Surfers Paradise and Fraser Island - travel diary

Surfers Paradise and Fraser Island - Australia travel diary

 

With not even two hours of bus we reached the new destination. In fact we were already at Surfer Paradise with Mr. D'Ambrosi (you recall the President of the club trevigiani of Brisbane?), But only for a few hours, enough to make us a complete idea of the town. We arrived at the central station just after lunch and as usual began hunting all'ostello. Even this city, being a renowned tourist destination, keeps prices moderate to above average and has not been easy to find a budget accommodation. Given that good or bad the prices of hostels were all equal, we opted for the more central and nearest the ocean. As usual we have placed the backpacks and we went to take a look also at the center because we urgently need to go shopping and eat something.

Even the name, Surfer Paradise, should put on the long habits of this place ... Here everything revolves around surfing: there are surf schools on the right and there, stores that sell equipment or not and even the benches and all the furniture are in the shape of a surfboard. The impression that jumps easily to the eyes is that this place has lost the old charm of yesteryear and has turned into a sort of big commercial event to publicize not only the sport of surfing, but especially the economic interests that are behind us.
However, the town as a whole is quite enjoyable, with a pleasant pedestrian center surrounded by shops and restaurants that are taken during the evening assault by thousands of people. It is perhaps this is the best thing to Surfer Paradise: the nightlife. It seems that almost every backpacker in Australia will give appointment at this location to live the night ... There are many clubs that sprout on every corner of the street and the great thing is that most of the time the entry is free and maybe even give you a drink ... would be a crime not take advantage!

But at this point I would like to open a parenthesis on a special person that we met at Surfer Paradise. Remember that we told capitati be sleeping in a room of eight people ... Well, among these there was also a Dutch guy with an unpronounceable name, let alone write ... you need only to know that everyone called "L". A boy who was in Australia now for three months and had worked for most of the time towards the north, in the collection of fruit .... Just what we wanted to do! And fortunate that we did not because the stories of "L" this is a labor of slaves, a tiring and thankless job. We immediately connected with "L" and the past with him almost every evening we have a drag club in the city. We must also make a special thank you because they gave us a super straight on where to go and eat for free ... you just understand it, free! Initially there even we believed, but instead it was true. Enough homework in the dining rooms of a hostel sciccosissimo that was not very distant from our own and the game was done! Nobody asked you anything, just buy a drink (which cost little well!) And automatically obtain good meal ... fabulous!

After all, even though we were in one of the most expensive city in Australia, as usual, I had come to head ... and now, bearing the usual excitement that we are about to leave the chaotic city life to dive into what should be an unforgettable experience: Fraser Island.

And here we are again at a time yet another bus to Rainbow Beach, the outpost that had chosen to land at Fraser Island, the ultimate goal of our stay in Australia. Arrived at the central station of Surfer Paradise we expected the first bus to Brisbane, just over an hour travel but most had yet to come. Arrived in Brisbane we were directed to nibble something in a self-service restaurant specializing in Asian cuisine, just have time to wash the teeth and the number two lane departure was in our way to Rainbow beach. After a long ride for five hours to peak on the coast of Queensland that we have achieved can hardly be called a city: in fact the case of a small group of houses with the sole purpose of satisfying the demands of food supplies for the explorers who going to visit Fraser Island. Hurry practices to the hostel in the afternoon we waited what must have been a briefing for the tour. In the end however it was limited to watching a movie on the intimidating dangers related to driving on the sand since exploration was carried out with a jeep. It was time to get to know our fellow adventure with our astonishment we were not the dominant nation, as often happens, but there were four Germans, one Canadian, one Israeli and one Finnish. We immediately tried to get in confidence with our colleagues to travel, given that this was not the classic tour "organized whole" but a solo expedition: we, the jeep and sand. The evening ended in a plate of lasagna and a chat about what we were waiting for the next day.

In the morning, wake up a good hour after use of the free breakfast we rushed to load the half: two tents, a barbecue, a gas cylinder, crockery, two thermo-fridge to store food, our personal effects and so desire for adventure. After one hour the shipment was headed toward the ferry that would lead us toward the island of sand largest in the world. In a flash we had already crossed the language of sea separating Fraser Island from the mainland. Not even time to land and have received the most unexpected of welcome: this was a real dingo, animal characteristic of Australia in this island that has a particular reputation.
The dream was turning into reality ... we were driving between sand and ocean, in a beautifully preserved wilderness. It took some 'time to become familiar with driving on the sand, but as usual at the end they came to us and we head towards the first goal of the day: beach Gorge. From there we embarked on a path that penetrated inside the island in a vast sea of sand. It seemed almost to have been suddenly in the middle of a desert: a devastating sun that bounced on the sand and blinded eyes, a heat that made it complicated every single step and the thirst that was head. Arrived at the end of the path, we suddenly turned back and our view has submitted a landscape breathtaking, resulting from the chromatic contrast between sand and sea. Returned to the jeep we continued up the coast line towards one of the many lakes on the island where we had decided to have lunch. The day draws to a close and things were still to be seen so many and so fleeting after a meal, we immediately put back into gear. Our daily goal was to get up to Indian Head, the most northerly point on the island that we were allowed to reach. According insistent voices from here it was possible to see the whales and sharks of which Fraser Island was infested and certainly could not miss the opportunity to cross two of the most famous lords of the seas. As already said the day was coming to an end and we had yet to find a place to camp. It 'been a race against time, or rather a race against the tide that saliva saliva saliva and the risk of letting ourselves be trapped in one of the most remote areas of the island. Now when all hope was lost, fortunately, we met a ranger who has advised him to camp along the beach. In the meantime, had already fallen and the darkness was not at all easy to assemble tents, but thanks to good teamwork, the camp was ready and so we prepared the stove for dinner.

The first day we had reserved a huge load of emotions and many hardships, had also allowed us to become better acquainted with our traveling companions who had already buckle of the new names, as they were too difficult to remember: he was born so the legend of women burp, bombing of the young, women's tent, the woman and the sewer company of sausage.

The next day started early because of the sun beating on the tent and eaten breakfast, we waited for the tide to retreat. The first stage of the day was Eli creek, a great stream of clear water that flows into the sea. The really nice thing of this stream was that you could paddle in it, going from his mouth (located in the middle of the forest) to its outlet into the sea. The second target, however, led us to an old wreck of a ship sunk long ago because of menacing waves beating the coast of Fraser Island. The wreck is fully emerged from the waters and makes beautiful exhibition if, in his rust-colored red, sonnacchiosamente lying on the shoreline. It seemed incredible but the middle of the day if n'erano already flown away before us and still had plenty to do, first of all get to the lake McKanzie. What has proved much more difficult than you might imagine: the path to reach the lake consisted in thirty miles insidiosissima sand that divincolava to the heart of the island. After about forty minutes of exhausting driving we stopped for a brief stop at the lake Wobby, where we had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful example of launch that rested in the trees. Time for a fleeting occhiatina the lake and we jumped in the car again unaware of the dangers that we were waiting. The road seemed never to end and we were more hungry since lunch time was now gone for quite some time and had not yet put anything in your teeth. For further aggravate this situation, in the middle of nowhere we were swallowed up by the bite of the soft sand. The four-wheel drive does not want to further their knowledge and tiny grains have had the best. sand were so disturbing to say the least, but thank God and to the children of another jeep, we left dall'empasse. We still headed for a good hour until you reach the sign indicating the lake Mckanzie, but now the day was over. A short briefing and we decided to camp in a nearby station for not repeating the mistake the previous night. In a moment we have mounted tents under beautiful and majestic trees, lit the stove and eagerly devoured the grilled sausage wisely by wise hands of our friends Alemannic. Darkness fell very quickly and we did not lose a second to go to bed, but not before an incredible shower chips (yes, we are also able to wash!) And a glass of Lambrusco.

Wake up to the first light of dawn we are going to spend the last day on the island. We were all curious to see this famous lake Mckanzie so much we had heard about ...
Once there, we are certainly not been disappointed ... Lake fully deserves its reputation. It is located in the middle of a tropical forest, surrounded by strips of sand so as to appear white flour with a water crystal that shockingly few steps from the banks plunged to the depths.
As usual, beautiful things are destined to end and so we called out to reach the predetermined point for boarding. The deliveries that we were given the first day spoke clearly: 15:00 time limit to board, with a possible penalty of one hundred U.S. dollars per person! Fortunately the way back, though long and challenging, gave us no unpleasant surprises and we were at the predetermined point in X. We returned all'ostello from which we started three days before, tired and hungry, but happy for the company to complete successfully. What's more, once you have had to download the half, clean the equipment and pass a rigorous control of all the technical stuff was over. The evening we spent with our traveling companions, planning one last dinner with the leftovers of our stores. We were dead tired slaps in bed, with a view to exhausting levataccia waiting for us on the following day.

At 06:45 we were already standing for the usual breakfast "latch" and take the bus to Brisbane where we waited to fly to New Zealand. But the enemy is always at the door, and heedless of the movement of the clock, we realized that we were now the 07:50, too late to turn the bus who had gone ten minutes before. Just wanted there! We are sealed in ten minutes of deep despair, trying to find alternatives to recover the money lost by the bus (of course the tickets were not refundable). The only solution that you suggested before that was not to pay the night in a hostel in Brisbane and use that money to buy a new ticket. That is exactly what we did in five hours by bus we arrived in Brisbane where after a brief lunch, we direct to the airport. Were the four in the afternoon and our flight would be started only at 11:30 the following morning. We definitely know a lot of time to the airport in every corner, but we had not even one cent to buy something to eat. Fortunately the airport in Brisbane has been very welcoming: there was the fresh water free of soft sofas to spend the night and even satellite television ... even all'Hilton.
And so, at 11.30 AM of 13-03-2005, ended our adventure in the land of Australia, a vast country that we have devoted too little time ... we were ready to turn the page again and start a new chapter: New Zealand!