Qamea Island, Fiji

Getting to Fiji has probably topped the list for the worst journey yet, which consisted of a ten minute lift to Nadi town, a four hour cramped bus ride to Suva, a nineteen hour boat ride from Suva to Taveuni, a one hour min bus ride followed finally by a 30 minute boat ride. The nineteen hour boat ride was particularly bad, as it was a very old rusty boat with nowhere to lay down. It was infested with cockroaches, literally hundreds of them. At one point, I counted 17 on the wall next to my chair where our bags were. However, it was definitely worth the persistence as the island of Qamea and our resort Maqai Beach are beautiful.

It is the wet season currently in Fiji, pretty much every evening without fail it rains, but it's sunny during the day so that's all that matters. As it is the last leg of our trip we opted for a double room instead of sharing a dorm room with several other people. The little bungalow we have is set right on a pure white beach with crystal clear waters. It's quite a small place, the island is only 5kms around and it is very remote. Electricity is only on between 6-11pm then it's lights out (at which point they plug a laptop into a satellite phone for some internet!).

Today I went out on the boat with a few of the other guests who were surfing. I would have liked to give it ago myself, but yesterday I was swinging into the sea on a huge rope swing hanging from a palm tree and managed to land straight on a rock and injure myself. Nothing too serious, just badly bruised my foot, hopefully it will be alright in a couple of days. The best waves break quite far out away from shore near one of the reefs, a short boat ride away. My lens didn't have quite enough zoom to get good enough photos, so tomorrow I'm borrowing a zoom lens and going back out there with them.

Moeraki Boulders

Today we drove further down the east coast, stopping in Oamaru and Moeraki. The town of Oamaru was nothing to write home about, I'm sure it's lovely in the high season when it's buzzing with people in the heat, but in the biting cold with no-one around, it was a little dull. So we carried on driving to Moeraki to see the famous boulders. The boulders on the beach are almost perfectly spherical. I'm not sure why they are this shape, but apparently they were buried beneath the ground and over the years erosion has exposed them. There are similar boulders slightly further north that were found to have skeletons of pre-historic sea monsters in them (Loch Ness's relatives to me and you)!

The Maori belive these boulders are fishing baskets from a mythical canoe named Araiteuru, which brought their ancestors to the South Island.

We have covered over 2000kms (roughly 1200 miles) in the camper van so far, and tonight we have started to head west towards Milford Sound. Our plan is to get as far as Te Anau tonight and carry on to Milford tomorrow morning, we've probably got another 2 hours of driving left so this should be easily do-able.

Kaikoura, New Zealand South Island

After Picton, we travelled west to Queen Charlotte's Track because there was a cheap DOC campsite with power so we could recharge our various electricals! The next morning after a bit of a walk on the track we went back on ourselves to travel south along the east coast to spend the next night in Kaikoura.

We found this incredible beach with volcanic black sand and turquoise water. The black sandy beach was littered with bright white trees and branches that had been stripped of their bark by the sea. It almost looked like another planet, or the surface of the moon.

The good thing about New Zealand is that the best sights are free (or have been so far anyway)! Having a camper van has given us a lot of flexibility too; we carried on driving south and stopped to take some photos when we spotted hundreds of fur seals sat on the rocks. I couldn't get close for too long as they really didn't like me being there, but it was was still great to view them.

We got chatting to a local while we were there, who told us that a bit further down the road was a waterfall that when the mother seals are out catching food, the pups swim up the river to the fall when during winter there can be as many as 40 there. Unfortunately there weren't any at the waterfall when we got there, but there were a few swimming and playing in the river leading up to it.

We stayed in another free DOC campsite that night, near a small village called Puhi Puhi. Apparently in the 1920s Puhi Puhi was literally just a school, and because it was so far away from the road, the students used to ride ponies to get to it. Electricity didn't reach Puhi Puhi until the 1950s either! We reached Kaikoura today, which is one of the places in New Zealand where whales can been seen out to sea all throughout the year. We haven't seen any yet, but we have seen plenty more seals, that are used to humans being around so I could get in closer for a better photo.

The Great Ocean Road

I think I have just driven the best road in the world, admittedly not in a Ferrari but a crappy old van painted like Scooby Doo's Mystery Machine. One of the main reasons I wanted to come to Australia was to visit the road and the Twelve Apostles and I'm so glad we did it. The weather hasn't been great, but occasionally the sun has broken through to give a dramatic sky for some photos so I'm happy.

We started off by going straight from our Sydney to Melbourne overnight Greyhound to pick up our camper van from Wicked Campers just outside the city. Although, I might look into taking a different route back to the city centre on our return because the area was an absolute hole! Some douche called me a cocksucker because the lift door closed before he got to it in the train station, what a ghetto. We went with Wicked Campers because they were the only place that didn't require 24 hours' notice before collecting the van and they were pretty cheap, although I can see why they are so cheap because the van is quite tatty and under equipped. Still we've had a lot of fun in it, especially because of its paint job.

We stopped quite regularly on our first day, at Bell's Beach and Split Point Lighthouse, but the weather was really grey and the photos were pretty dull. Our first night we stayed in a really nice campsite near Kennet River which had koalas in the trees above our van, and the next morning we were lucky enough to have bright blue skies!

After travelling west from Kennet River for another hour or so, we headed north on a little detour to visit Triplet Falls. I picked up a leaflet in a tourist information about the waterfalls, because apparently they are 'the most spectacular', and the good thing about having our camper van, we can go wherever we like! The road leading up to the falls was a little scary in our front wheel drive banger as it was 25kms of uneven terrain and it was now raining. The waterfall was impressive, although the view wasn't great for photography. I did try to get down the side of the steep hill to the bottom of the waterfall, but it was wet mud and overgrown bush and I if I had gotten down there I wouldn't have gotten out. Not to mention I would hate to think what creepy crawlies were hiding in the undergrowth. The walk from the car park alone was worth it though!

Another hour or so along the road was the Twelve Apostles. The Apostles are huge juts of land that the sea has eroded around and left standing in the sea. I really wanted to come here because the rocks looks like a more magnificent version of Bedruthen Steps, one of my favourite places in Cornwall.

Annoyingly the stove that came with our camper van was so crap we couldn't even boil water with it, and even more annoyingly everywhere in Australia closes at 6pm so we needed to move on to the nearest town to find some dinner! Port Campbell was the closest town and only a 20 minute drive further west, and it's actually one of the bigger towns with more then one shop and more then one take away. Screw paying for a campsite every night when you're in a camper van, so we parked up for the night inbetween a 'No Camping' sign and another camper van. Every road in the town had signs saying no camping, but we asked a few locals and they said the police don't care as long as you don't litter.

Today we're heading back up towards Melbourne so we haven't got such a long drive in the morning to return the camper, we've already covered about 500kms so far. Cross your fingers for some sunny weather in Melbourne on Sunday too, as we're off to the Melbourne F1 race.

Three days on Fraser Island

Wow, what an amazing three days on Fraser Island, most definitely the highlight of Australia for us so far. On the 7th March we had our pre-trip briefing where the staff ran through all the safety aspects of the trip, such as the dangers of rolling a truck while driving on sand and also cleaning up after ourselves so as not to attract any unwanted attention from wild dingoes. During the briefing we were also split up into our smaller groups, and met the people we would be spending the next three days in a 4x4 with. We were definitely very lucky with our group, me Izzy and Peter and three girls travelling together from Brighton, Steph, Jess and Emma along with Tobias who was a German guy travelling alone.

The next morning we were up early to be ready for the 7:45am start to the trip. We had to check we had all the necessary equipment for camping, eating and of course drinking. We loaded up our Toyota Land Cruisers and got on our way. It was about a 20 minute drive to the barge crossing to Fraser and once on that barge there were to be no more roads, just beaches and dirt tracks.

The first stop would be camp for the first night, just tucked behind the dunes on the beach. After a quick lunch out of the back of the truck we headed to the Champagne Pools, an area of rock pools by the sea that the waves regularly top up with fresh water. Unfortunately there is no swimming in the sea on Fraser because of the terrible rip currents and shark infested waters. Apparently it takes 3 minutes for the rip to take you 8km out to sea, and sadly someone didn't listen to the rules and died 10 weeks ago because he thought he would be strong enough to swim there. Needless to say we didn't go swimming in the sea, but the Champagne Pools were awesome fun and the walk down gave some great views of the coast.

Our last stop for the day before heading back to camp to set up for the night was Indian Head... An area of headland that stretches out to sea, again giving fantastic views of the coastline. Unfortunately Izzy didn't get to see it because on the treacherous walk up the rocks she slipped and nearly took her toenail off, but after a quick bit of first aid I rushed up the hill to grab a few photos.

So back to the camp we drove, and unpacked the trucks to set up camp. We were given three tents per truck, some tarpaulin, some rope, a stove, cooking equipment and just left to sort ourselves out. Me, Peter and Tobias were left to put up the tents and somehow attach the tarp to the truck while Jess, Emma, Steph and Izzy got the drinks flowing and the food cooking. Fraser Island is one of the world's largest sand islands so obviously dinner was quite crunchy, but after a few drinks no one seemed to mind. Another early start, everyone was up and by about 7:30am and quickly got packed to head to our next destination, the Maheno Ship Wreck. The ship was built in 1904 and was used as a commercial passenger ship; during the First World War it was used to carry wounded soldiers home. After it was decommissioned in the early 1930s the Japanese bought it for scrap, but when towing it back to Japan the cable snapped and the ship ended up beaching itself on Fraser Island. After 12 months of trying to re-float it they gave up, and left it to the Australian Military who used it as target practice.

Next stop, Eli Creek. Right by the sea, an area of freshwater, icy cold and a perfect hangover cure! We spent about an hour here bathing in the water and chatting to Daveo, one of our tour guides.

The next part was probably my favourite part of the trip... 40 minutes of quite intense off road driving, and Daveo the guide was keeping a good pace going. Peter and Emma started to feel a bit ill in the back of the truck I think, but it was awesome fun in the front! Eventually we arrived at Lake Mckenzie, one of the island's biggest fresh water lakes which has pure white silica sand and crystal clear water... Very similar to Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays. We also got to see our first dingo here, I can't believe how comfortable they are around people. Even though they look like dogs, they are wild animals but the one we saw just walked past us within metres and was completely unfazed.

Our last night was in another area of the island, but similarly close to the beach tucked behind some sand dunes. This time we took extra care to avoid getting any sand in our food and thoroughly cleaned all of the plates and cutlery. The food was amazing, we were all so impressed with the food which was included in the price of the trip, we had stir fry that night.

At about 5am we were awoken by the sound of what must have been at least 10 to 15 dingoes howling all around the camp, they were clearly near our tent and into the distance as well. I was really tempted to get out the tent and have a look but the thought of me defending myself against 15 hungry dingoes didn't sound good. Again, up early in the morning around 7ish to pack up camp and get on our way to Lake Wabby. Another good drive along the beach and then a 45 minute walk through woodland and a massive sandblow which may as well have been called a desert. The effort was so worth it, eventually we reached the freshwater lake which was full of catfish. If you sat still enough in the water they would come and nibble you.

Back to the truck and the final drive back to Rainbow Beach. As I said before, without a doubt the best part of Australia so far!

Agnes Water/1770 & Rainbow Beach

After our trip to the Whitsunday Islands we caught the 11:45pm Greyhound south for ten hours to Agnes Water/1770. Agnes Water and Seventeen Seventy are two very small towns that have become a spot for tourists to break up the long distance between Fraser Island and the Whitsundays. Seventeen Seventy is a such a small town that it has sixty permanent residents and no shops, although Agnes Water just down the road has a couple of thousand residents, a couple of shops and cafes and one pub.

Apparently the reason Seveteen Seventy is called that is because it was the year that James Cook discovered the area. Up until only nine years ago post was sent by the locals pinning their letters to a mango tree and to which the post man would pin their post back. It won't ever expand to more than its 60 residents as it is totally surrounded by national park.

There was very little to do in the town so a day here would have sufficed. The main attraction is a trip called 'Scooteroo' where a group of you ride small chopper style bikes around the area, although the tour didn't take place either day because of the rain!

Yesterday morning we got the 6:30am Greyhound south to Rainbow Beach, which is one of the main areas to access Fraser Island, along with Hervey Bay. The trips to Fraser Island have been really busy so we will have to wait an extra day before we can go.

We met a guy called Peter on the Greyhound from Airlie to Agnes Water and have travelled further south to Rainbow Beach with him. It turns out he was even staying in the same hostel as us in Cairns - we just didn't know it. He's been pretty good at organising the trip to Fraser that we left him to it and we're now all going together. It's nice to meet someone that I have so much in common with, he works for Mercedes Benz... I don't think it will be long before Izzy gets bored with all the car talk.

This afternoon we borrowed some body boards from our hostel and went in the sea. The waves and the current were crazy, it was literally 2 steps forward 3 steps back when trying to make your way out deeper. Anyway we had a good time, caught some good waves and had quite a work out at the same time. Izzy braved the wind and spray to take some photos of us too...

Rainbow Beach

Our last few days in Ko Lanta

Knowing we only had one full day left, on the 14th we took the 'Four Islands' tour. It was a trip on an awesome speedboat (that had three 225hp Honda engines!) around four islands just south of Ko Lanta, giving us two snorkelling stops, a beach/lunch stop and the Emerald Cave. The first snorkelling stop was great, the water was really clear so we got to see plenty of fish and coral, although most of the fish were quite small and a lot of the coral was quite bleached. I was even more gutted at this point that my Fuji underwater digital camera had broken in Vietnam because I could have got some great shots, so I had put up with taking ones from the boat.

Next stop was for some more snorkelling, this time there were even more and even bigger fish. The few guys running the trip started chucking in pieces of banana into the water, which I know you're not really supposed to do, but it meant that hundreds of brightly coloured fish swam right in front of our faces. I grabbed hold of a piece of banana, and the fish were swarming around my hand nibbling at the fruit and my hand.

Lunch time! We parked up on a beach on Koh Hai and had a couple of hours to chill out on the beach and eat the food provided. Chicken, rice, veg with some fresh fruit, all washed down with a Coke. The last stop was to see the Emerald Cave. The boat pulled up near a small cave enterance, and one of the guys jumped in the water armed with a torch and told us to follow him. We all jumped in the water, and starting swimming into the pitch black cave. At one point you could not see the enterance we had just came in through or the exit at the other end, it was just total darkness (apart from the pathetic light coming from the tour guide's torch up ahead). Luckily this wasn't for long and I could soon see the exit and swam towards it. As I swam out of the cave, it opened onto a small beach and the Emerald Cave. It is almost like being inside a volcano, you are completely surrounded by rock, with the cave being the only way to get in and out. They did offer to take my camera in a waterproof case through, but I didn't want to risk it so I've added a photo I found on Panoramio.com.

Emerald Cave enterance

Taken from Panoramio.com

15th Feb would be our last morning in Ko Lanta, so as we had a bit of time before heading to Phuket we went to say goodbye to some of the people we had gotten to know. First we went to the Welfare centre to take Pepsi and Lanta out for one last walk down to the beach and say goodbye to all the staff there. Pepsi came in the sea this time for a swim! This was becoming a pretty sad morning!

Then we went to Blue Moon to say goodbye to Gang and his eagle. He gave us our last drinks on the house which was nice! So we're going to get some prints of the photos we had taken there and post them to him, he said he is going to start a new photo album and put them in it! The eagle, who was rescued by Gang, can't fly yet because its feathers were too damaged but on our last day it decided to try so was jumping around on the ground right in front of us and gave himself a bath. Lek was nice enought to give us some little presents on check-out and drive us to the bus station. Lek is really creative and makes miniture models out of clay, so she made me a tiny monkey and made Isabella a bracelet.

The five hour coach drive to Phuket was pretty horrible. The first part we were on the back row which has an annoying hard bar underneath the whole back bench, but after being on the road for a couple of hours some of the other travellers got off, so we moved into some more comfortable seats. We were going to spend one night in Phuket because our flight was quite early in the morning, Lek offered to call a hotel we had found the details of online, although they were full and recommended another place. There was a slight lack of communication, and Lek thought the next place she had called was 'Nai Yang Beach Resort', so we got a taxi from the bus drop off point to it. Unfortunately, the place we were staying in was called Nai Yang Cottage! So after some confusing discussions with the staff at the wrong hotel we realised what had happened, and they kindly called Nai Yang Cottages for us who promptly came to collect us.

Clearly we were in luck with all the nice people we had been meeting and helping us because the guy at Nai Yang Cottages, Kitty, was also extremely helpful and friendly. He didn't want any money for collecting us in his own car. A bit later on when we had got back from dinner he offered us some food he had just cooked with what I assume was his family (his house was only across the road!) but we were full so had to decline. He then took us to the airport in the morning at around 7am, in time for our 09:50 flight to Singapore.