Fraser Island

4×4 driving on sand…

28th, 29th& 30th September 2017

Fraser Island is the world’s largest sand island spreading 120km, with panoramic view points where you can take in the beauty of the island and witness stunning sites like Lake McKenzie, Lake Wabby and the Maheno shipwreck. 

We were on the Nomads tour which was a guided 4×4 driving experience with a lead car driven by our tour guide Tim and 3 other cars that were driven by people on the tour. You were put into groups for your car and it was up to you to decide who was driving when. I was part of car 4, the absolute dream team. 

The dream team was made up of: Alex, Jess and myself, Costas, Kike, Luca, Lorenzo and Lisa, covering all nationalities from British, Greek, Spanish, Italian and Dutch. 

We were on the island for 2 nights and 3 days, staying in the hostel resort on the island. It had an entrance to the beach where we would spend the evening (with Dingo sticks, just in case). We saw so many different things and the trip was so jam packed, a little too jam packed for me as I would have of liked to spend more at some of the sites like Lake McKenzie and Lake Wabby, but such is the nature of the tour. 

My favourite spot was Lake McKenzie, a perched lake, meaning it is filled by rainwater only. The blue and green colours of the lake are breathtaking and to swim in it is something else. It was so refreshing and clear, something I will remember for a long, long time. The sand is white silica and is so soft to walk on, like nothing I’ve experienced before. 

Whilst driving along the sand (an experience in itself) we spotted wild Dingo’s roaming and a group of dolphins swimming. When at the look out points we even saw a whale!

 

Lake Wabby was another stand out moment for me not only for the reward of the beautiful water but because of the 2km forest walk to get to it! It was during this walk where I encountered my first slice of death with an Australian animal. Okay, I might be being a little dramatic with the whole death thing but I did look one of the most deadliest snakes in the eye and froze and screamed and had to shout the girls to coach me through walking around it without aggravating it or dying lol @ me and my life. 

Similarly to the Whitsundays, a lot of the time I didn’t take my phone to the sites because I didn’t want to damage it or loose it so the pictures I have a limited but as always the memories made will last forever and car 4 will always hold a special place in my heart.

That concludes the east coast part of my trip and what a trip it was! I absolutely loved every part of it, I tapped into a part of me I’ve never seen in myself before, I always knew I was a confident person, so the meeting new people part of traveling never scared me, but I never new I could fully immerse myself into letting go and trying new things such as, snorkelling, sliding down waterfalls, driving a 4×4 on sand, driving a scooter and being out in the wild, 10 points to me and my pals for throwing ourselves into our travels.

I’ll be back soon to fill in the details of what’s been going on from October to now.

Speak soon,

Hannah x 

The Town of 1770, Agnes Waters

Sons of Anarchy, hit me up…

24th, 25th & 26th September 2017

Prior to coming out here, I hadn’t heard of Agnes Waters but we were advised by Dan (the guy who helped book our trip) that everyone who had done the Scooteroo tour, said it was the best thing about their trip so we though we would give it a go and here’s how it went!

The trip starts with a welcome from the team, you get your jacket and helmet and have  opportunity to take pictures on the ‘show bike’, the photos came out fab and I want them all framed when I get home.

Next you are taken over to the ‘test track’ which is just a circle track that you have to ride around until the team agree you are ready to go on the road. 

Out on the road was a LOT easier than the track, but I understand it is important you can master the track first. We saw some beautiful sites whilst riding, watched the sunset over the harbour and walked through a slice of a beautiful local forest. 

As you can see from the pictures I was definitely feeling myself on that bike but it was fun while it lasted I don’t think I want one full time (so you can stop panicking mum). 

I want to be honest about my travels, so I want to state that although the pictures are fab and overall I did have a good day, it was ruined slightly due to issues out of our control. The company, due to its increased popularity was being filmed by ‘Good Morning Australia’ and because of this we spent the majority of the day waiting around for them and consequently we missed a lot of the stops that the tour promises. If I have the chance and we are passing through Agnes Waters again I think I would do the tour to experience it fully, but for $80 it didn’t live up to our expectations on that day. 

The hostel we stayed at felt very middle of nowhere and the rooms were in cabins. It was very nice for the 2 nights we stayed there and the hostel was nice but its not somewhere I could stay for longer than 2 nights because there is nothing in walking distance and little to do outside of playing pool and the Scooteroo tour so for now, I think i’ll put my bike career on hold.

Next stop, Noosa for a trip to Fraser Island…

Speak soon,

Hannah x

Magnetic Island

Barbie car dreams

16, 17 & 18th September 2017

Magnetic Island or ‘Maggie‘ as it is to the locals was the first stop on our east coast trip. After getting our very first greyhound to Townsville we jumped on the ferry for a 20 minute journey to the island. Once off the ferry, we had an eventful bus journey to the hostel (note to self: don’t get on a public bus with your big ass cases in rush hour). 

BASE hostel is where we were staying and the view was something like off a postcard. It was a big site and had lots going on, a lot busier than our hostel in Cairns.

We stayed in a beach hut which thankfully was bigger inside than it looked!

We arrived in the evening and after filling our bellies we sat looking out onto the sea with a fruity cocktail. Bliss after a day travelling.

DAY 1:

We were up early and eager to start the day because we had managed to secure a Barbie car for the day, which we could drive around the island exploring, living all our childhood Barbie dreams! We hired the car from a company called ‘Tropical Topless’ and it was reasonably priced at $90 for the day. 

The island has lots of stunning spots, a favourite of ours was Picnic Bay, where we sat for a while and soaked up the sun and even had a dip in the sea, the first time we have been allowed in the sea since being in Oz! The island isn’t very big which is what makes it so good as you can just hop form bay to bay finding your own quiet spots and feeling like you’re on a private beach. 

The roads on the island are winding and are quite hilly but when you can get views like this it is so worth it. Luckily for us in Australia you drive on the left so we adjusted to the roads easily. 

We caught the beautiful sunset looking out onto the sea and it’s these moments that make you pinch yourself, reminding you that hard work pays off and makes all the saving worth it. 

DAY 2:

Four words… Bungalow Bay Koala Village.

Do you even go to Australia if you don’t take pictures with a Koala? 

What a whirlwind of an afternoon! This was by far the most fun I’ve had so far. Starting off with turtles, the ranger guided tour talks you through the animals whilst letting you hold and interact with them.  From turtles to crocs and all the different types of lizards in between the tour lets you release your inner inquisitive child and ask all the questions you want, silly or not. My favourite part of the animals was their names, they all had really normal human names like Kevin and Beth the lizards and Kelly the turtle. 

The main attraction was obviously the Koalas. Hagrid and Pebbles, were hands down the cutest damn things I’ve ever seen. They are SO soft and chilled, they spend 18-20 hours a day sleeping (GOALS) and always look like they have a smile on their face. Hagrid was in the tree and you could go in and stroke him whilst he slept and Pebbles was the star of the show who we got to hold.  They were both so chilled but it was important to us that we knew they were being looked after. The Koalas are only allowed to ‘work’ or be held for 30 minutes a day a few days a week so they can get all their sleep and aren’t distressed. 

The evening of day 2 was filled with more fruity cocktails and some brilliant BINGO ran by the hostel. We were sat right near the front so had a great spot and even won a few free drinks and had a bit of sing song! All in all, a great night on a great island.

Magnet island is 100% a must see and with all the beach areas is one of the least expensive stops on the trip! We had the best couple of days and would recommend it to anyone on their east coast trip!

Next stop, Airlie beach for our Whitsundays adventure….

Speak soon,

Hannah x