Author: braysabroad

Ice cream rules!!

Another warm sunny day in Brisbane so we decided to hire bikes and cycle along the river boardwalks. We had a 30 minute walk to the cycle hire, past pirates at the Maritime Museum and an unusual pelican sculpture in the river. When we got there, we were treated to some of the worst maintained hire bikes ever!

Nonetheless, we spent the morning negotiating determined cyclists, runners and pedestrians as we made our way along both sides of the Brisbane River . Kangaroo Point looked lovely and could win the vote for the place we’d most like to live in Oz.

Two weary Brays spent the afternoon snoozing by the hotel pool while the athlete made full use of gym and pool facilities.

Our final night deserved a good meal in a lovely Chinese restaurant on the South Bank, Obsession. Dessert was ice cream overload! We wandered to Movenpick, had two scoops of ice cream each before deciding that we needed to indulge in the deluxe tasting plate of 6 more scoops!

We waddled back to our hotel for our final night in Oz. Next stop, Singapore

Some other Pom…..

Last night was spent watching the sun go down from Fraser Island before an early night. We had to be up at 6.30 to make our transfer back to Brisbane!

We caught the ferry before 8am and had a great time chatting to the Island’s resident photographer. He kindly rang a mate to find the final results of the Tour for us. Apparently a couple of Poms came 1st and 2nd and some other Pom won the stage!!

We were met by a lovely cheery coach driver who made the 4 hour drive a real pleasure. He shared his local knowledge throughout the journey and was a joy to meet!

It’s good to be back in Brisbane, lots of cafes that stay open later than 8.30. we’ve missed the hustle and bustle although after 2 hours in a shopping mall the beach did seem appealing.

It may be the cafe life all day tomorrow or we may hire bikes. Only time will tell…

I’m not a celebrity but get me out of here!!

Our last night on Fraser Island and we feel we’re ready to return to civilisation. This place has the most wonderful breakfast which is a very civilised way to start the day…

After sorting out our nourishment we hired a 4wd to visit Lake Mckenzie which is fairly spectacular. We did find ourselves comparing it to Lake Windemere. We shared the journey with a lovely young Irish couple that we met on the first night whilst lost trying to find our room. It was great to have some company other than ourselves!

We’re back to civilisation tomorrow and will relish the internet, cafes that don’t close at 8 and (Kim never thought she’d say this) no sand between our toes!

We’ll upload some photos when we’re back in Brisbane. In the meantime please have some sympathy for us, we’ll be up by 6:30am tomorrow to catch the 7:50 ferry back to ‘Mr Grumpy Tours’. We really didn’t plan this part of the trip very well at all!!

We’re glad we did Fraser Island but feel no need to come back. If we want remote and quiet, we can stay at home. If we want hot,sunny pools, we can do the Med….

ust checked the weather in the UK, good to see you’re having better weather than us. We hope it last til we get home

Fraser Island redeems itself

Daylight dawned and the sun came out. we are staying in a room on stilts with views over a creek, across to the ocean. We had a lovely leisurely breakfast in a very calm relaxed environment. It was wonderful.

Matt went off on a guided canoe paddle around some of the creeks while Kim and John settled down to toast by the pool. Most visitors come to see the stunning scenery and wildlife so disappear off the day leaving the resort lovely and quiet. A warm relaxing day was just what was needed by the older Brays.

We wandered down to the jetty for the sunset which is meant to be spectacular. Not tonight though, the sky had clouded over but we were treated to the sight of a dolphin swimming just off the beach.

We should have checked the map!

Friday started in a lovely sunny Brisbane. Breakfast in Poppy’s Deli was followed by a walk along the river, around the pools and artificial beach. This is Kim’s type of city – clean, lots of cafes and a day that doesnt seem to start until after 10am. Very civilised.

We drove out to the airport to pick up our transfer to Fraser Island and were met by the world’s grumpiest driver. We were expecting a 2 hour drive, after 2 hours Mr Grumpy let us leave the coach for a comfort break. No more than 10 minutes or he would leave without us! 4 hours after leaving Brisbane, we arrived at Hervey Bay. We were abandoned with ‘your bus will pick you up here, don’t know what time but you’d better be waiting for it’. Off he went into the sunset leaving us rather bemused, tired and hungry. We were in big trouble with Matt because we’d assured him the journey was not much further than Australia Zoo!

It felt like we’d been abandoned in some backwater trading post from a wild west movie.

Currently we’re waiting patiently, hoping the stage coach arrives, we wouldnt want to spend the night here…….

Fraser Island, finally

We arrived at 8pm after a 2hour wait in Hervey Bay and a 45 minute ferry ride. We were shown all the sights, in the dark, and given the good news that we’d be unable to get a meal after 8.30! We were tired, hungry and then lost! The resort doesn’t do directions and we found ourselves, along with several other new arrivals, heading out along a boardwalk into the dark. With warnings of dingos in our minds,we finally found our new treehouse and ran to the nearest restaurant just before it closed. Not a great start to our stay!!

We all went to the zoo, zoo, zoo

We had a surprisingly good night in a hotel sandwiched between a main road and railway line and with bricks for pillows.

We started on our journey to Australia Zoo. The satnav got us lost and we had two unecessary trips through a toll tunnel. Is it a conspiracy with the fuel companies or city council? Finally we found ‘Bruce Highway’ and followed the road North to the Sunshine Coast.

We arrived at the zoo with no further mishap, past some stunning mountain scenes. A great day was had by all, including John ‘I don’t really do zoos’ Bray!

We saw the Wildlife Warriors Show. The crocs were impressive but the birds stole the show, particularly the Jabirus. On to feeding time with the Asian otters, before wandering off to get up close with koalas. The last show for us was with another croc, amazing creatures!

We’ve seen giant tortoises, a whole variety of lizards, snakes, wombats, cassowaries and, of course, the lovely Roo. John still needs convincing that we need one in the garden although he concedes that it would be preferable to a croc in the river!

Off to Fraser Island tomorrow and, despite coming back here afterwards, wish we’d allowed more time to explore this City. According to Dave and Ann who have lived here ‘there’s nothing much to see’ but it seems that we could have filled a few more days.

Dinner tonight was in a Chinese restaurant with a jazz trio playing, the sort of place with plenty of atmosphere that Pete would have made a bee line for. Al fresco eating with good food and great music!

We’re not sure if Fraser Island has wifi, John has just announced that we may not have flushable toilets…..

The Big Chill

We said goodbye to Palm Cove on the most glorious day, 28 degrees and 65% humidity. The beach and cove looked fantastic as reluctantly we departed for Brisbane. A visit to Cairns is definitely recommended if only to experience the wonderful airport which is small, clean and very efficient. Palm Cove was, pretty, very laid back and well worth the trip.

We were dressed for the tropics and touched down somewhere that felt like home, cold and wet! We picked up our upgraded hire car. All this way for british weather and a Ford Focus! We followed our Aussie voiced satnav to the Little Stanley area on South Bank and only got lost once! The hotel is very modern and we have a lovely spacious room complete with washing machine tumble dryer and kitchen diner, Kim was thrilled, she’s becoming rather obsessed with laundry facilities.

Of course we’re here specifically to visit our friend Dave. Oh no, we can’t!! He came back to the UK after we’d booked the trip, Whether this was a deliberate move may be the subject of our next poll.

Despite the rain, the South Bank looks very razzy with lots of shops and restaurants. They even have the equivalent of the French Autumn Gourmand and every other eating establishment is a chocolate restaurant, we shall enjoy exploring

Off to Australia Zoo tomorrow to fulfil one of Matthew’s dreams

Every home should have a kangaroo..

….they are fantastically cute animals. Anyway, back to our day. Our third early start in a row and we’re desperate for a lie in. John said Kim had booked too much in, Kim now reluctantly agrees.

Off to the Daintree River and rainforest and Cape Tribulation with Billy Tea Safaris. Our first stop was Mossman which processes the sugar cane that is grown in this area. The cane is transported from the plantations on its own railway and the steam from the processing factory can be seen for miles around.

Our next stop was a cruise up the Daintree River to learn more about the native plants and animals. We were treated to the sight of several snakes basking in trees, kingfishers, herons and….ta, da!! Estuarine Crocodiles! We saw the whole range from two week old to the alpha male, Scarface. A reptile to be treated with respect and caution ( much like our tortoises!). We were glad that he was happily dozing on the bank rather than trying to protect his territory from us. Measuring 4.5m long,he was a fearsome sight.

We left the boat for a drive up through the rainforest, ending with a guided walk. The history of this World Heritage Site is fascinating and almost as interesting as seeing trees with buttress roots. I know, we’re easily entertained.

Back to the 4wd for a short drive to our lunch stop. Despite our hunger, we had to feed the rescued kangaroos and wallabies while our barbie lunch was cooked by our guide. The small group of animals are very used to human contact and were lovely – big eyes, soft fur, very gentle and surprisingly light on their feet.

After lunch, it was a short drive to Emmagen Creek where swimming, Billy Tea, a fruit tasting and Damper were on offer. The creek was lovely and clear but, despite assurances that we were safe from crocs, the Bray family decided to stay on dry land. We’d experienced enough water to last a lifetime yesterday! The fruit tasting, led by our guides Matt and Drew, was great, the Billy Tea not a patch on Tetley and the Damper significantly improved by a good slug of Golden Syrup! The highlight for Matt was finding his first snake unaided. All we can say is it was a snake, as to what type? we’d have to make that up!

Our final stop of the day was Cape Tribulation, the slogan is ‘where the rainforest meets the reef’. The beach and its surroundings were spectacular, not even Cornwall could compete with this.

Finally three weary travellers returned for the final night in the tree house. John’s verdict on the day:’That was a bloomimg long way for an iffy cup ot tea and 34 mossie bites’

Finding Nemo……..

Another early start for our day out at the Barrier Reef and another cloudy day. The coach took us along the Captain Cook Highway to Port Douglas accompanied by some fantastic ocean views which were almost as spectacular as Cornwall.

We boarded the boat with a warning from the crew that we might like to take travel sickness tablets once on board as it was going to be a bumpy trip, Kim and Matt exchanged horrified looks and began to wonder what they’d let themselves in for.

Tablets and a cuppa later we were on our way on a very bouncy journey. John was smug, apparently it was no worse than riding a motorcross bike or driving an old British Sports Car, Kim and Matt concentrated on not embarrassing themselves!

An hour and a half later we arrived unscathed at our first of three dive sites on the Agincourt reef. Matt was off the boat snorkelling in a flash, Kim wasted time for half an hour before deciding to leave the boat, and where was John ?? Well, he needed to stay on the boat to make sure we were Ok and help us in and out!!

Luckily the next site was only 10 minutes on the boat and Matt was again off the boat in a flash, slightly cold but nothing was going to stop him getting the most from this experience (unlike his weedy parents)

A lovely lunch was provided. We couldn’t have done better in our kitchen, let alone in the narrow confines of a boat!

A short trip to the final site saw both John and Matt in the water despite the wind and cold. Matt was off like a fish, with his underwater camera, despite being blue with cold, following the tour guide around the reef. The views through the clear blue water looking at the coral, fish and other wildlife are indeed spectacular in an almost surreal way.

It was then time for another hour and a half of torture on the far bumpier return trip to Port Douglas and finally the comfort and stability of terra firma.

The reef is over 2000km in length and visible from space, but spectacular as it is, we are not in any great hurry to visit it again until they move it to dry land with a John Lewis and Pret a Manger, in fact Kim did say ‘no one told me it would be wet!!’

Back to the tree house for a much needed shower and glass of wine!!

Wot, no steam?!?

Early start for our trip to Kuranda, the morning was damp and overcast. In fact, rather similar to our driver. We were treated to his views on British politics and a detailed description of his motorbike which we were keeping him from riding!

The Kuranda Scenic Railway station was like a step back in time, lined with carriages and reminiscent of Victorian stations back home. The train trundled in on time and…… no pleasant aroma of steam!! At the helm was a diesel electric locomotive that wouldnt win any environmental awards. John was disappointed to say the least,
having been subjected to visiting many Welsh narrow gauge railways as a child , this wasn’t what was expected.

It remained wet and cloudy journey through the rain forest up to Kuranda, with just the occasional break in the cloud to see some of the stunning views across the Barron River. The railway was built to assist towns which were struggling with the gold rush but is now just a tourist attraction. By the time we reached Kuranda, the sun had worked it’s way through the clouds, yippee. Kim and Matt don’t get up early to spend a day in the rain.

We spent an interesting couple of hours, wandering around the markets in Kuranda trying the local Mango wine and liquorice flavoured ice cream which tasted as bad as it looked, before catching the sky rail cable car back. We had been advised by one local to make sure that we came back down using the Sky Rail partly because of the views, but also because over an hour of screeching brakes on the train tends to produce headaches of gigantic proportions. We were so glad the weather had cleared as we were treated to some fantastic views across the rainforest and the ocean beyond

We returned to our tree house to be greeted by our first serious incident of the holiday….. No Teabags!! Yes, we had survived flying on Friday the 13th, but no teabags is very serious. Luckily we have an international athlete with us who, seeing the look of panic on Kim’s face, sprinted to the shop. Choosing which type of teabag proved too much for him and he returned with salt and vinegar crisps instead. He is now an International Athlete with a limp……

Electric ants – how scared should we be??

the Chill Cafe bekoned us for breakfast with excellent poached eggs and Neil Young playing on the stereo in the background, it had the makings of a good day. I think we all know that it was John who noticed the music, Matt and Kim were too focussed on the menu.

We made our way into Cairns for the David Todd Memorial run, which is a practice run for the state cross country championships. Matthew won the race comfortably and we are very proud parents of an international athlete! Although we are in Oz, it’s a small world as we met a former commonwealth and Olympic runner who is a friend of the Dee family that Matt runs with at home. When we returned to the tree house that is our accomodation Matt had been left a nice letter of congratulations to go with his medal.

People at Palm Grove are taking the Aussie lifeystyle seriously, they barbecue their food on the beach and in the grounds of the apartments in the evenings and walk everywhere barefoot. We on the other hand are not so well prepared and, without a car, a little limited. This evening we sat on the balcony of our tree house with take-away noodles envious of the barbecue aroma wafting upwards from below.

On the bus into Cairns, earlier, we noticed the large signs ‘Beware the Electric Ants’. In common with UK wildlife concerns, a new non native is creating havoc in Queensland destroying vaarious wildlife in the area and it’s……..an ant!!! There are signs along the highway forbidding us from spreading them. We’ve now done our research and are reassured that we’re not contributing to the local destruction of flora and fauna.

Matt has adapted well to the lifestyle, we’re not sure how he’ll ever manage without a pool and hot tub. In fact, our next poll could be ‘pond’ or ‘hot tub’…….

£10 Pom and rainforest

We said a reluctant goodbye to Sydney this morning, took the most effortless flight of the trip to Cairns where we were met by our first £10 Pom, Roger. He came over to Oz with his family and furniture in 1970 they were provided with hostel accommodation for two years and has never looked back. On leaving the airport, we were hit by the change in climate, hot and humid. Luckily not as bad as HK or we may never have left the airport!

Palm Cove is very tropical and we’re staying in a small resort amongst the palms with the beach just across the road. It’s like an upmarket Center Parcs and we’re staying in a glorified tree house. It’s a far cry from the hustle and bustle of Sydney. As you can see from the photo, both the boys are full of life.

Luckily the Stinger season is over so we can bathe in the sea without wetsuits, but we have been warned to look out for salt water crocs. Apparently they can turn up at any time but there’s no need to worry!!

Our last night in Sydney…

Our final evening started with a cultural visit to the Australian Museum of Contemporary Art – we are divided as to whether or not we enjoyed it!! John would have liked to spend more time viewing and understanding exhibits, Matt wanted to mooch round the shop and watch the skateboarding video, Kim wanted her dinner! This was followed by a mad rush back to the Nike shop for a running shirt for Matt before finally sitting down for dinner overlooking the harbour. We fly to Cairns tomorrow for the next stage of our adventure – David Todd Memorial Run, Kuranda sky rail, Barrier Reef and Daintree River here we come!! Just to put your minds at ease, it is only Matt doing the running……

Bondi or Newquay?

Difficult to tell the difference. Bondi doesn’t seem to have drunks, Newquay definitely has the better beach. Everyone told us that Manly was better and we’d have to agree. We came to see the winter festival and ice skating on the beach, a long way to go before it could compete with ice skating at Somerset House. We’d been at bondi half an hour before Matt found the skate park and a couple of people doing tricks on BMX’s. 2 hours later, we were still there. I hope Matt appreciates the sacrifice made by 2 very bored parents who didn’t whine once!! The highlight for John was seeing a shop that sold Hunter wellies rather than Uggs.

We caught the bus back to the city . Kim and Matt chose to explore the shops while John went to Darling Harbour by ferry. if we’d looked at the map, we’d have realises how near the shops were to Darling and we could have spent the afternoon together!!

Another tick in a box

Yesterday ended with a walk across the bridge. Fantastic views and an interesting conversation with a bored Bridge Security Guard halfway across. We were unable to continue our walk until Matt had correctly guessed the year the bridge opened and we’d promised to visit the Westfield Centre at Parramatta. John looked horrified at the thought and we didn’t have the heart to say it’s Bondi today!! The evening finished back in the hotel, cheering on Bradley Wiggins. We can’t have him beaten by The Aussie, Cadel Evans!

Kangarriffic!!

Finally, and much to Matt’s delight, someone has said g’day to us!!

We’re now officially backpackers, our tour today started outside the Youth Hostel! We’re sure that makes us all young and hip. Anyway, it was early start for our Hunter Valley Tour with Sam and Kangariffic. First stop was morning tea at a wildlife sanctuary and a cuddle with koalas and kangaroos before a chocolate tasting. We have remortgaged to fund Matt and John’s purchases. Then it was our first ’boutique’ wine tasting over looking vineyards with Roos hopping through it. Next we were treated to a cheese tasting before our final wine tasting of the day. Fabulous wine and views as well as meeting some lovely people. Our journey home was via a brewery and beer tasting. Fantastic day with a small group of people from USA, Canada and Singapore. Kangarriffic mate!!

Go Wiggins Go!!

As Murray, Hamilton and Button all failed to deliver, we Stayed up late last night to watch the Tour de France and are supporting Bradley. We started the day in a little cafe for breakfast which was very cosmopolitan and we could easily get used to the lifestyle. This morning was spent on a 3 hour guided, walking tour of Sydney, led by Ross from ‘i’m free’ (Ken and Jacky would be proud of us). We saw far more of Sydney than we would have done if left to our own devices and learned a lot about it’s history and where to go free of charge. The Queen Victoria Building and the underground passages were a particular highlight for us. This afternoon we went our seperate ways!! John and Matt went out to the Olympic site while Kim explored the Botanic Gardens. Matt particularly wanted to see the skate park, More gate crashing from John as they made their way to the 17th floor of the Novotel to get the best view across the site. Meanwhile, back in the Botanic Gardens, Kim enjoyed a leisurely stroll through the trees and round Farm Covee. The wildlife is so different and it was a relief to see a moorhen – at least Kim knew what that was! John is sick of the sight of Ugg boots and wonders if Australia makes anything else. It’s also a bit disconcerting when everyone says how cold it is and they’re wrapped in scarves. They’d never survive in the UK!

The Opera House and Manly Beach

Last night, John’s sense of adventure had us gate crashing the Opera House and listening to a Bob Dylan tribute concert in the lobby. Matt and I were mortified for all of 5 minutes before relishing the experience. So much for a quiet night in with the tv! This morning we treated ourselves to the bizarre expereince of breakfast in a Germen Biergarten which for some strange reason was celebrating christmas in July.

After that it was the ferry round to Manly to see Australian surf dudes in action. We wish Newquay was like this – lovely long beach, nice shops to browse around and not a single drunk in sight! John learned his first Australian word (sunnies instead of sunglasses) and has been using it all day. A lovely afternoon was spent along the seafront. All the locals under the age of 30 seem to get about on small skateboards or scooters, Matt is trying to work out if he can get one back home in his suitcase. Despite the sunshine, the sea was too cold for us but not the locals! Matt, with his experience of 5 Cornish surfing lessons, was able to advise us how the surfers were going wrong by catching the waves to early!We had our first glimpse of local wildlife today, seagulls with red feet (cute), parrots (noisy), spiders (big and scary)