Weeks Twenty-eight, Twenty-nine and Thirty: Ode to a Fergburger.

This summer has been fast-paced and packed to the gills with as much travelling as I've been able to muster, given budget and Time Turner-deprived restraints. In the space of less than two months, I experienced the cosmopolitan buzz of Melbourne, the tourist trail in Sydney, surfer life in Byron Bay, dingo-spotting on the world's largest sandpit, Finding Nemo, The Best Beach in the World, hanging out with turtles on the Great Barrier Reef, and found my inner Mysterious Girl in the Daintree Rainforest. As if that wasn't enough, as if that isn't far more than any pommy student could see during their studies, I decided to hop across The Ditch and experience life in the world of Fush and Chups, Frodo, and the legendary FERGBURGER.

So it came to be, that on the 19th January, I hopped on a train with Kirst and Liz, and began the long, loooong journey down to Sydney. The trip got off to a very promising start with free doughnuts from Krispy Kremes and, fired up on sucrose, we set off for Kiwiland. The flight was very quick, and once we arrived in Auckland we had to face the delightful prospect of sleeping in the Airport... Being cheap students, we had decided it was pointless to pay for a hostel for just a few hours sleep in the wee hours of the morning. Our genius solution saw us zonked out on the food-court seats, tormented by hour-long infomercials for the Ab-Circle Pro, and eventually relocating to a cosy corner of the Observation Deck for a very uncomfortable night's sleep.

Once the sun rose, we headed into Auckland. The city itself is very clean and friendly... but that's about the most glowing review I can give it. There is very little to do within the city centre, other than explore the countless cafes and coffee shops. We wandered around the city for a while, before succumbing to our exhaustion and napping in Starbucks. Oops. In the evening we spotted a Happy Hour sign, and therefore ended up in a bar at 3pm sipping on Gin and Tonics, before heading to the Ice Bar! Needless to say, our mid-afternoon Starbucks nap did not suffice, and we ended up in bed by 8pm. Hardcore.

Ice Bar!

The next day called for an early start for our Nakedbus to Paihia, in the Bay of Islands. The town itself is tiny and quaint, and our hostel was pretty impressive, with a lovely swimming pool. In the afternoon, we hired bikes for a lovely ride through the countryside and past some waterfalls. The hills were arduous in the heat, but it was a lot of fun. Post bike-ride, we went for a swim and chilled by the pool, before going out for dinner and ice cream!

Bike ride with a view :)

The next morning, we got the Ferry over the bay to Russell. It's a beautiful little town, very colonial and almost Disney-fied in its details. We had a picnic before trekking over the hill to a cute little bay. Despite our naive belief that New Zealand was sufficiently cold to negate a need for suncream, we all managed to achieve a quite impressive shade of sunburn in our time on the beach. Oops.

The next day was time for another bus, this time to Rotorua. It's one of the most geologically active areas in New Zealand, leading to lots of geothermal activity, mudbaths and the like... and a delightful lingering odour of rotten eggs. Welcome to Rotorua.

In the evening we nipped out to find a supermarket, expecting a Countdown or something similar. But no. What we found exceeded our wildest expectations of culinary retail... PAK'N'SAVE: a shop so wondrous that correct spelling could not do it justice. Inside, it resembled the warehouse area of IKEA, but stacked to the gills with budget food - and an ENTIRE AISLE dedicated to Pick'n'Mix. Woah. Pick'n'Mix sweets, yes, but also nuts, fruit, cereal, pretzels, EVERYTHING. The night ended with a spectacular sugar binge in front of The Time Travellers Wife, with our new found friend Kent, from Kent.

The next morning we caught a bus to Hells Gate, an area of Geothermal activity. Translation: eggy stench and lots of mud. It was actually really interesting - we saw all of the hot pools, sulphur crystal fields, hot waterfalls and mud volcanoes. We gave ourselves free facials with the mud, and ended up in the mudbaths and sulphur baths, which stank but were pretty relaxing.

The hottest mud pools.

Back at the hostel, we made the COLOSSAL mistake of washing our mud bath bikinis with the rest of our clothes, thereby instilling the hearty eggy stench into every item of clothing we had with us. For the next two weeks. Awesome.

In the evening, we headed out to a Maori show, where we saw Hakas and devoured the most incredible Hangi (BBQ cooked in the ground). Despite our gluttony-derived paralysis in the aftermath, we managed to waddle into the rainforest on a glow-worm spotting tour. It was a surreal sight, finding little pockets of bright green speckles in the midst of thick, black rainforest.

The next day consisted of a long (long, looong) bus down to Wellington. The views were very impressive on the way down, particularly around Lake Taupo and Mount Tongariro. We only had the one evening in Wellington, which we filled with Happy Hour drinks at the General Practise (a pretty cool pub inside an old Doctors Surgery, complete with Scalpels and Syringes displayed behind the bar... ) and enormous pizzas at the Green Man - along with the best Cajun fries and aioli I have ever tasted.

Mount Tongariro National Park

Sunset drinks in Wellington

Wellington seemed like a really nice city, so it's a pity we had to leave at 6am the next morning to catch the Interislander ferry to Picton, on South Island. The journey was very scenic, passing through fjords in the northern reaches of South Island. The two-hour bus from Picton to Nelson was stunning, passing through endless Vineyards and beautiful mountains. Once we got to Nelson, we began the fairly long trek to our hostel - which was amazing. New Zealand hostels are so much better value for money than their Aussie counterparts! For what would be, by Aussie standards, an absolute steal; the Paradiso hostel in Nelson had a swimming pool, hot tub, sauna, volleyball courts, free breakfast AND dinner, and amazing atmosphere. It was so good! We made the most of the beautiful sunshine in the afternoon, and lazed by the pool, before joining in with the (International) Australia Day celebrations in traditionally drunken Aussie style!

Welstralian!

Austrapoms and Swedestralian!

The next morning, we dragged our pounding heads into town to take care of money issues and indulge in a bit of hangover-abating retail therapy. And cake therapy, in my case. Unfortunately this meant that we missed out on our chance to kayak in Abel Tasman National Park, but never mind - I have absolutely no doubt that I will be back!

Another painfully early start signalled the start of another looong journey, this time down to Glacier Country and the teeny township of Franz Josef. We left the beautiful sunshine in Nelson, to be replaced by thick mist and drizzle. Lovely. Unfortunately, Hostelbookers had messed up our booking so we had to search for a new one, where we set up camp with a hot mug of milo and umpteen layers to ward off the chill.

The next morning, we walked down the street to the centre for glacier climbs, as we were going trekking on Franz Josef Glacier. After being kitted out in fairly ridiculous numbers of layers, we headed to the glacier and began the long trek to the base. There, we cramponed up and headed out onto the ice. The glacier is quickly retreating, as evidenced by huge abysses which echo with the sound of falling ice blocks the size of small houses. We moved through the 'dirty' grey ice, toward the stunning blue ice further up, passing through yawning crevasses and along narrow ice bridges. It was exciting and a bit scary at times given my propensity to fall over on even a flat, stable surface - Glacier trekking is not an obvious pastime for me. The views were spectacular though, and it was unlike anything I'd ever done before - I'd definitely recommend it!

The glacier, as seen from the glacier valley.

A huge opening in the ice.

Crampon friiiiiiends!

One of the crevasses.

So mature!

Back on dry land, we avoided the constant re-runs of Lord of the Rings on the hostel TV by heading to the glacier hot pools. It was such a relaxing way to spend the evening - blissed out in 36/38/40 degree glacial pools, until we eventually resembled prunes in swimwear and decided to head back for dinner and a date with Josh Hartnett and Ben Affleck.

The bus to Queenstown the following day did not depart until later, so we killed the morning watching Shrek and indulging in what must go down in history as one of the greatest slabs of carrot cake ever served. Literally, ever.

I told you so.

The drive to Queenstown must be up there with the Great Ocean Road and the Pacific Highway, San Fran to LA, as one of the most gorgeous drives I have ever done. It was long, and winding, but the views were breathtaking - mountain after mountain and sapphire lake after sapphire lake. Unbelievable.

Queenstown itself was gorgeous - big enough to have some life to it, but small enough to still have the feel of a  little ski resort. We hiked up the massive hill to our lovely hostel and settled in, before getting dressed up and heading out on the town to sample Queenstown's legendary nightlife. We went to World Bar, where the cocktails are served in teapots... a good (but very bad) move. Several teapots, a boogie in Altitude bar, and a smattering of chips and aioli from Fergburger later, we stumbled back to the hostel. In the morning, feeling much worse for wear, we booked our trips for the following days before crawling out into town for an explore, and a second breakfast.

We got very excited when we found an international sweet shop selling imported and long-lost goodies from the UK, such as Galaxy chocolate, Haribo and Refreshers!

:)

In the afternoon, we caught the Skyline Gondola up the mountain, for panoramic views over Queenstown and  Lake Wakatipu. We went luging, which was a lot of fun! I managed to lose Liz and Kirst in the giftshop, and ended up making friends with an elderly Indian couple on the Gondola ride down, whilst they watched, bemused, from the cafe. Whoops!

The luge track.

Beautiful views over Queenstown.

The next morning, we caught the shuttle out to the Shotover River, from which we would depart on a jetboat ride. The ride was amazing, with the boats zooming along and missing huge rocks by just a few milimetres. We headed back to Queenstown mid-morning, but would be returning to the river later in the day... For lunch, we descended upon the fabled Fergburger. The drunken chips we had devoured were, indeed, good - but Fergburger is famous for its burgers, and we had to try them. True to legend, they were unbelievable. I had a (don't judge me) Tofu burger, with satay and coconut sauce and a fair bit of spice. It was INCREDIBLE. The girls made up for my vegetarianism with hefty slabs of animal in bread, all of which looked very impressive (and tasted it too, apparently).

HUGE.

Ferglove!

Post-Ferg comedown.

In the afternoon, we wandered the streets aimlessly, trying fruitlessly to shake off the post-Fergburger haze hanging over us. Eventually, we headed to the Canyonswing office, where I was to chance my life on an bungee cord...

We were driven out to the Shotover River once more. Kirsty and Liz were shown to the observation deck, whilst I was harnessed up and asked to choose a jumping style. I decided that as long as I was risking my life on the highest cliff jump in the world - well, I may as well look cool doing it. Therefore, on the 1st February 2012, I somersaulted off a platform, plunging down into a 60-metre freefall and across the river canyon in a 200m arc. It was amazing! Once I had been winched back up to safety, with legs which were struggling to support me, they offered us the chance to do it again for cheap... It was a no-brainer! So thirty-nine dollars later, I was suspended head first over the edge of the platform, and dropped back into freefall. Mental? Obviously. Incredible? No question.

Jump #1...

And again!

Jump #2...

Wheeee!

A boiling hot tub in the rain was the perfect way to end a ridiculously amazing, adrenaline-fuelled day in my new favourite place on earth.

The next morning was an incredible early start for our skydive. The sky was heavy with clouds, and it looked like the jump would be cancelled - until we saw the small area of perfectly clear sky, directly over the drop zone! In the Hangar, we were quickly suited up, with many more layers than last time, in boiling hot Byron Bay! The plane ride up over the Remarkables Mountain Range was so beautiful - as you rose above the clouds, you could see nothing but white, with the peaks soaring above the cloud. It was amazing. Soon, we reached 12,000ft, and the plane doors opened. Liz went first, then me, and Kirsty last. We had 45 seconds of exhilarating freefall, watching the mountains surge up beneath you, and pass you as you fall. Eventually the parachute opened and we glided down to the drop zone. It was amazing, made even better by Kirst and Liz's reactions to their first ever jump!

Running off nothing but veinfuls of adrenaline, we once again walked through the hallowed doors of Fergburger. Our burgers were again, amazing - although the falafel burger was not quite as heart-stoppingly perfect as the tofu burger. (Sorry, burger purists, I'm veggie. Sue me.) We slept off the burgers in the sun, before strolling through the gardens and heading to the Patagonian Chocolate Shop for beautiful homemade icecreams and gelato.

Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu.

And so, unfortunately, it was time to bid Queenstown adieu. It had been the pinnacle of our trip - an amazing place, with endless activities, for every season. I will definitely return one winter to see the town changed, hiking shops switched to ski rental, ice cream traded for hot chocolates, the eternal crowds of Fergburger-hungry hoardes swaddled up in hats and scarves.

We caught the bus the next morning to Christchurch, a long and scenic journey, albeit no match for the Franz Josef - Queenstown leg. In Christchurch, we found that the rumours were true: there was nothing there. I had thought that the city would be one of two extremes: destroyed, in which case surveying the damage would be an interesting, if sobering, experience; or still standing and living, in which case there would be much to do. Unfortunately, it was both. The destroyed centre was fenced off within the 'red zone', with no access and nothing to see. The outer areas were still, mostly, standing - but there was nothing to do. There were no people on the streets, no life to the city. We ended up going for a curry, before awaiting our airport shuttle in the casino - and winning $20 whilst we were at it. A pretty good note to end on!

We spent the last night as we had the first - attempting to sleep on the airport floor.It was an incredible trip, and I definitely fell in love with NZ. The kiwis were just so happy and friendly, it was hard not to love them! There was so much to see and do, I will definitely be back!

Weeks Twenty-six and Twenty-seven: The Great Australian Adventure (part 2)

The first half of the trip took in amazing cities, endless beaches and crystal clear lakes. The second half was to take in coral reefs, ancient rainforest, and the most beautiful beach in the world... From Rainbow Beach, we took the Greyhound north to Airlie Beach - another long overnight journey. We arrived at 9am in bright sunshine, and headed to the Explore Whitsundays office to register for the boat. We had an amazing breakfast at the Sidewalk Cafe and a dip in Airlie Beach lagoon, whiling away the hours until our boat departed.

At lunchtime we headed to the marina to board the Boomerang, the racing yacht which was to be our home for the next two nights as we sailed around the Whitsunday Islands. We met the crew and set sail, each having a go at hoisting the sails up. I was even allowed to drive it! (And yes, I realise that you don't 'drive' boats, but shush. I drove the boat). We arrived at the Caves Cove, suited up in Stinger Suits to avoid the Irukandji jellies and jumped in! We snorkelled around, finding Nemo and Dory; and huge number of Parrotfish chomping on the coral and pooing out white coral sand!

Aye Aye, Cap'n!

Sexy stinger suits!

:)

From there we sailed to Hook Passage to set up for the night. On the way, we watched a beautiful sunset over the ocean and devoured some incredible nachos! Once we were anchored for the night, we had an amazing dinner and a few drinks up on deck with our fellow 'Boomers'. In the morning, we woke up to breakfast up on deck, before setting sail to Tongue Bay, to spot Green Turtles and bushwalk up to the Whitehaven Beach lookout. The views from the lookout were unbelievable - bright turquoise waters and the swirling sands of Hill Inlet. It was so beautiful, like something from a holiday brochure.

Unbelievable.

From the lookout, we headed down to the beach itself. The sand is the purest in the world, composed of 99% silica. This means it's incredibly white - and can polish up silver jewellery (and I can vouch for this!). The water was so, so turquoise and clear. We were at the Hill Inlet beach end, which meant that we could 'walk on water' across the sand spits spanning the inlet.

<3

So blue!

We spent a few hours on the beach, before heading back to the Boomerang and sailing over to Hook Island and Luncheon Bay, where Hugo and I would be scuba diving. The dive was amazing, there were huge coral bommies with such colourful coral. We saw a butterflyfish the size of a dinnerplate; nemo and dory and many others besides. After the dive, we were towed back through the water to the Boomerang, holding onto a rope pulled by the launch, which was a lot of fun! We sailed off to Langford Island, which was essentially a sand spit in the middle of the ocean. From the beach, we watched the sun set, had a few drinks and nibbles. It was so pretty. Once the sun had set and the chill set in, we headed back to the Boomerang to set sail for Blue Pearl Bay, on Hayman Island, where we would set up for the night. After another amazing dinner, we sat on deck listening to music, having a few drinks and chatting.

Sunset :)

At 7am it was time for breakfast, then straight into the water for a snorkel :) We spotted many more of Nemo's extended family, plus much of the rest of the cast. We also saw 'Elvis', the Napoleon Maori Wrasse living in Blue Pearl Bay... he was huge. Too soon, it was time to head back towards dry land to regain our land legs. We all headed our separate ways after 3 incredible days.

The Boomerang!

Our Greyhound up to Cairns wasn't until the evening, so we whiled away the afternoon by Airlie Beach Lagoon; having a lovely dinner with Ann, one of the girls off the Boomerang; and a few drinks with everyone off the boat. Soon it was time to bid everyone adieu and board our last overnight bus.

We arrived in the muggy heat of Cairns at 6am, and made the trek to our hostel, which was amazing. It was in an old, tropical wooden building; all bright colours and hammocks everywhere. We went for an incredible breakfast at the Gingerbread House, which had beautiful coffee and pastries. We spent the day exploring the city and swimming in the lagoon, before Hugo's first Aussie BBQ by the lagoon for dinner. The next day followed a similar pattern, with a relaxing day by the lagoon.

BBQ master!

On the 9th January we went on a dive trip to the Great Barrier Reef. We had a short dive in the morning, where we were lucky enough to see a turtle! It came so close, I was able to reach out and stroke its shell! It was amazing. We also saw lots of fish and gorgeous coral. We had the option to go for a second dive, and hey, you only live once! After an amazing lunch (seriously, the Aussies know how to cook!), we were back in the water for the best dive of my life. We saw turtles again, as well as towering bommies of bright coral, sea cucumbers and huge humpheaded parrotfish. It was incredible. We saw such a variety of marine life, including (unfortunately) some jellies... Oh well, the sting was worth it!

Hey Mr Turtle!

On Tuesday, we headed into the Daintree Rainforest and the Atherton Tablelands on an Uncle Brians 'Fun, Falls and Forest' tour. The Daintree is the oldest continually-growing rainforest in the world, and it was amazing. We went first to Babinda Boulders and the Devils Pool - a series of waterfalls and rocks through the rainforest, which was stunning. On the way we saw a wild Cassowary, which was incredible - they are so, so rare!

A wild Cassowary!

Babinda Boulders

The heat was suffocating - well above 35 degrees - so our next stop was at Josephine falls, for a swim. The rocks here have been worn down by the water to make a smooth rock slide.  The water was very cold, and it was so fun sliding down the rocks and plunging into the water beneath. We dried off on the boulders for a while, before heading back into the van and onto the Atherton Tablelands for our lunch stop. The views from the tablelands were incredible, and the lunch spread was impressive. We all closely adhered to Cousin Brad's rule - the more you eat, the better you float (this is upside-down land, after all!).

The next stop was Millaa Millaa falls, the home of the Herbal Essences hair flip, and Peter Andre's mysterious girl. The 24m-high waterfalls were breathtaking, and certainly invigorating to swim underneath... free massage, anyone?

Millaa Millaa Falls

The Herbal Essences girl ain't got nothin' on us!

Our final swim stop of the day was at Lake Eacham, an enormous flooded volcanic caldera. There was a pontoon from which you could dive into the water - or a tree to jump out of, for the more adventurous! It didn't look high from the path, but it felt it as you jumped! At sunset we had to quickly pile back into 'Gus the Wonder Bus' to get to a Platypus breeding ground in time for dusk - when they're at their most active. They are notoriously illusive, but with patience, hot chocolate and muffins, we spotted some!

Casually swimming in a volcano. Hardcore.

The day ended with a cider back at the lodge, and a singalong on the long and winding road back to Cairns. It was SUCH a fun day ad I could not recommend the Uncle Brians tour highly enough! 

Wednesday marked the beginning of the end of our trip, with our flight from Cairns back down to Sydney. We arrived in Sydney in the late afternoon, and went straight to the hotel to get dressed up in our best for one last posh meal. Dressed up to the nines, we wandered through Hyde Park to Circular Quay and the Opera House. We decided to eat at Cafe Sydney, an incredible (and fairly pricey...) restaurant hidden away on the top floor of the Customs House. The restaurant itself was stunning - with views over the whole harbour - and the food was unbelievable. Hugo had a Fig and Iberico ham starter. For the main course, I had Thyme Gnocchi with Asparagus, Poached egg and Chilli; Hugo had Tandoori Tasmanian Trout with coconut. AMAZING. Dessert was a Rhubarb tart with Raspberry ice cream pour moi, and Mango cheesecake for Hugo. The food was out of this world! I felt like a celebrity! :)

<3

What a view!

Hugo's main...

And mine...

His pudding...

and mine! :)

Thursday was unfortunately the last day. We spent the morning browsing Paddy's Markets for souvenirs and chilling in the sun at Darling Harbour. In the afternoon, we headed for the airport. The goodbye wasn't fun, but the trip had been the most incredible month of my life. Love, love, love Australia! (And Hugo's not too bad either.)

:)

Weeks Twenty-four and Twenty-five: The Great Australian Adventure (Part 1)

First off, I apologise for the belated nature of this post - I have been busier than the hypothetical bee for the past few months, as this entry will surely illustrate.

On the 19th December 2011, I met Hugo at Sydney Airport on the first day of our trip up the east coast, through cities, beaches, ocean and rainforest. The first day was spent fighting the inevitable jet-lag and doing the typical tourist thing - cue scores of photos of us in front of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge!

Exhibit A.

Sydney was all decked out in full glitzy Christmas paraphernalia, with a giant Christmas Tree in  Martin Place, and big banners throughout the city centre. The weather was more suited to Northern Hemispheric climes, however, with grey skies and fairly torrential downpours. Welcome to Australia!

Festive!

The rest of our time in Sydney was spent on Bondi Beach; walking from Bondi to Coogee along the gorgeous coastal path; browsing Paddy's Markets; watching the Christmas Lights on St Mary's Cathedral and enjoying the sunshine which finally made an appearance.

On the Thursday, we got the looooong train up to Newcastle, to show Hugo the sights of my adopted hometown. In the sunshine, Newy is gorgeous: all blue skies, clear water and beaches galore. In the rain, however, it's just a bit... grey. In true, unpredictable, Aussie weather fashion, however, the skies darkened and the rain started to pour as our journey started, and it continued for most of the day. Undeterred, I took Hugo to Bogey Hole, and along Bather's Way to Nobby's Breakwater, my happy place! In the afternoon, my remaining fellow Churchies and I introduced Hugo to some of Newcastle's culinary delights: namely, Wedges from the Grand and hazelnut hot chocolates from Coco Monde! As the sun set, we made our way to the bus station to catch our Greyhound up the coast to Byron Bay!

We arrived in Byron Bay in the early morning, and headed straight to Main Beach to nap and take in the views. Over the next two days, we spent a lot of time on the beach, making the trek up to Cape Byron Lighthouse and relaxing. We had a skydive booked for Christmas Day, which was unfortunately postponed until Boxing Day due to high winds. 

Byron Bay!

Surfer boy :)

When Christmas Day dawned, there was nothing for it but a day of surfing and sunning on the beautiful beach. In true Aussie fashion, the weather had other ideas, with a cyclone off the coast causing swells so high that the entire beach was flooded! Nevertheless, we set up camp on the grassy knoll overlooking the ocean, popped the champagne cork and turned on the Christmas playlist on my iPod. The waters receded in the afternoon, necessitating a mass rush of Santa-hat clad revellers into the water. It was pretty surreal, listening to 'jingle bells', wearing Christmas hats and supping champagne - whilst in bikinis and boardies!

Merry Christmas!

In the evening, we got all dressed up and headed out to Mokha Cafe for an incredible Christmas dinner of Swordfish with Mango salsa (for Hugo) and Pumpkin, Spinach and Ricotta risotto (pour moi). I love the food here in Australia, it's always so good! We had yet more booze, and watched Avatar, so ending our sunny, hot and more-than-a-little tipsy Christmas Day Down Under!

Boxing day was time for Skydiving attempts number two and, unfortunately, three, as our second attempt was once again thwarted by high winds. Finally, though, we took off and fell out of the sky from 9,000ft! It was gorgeous - you fell right over the beach and the views were amazing. It was such a rush!

Pre-jump!

That afternoon was our bus to Brisbane, onto the Queensland leg of the trip. I love Brisbane, so was really excited to show Hugo around. On our first day we went out to Groove Train for an amazing breakfast of French toast (me) and Bacon-Avocado burgers (Hugo). We went to Southbank and I introduced Hugo to his first Boost Juice, with our feet dipped in the Lagoon. We went for an explore of Queens Street Mall and a quick shop, too. The next day, we headed to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, for Hugo's first up-close encounter with Aussie critters. We fed Roos and cuddled Koalas and took many a tourist photo :)

Koala cuddles

The Roo whisperer!

From Brisbane we headed up to Rainbow Beach, a sleepy little town of one main street and a long stretch of sand, from which we would launch our expedition to the largest desert island in the world: Fraser Island. There wasn't much to do in Rainbow Beach, so we whiled away the time on the Beach. We had an early start to head off to Fraser Island, for three days of lakes, camping, and sand, sand, sand. We were sorted into groups of eight, and we'd drive our own jeeps across the long beaches. First stop was Lake Wabby, the deepest lake on the Island. After a long, hot walk through the rainforest and across the sand dunes, we got to the top of a hill, from which you looked down into the dark green waters of Lake Wabby.

Lake Wabby

:)

We set up camp before sunset, then made dinner and settled under the tarp with cider and goon, ready for New Years Eve: Desert Island-style. There was no light pollution on the island so the sky was alight with stars, it was incredible! We rang in 2012 sat on the beach under the stars, with cups of goon and many drunk irishmen!

In the morning, Hugo was the driver, and we headed off for Eli Creek, a sort of natural lazy river cutting through the sand. As we set off from Eli Creek our jeep died, so we had to split up and hitch rides in other jeeps on the way to Indian Head. From the cliff-top, there were panoramic views of the whole island, it was gorgeous.

:)

On the way back to camp, we stopped off at the wreck of the SS Maheno, a cruise liner which had come aground decades ago, and since been used as WWII target practise for the Australian Army. 

SS. Maheno

The tour guides saved the best for last... On the third day we headed to Lake Mackenzie and I drove the Jeep(!) along a verrrrrrry bumpy rainforest track. The Lake was like nothing I've ever seen: the most insanely turquoise, crystal clear water and white sand. As it was freshwater, you could swim along with your eyes open underwater, and see right to the bottom!

So clear!

From Lake Mackenzie it was time to head back to the mainland and Rainbow Beach for one last night, before continuing up the coast to Airlie Beach, the Whitsundays and Cairns.