Feb 2006

20/2/06 - We arrived at Sufers Paradise in the afternoon and went to a campsite that had been recommended to us. It was only 1/2 hours walk to surfers Paradise and the beach is directly opposite the campsite so a good location. Surfers Paradise is suppose to be like Aiya Napa and not so nice! I didnt think that at all, the only thing that not so nice was the high rise building, but apart from that its very clean theres a great beach,great surf, lots of shops and bars. As soon as we arrived we headed to the beach for a swim. While Alex was swimming he got stung by a blue bottle Jelly fish. It looked as tho he'd been whipped on his back and looked so sore. We went to life guards and they sprayed Stingo on it. He was luckly because Blue Bottle jelly fish are not dangerous they give a nasty sting. That evening it rained for the first time since we've been in Oz, so we all huddled in the camper ate spaghetti bolognese and played cards.
21/2/06 - Our plan for today was to go surfing and Weeny to teach us. So we went to surfers paradise beach and hired a surf board for the day for $30. In the end it was just Alex and Weeny surfing because the sea was so rough and not so good for us beginners. Weeny was wicked he was standing up on the board loads. In the afternoon we had a look round the shops then headed back to the campsite. That evening it rained really heavily. So we stayed in the camper had dinner and drinks. At the moment we are travelling with a Alex and Amy and will be untill we get down to Syney. We are all having such a great time together, its a right laugh. They are both from the UK and live in Boltom.
22/2/06 - Today we all went to Warner Brothers Movie World theme park about 1/2 hours drive from surfers. They have a few other theme parks around surfers but this was the one we most wanted to visit. Its like an alton Towers but all the rides have a movie theme. The first ride we went on was batman 2 a stimulator ride, we got to see the actual bat mobile and boat used in the movie. We went on the lethal weapon ride which was a roller coaster, saw a shrek 4D Movie where we all sat in rows of seats that moved up and down and we had to wear special 3D glasses it was so good. We saw the police academy stunt show it was very impressive they picked out amy from the crowd to help which was so funny,the stunts were really good. We saw an Austin powers show, went on a scooby doo ghost train, a log fume with the steepest drop ive eva seen, we all got so soaked!Weenys, alex and amy went on the superman ride but i was too chicken! It goes from 0 - 700 kilometres in 2 secs and go upside down loads and it looks so fast! Weeny and alex loved it, amy hated it so just aswell i never went on. It was a wicked day out and after we left we drove down towards Bryon Bay.

19/2/06 - Didnt do too much today just lazed by the pool and went food shopping. That evening had a BBQ and went into the city to a backpacker bar called DownUnder. Alex and Amy came and another couple Ronda and Mike who we met at the campsite. I also met up with Jenny from back home whos travelling round Oz for a year with her Boyfriend. It was the best night! And so lovely to see Jenny. We drunk snake bite all night as for a jug its only $10 and we all entered this competiton to win $50 tab at the bar, but we lost!
20/2/06 - Had to be out of the campsite by 10.00 am and then made our way to Brisbane City Centre we had a drive around and Alex and Amy got there Campervan serviced. Then drove are campervans to surfers Paradise on the gold coast which took around 2 hours.

It took around three hours to get to Beerwah from Hervey Bay. We arrived around 10.00pm and found a Big4 campsite to stay the night.
The next day we went to Steve Irwins Zoo, with Alex and Amy. It was a fantastic day out and we actually saw Steve Irwin but only for a brief moment he was riding past us on a scooter with his child and smiled. At the zoo we got the chance to see venomous snakes, dingos, wombats, tasmanian devils, crocodiles, kangoroos, birds, tigers and turtles. Weeny won a prize of a free photo with an animal for doing the best monkey impression, it was soooo funny! He did it infront of a hundreds of people while we were watching the croc show. So we all got a free photo taken holding a 7ft python it was wicked. That afternoon we drove down to Brisbane and stayed in a big4 campsite 10km from the city centre. We had a BBQ and drinks that evening.

16/2/06 - Today went on a two day safari tour to Fraser Island. It took 50mins on the ferry to get there from Hervey Bay. There were 24 people in our group and we travelled in a 4WD army coach, it was mad! Me and weeny were sitting right at the back so it was the most bumpyest, we were flying out of our seats!Fraser Island is a sand island 123km long. It has a seventy-five mile long beach which is actually used as a highway for all the cars. You have to drive a 4WD on the island otherwise u'll get stuck in the sand, and even then the 4WD's still sometimes get stuck. First stop on the trip was the Yidney Rainforest. We got off the truck and walked for 1/2 hour through an amazing rainforest. It was so much cooler in the rainforest then the island and really beautiful. There are many venomous snakes in the rainforest but luckerly we didnt see any just huge spiders which was just as scary! After the rainforest we got back on the truck for another bumpy ride to Indian Head Point the furthest point north of the island. We had to climb up a steep rocky hill to reach the view point, but once there the view was spectacular. You could see the whole of fraser island and way out to sea. We spent a while admiring the view and looking at sting rays and tuna in the sea. Unfortunately you cant swim in the sea at Fraser island but thats because its a breeding ground for tiger sharks and the current is very strong. Some of the group even saw a shark eating at the tuna. Next stop we were back on the truck to see the Maheno ship wreck on the beach which was 100s of years old. It had become very rusty and there HAD been alot of corrosion from the sea. But once it had been a very impressive cruise ship. After we got to swim in Eli Creek. It was freezing!! There are many creeks on Fraser island. And they are really lovely becuse they are not man-made they are just formed by the rain. That evening we had a BBQ buffet which was very yum and a group of around 14 of us played shed (a card game) using three decks of cards! It was a right laugh and we played for hours. That night we stayed in Tents but they were so nice we had a double bed and there was a wooden floor. It was the best nights sleep ive had.
The following morning we were up by 7 for breakfast and back on the truck to lake Wabby. We had to walk for 1/2 hour over the sand dunes in the scorching heat to get there!But once we arrived the walk had been well worth it. It was a gorgeous lake at the bottom of a big sand dune. We spent a few hours swimming and enjoying the lake before the 45min walk back to the truck. For lunch we had yummy fajitas and then made our way to our last stop lake Birrabeen. The lake was so beautiful the water was was completely clear and the sand was pure white it was just stunning. We swam in the lake for around an hour an it was so lovley and warm. After we had to get the ferry back to hervey bay. It had been such a fantastic trip, we met such lovely people and just had so much fun. Once back in Hervey Bay we picked up the campervan and made are way to Beerwah a couple of hours south from Hervey Bay. We travelled with a couple we met on the Fraser Island trip, Alex and Amy. They also have a campervan and our travelling down to Sydney.

13/2/06 - Left our campsite early morning and headed for Hervey Bay. It was an extremly long day of driving and we didnt arrive at hervey bay till 8.30pm! That night stayed at a BIG4 campsite and as you can imagine didnt do to much were shattered from the long drive.
14/2/06 - Got woken up early today by the birds and the sun was scorching hot at 7.00am. Went around the town trying to find a good deal on a trip to Fraser Island. We would like to stay there for a night. We found a pretty good two day trip where you stay in 5* tents but its not until the day after tomorrow. A 5* tent has wooden floors, and a big double bed! See we know had to do camping in style!
That night had a BBQ with a guy called Dan and his family we had actually met them in Arlie beach and they travelled down to Hervey bay the day after us.
13/2/06 - Today booked our 2 day safari trip to Fraser Island and spent the day with Dan whos from Canada. We swam at the beach and looked round the shops. Had fish and chips for lunch and tried this Australian fish called Barramundi, it was delicous. That evening had dinner with Dan and his family again, and played cards.