As we were observing the roos, we were lucky enough to spot a wild dingo running across a plateau behind the field. Unfortunately he was out of range for photos, but it was an amazing scene to witness in the wild. Another thing that struck us was how peacefully quiet we found the scene. The kangaroos seemed entirely at ease, munching on grass and laying about, as if they were having one big family picnic.
From Mossman Gorge, the four of us made our way back to Cairns on some beautiful coastal roads, then on through the Atherton Tablelands once more. After showing off the Curtain & Cathedral Fig trees to Dev and Em, we headed southwest to Undara National Park for our first glimpse of Outback Queensland. I'm sure many Aussies would argue that Undara is not "true" Outback, since you don't have to ford any rivers or scale entire boulders with your turbo diesel Landcruiser to get there, but the scenery and wildlife were still incredible to see. The camping area for Undara is located in a vast forest, surprisingly thriving in a dry, dusty desert landscape. Though the park is most famous for its underground lava tubes, we were not willing to pay the $45 price for a short tour, but were content to enjoy the beautiful scenery and bush walks around the park. Itching for a good hike, we created our own trekking itinerary from the handful of relatively short, interconnected trails. For the most part, we found ourselves blissfully alone out on the trail, which allowed us to have some of our first real encounters with wildlife out in the bush. The first was a small wallaby some distance from us in the tall grass, quickly followed by a single, very large, male kangaroo who seemed to have little interest in us, so much so that Ben was able to sneak fairly close to get some amazing photographs National Geographic style! We were really excited about the kangaroo, but we were blown away shortly after when we entered the nearby wetlands to find a field teeming with kangaroos. There must have been close to a hundred within eyesight and most payed us no mind. There were kangaroos of every color, joeys, adults, and one particularly crusty looking fellow who, for several minutes, stood up and vigorously scratched his side like a crotchety man in a kangaroo suit. Stuff of gold. If only we had gotten it on video. As we were observing the roos, we were lucky enough to spot a wild dingo running across a plateau behind the field. Unfortunately he was out of range for photos, but it was an amazing scene to witness in the wild. Another thing that struck us was how peacefully quiet we found the scene. The kangaroos seemed entirely at ease, munching on grass and laying about, as if they were having one big family picnic. Earlier in the day we had purchased a meat pack from the main office and, after listening in on a session of poetry around a communal bonfire, we set up our own pyrotechnics for some caveman-style feasting under the desert stars. While Ben worked his grill magic on steaks, bangers, and some lamb (jumbuck) chops, I marveled at the full scale planetarium above us and spotted no less than 7 shooting stars and 3 satellites. Pure awesomeness. The meat was of course beyond delicious and the only element of our bush meal that night. Hooray for carnivores. That evening was also our first (but not last) encounter with yet another member of the kangaroo family - smaller than a wallaby but larger than a kangaroo rat - the Rufus Bettong! Potentially one of the cutest bush animals ever, one of these little guys hopped happily into our camp late that night and was completely oblivious to our existence, so much so that he practically jumped over our feet and into our laps while looking for food. We had no idea what this animal was called on this first sighting, so we gladly named him Alfonso or The Fonz for short. He visited us several times that night, much to our delight.
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We met up with the Jamroz clan as they were fresh off the boat from a snorkeling trip on the Great Barrier Reef. Adele and Brandt graciously invited us to join them on their last night up in the Daintree at a fantastic house they had rented for the week. We were really excited to spend a night with all the Jamrozes and to sleep in an actual house with all the wonderful amenities that go with it i.e. hot shower, laundry machine, and real beds. Adele showed us her pictures from their adventures in Oz on the enormous flat-screen TV, including some fantastic shots of Emily and the Jambros doing some wicked sand boarding. Corey made sure we all saw the play-by-play pictures of him eating it HARD on a jump they crafted out of sand and particleboard. It was really a lesson in physics – when a moving mass, in this case a mohawked-Corey, overcomes the sand’s coefficient of friction by way of board, and that board’s front lip catches the underside of a particleboard ramp whilst moving at significant velocity, the Corey mass will then proceed to jettison through the air in a flailing, somersaulting dugong manner, ultimately crashing to the ground at the mercy of gravity. After some manic repacking the next morning by Devin’s family, we were given a tearful goodbye. It was comforting to have some face-to-face parental sentiment before embarking on our trip; as well as to know that all our families would be behind us for our adventure westward. It was not so comforting when a few hours after their departure, Devin realized that the GPS he intended to bring with us was still in the glove box of his parent’s rental car, no doubt parked in a Budget rental parking lot now somewhere in Cairns. After a slightly stressed hour of cell reception searching, Devin was able to call Budget and find out that the device was currently being held in their lost and found at Cairns Airport. The next morning we packed up Alby once more, defying every possible space limitation in our little 4by, and headed out to Mossman Gorge. We took the heavily populated (unfortunately) walking track into the Rainforest on a 2km loop through incredible trees and vines. All the plant life was amazing, but the trees in particular had huge buttresses that wound around the ground like great snakes (real snakes were most likely hiding between them). The path was quite muddy and as several of us were in flip-flops we decided to walk it barefoot, which ended up being quite satisfyingly squishy. At the far end of the loop, we entered a small area with a beautiful crystal pool and waterfall complete with well-fed fishies. After Susanna’s hemp farm, we made our way north, back through the Atherton Tablelands towards Cairns. Since we had a few days before meeting back up with Devin and Emily, Mar and I decided to take advantage of what the Tablelands had to offer. Just down the road from Susanna’s we stopped at Little Millstream Falls, a short and sweet 700m walk that took us to the base of a beautiful swimming hole and waterfall. Though hesitant at first due to chilly air and chillier water, I finally took my man pill and took the plunge. As always -- totally worth it. Mar in the Cathedral Fig From there, we stopped by both the Curtain and Cathedral Fig Trees – two Lord-of-the-Rings-scale-enormous trees that are too astounding to do them justice via blog. Essentially, a tiny Fig seed takes root at the crown of another tree, then sends its roots down from there to the ground, in this case around 50 meters below. Once rooted, the sapling grows around the existing tree like a vine, eventually choking off and killing it. By the time the dead tree inside rots away, the fig stands free on its extensive root structure. Refer to pictures to have mind blown. Along the way we also stopped by one of the many volcanic craters in the Tablelands. Its true depth was hidden by water and floating duckweed, but according to the info placard, the crater was the outlet for an enormous steam vent that went deep into the roots of the mountains. Flipping incredible. It’s hard to judge the height of the crater walls by the pictures, so we threw a few rocks in, determining that it took a full 5 seconds before they hit the water. We also just wanted to throw stuff in the crater. To give this some scale, note the upside down tree lodged in the boulders... That night we stayed at a small, free campsite in Babinda, located next to The Boulders, a point of interest that featured massive rock formations carved through by a powerful river. Beautiful to look at, but we found it hard to fully appreciate due to the ongoing OzExperience tour groups moving through. We also had to stay on the walking track, so there was no scrambling to be had there. The warning signs were very effective, indicating that “many have died in this small section of creek” so we decided to keep our distance. Tropic Days Backpackers, Cairns The next day we drove up to Cairns to get the car serviced and to meet up with Dev and Em. Since it was a public holiday when we arrived, we were forced to wait through the weekend and stay at a local backpackers called Tropic Days before a mechanic could look at Alby. For the modest price of $11 p.p./ night we camped in the garden area behind the dorms. This would have been absolutely perfect if not for the near-constant rain that pelted our tent for the entire weekend. We tried to make the best of the situation by wandering around soggy Cairns and finding some cheap eats. It’s really the only thing you can do in Cairns without blowing $100+ on a guided tour of some kind. We really enjoyed the Night Markets, a daily flea market running from 4-11pm that offered fun stuff like wine tastings, python petting, Chinese massage and cheap trinkets all under one roof. Ben and Nico, Didge Artist We were able to resist the enthusiastic, solicitous advances of masseuses and Asian buffet girls, but were drawn in to a small trinket shop selling jewelry and didgeridoos. Despite my best efforts to resist, I couldn’t help but be drawn to one of the coolest didges I had ever seen. Unlike most of the other countless didges I had seen so far, this one was covered in intertwining grooves made by the watjuti grub. I simply had to have it, especially when I met the didge’s Aboriginal artist Nico who showed me how to really play. I was worried about damaging the didge since I’d be lugging it around Australia for the next 10 months. Nico just laughed at me and explained that it was a piece of solid, dead wood, and a drop off an airplane wouldn’t harm it. So now in addition to our pile of stuff (including Emily’s didge) already filling Alby to the brim, I’ve added another big dead log. Stayed at a free campsite last night. Very windy. Tent blew away. Got laughed at by caravaners. Looked like amateurs. Damn. More updates to come, we're far behind (Nimbin, Gagaju Bush Camp, Platypus Bush Camp, Whitsunday Islands, Hemp Farm Work)!
Ben eats a citrus ant - Aboriginal bush tucker, tastes tangy After the Whitsundays adventure, Ben and I parted ways with the Jambros who were heading back to Brisbane to meet their folks. The two of us had planned to use these weeks on our own to do our first WWOOF/Help Exchange stay (for those unaware these are hosts, usually organic farmers, who offer free room and board in exchange for labor). We had been in touch with Susanna Wilkerson, a Canadian expat host who owns an industrial hemp farm and is in the midst of building a schoolhouse out of sustainable materials near Ravenshoe, Queensland’s highest town in the Atherton Tablelands. Ben eats a sugar banana fresh off the tree! We made our way up the green, tropical coast and finally arrived at her property in the tablelands, bordering a gorge in the national park. Suzie, her partner Cal, her dog Carlos, and their friends Lynn and Clyde greeted us and, after settling into our room (a room with a REAL bed – it’s the little things really) in the up-and-coming 9-bedroom schoolhouse, we offered our services and got right to work on some small projects before dinner. Meals were all around fabulous at Susie’s as most contained at least a few organic fruits and vegetables straight from her beautiful garden. The mornings often started with fresh fruit salad (sugar bananas, passion fruit, paw paws, papaya, strawberries) topped with coconut cream. For many meals, hemp oil or hemp protein powder from her stock was added, and every meal was accompanied by a pot of tea. We were incredibly well fed. At mealtimes, Susanna would regale us with incredible stories from her past experiences, as well as fascinating tidbits of her philosophy and knowledge of various conspiracy theories. As a sampler, did you know that most politicians are in fact lizard people hiding behind human facades, that toothpaste is an illusory capitalist ploy of the dental industry, and that mer-people exist? I didn't think so. Side View of the Schoolhouse Work-wise, we were originally supposed to assist Susanna with the mud/straw compound walls she was constructing at the base of the schoolhouse. Unfortunately, our delayed arrival and the subsequent rainy weather for the first half of the week prevented us from helping with that project. Instead, she gave us indoor painting projects, sanding, wood sorting, banana plant pruning, and some hemp product work. This being our first WWOOFing type experience, Ben and I worked a couple 8-hour days on our own volition, much to the surprise of Suzie who was used to helpers checking off their mandatory 4-5 hours and calling it quits. We did scale it back on the work hours after that, as she insisted we take time during the day to enjoy the property. Just below the schoolhouse, the national park and Misty Mountains held many creeks, waterfalls, and swimming holes. We were told that the swimming hole next to Suzie's property was home to a platypus, but once again the little creature eluded us during our entire week's stay. Overall, our first WWOOFing experience was a success and we hope to do more in the coming weeks. It was, more than anything, a learning experience regarding work management and communication, as well as the barter/trade work exchange lifestyle. I think our experiences with Couchsurfing helped prepare us for sharing living spaces and routines with new people, though having a host as your boss and negotiating their moods and expectations is a whole different level of challenging. Suzie and Cal were incredibly generous and gracious hosts, and we hope her school of consciousness gets up and running on schedule. Waza the skipper underway We began our Whitsunday Pirate Sailing Adventure in the afternoon and boarded the Samurai with fifteen other young travelers and three crew. Meals were provided for our trip, however drinks were BYO and each passenger (including ourselves) hopped on with at least one sack of Goon. * Once on board we wrote our names on one foot and our country on the other to facilitate a meet and greet with backpackers from Canada, Ireland, Germany, and Sweden. Corey was very excited to meet the two Irish girls… The first night we anchored under the stars in a small inlet and much debauchery ensued (which of course was immediately regretted by all come morning, as the ship tossed and turned underway and the cabins below deck smelled faintly of diesel fuel…). This included a dance party to “All the Single Ladies” featuring the 6 girls on board and Corey, as well as a few games of Racehorse over which Devin and the Skipper bonded and entertained the rest of the international gang. Pirate Jambros On our first full day, our first stop was Whitehaven Beach, a pretty famous location and, as the name might suggest, was a large stretch of white, powdery sand in the middle of turquoise waters and lush green islands. Our group climbed barefoot to the top of the small “mountain” overlooking the beach and used the opportunity to take some tourist photos. Down on the beach, our skipper guided us out into the shallows where we suddenly found ourselves walking among leopard stingrays and small lemon sharks (don’t worry parentals, no teeth!). Devin actually managed to step on one of the rays after wandering a bit too close to the dark patches of sand, and jumped impressively high out of the water. Good on ya Dev J Ben in his Stinger Suit Night Masters The ship pressed on after that and moved to our final destination in Blue Pearl Bay, a cove off the most northeasterly island in the Whitsundays. Ben and the Jambros bravely ventured out for a night snorkel, doubling and tripling up on cold, clammy wetsuits for the excursion. They were each given a small torch (flashlight) for shining on fish and coral. Bioluminescent sea life was plentiful and the guys duck dove deeper into the water to view lobsters and other crustaceans under the rocks. Ben found it extremely creepy to only see a small disk of ocean floor at a time, but snorkeling under the stars was absolutely amazing. Ben shows off his frogman skills The next morning (our final day) the guys opted in for a last dive and I snorkeled around this new reef. This reef was even better than the first: the water less murky, a larger span of reef, bigger fish and larger schools, more varieties of fish, and just before I headed back to the boat, I spotted a brown sea turtle just two feet below me lazily snacking on the coral! Hooray for sea turtles! *In case we haven’t yet explained the phenomenon that is Goon, imagine a boxed wine akin to Franzia. Now imagine it 5x worse and note that on the ingredients listing, it says it contains traces of fish, dairy, and nuts. WTF? It's really goon that deserves a slapping, not Franzia. It’s the cheapest alcohol you can find in Australia, averaging $12 per box/bag. It does the trick but gives you a wicked morning after. What I don’t understand is why this is always the most available and affordable go-to alcoholic beverage when Australia is packed full of wineries with REAL wine?
Samurai While at Platypus, the five of us found ourselves seriously considering a boat trip around the Whitsunday Islands. Now, it may be one of the most stereotypical Oz backpacker things to do, and it’s never a budget-friendly endeavor, but then again, how often does one have the opportunity to sail/snorkel/dive around some of the most beautiful islands the world has to offer? We drove northeast to Airlie Beach, the port o’ call for pretty much every boat having anything to do with the Whitsundays. This was definitely a gamble because while most people book their Whitsunday boat trips weeks or even months in advance, we were seeing how well we could do with about a 48 hr window to get on a boat. As we did research online, the situation looked pretty bleak – 95% of the boat listings we saw were either booked up or way out of our price range. The rest just looked like potential human trafficking operations. We decided to leave it up to chance and walk the streets of Airlie in search of last minute deals. After only five minutes of walking we stumbled upon five available spots aboard the Samurai, a retired racing yacht that provided snorkels, dive equipment, and 3 days and 2 nights tooling around the Whitsundays. The spots had just opened up from a recent cancellation, and were being offered at about half the price of a usual ticket. After doing a little celebratory dance, we signed up and paid our deposits for the tickets. Ben and Peter Reeve Since the boat didn’t leave until the next afternoon, and since Airlie itself had nothing to offer but tourist trap bars and condos, we headed southeast to Mackay, a quiet beach town 90 km south. In Mackay I (Ben) met up with an old (since 2nd grade!) friend Peter Reeve. Peter had come over to Oz on the same work & holiday visa about a year and a half ago, then started up a student visa for grad school. He’s now studying to become a primary school teacher, molding young minds and the like. It was great catching up, plus I was excited to find a fellow nerd who was equally pumped about Starcraft 2 finally coming out. Hooray for meeting friends on the other side of the world!! Mar Throwing a 'Potato' We stayed at a campground just north of Mackay for the night and pitched our tent beachside where we had a beautiful front yard view of the ocean. That night, Erin and Corey invented a wonderful game called “Meat and Potatoes” which involved throwing coconuts. Great fun. We also met an Australian couple that shared a few brews with us as well as some stimulating conversation. By the end of the evening, we apparently reminded them of their kids so much that they offered us their house to crash for a few nights (if we had been heading back towards Sunshine Beach that is)! Really nice people. Campside Lorikeet After saying goodbye to Blade the wonder dingo-mutt, we began our journey up the coast, breaking free of the tractor beam/black hole that is the Sunshine Coast (finally!). Since our stay at Gagaju had felt a bit luxurious, we decided to take advantage of the free roadside campsites dotted along the Bruce Highway. In Yaamba, we camped behind the local pub where we had a few beers to celebrate Erin’s first legal drink as a 19 year old. I think the barkeep took pity on our vagabond appearance and general lack of personal hygiene because he gave us a pile of day old meat pies and sausage rolls on the house. We were obviously thrilled to receive such a glorious bounty. Anyway, Marielle remembered hearing one of the Gagaju residents recommend another bush camp northwest of Mackay called Platypus, so we made it our next stop on the trip. Alby and Jucy at Platypus As we got closer to Platypus Bush Camp, located in the Finch Hatton Gorge of Eungella National Park, the landscape drastically changed from sparse scrubland with the occasional Eucalyptus forest to endless fields of sugarcane, encircled by misty mountains covered in lush rainforest vegetation. A few creek crossings later, we arrived at Platypus. The camp was set up as a half-camping area, half-jungle hut retreat. Nestled among the palm fronds were several open-air huts on 6 ft stilts. One of the coolest things at Platypus was the “jungle shower” – one-sided bamboo shower stalls open to the jungle elements. It’s a great idea if you’re comfortable being naked in the presence of a leaf-tailed gecko or 3 in. long huntsman spider. Australian Whistling Tarantula The camp was run by a small, very wrinkly, very beardy Aussie bushman in flip-flops and straw hat. He was really friendly and accommodating to us, right up until he thought we were trying to light his tiki-style dining area on fire when we were lighting a camp stove for dinner. Australians have the innate gift of profanity when the time is right, or when they’ve been drinking, or all the time. This was our first experience with real rainforest – dense, moist air, lush Kermit-green vegetation, and freaky looking insects. Did you know there’s such a thing as a crab spider? Spider that looks like a crab. Awesome. Our first night at Platypus we encountered the biggest spider Mar and I had ever seen – the Australian Whistling Tarantula. Don’t worry; I took about 300 pictures of it. This one was about as big as a grown man’s hand. Corey discovered it when it nearly ran over his foot. Needless to say, after a semester of entymology, he was pretty stoked by the find. I was less enthused when I saw how quickly the hairy monster scuttled across the ground when poked. Heebie. Jeebies. Ben, Erin, and Corey at first set of Pools 2 km up the dirt road from the camp was the Wheel of Fire hiking track in Eungella National Park. The track wound through the kind of rainforest that Fern Gully and biodomes aspire to be. We passed a 3 ft monitor lizard, some kookaburras looking for handouts, some skinks, and a small brown snake with a gold band across its forehead that Mar nearly squashed. The trail frequently ran alongside a series of mini waterfalls and beautiful rock pools. We of course took full advantage. We found the water cold enough to cause unintentional girlish screams, but definitely worth the chill. After Nimbin we returned to Brisbane to greet the Zinns and soon after parted ways with Emily and her parents. Ben and I and the Jambros (equipped with their own Jucy Campervan), ready for adventure, decided to stick together for awhile and head north. Our first few nights we spent at Gagaju Bush Camp, just north of Tewantin and Noosa. We happened upon it by accident, but were so glad we did, as it ended up being a beautiful, isolated slice of tropical rainforest living right next to the river out of Lake Cooroibah. The facilities were incredibly well-designed and eco-friendly. The picture at right shows the toothbrushing sink crafted out of an old tree and sourced with UV filtered rainwater. Other than the open air kitchen, lounge with hammocks, and fire pit, there was also an open air "gym" - a couple pieces of exercise equipment under a tarp. Jambros We spent two days and two nights there and on our first full day took a bush walk into the surrounding forest on a koala hunt with the camp owner's dog Blade (part dingo, part rottweiler, part mutt). We were hopeful as the owner had told us that there were a few koalas in the area and one had even walked (yes, walked) right through the TV area one night. The forest was full of eucalyptus trees, but no koalas were found on our venture (damn you elusive koalas!). The walk was absolutely beautiful nonetheless. Much to Corey's delight, many bugs and termite mounds were discovered, and Ben bonded with Blade. Fly-fishing and Mark Twain style pipe smoking ensued on the river and Blade bonded with us while we enjoyed the scenery. We cooked some great meals in the open air kitchen and lounge area, enjoyed the fire pit, and were quite sad to leave on our final morning. Our first roos! Post Glass House Mountains, our journey took us to the Gold Coast/Brisbane areas to pick up Devin's younger brothers Corey and Erin for their family-time adventures in July. After regrouping and some personal grooming at Corey's dorm where he was studying abroad, we picked up Erin in Brisbane and headed to the small town of Nimbin, just across the Queensland border in New South Wales. En route to Nimbin, we had our first kangaroo spotting! Just off the roadway grazing in the fields we found a herd of small kangaroos. Unfortunately some passing traffic scared quite a few away but we did manage to sneak a few pictures of the less skittish ones. Nimbin itself is a very small, one-street town nestled in some beautiful forested hills. Famous for its hippie culture and in particular it's annual Mardi Grass Festival (no explanation needed I assume) which we had just missed, the town is lined with cafes, souvenir shops, a grocery, and a town hall. Of course each shop and cafe is full of psychedelic paraphernalia (tie-dye, hemp products, Bob Marley pictures, papier-mache bong sculptures, etc.) and one particular store had a proudly framed medicinal marijuana certificate from none other than our college town of Colorado Springs, CO! Next to it was a petition to make medical marijuana legal in Australia to follow in the example of our great state of Colorado. Giggles upon giggles that our small, mostly conservative college town would find us here, not only in Australia but in a tiny hippie shop in a tiny hippie town of all places. We've been fascinated by the coffee and tea culture in Australia. Unlike in the states, you can't find drip coffee to save your life, however, espresso coffee is widely available and you can even get a half-decent flat white at a gas station. Tea is a prominent part of daily life, everyone is always willing to "have a cuppa," but we found that chai tea is rarely done right. Often it's pre-mixed, watered-down and poorly spiced. However, at one of the small cafes in Nimbin, we found some of the best (and cheapest!) coffee and tea we've ever had. The chai was done traditionally and all cups of coffee or tea were only $2.50! Score. We ended up camping at an eco-friendly backpackers just outside of town, the Rainbow Retreat, which was situated on a hill back in the forest. All it's structures were made out of recycled materials and those who weren't camping could choose to sleep in a treehouse, a teepee, or an old gypsy caravan. It also had a very cool open air shared kitchen, and a little movie screening area. A trail extended out the back of the property down the hill to a small creek where we were told you could see platypus. We wandered down there that night with our headlamps and did manage to glimpse a large eel swimming in the murky water... creepy. Alas, no platypus but we did go down there at night. Afterwards, Erin wowed us with his advanced fire spinning talents. |
Marielle & BenWe're two people in the midst of severe quarter-life crises who decided to leave good jobs in a bad economy to travel to the other side of the world because, well, why not? Archives
April 2011
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