stunning.

Check out this video on You Tube showcasing a variety of performers and the Sydney Opera House, and the behind the scenes video too. Here’s Nick Cave singing the original and the words. Doesn’t seem to be on itunes yet. Fantastic Graphic!

Come sail your ships around me
And burn your bridges down.
We make a little history baby
Every time you come around.

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QVB Sydney, NSW. Old Vienna doorstop scones. **2stars

Savouring the August Sunshine

Beautiful day in Sydney so I caught a train to Town Hall and visited the Queen Victoria Building to investigate the Old Vienna Coffee House on Level 1. Ordered a Devonshire tea but extra hot water for black tea was too hard. The scones aren’t a good look are they? Didn’t taste too good either as they were rather hard, dry and chewy to the point that they weren’t worth finishing or complaining about. Make a good doorstop.

  

A few errands & a brisk walk down to the Rocks. Brilliant sunshine sitting by the harbour at Circular Quay at the end of the passenger terminal. As I arrived a large ferry went by and it looked like the Opera House sat on top of it. Too slow! Waited patiently to get another photo but it was too far away. Oh well, plenty of smaller boats!

     

Consoled myself by visiting City Extra by the Circular Quay Ferry Wharves and having pancakes, which are always fine. Just watching the world go by.                                              Could pancakes be ironed scones?

  

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Fraser Island, Qld. Fantastic Flying and Enormous Fun.****4stars

Heaven knows what’s next!

      

Opportunity knocks!!! Little did I know that today’s agenda would include a marvellous scenic flight by Air Fraser Island. While savouring the sights of the magnificent beach/highway our Kingfisher Bay eco-tour stopped briefly while the pilot hopped on to see if anyone was interested. A very brief pause while I considered finances, but such a glorious, sunny day that was just perfect for flying was not to be wasted. Into the nearby plane and we were soon off, right there and then from the beach, over the bus, the ocean, the sand dunes and into the heart of the island where the sand gradually swallows the forest. Circling back past the Maheno shipwreck, we even saw a hump back whale coming up the coast to where they shelter on the Hervey Bay side of Fraser island. All too soon, the skilful touch down on sand was so soft and smooth, how lucky were we?

      

Just Spectacular !

           

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Airlie Beach-Proserpine-Hervey Bay-Frazer Island, Queensland. 837kms. Sleeping First Class on the Sunlander.

Initiation into Overnight Sleepers

My goodness, it’s dark on the top bunk of a sleeper as you hurtle through the night. 9.30pm. Boarding the Sunlander at Proserpine means the seat is gone and there’s bunk beds instead. Bad luck if your top bunk with a crook leg! Luckily, there’s my trusty little torch and some MacDonalds cookies to munch on during the night. Rather strange to be lying down sideways as you move forward, so for a while I just sat and listened to my audiobook on the trusty ipod. 5am Rockhampton coming up. Time for other passengers to leave. Toilet at the end of the carriage so it’s a good opportunity. Feeling like Long John Silver with a peg leg, I venture out and manage to return safely. No idea how to lock the door of the sleeper. Later, the magic key was discovered on the seat when the beds went back up. Pretty snazzy how the bunks change into seats, quite comfy and much more spacious. First Class is fine, but I wonder what it’s like in Queenslander(=Scone) Class. Breakfast beckons.

  

 Where on earth am I? No idea even in daylight. Sugarcane and scrub. Ahha! a sign for Bundaberg coming up. Late into Maryborough West but what does it matter? Here’s the bus and there’s still plenty of time for the Ferry to Fraser Island.

      

Recently, while chatting with a group of scone devotees about my Sunlander journey, they happily regaled me with lots of wonderful stories of their overnight train trips as students and travellers.

Train travel obviously makes people happy, just like scones.

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Whitsundays, Qld. Australia’s Sailing Mecca!

Such Brilliant Sunshine & Sparkling Blue Water

Love to watch the boats sail by.

Off sailing to the islands with Illusions. More sea sick tablets for me but not being a confident boat person I was soon out of my comfort zone again.  A glorious day but very cold in the water even for the divers who had wet suits, we had stinger suits. Our first snorkel was off Langford Island where you snorkel off the beach then back in the boat and onto Blue Pearl Bay on Hayman Island. Snorkelling here was better but we were just too cold. Lovely views sitting on the beach here but it’s all coral and we had no shoes. Impossible to venture far so we just tried to warm up in the sun. Back on board we had a very late lunch, changed and finally warmed up again, as we sailed back. See what a brilliant, clear day it was!

  

Airlie Beach where the mountains meet the sea.     Plenty of Islands to explore!

  

Beautiful Blue Pearl Bay.                                   Dream of  byo scones & thermos!

  

Ouch! Coral’s rough and sharp on the feet!         Even the loo has a view!

Sadly, I didn’t get to Whitehaven Beach or to have Sailing lessons at the Yacht Club which has fantastic views and very tasty dinners after such an adventurous day. Next time!

Plenty of walks to keep you busy here, including the Whitsunday Great Walk or a combination of walking and kayaking, sailing, or boat on the Whitsunday Ngaro Sea Trail, here’s a map . Wow, I’ve even found a Free Downloadable Great Barrier Reef Screensaver, but it’s only for Windows.

No scones today, but the damper at the Whitsunday Crocodile Safari was highly recommended. Fancy, some kind fellow travellers even brought me back some to try! Yummy!

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Airlie Beach, Qld. Just Cruising in the Glorious Whitsundays.

Waking up in Paradise

Arrived after dark last night so there was no way of knowing what was outside my room. Voila! A glorious view of the Whitsundays!

  

Enforced shore leave today as I hadn’t got my act together and booked anything for today. Always happy to exercise my Teva sandals so we were off exploring Airlie Beach.Here’s a map. The Bicentennial Boardwalk goes right past the Coral Sea Resort on its way to Abel Point Marina and Cannonvale Beach. Following it past the mangroves and into Airlie Beach itself there are wonderful views on a brilliant day like today. Once again, there’s plenty of landscaped parks and a lagoon to swim, picnic or ponder and even lifeguards and warnings about stingers. With 74 islands there’s plenty of sailing boats but no surf here. Here’s an island map.

      

After spending hours checking out the accommodation online I had decided on the Coral Sea Resort, pricey but worth it. Check out if there’s any specials here. Wonderful place to stay for a special occassion with somp special people. Today I’m putting my feet up, having a swim and watching the sunset.

      

   Don’t you wish you were here?

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