Ryan and Brian’s Adventures in Australia
October 2006
After three entire months on Lord Howe Island, it was a strange feeling to be back on the mainland. The flight back to Brisbane filled me with an intense excitement, mainly because I knew I would soon be meeting one of my best friends in the entire world to go traveling up the east coast of Queensland. I couldn’t wait to see someone from home; someone who knew me, understood me, and appreciated the context of my life. I considered it a huge expression of friendship and faith, and knew that our adventures would be incredible.
Brisbane is an interesting city, and it was really nice to fly back into a familiar place. I crashed my aunt and uncles place for a few days and headed down the coast to meet Brian in Byron Bay. We had both agreed to meet at the Arts Factory, the campground and hostel I had originally stayed at on my first trip to the area in January. The Arts Factory is a super-cool hippy-friendly backpacker resort nestled just outside of the main streets in Byron; it’s a truly groovy and colourful place.
The afternoon I arrived I checked into the hostel and enquired about Brian but he had not yet arrived from Port Macquarie. I grabbed my surfboard and played in the ocean until the sunset.
Typical of any hostel experience, I had already become good friends with my roommates by the time Brian burst into the room like a supernova. We were all sitting around the room drinking boxed wine and telling jokes when the room suddenly went silent and Brian slid into the room, laughing and shaking with energy. It was one of the most exhilarating moments to finally see a good mate show up on the other side of the world. It was a very happy moment for both of us. We got right into what we do best in Australia: Drink!
For the next few days we settled in and caught up with each other. We played basketball and volleyball at the hostel, hiked the miles of beautiful beaches and climbed up to the lighthouse, and surfed the crystal clear breaks.
On our second day in Byron Bay we booked a tour to Nimbin, a small hippy village in the mountains about two hours away. We booked the tour with Jim’s Adventure Tours; which boasted a trip to Nimbin plus a stop at a nature reserve on the way back. The tour was incredible, and we met some amazing German girls on the bus. We picked up some ‘special’ cookies and a bag of the finest hydro and were in outer space by noon. We walked around in the hot sun for a few hours and then got back onto the bus to go to the nature reserve. Everyone was completely stoned and the laughed uncontrollably.
The best part of the trip was most certainly the nature reserve and walk. In the middle of nowhere, a hippy dude in his fourties had spent most of his life planting trees and other shrubs on his huge property. There were hundreds of different species of plants, including fruit trees that we could harvest including oranges and mulberries. He took us around on a pathway through the bush and named off some of his favourites. I asked him if he grew Salvia Divorinum and he said he did and proceeded to give me some insight on it for close to half an hour. The plant had obviously had made an impact on him.
In the evenings in Byron Brian and I headed out to a club called Funky Monkey’s and the Beach Hotel for some drinks. We also ate an amazing Pad Thai and feasted on fresh pies from the 24 hour bakery.
Brian and I departed Byron Bay on a high note, having surfed all afternoon and lounged in the sun. When we got back to my uncle’s house in Brisbane I introduced Brian to my uncle who had been out on the town drinking. We made a sweet meal and I took Brian to Friday’s Riverside where I had worked for three months. To my surprise, a lot of the people I had worked with were now gone and there were tons of new staff. Still, many familiar faces remained and we had a great time.
Saturday in Brisbane is a party. After walking around the downtown for the afternoon, including a wicked little market on southbank, we made a tasty barbeque and headed into town to meet up with a Brit we met in Byron named Ollie, and another friend Harris I had met during my first stay in Brisbane. We spent the entire night club-hopping and finally made it to my favourite club in Australia called the Family. We danced until the early hours of the morning with hundreds of Brisbane’s most beautiful people. It was a party to be remembered!
Having tackled Brisbane in style, Brian and I decided that our first stop on our way up north would be Noosa. We grabbed a train and a bus up the coast and arrived in the evening. After grabbing a box of the famous goon, we checked into Koala’s, the biggest and best party hostel in town. Although the hostel was big business and overly commercial, it was a very good time and we met heaps of people from all over the world including backpackers from Israel, Germany, Sweden, Britain, France, Ireland and Norway.
Our first day in Noosa Brian and I decided to hike around the National Park. We took the long way and then the coastal path around the point. The park was beautiful and was extremely pretty. We saw skinks and snakes all around the paths and took photos of the many beaches. The best surf breaks were at Tea Tree Bay, although they were quite crowded and small.
The next day we just chilled at the beach and walked around the town. Besides from surfing and relaxing, Noosa was quite expensive if you wanted to do any extra-curricular activities. We were quite content soaking in the sun and swimming in the beach breaks.
On the third night in Noosa, there was a really good live band. All of the people in our room and some other friends we had met sat around the picnic tables in the bar and indulged on the $7 happy hour jugs of beer. At one point in the night we had ten jugs on the table! We quickly made more friends and the beer disappeared. We danced the night away and made some good connections.
All in all, Noosa was a great time and worth the money. The surf could have been a little better and would have made the experience more enjoyable, but we made the best of it. The only complaint I had was all of the extra fees and deposits for everything. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t think that you should have to drop a deposit for sheets and cutlery. That’s just stupid and creates an atmosphere of distrust amongst the guests.
Our next stop on our adventure was to Hervey Bay to catch the ferry over to Fraser Island. Both Brian and I were really excited for this stop because we were joining together with a group of 11 people in a bad-ass 4X4 vehicle around the largest sand island in the world; supposedly from word of mouth, the Fraser trip is a highlight of many backpackers’ trips.
We arrived at Koala Hervey Bay, unpacked our gear and immediately met the rest of our group in the bar for our orientation. We watched a video about the dangers of traveling to Fraser Island, including consistent warnings concerning the wild dingoes roaming the forests, and the abundant tiger sharks and stingers present in the ocean on the east coast. We were then put into our groups and told to go grocery shopping for the next day; no wasting time!
After quickly meeting everyone in our group, Brian and I soon realized we had lucked out; our group was extremely excited for the trip and beamed with positive energy. There were Brits, Danish girls, a Swedish girl, a Kiwi, and Brian and I, the Canadians, to round out the international contingency. After grocery shopping and other preparations, we decided to have a low-key night and watched a movie with the group in one of the dorm rooms.
The next day we woke up at 5 am to prepare the truck with our supplies including cooking gear, utensils, tents, sleeping bags and plentiful amounts of beer and food. We sorted the paperwork and it was decided that I would be taking the first shift driving; I would be taking us to the ferry and onto the island to our first stop. I was a little daunted by the prospect of driving such a large truck but took the challenge on knowing that it would be extremely exhilarating.
Although the experiences we had on the island could be summarized and I could describe how intense it was, there really isn’t a way to describe the utter beauty and adrenaline rush associated with driving and enjoying such a rugged terrain with such amazing people. In retrospect, the weekend was an extremely invigorating experience that allowed me to grow and truly appreciate nature in its bold, primitive connections. Our first day on the island we stopped at a car park in the middle of a rainforest and hiked to the pristine Basin Lake which was situated about three kilometers inland. By the time we got to the lake we were hot and sweaty, tearing off our clothes and jumping into the crystal clear water in less than a blink of an eye.
Our next stop was at Lake Mackenzie, which is the lake most people associate with Fraser Island because of its sheer beauty and use in every promotional poster of the island; and for good reason. The water around the circumference of the lake for about 20 feet is a turquoise blue, and at the centre a dark blue. The combination of these two colours creates a jaunting contrast that is pleasant and inviting. We all planted ourselves on the soft sandy beach, sun baked, played Frisbee and soccer, and swam in the refreshing water.
After Lake Mackenzie we took a swim down Eli Creek, and then set up our camp along the main beach on the east coast. We found a perfect little site over a sand dune and the boys cooked everyone a massive barbeque; we had steaks, sausages, burgers, potatoes and salad. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) the smell from the barbeque attracted a few wild dingoes to the site. They swarmed around us for the better part of the night and were bold enough to come right into the camp and stole our potatoes. Even though I was a little weary about the dogs, I truly relished finally seeing wild dingoes; you can’t truly say you have experienced true Australian bush life until you have been surrounded by a few hungry dingoes!
For our second day on the island we set up our camp further down the beach and parked the car for the day. We all decided to do the 20 kilometer hike to Indian Head and the Champagne pools, a collection of beautiful tide pools on the northern part of the island. The Swedish girl Caroline and I decided to push ourselves and jog the way there; the others walked. It was a crazy thing to do, especially in tropical heat, but we loved every minute of it. At Indian Head we snapped some amazing pictures, gazing out at the manta rays swimming below. We arrived at the tide pools in the early afternoon and cooled off in the pools as the waves crashed over the rocks. Unfortunately, Brian took a hard wave and was smashed into the rocks which slashed up his lower back.
It was a long and treacherous walk back, and suddenly we regretted not taking the truck. Luckily, two of the girls in our group took off a little early, got a ride back, and returned with the truck to pick us up. Sadly, we were almost back at camp by the time the found us. For the rest of the evening we ate a delicious pasta meal prepared by the ladies, played drinking games, and stared into the heavens; it was a crystal clear night and the amount of stars was mesmerizing. One of the girls brought sparklers and we all lit them and ran around the beach like madmen, howling at the moon. As one of the most memorable moments of the trip, we finished our night with a big group hug underneath the blanket of stars; everything was silent except for the light wind and waves crashing on the beach. It was an amazing, profound moment that Brian and I will remember for the rest of our lives.
For our last day, we spent much of our time driving back the distance we had traveled in two days. Our plans were to go to another swim spot called Lake Wabby, which boasted a huge sand dune, but we couldn’t go up the road that led to it from the beach. Instead, we decided to head back to Lake Mackenzie to sun bake and swim. It was a very relaxing day and we headed back to the ferry completely content and relaxed.
When we got back to the hostel we had some food and drinks together, exchanged contacts, and crashed early. Brian and I were going to take the night bus to 1770/Agnes Water, but decided to stay an extra night with our new friends and drank beers in the bar, played pool, and watched the slideshow from our trip on my laptop. It was a perfect ending to a great weekend.
Our bus left Hervey Bay at around two o’clock in the afternoon and we pulled into 1770/Agnes Water around half past six. We had booked a hostel called Cool Bananas and immediately upon entering the building we felt as if we were home. After a crazy few weeks of partying hard and going full-on, we were ready to sit back, relax, and rejuvenate our bodies and minds; Cool Bananas was the perfect place to do it. The main building was a giant lounge with couches and beanbag chairs, internet terminals, and reception. Outside there was a giant landscaped courtyard with picnic tables, a fire pit, hammocks, a clean kitchen, and other cozy social areas. The main dorms overlooked the picnic area, and housed approximately 80 guests. It was by far the best hostel I’ve been to so far on my travels.
After dropping off our gear and meeting up with our Brit mate Ollie, we headed up to the pub for an amazing feed and a free pitcher of beer for only $11.50; an absolute steal! We got back to the hostel and immediately started chatting with four Irish girls, a German dude, and a Canadian from Port Elgin. One thing led to another, and low and behold we were in the classic backpacker situation: Picnic tables and a box of goon. We soon migrated to a circle around the fire and eventually called it an early night.
The next day we went on a free tour of the area, stopping in the nearby 1770/Agnes Water where we had the opportunity to hang out on some of the most expensive land in Australia; one particular property, which was less than an acre, cost 2.2 million! Granted, the view was amazing, but way too overpriced considering the only structures on the property were a small shack and an old dirty outhouse; we joked with the tour guide since the toilet alone could be valued at a million dollars! For the rest of the day we took it easy at the beach and hostel, relaxing and enjoying the sun. At the supermarket, I noticed a flyer for a free meditation class and both Brian and I agreed it was a perfect way to spend the evening.
We showed up to the evening class with two other people from the hostel who we recruited to come. There were about 30 chairs surrounding a lone candle on a table in the middle of the room. We quickly introduced ourselves to Pascal, one of the hosts for the evening, as people began entering the room and sat down. Pascal was a French woman in her late fifties and definitely had a special energy about her; she was cheery and immediately memorized everyone’s name. Once everyone arrived, she had us choose from a deck of special cards that revealed aspects of our personalities. Each card had a title and both a light and dark attribute. She asked everyone to read their title and light attribute. Mine was ‘The Detective’ and discussed how I was in search of truth and had a endless admiration for the details; so true. She also that she had received an e-mail from some friends about a special cosmic light that was to be focused on earth that evening, and proceeded to take us into deep meditation, helping us visualize our energy chakras and focus on the healing energy of our minds. It was a very profound experience considering the number of people who had attended and were all focusing their minds and energy together at the same time. I personally felt as if I had left my body and was flying around the universe basked in light. There was an extreme feeling of contentment and happiness as she took us deeper and deeper into a meditative state.
For the rest of the session another man talked to us about unconditional love; not an unconditional love simply for another human being, but a true unconditional love for absolutely everything in the universe, both seen and unseen. He was very articulate and had us focus on what he called an ‘AH’ moment, which is a moment where we are completely happy and time seems to halt. I pinpointed my last truly philosophical ‘AH’ moment to have been on Lord Howe Island and I shared the moment with the group. Brian’s was a moment with his uncle watching fireworks together, while others discussed the birth of their child, giving their marriage vows, and staring at the stars. All in all, it was an extremely positive experience, and Brian and I both agreed that it had made a major impact on us.
After the session Brian and I had a discussion with Pascal and she mentioned that her husband was away on business and one of her pigs had escaped from the pen and she could not get it back in with the other female; she even showed us a big bruise on her leg where the vicious little animal had bumped her. We offered to catch the pig for her and she agreed to pick us up the next day and cook us lunch. Furthermore, she was the mother of a psychic technique using colours and tarot cards that enabled her to read our subconscious. Both Brian and I agreed that we wanted to have a reading. She mentioned that she charged $50 for the reading, but both Brian and I were keen to see her farm and have lunch with such a fascinating lady that we agreed.
Brian called her in the morning and she picked us up at 10:30. Pascal picked up some fresh fish, prawns and wine and we drove about a half an hour into the outback. The farm and her house were absolutely incredible. She had two pigs, two dogs, two donkeys, two peacocks, chickens, guinea fowl, sheep, and an energetic little Billy goat that took a liking to me; he followed me around everywhere I went. She took us around to her gardens, picked us out some vegetables and eggs for us to take home, and introduced us to her vicious pig. Undaunted, I climbed into the pen and chased the pig back into the smaller pen with a stick. To be honest, it was quite easy once the gate was opened, since the male was pretty desperate to get back into the pen with the female.
She then served us some homemade camembert with crackers, prawns with fresh herbs, and cooked a delectable fish curry. We sat around the table and had a pleasant conversation, and learned about her life and the tragic death of one of her sons in a car accident. It was very sad to hear but she seemed to have coped with the death in a positive way. She told us that she was once a journalist for the ABC but had changed careers to focus on what she described as her destiny.
I was the first one to have my reading. She explained her technique and had me choose 12 vials from a large selection of numbered coloured vials. We sat out in her comfortable lounge as she explained some very interesting aspects of my past, present and future based on my selections. She used the colours to correspond to tarot cards and explained the spiritual aspects of my life, as well as some future prophecies. It was very enlightening and invigorating to hear, despite the fact that there were some things she said that I didn’t particularly want to hear. Regardless, it was a very positive experience that made me think hard about my life and my future path.
While she completed Brian’s meeting I walked around her labyrinth that she had built using rocks; there was a bowl surrounded by crystals in the centre of the structure which held energized water. I continued around the yard for a while, thinking hard about the things she had said and played with the animals.
After Brian’s reading finished, she took us to her shed where she presented us with her book, published by Penguin, and some homemade bread. We thanked her for her genuine kindness and she drove us back to the hostel.
When Brian and I returned we discussed our afternoon and both agreed that it had been an utterly amazing afternoon. It was both fun and spiritual, and it allowed us to see a different part of the country off the beaten path and meet a new friend.
The next day we were changed; we couldn’t pinpoint it, but we were definitely different. Pascal had left her mark. We were determined to make the most of the day so we headed to the beach to be lazy in the sun and surf at the last safe, stinger-free beach in tropical Queensland. I grabbed a friend’s board and headed out around the point for a few hours and caught some good waves.
That night, we boarded an all-night bus to Airlie beach to go sailing on the Whitsundays. We had both come down with colds, and knew the ride was going to be horrible; it didn’t matter, because we knew that in less than 24 hours we would be sailing on crystal clear turquoise water.
We arrived sleepy-eyed in the morning, had a coffee, and booked a tour on the Pegasus, a beauty of a sailboat that offered a free dive! The ship left at four o’clock in the afternoon, so we spent the day at Magnums, a big and impersonal party hostel that had the smallest kitchen ever! We used the facilities, I.E. showered and used the toilet, put our bags in storage, and went to check in with the tour company at the marina. We walked through a beautiful man-made lagoon, and wandered around Airlie for the afternoon. Airlie is a gorgeous little town, and we had a good time wandering around in the sweltering heat.
At four we met our group and boarded the vessel. Our crew was all young, and the vibe from the group was great. We had an orientation and immediately set off for the islands.
The first sunset while sailing on the water was unreal. The sea breeze was warm and a salty mist blew into our faces as the captain raised the sail and we headed for our first destination in a secluded bay near Hook Island.
Just after sunset, our first meal aboard the Pegasus was cooked and served by a wicked-cool Irish girl Kira. The menu was steak, roasted veg, and apple pie and custard for dessert. Delicious.
Straight after the meal we hit right into the drinking games in the galley. Almost the entire boat squeezed around a massive table and played multiple drinking games with cards and other madness. Eventually, it got messy and we ended up writing dirty sayings on our forearms with permanent markers. Many of the crew put on capes and the party went on until about midnight when everyone crashed out hard. It had been a long one for Brian and I, and we were absolutely destroyed after an all night bus ride the previous night and then a good, solid drinking session.
We all woke up early the next day and shook off the hangover with a stiff instant coffee, some toast and cereal. Captain Pete navigated the ship into a nice calm bay on the opposite side of Whitehaven beach, one of the most beautiful and picturesque beaches in the Whitsunday islands. While everyone decided to take the free and easy ride in the dingy to the beach about 500 meters away, I jumped off the side of the ship and swam. I have to say, the swim was one of the most beautiful and refreshing swims of my life; the sea was warm, blue and inviting, and I couldn’t resist a little fitness after a hard night of drinking.
Once ashore, Brian and I headed up to the Whitehaven beach lookout, which was roughly a kilometer through rainforest and fragrant Eucalyptus trees. When we finally reached the lookout, we were taken aback with the sheer beauty of what we saw; it was endless paradise of silky sand and transparent blue water. We snapped a few pictures that could have easily been turned into postcards. The view was so good, that each time a new person arrived at the lookout, we could anticipate the initial gasp, followed immediately by a long, drawn-out “wow.” The water called us, and we left to swim in the shallow waters.
Down at the beach we slathered on sunscreen and put on our stinger suits to go for a swim. We wandered around in knee-deep water for a while and headed out to the end of a sand dune where we encountered a good sized shark. I pointed it out to Brian, and when I looked back after a millisecond, he was already bolting back to the beach. It was pretty funny, but I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive myself, despite the fact that I knew the sharks in the area were harmless. We headed back to the beach, tossed the Frisbee, and explored the rest of the beach. It was truly an unbelievable place, straight out of the pages of a novelty calendar you buy for relatives you have no idea what to buy for Christmas; an image of paradise.
Our next stop was about 50 kilometers away in a secluded bay where we strapped on our scuba gear and headed to another beach to go diving. The coral and sea life at this particular dive site was incredible; there were massive, healthy and colourful corals, heaps of fish, and the backdrop was serene. We couldn’t ask for a better dive, and it was free as part of the tour! After we completed our dive we lounged around on the beach for a good few hours soaking up the hot sun.
That night we anchored in a sheltered bay at the northern end of the Whitsunday islands. As the sun set, we tossed meat overboard to watch giant osprey swoop down and take it from the water. As the stars began to come out, more ospreys came onto the scene, and a dolphin poked its fin out of the water. It was a wonderful thing to behold.
Brian and I ate a delicious roast beef meal outside on the deck with a few other people and gazed up towards the heavens. I couldn’t think of a better place to chomp down on a piece of meat than on a boat in the Whitsundays! While we ate we sipped on some Canadian Club and colas, and once we finished we got on it hard. After a great day of diving and a full belly, everyone was ready for round two aboard the Pegasus.
Throughout the night we sat in the galley playing drinking games and telling dirty secrets about ourselves. It was pretty funny to listen to everyone’s sex stories, especially after a few glasses of truth serum. I was amazed to find out some of the weird places people have gone the distance. For instance, one girl got down in a grocery store!
Although the conversation was funny and interesting, it soon got boring and I headed out on deck to check out the scene. I met a really nice Dutch girl and sat with her for the night. She had a great personality and was extremely good conversationalist despite the fact that English wasn’t her strong suit. At one point in the night, we went to the bow to catch some peace and quiet and ended up bumping into the dive instructor and the Norwegian girl bunked up together. They were totally busted!
The next morning Brian and I awoke, ate breakfast and had a coffee to shake off the hangover, and straight away jumped into the water to go snorkeling. Although the boat was anchored about 200 meters away from shore, the water quickly became shallow and the visibility was crystal clear right to the bottom. We were both amazed at the amount of fish swimming in the water and the diversity of corals. Because the sun was shinning right onto the reef, the colours were brilliant. We practiced free diving to the bottom of the reef and chased giant Maori Wrasse, including a famous one named ‘Elvis.’ We got our fill swimming near a small sandy beach and crawled up on shore to dry off. The snorkeling took us to around midday, so once we got on board we set sail back to Airlie beach.
For the rest of the afternoon we ate food, had a few more drinks and listened to awesome tunes on the deck of the boat. The sun was so hot; I think all of us on board got a sun burn, despite triple-applying the sunscreen!
Once back at the Airlie marina, the crew of Pegasus, Pete, Jono, Kira, Brianni and James invited us to the beach to have a few drinks before we had to set off on a bus to Townsville. Brian and I knew we had a tough one ahead of us; because Brian started his Open Water Diver course early the next day at Magnetic Island, our only choice was to take an 8:30 bus that got us to Townsville at approximately 12:30 in the morning, which meant we were going to sleep in the bus station. Both Brian and I were both surprisingly excited about the idea. We gulped down a couple jugs of beer and played a couple games of pool with the Pegasus crew at Magnums and headed to the bus.
Interestingly, as we were grabbing our bags from the Magnums lockup, we met a Canadian girl traveling the coast; she had just finished a biology degree at Queens University and was taking a break before heading back to Canada to apply for med school. She had plans to go to Cambodia to film a documentary as part of a volunteer position helping people with clef pallet surgeries. Needless to say, we hit it off straight away, and given the chance, I am sure we could have become good friends. It’s such a shame when that happens and it seems to be happening more and more these days; you meet someone you really click with and you both continue on your different paths. I took her e-mail address and said I’d check in with her to see how her documentary is going.
We arrived in Townsville right on time. The bus dropped us off at the bus terminal which also happened to be the ferry terminal to Magnetic Island. We thought that was pretty convenient. I had shaken a cold I had picked up on the Pegasus but Brian was sick as a dog and was coughing up goblins. We initially tried to bunk up on a bench facing the water but the wind was strong and it was raining periodically, so we decided to take cover under a big newspaper trolley at the front of the building. Despite the fact that we were curled up in the corner on the hard pavement, I slept like a kitten; Brian on the other hand, who was sleeping on the outside, told me that he had to fend off a round of hoodlums asking for cigarettes, and other creepy night-crawlers.
After a slight delay, we boarded the ferry to Magnetic Island at around 6:30 in the morning. We disembarked on the beautiful and rugged island and caught a bus to Maggie’s, the hostel that was included in our dive packages; the hostel is located in Horseshoe bay on the north-east part of the island. We checked in and crashed hard, although poor Brian had to cut his nap short to go start his diving class. Unfortunately, the weather was predicted to be bad for the first three days on Magnetic, meaning that I couldn’t do my Advanced Open Water until Friday. I was a little disappointed, but considered it an opportunity to explore the island and relax. Furthermore, Brian finished his Open Water on Thursday and decided to take the Advanced Open Water with me so that he could dive the world famous Yongala wreck, said to be the third best wreck dive in the world and the best dive in the southern hemisphere.
When I awoke the sun was beginning to smolder. I splashed on a heap of lotion and went out to explore. My initial impression of Magnetic Island was that its terrain is similar to northern Ontario, except that it’s tropical and has koalas jumping around the eucalyptus trees. I walked along the paths down to the secluded beaches on the eastern part of the island, sweating profusely in the tropical heat. I dipped my feet in the water and worked my way up onto a high cliff; the climb was treacherous, especially in flip flops. When I got to the summit of one cliff, I noticed a big osprey nest with two birds in it and one flying above, searching for food. I made my way closer and met a Dutch guy taking pictures of the nest. His name was Ramco and he was thirty years old traveling around Australia by himself for the second time. He was a very adventurous individual and had much to say; apparently he had taken a survival course for a few months in the Yukon. We spent the day wondering around together telling stories of our travels.
Magnetic Island, and Maggie’s in particular, was refreshingly quiet and low-key. There weren’t many people at the hostel or any major parties going on while we were there. We met heaps of really cool people, including some stellar German dudes and people we had previously encountered down south, but we weren’t there to party. The reason we decided to go to Magnetic Island in the first place, was to dive.
While Brian was back in school completing his Open Water course, I continued to take long hikes around the island. The scenery on Magnetic Island is unbelievable, and consistent with the magic we encountered down south in the Whitsundays. While on my walks I saw many sea birds, skinks, and a variety of fragrant and colourful flowers, including the largest orchid I’ve every laid my eyes on.
As part of my package I received two free dives that I decided to take on the Thursday with Brian and the rest of his crew, including a bunch of crazy Germans. All together, there were eight of us diving including our instructor, an Italian girl named Catarina. Although we had an awesome time together as a group, the diving in the morning at Alma bay was absolute crap due to the recent high winds which resulted in extremely low visibility. It was so bad that we had to hold a rope or each others hands to keep track of each other. I saw one fish the entire 40 minute dive.
The second dive was the Miltke wreck in Geoffrey bay. Although the visibility was a little better, it was still dreadful, and the diving was a real challenge. I went diving with a dive intern named Jimbo and another couple, and we had to ascend to the surface twice because we got lost and couldn’t find one another. Fortunately, because I got lost I found the wreck and was treated to a spectacular array of fish and a coral-encrusted hull of an ancient German cargo ship.
Our nights on Magnetic Island were generally pretty quiet. We would eat our free meal, often buying a second one to supplement our intake, go for a walk down the beach, watch a bit of television, read our PADI books, and talk with the other travelers. Thursday night was an exception. The locals were having a party for a guy and a girl who were leaving to go cycle around the world; they had been on the island for three months and were heading off to Vietnam to continue their cycling adventures. There were about 30 people gathered in the park, drinking and hanging out. One of the locals brought out four bongo drums, so needless to say, I was in heaven. We jammed for the better part of an hour.
The next day Brian and I started our Advanced Open Water diver course. Our first three advanced skills we learned were peak performance buoyancy, navigation and naturalist; however, the visibility was still pretty poor around the island, so observing and recording the little fishes was extremely difficult.
Our second day of the course was the Yongala wreck dive we had been so anxiously anticipating. The Yongala wreck is considered by many the third best wreck dive in the world, and many say it is the best dive in the southern hemisphere. The Yongala sank in 1911 and all 122 passengers on board perished when the ship encountered a cyclone. No one really knows what exactly happened to the ship, since none of the life boats of preservers were deployed. It remained undiscovered until the 1950’s, and remains fairly intact due to strict laws governing maritime wrecks in Australian waters. The Yongala is a ghost ship that has had a hundred years of coral growth, and is home to hundreds of species of marine creatures. We were pumped.
The boat ride out to the wreck took two and a half hours. Brian and I both took a seasickness pill to make sure that we were all good, despite the fact that I don’t generally get seasick. When we arrived to the dive site, a sea turtle and a sea snake were swimming side by side on the surface; it was a great sign. We were briefed on the wreck, safety procedures, and geared up for the dive. On the two dives for the day, we had to accomplish the deep water dive and wreck dive as part of our advanced course. The first dive was the deep water dive.
When we got in the water, the current was extremely strong, and we had to grab onto a safety line to avoid being swept away. Once everyone in our course got into the water, we descended the line together. On our way down the moor line, thousands of fish scuttled about. There were schools of colourful tropical fish being chased around by schools of barracuda, trevally, cod, huge Maori wrasse and groper, stingrays, sharks, turtles, snakes and heaps of beautiful corals lining the entirety of the wreck. We settled on the bottom and completed some simple tests to ensure that we weren’t ‘narco,’ a term that describes the intoxicating effect of too much residual nitrogen in the blood that occurs at deeper depths. Since we were still less than 30 meters, all of us were fine, and didn’t experience any of the symptoms. To be honest, I was a little disappointed; I wanted to feel the free natural drunkenness! The first dive was only 20 minutes because we used our air quickly due to strong currents and the deeper depths. Despite the short bottom time, we were exhilarated with what we saw. The wreck was completely amazing! There was so much to see down there that when we finally ascended, we couldn’t wait to get back down in the water to check it out some more.
We ate a small lunch on the boat and quickly geared up for our second dive. I’d have to say that the second dive at the Yongala was much more rewarding because we spent the entire dive swimming along the wreck opposed to doing skills on the bottom. Also, we stayed at a reasonable depth and used much less air. I was extremely surprised at the amount of coral growing on the steel hull; the entire deck was thick with colourful soft and hard corals, and there were hundreds of thousands of fish swimming in and out of the cabins and cargo holds. To sum up, the entire experience was breathtaking, and cannot truly be described by words or pictures; it was that stunning! I have no doubt in my mind that I will dive the site again someday.
We got back from the dive and went for some drinks with the rest of the divers and our dive instructor. Both Brian and I were elated and truly happy with our decision to stop at Magnetic Island.
The next day we had to fix up our PADI certifications and we also had the option to do some free dives that Brian had accumulated by taking two courses, but we decided to get on a bus and go straight to Cairns. Brian’s time in Australia was running out, and we still had much to see including Cape Tribulation, the Daintree rainforest, and the Great Barrier Reef off Port Douglas.
We got to Cairns in the evening, checked into the International hostel on the Esplanade, and made our way down to the pub for a free meal that was included with a night’s stay at the hostel. After the meal we wandered aimlessly around Cairns, and eventually found the Koala hostel. Along the way we came across a big mango tree with hundreds of giant bats flying around eating fruit from the tree. It was a pretty spectacular sight to see. When we arrived at Koala it was happy hour, so we grabbed a couple $7 jugs of beer and parked ourselves at a picnic table. It wasn’t long before we bumped into some familiar faces. Two Swedish girls that we met in Magnetic Island came walking past us with a pizza in their hands; how could we resist?
After chilling out with the two girls for a bit we decided to leave and have an early night; they decided to go and phone home to tell their folks that they were staying for longer than expected. Furthermore, one of the girls was calling her boyfriend to break it off. Brian and I stuck around for the drama and headed back to the room.
Once we got back to the dorm, we decided it was still a little early to be calling it a night and decided to smoke the last of our Nimbin stash. We rolled our last one up and took a stroll down by the lagoon. The lights on the pier and over the water were mesmerizing. A lot of people have put Cairns down for being a terrible place to visit; however, I found it quite enticing and beautiful. Granted, it was a little too touristy, but at least it was blatant.
We both got up early in the morning and went for a wake-up swim in the man-made lagoon across from the dorm. It was a very refreshing dip, aside from the camera happy Japanese tourists snapping hundreds of photos and laughing like schoolgirls.
The Dougies shuttle bus to Port Douglas arrived to pick us up before lunchtime. Just before we left, I grabbed a cappuccino and a muffin from the McDonald’s at the corner of the Esplanade. To my shock and surprise, while I was waiting in line, glanced at the front page; the news story was about a 17 year old teenager who had been bashed to death the night before in front of the very store I was standing in. It was a very creepy experience to be in the store with everything running so normally after such an atrocious act of violence the previous day. Even in Australia, with its hot sunshine and perfect beaches, bad things often happen.
The drive up to Port Douglas from Cairns was spectacular. Our driver, Ronan, stopped at a perfect lookout along the highway and we watched a free-glider take jump of the cliff into a hot thermal. It was funny to watch the guy take off since he was apprehensive due to the lack wind. In the end, he risked it and his parachute caught the draft. We filled up on cordial and made our way to Dougies.
If I had to describe Port Douglas in one word, it would be “hot.” We stepped out of the Dougies van and into a humid oven. It was so hot that we immediately dripped sweat. We checked in, put our stuff into our air conditioned room, and went for a walkabout of the hostel/campground.
Dougies is one of the better hostels in Australia. It is family owned, has a pool, bar, lounge area, big kitchen, internet terminals, a large campground, clean bathrooms, lush tropical landscaping, satellite television, and plenty of hammocks; hammocks are a main selling feature of any hostel. The people at the hostel were all welcoming and it had a great vibe the moment we stepped through the door. I would say it was very similar to Cool Bananas in Agnes Water/1770.
After our orientation we went and talked to the reception and Rowan about our diving, renting a car, and some fishing rods for the evening; Brian and I were anxious to reel in the big one and had been talking about it for the last week, and Dougies happened to rent rods for $5 a day including tackle. It was an absolute steal. Within half an hour of arriving, Brian and I had secured three dives on the outer reefs with a company called Calypso, booked a car to go up to Cape Tribulation and the Daintree rainforest, and were invited on a fishing adventure with Rowan, his best mate Darryl, and his father. We were both thrilled to have the perfect ending to our adventure ahead of us, and even more thrilled that we were going fishing with the locals. We offered to grab the beer and met Rowan in the evening.
Before we could cast our line into the river for fish, we needed bait. We headed to a small lake in Port Douglas next to some absolutely stunning homes and used nets to catch small bait fish and prawns; we put them in a bucket with a bubbler to keep them alive. It was a pretty dodgy situation since there are signs indicating that there are crocodiles swimming around in the lakes and rivers, and we could have been easily gobbled up by a nasty one. Although it is rare to see crocs in the particular area we were collecting bait and fishing, they have been known to come into the areas periodically, and we had to be weary. I snapped some pretty cool shots of Brian and Norman bent over the water with the croc sign in the foreground, and a beautiful couple of shots of Rowan and Darryl tossing their bait nets into the water. Once we had enough bait we packed up and headed back down by the hostel to fish off of the jetty.
The night was extremely calm and the sun was just setting as we baited up our lines, cracked a beer, and cast into the river. Brian and I exchanged looks of satisfaction and toasted to friendship. I think we both knew in our hearts that this particular occasion was only the first of many fishing excursions. We fished for a good couple of hours, and although no one caught anything, we had an extremely memorable and relaxing time with some new friends, a couple of beers, and a serene backdrop of a pristine river and mangrove forest.
Back at the hostel, we continued to relax, using our down-time to the maximum. We lay around in hammocks, swam and played volleyball in the pool, prepared luxurious meals, and sipped goon with fellow backpackers around the picnic tables.
Our first full day in Port Douglas was spent aboard a boat with the outer reef tour company Calypso. We were picked up early in the morning and brought to the marina where we met the crew and went over the itinerary for the day. Brian and I paid for all three dives offered, and there was only one other man out of group of about 50 doing all three; the rest would snorkel around the boat while we explored the depths of the outer reefs.
It took us about an hour and a half to get to the outer reefs; although we didn’t stop, we went passed the reefs where the Aussie hero Steve Irwin met his fate at the end of a stingray barb.
Our first stop was at the Agincourt reef. We were briefed by our dive master Matt and geared up with some really good equipment. We jumped in and were immediately met by a huge Maori wrasse who absolutely loves roast beef. Matt gave us all a handful of meat and we spent a few minutes dangling meat in the water so that the fish would come and snatch it from our hands. It was really cool to actually run our hands over such a large fish; the texture of its scales was really smooth and somewhat slimy. For the rest of the dive Matt took us all around the reef to explore for exotic creatures including rare nudibranches, sharks, and huge areas of anemone and angelfish. The range of soft and hard corals was amazing, and since both Brian and I had recent practice on our breathing, we stayed down for much longer than some of our previous dives.
The next two dives took us to two similar dive sites about a half hour north of Agincourt. From the boat we could see the breaks over the reef and were close to a drop off of about 1000 feet despite the shallow waters on the reef. At both sites we explored unique terrain full of vibrant coral and marine life. There were plenty of interesting fish, and we even got a chance to see a black tip shark swimming around!
Once back on board after a busy day of diving, Brian and I discussed how ecstatic we were with our diving accomplishments over the last month; we had dove the famous Yongala wreck, obtained our advanced certification, and explored three of the outer reefs off Port Douglas. Diving had become a passion for both of us, and we discussed visiting other wrecks and completing other adventure dives together in the future. It’s pretty safe to say that we are both hooked on diving, and will probably do something crazy like ice diving in Canada. Who knows where we’ll go next!
The next day we hung around Port Douglas, explored the town and soaked up the sun at the beautiful four mile beach. The good news is that the town had put up a stinger net so that you could safely go swimming at one part of the beach year round. The bad news was, the water wasn’t refreshing at all; the water was so warm that there was barely a difference between the air temperature and the water temperature! For the rest of the night we hung out with fellow travelers; Brian got connected on the net and I met a really stellar Aussie girl from Melbourne.
For Brian’s second last day in Australia we rented a car and drove up into the Daintree rainforest, the oldest rainforest in the world, and north to Cape Tribulation. To get into the Daintree you have to cross the Daintree River by barge. It cost $16 dollars return; initially it seemed a little steep to me, but in retrospect it was a small price to pay to get to se some of the most beautiful forest and beaches in Australia.
Our first stop of the day was Alexadria lookout which overlooked the entire Cairns and Port Douglas area, as well as the mouth of the crocodile infested Daintree River. Since it was still the morning when we arrived, the mountains were covered in cloud and the view was hindered by a dense fog overtop of the canopy. Regardless, the air was refreshing and fragrant, and the mouth of the Daintree was still visible despite the fog.
Our second stop on our day trip was straight up to Cape Tribulation. Cape Tribulation is a beautiful beach in the very heart of the lush Daintree. The scenery surrounding the beach is lush and green, and the water warm and clear; however, you can’t swim because of the deadly box jellyfish inhabiting the waters from the end of October until May. It was such a tease since we were both boiling and wanted nothing more than to rip off our clothes and jump in. Even still, we waded through up to our knees, although the thought of billions of stinging cells from a box jellyfish burning me to death prevented us from going all the way in. We walked a brief way through the forest at the Cape for a spectacular view and saw a couple of huge goannas lazily sleeping in the sun.
After scoping out Cape Tribulation we hiked along a two kilometer boardwalk through a diverse range of ecosystems such as mangrove forest, rainforest, and swamps. The walks were well maintained and provided information on some of the flora and fauna living in the unique habitats, including intricacies their, ancient, delicate and mutually beneficial coexistence. It was a great opportunity for us to breathe deeply and completely immerse ourselves in the powerful energy of the Daintree.
We worked up a healthy appetite walking around Cape Tribulation and other parts of the Daintree that we decided to quench our thirst and empty tummies with a delicious pie and an ice cold Coca Cola. We explored a swimming hole at a river just around the corner from the shop but decided to wait until we got to Mossman gorge to go for a swim.
Before we got to Mossman gorge headed up to the Daintree village and completed another boardwalk further south. It was quite surprising to find that Daintree village wasn’t all that special; a mere street with a few pubs and tourist shops that sold trips up the Daintree and arts and crafts. However, the second boardwalk was much different than the first walk we had been on earlier in the day, and was excellent. For instance, there were more creeks along the second boardwalk, and the changes in forest were more distinct than that of the walk fifteen minutes north. At one point, we couldn’t help but laugh; the roots of the mangroves stuck out of the mud and looked like erect penises sticking out of the ground. We took pictures.
The last stop of the day was at Mossman gorge, which was back across the river and closer to Port Douglas, although still part of the Daintree. After walking the two kilometer hike through the gorge, Brian and I both decided it was our favourite spot of the day. Everything was covered in a green moss and the trees were absolutely huge. There was a freshwater river running alongside of the hiking track and it was crocodile-free so you could go for a swim in the rapids. Being the adventurous types that we are, we decided to explore a side path leading away from the main track and were rewarded with the most insanely gorgeous little swimming hole and chill-out area in the middle of the jungle. A small stream led to a fresh pool that we bathed in. We took pictures on a log that had fallen over the waterfall and stuck around for a while taking in the scene. It was seriously straight out of a Tarzan movie!
We finished the walk, making haste because of the setting sun; we still wanted to go for a swim at the large swimming hole near the parking lot and only had an hour or so of light left in the day. We made it to the river in time and jumped into the cold water. It was really refreshing to actually swim in water that isn’t over 25 degrees! The river was fairly shallow, with fish swimming though the rapids. We splashed around for a bit and got our fill before jumping back into our rental car soaking wet and headed back to Port Douglas, absolutely exhausted.
Brian’s last day in Australia was low-key and relaxing; an opportunity for us both to reflect on our experiences so far, and to plan for the future. We rented bikes and peddled around Port Douglas, including up some pretty big hills that overlook four mile beach. I’d have to say Port Douglas is amazing for many things, but most of all it is amazing for the fact that it remains stunning regardless of where you are in town. From the top of the hill, the perspective was breathtaking; I could tell that Brian was absorbing every last moment, and enjoying it to the fullest. Although he has much to look forward to in Calgary, including a girlfriend and a new job, I could sense that he was going to miss Australia.
We continued down the hill and onto the beach, riding to the end of the beach for exercise. Along the way we found a dead shark near the shore; it was only a small black-tip. Before heading back to the hostel to grab some beers and go watch the sunset, we sat in the shade and cracked open some fresh coconut. Honestly, I’ve never tried to tear open a ripe coconut without a power tool, so it was quite an accomplishment to finally get it open with my bear hands. I saved mine for later once I got the husk off but Brian cracked his open and we drank the juice and devoured the flesh. It was one of the tastiest coconuts I have ever eaten.
Once again the sun was setting faster than we anticipated, so we hurried back to buy some beers and head back to the beach to watch the sunset. Along the way back we went to the grocery store and picked up some items for a killer barbeque, including almost a kilo of fresh prawns from a little seafood store; we were going to cook Brian’s final meal in Oz, and we were determined to do it right.
We got back to the beach just in time and took some really nice pictures of us with four mile beach, pink clouds and palm trees in the background. As we sat on a piece of driftwood sipping beers, the tide came in to our feet and we had an amazing conversation that ranged from recapping our trip to discussing our ultimate plans for the future, human nature, business and friendship. At that moment, sitting on the beach with Brian while the sunset over the horizon, that I truly understood the nature of our friendship. We would from that moment on be friends until the day we died, and I articulated that aspect to him. We both knew that we would have many more adventures in the future, although, we both knew that this was a one time deal. We probably wouldn’t have the time or opportunity to go on an adventure like the one we had just been on ever again. Nevertheless, it was really reassuring to talk about families, career, and the fact that our children would one day play and grow up together. In the end, we would both grow old, having shared incredible adventures and nobody but the two of us could even begin to contemplate the gravity of the experiences; we could show pictures and tell stories, but the unspoken moments of utter bliss and understanding are just to hard to explain through pictures or even words. We gave each other a look of complete satisfaction and held our beers to the heavens, thanking God and the entire complex of choices and decision that led us to the present beauty before us.
Brian left on the shuttle to Cairns at three in the morning to catch a flight to Sydney, and then to Calgary to commence his new life. I was planned to stay in Port Douglas for a while and give it a go in the tropical heat. He woke me up before he left and we gave each other huge hug; we had arrived at the end of our adventure and would be forever changed.
October 2006
After three entire months on Lord Howe Island, it was a strange feeling to be back on the mainland. The flight back to Brisbane filled me with an intense excitement, mainly because I knew I would soon be meeting one of my best friends in the entire world to go traveling up the east coast of Queensland. I couldn’t wait to see someone from home; someone who knew me, understood me, and appreciated the context of my life. I considered it a huge expression of friendship and faith, and knew that our adventures would be incredible.
Brisbane is an interesting city, and it was really nice to fly back into a familiar place. I crashed my aunt and uncles place for a few days and headed down the coast to meet Brian in Byron Bay. We had both agreed to meet at the Arts Factory, the campground and hostel I had originally stayed at on my first trip to the area in January. The Arts Factory is a super-cool hippy-friendly backpacker resort nestled just outside of the main streets in Byron; it’s a truly groovy and colourful place.
The afternoon I arrived I checked into the hostel and enquired about Brian but he had not yet arrived from Port Macquarie. I grabbed my surfboard and played in the ocean until the sunset.
Typical of any hostel experience, I had already become good friends with my roommates by the time Brian burst into the room like a supernova. We were all sitting around the room drinking boxed wine and telling jokes when the room suddenly went silent and Brian slid into the room, laughing and shaking with energy. It was one of the most exhilarating moments to finally see a good mate show up on the other side of the world. It was a very happy moment for both of us. We got right into what we do best in Australia: Drink!
For the next few days we settled in and caught up with each other. We played basketball and volleyball at the hostel, hiked the miles of beautiful beaches and climbed up to the lighthouse, and surfed the crystal clear breaks.
On our second day in Byron Bay we booked a tour to Nimbin, a small hippy village in the mountains about two hours away. We booked the tour with Jim’s Adventure Tours; which boasted a trip to Nimbin plus a stop at a nature reserve on the way back. The tour was incredible, and we met some amazing German girls on the bus. We picked up some ‘special’ cookies and a bag of the finest hydro and were in outer space by noon. We walked around in the hot sun for a few hours and then got back onto the bus to go to the nature reserve. Everyone was completely stoned and the laughed uncontrollably.
The best part of the trip was most certainly the nature reserve and walk. In the middle of nowhere, a hippy dude in his fourties had spent most of his life planting trees and other shrubs on his huge property. There were hundreds of different species of plants, including fruit trees that we could harvest including oranges and mulberries. He took us around on a pathway through the bush and named off some of his favourites. I asked him if he grew Salvia Divorinum and he said he did and proceeded to give me some insight on it for close to half an hour. The plant had obviously had made an impact on him.
In the evenings in Byron Brian and I headed out to a club called Funky Monkey’s and the Beach Hotel for some drinks. We also ate an amazing Pad Thai and feasted on fresh pies from the 24 hour bakery.
Brian and I departed Byron Bay on a high note, having surfed all afternoon and lounged in the sun. When we got back to my uncle’s house in Brisbane I introduced Brian to my uncle who had been out on the town drinking. We made a sweet meal and I took Brian to Friday’s Riverside where I had worked for three months. To my surprise, a lot of the people I had worked with were now gone and there were tons of new staff. Still, many familiar faces remained and we had a great time.
Saturday in Brisbane is a party. After walking around the downtown for the afternoon, including a wicked little market on southbank, we made a tasty barbeque and headed into town to meet up with a Brit we met in Byron named Ollie, and another friend Harris I had met during my first stay in Brisbane. We spent the entire night club-hopping and finally made it to my favourite club in Australia called the Family. We danced until the early hours of the morning with hundreds of Brisbane’s most beautiful people. It was a party to be remembered!
Having tackled Brisbane in style, Brian and I decided that our first stop on our way up north would be Noosa. We grabbed a train and a bus up the coast and arrived in the evening. After grabbing a box of the famous goon, we checked into Koala’s, the biggest and best party hostel in town. Although the hostel was big business and overly commercial, it was a very good time and we met heaps of people from all over the world including backpackers from Israel, Germany, Sweden, Britain, France, Ireland and Norway.
Our first day in Noosa Brian and I decided to hike around the National Park. We took the long way and then the coastal path around the point. The park was beautiful and was extremely pretty. We saw skinks and snakes all around the paths and took photos of the many beaches. The best surf breaks were at Tea Tree Bay, although they were quite crowded and small.
The next day we just chilled at the beach and walked around the town. Besides from surfing and relaxing, Noosa was quite expensive if you wanted to do any extra-curricular activities. We were quite content soaking in the sun and swimming in the beach breaks.
On the third night in Noosa, there was a really good live band. All of the people in our room and some other friends we had met sat around the picnic tables in the bar and indulged on the $7 happy hour jugs of beer. At one point in the night we had ten jugs on the table! We quickly made more friends and the beer disappeared. We danced the night away and made some good connections.
All in all, Noosa was a great time and worth the money. The surf could have been a little better and would have made the experience more enjoyable, but we made the best of it. The only complaint I had was all of the extra fees and deposits for everything. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t think that you should have to drop a deposit for sheets and cutlery. That’s just stupid and creates an atmosphere of distrust amongst the guests.
Our next stop on our adventure was to Hervey Bay to catch the ferry over to Fraser Island. Both Brian and I were really excited for this stop because we were joining together with a group of 11 people in a bad-ass 4X4 vehicle around the largest sand island in the world; supposedly from word of mouth, the Fraser trip is a highlight of many backpackers’ trips.
We arrived at Koala Hervey Bay, unpacked our gear and immediately met the rest of our group in the bar for our orientation. We watched a video about the dangers of traveling to Fraser Island, including consistent warnings concerning the wild dingoes roaming the forests, and the abundant tiger sharks and stingers present in the ocean on the east coast. We were then put into our groups and told to go grocery shopping for the next day; no wasting time!
After quickly meeting everyone in our group, Brian and I soon realized we had lucked out; our group was extremely excited for the trip and beamed with positive energy. There were Brits, Danish girls, a Swedish girl, a Kiwi, and Brian and I, the Canadians, to round out the international contingency. After grocery shopping and other preparations, we decided to have a low-key night and watched a movie with the group in one of the dorm rooms.
The next day we woke up at 5 am to prepare the truck with our supplies including cooking gear, utensils, tents, sleeping bags and plentiful amounts of beer and food. We sorted the paperwork and it was decided that I would be taking the first shift driving; I would be taking us to the ferry and onto the island to our first stop. I was a little daunted by the prospect of driving such a large truck but took the challenge on knowing that it would be extremely exhilarating.
Although the experiences we had on the island could be summarized and I could describe how intense it was, there really isn’t a way to describe the utter beauty and adrenaline rush associated with driving and enjoying such a rugged terrain with such amazing people. In retrospect, the weekend was an extremely invigorating experience that allowed me to grow and truly appreciate nature in its bold, primitive connections. Our first day on the island we stopped at a car park in the middle of a rainforest and hiked to the pristine Basin Lake which was situated about three kilometers inland. By the time we got to the lake we were hot and sweaty, tearing off our clothes and jumping into the crystal clear water in less than a blink of an eye.
Our next stop was at Lake Mackenzie, which is the lake most people associate with Fraser Island because of its sheer beauty and use in every promotional poster of the island; and for good reason. The water around the circumference of the lake for about 20 feet is a turquoise blue, and at the centre a dark blue. The combination of these two colours creates a jaunting contrast that is pleasant and inviting. We all planted ourselves on the soft sandy beach, sun baked, played Frisbee and soccer, and swam in the refreshing water.
After Lake Mackenzie we took a swim down Eli Creek, and then set up our camp along the main beach on the east coast. We found a perfect little site over a sand dune and the boys cooked everyone a massive barbeque; we had steaks, sausages, burgers, potatoes and salad. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) the smell from the barbeque attracted a few wild dingoes to the site. They swarmed around us for the better part of the night and were bold enough to come right into the camp and stole our potatoes. Even though I was a little weary about the dogs, I truly relished finally seeing wild dingoes; you can’t truly say you have experienced true Australian bush life until you have been surrounded by a few hungry dingoes!
For our second day on the island we set up our camp further down the beach and parked the car for the day. We all decided to do the 20 kilometer hike to Indian Head and the Champagne pools, a collection of beautiful tide pools on the northern part of the island. The Swedish girl Caroline and I decided to push ourselves and jog the way there; the others walked. It was a crazy thing to do, especially in tropical heat, but we loved every minute of it. At Indian Head we snapped some amazing pictures, gazing out at the manta rays swimming below. We arrived at the tide pools in the early afternoon and cooled off in the pools as the waves crashed over the rocks. Unfortunately, Brian took a hard wave and was smashed into the rocks which slashed up his lower back.
It was a long and treacherous walk back, and suddenly we regretted not taking the truck. Luckily, two of the girls in our group took off a little early, got a ride back, and returned with the truck to pick us up. Sadly, we were almost back at camp by the time the found us. For the rest of the evening we ate a delicious pasta meal prepared by the ladies, played drinking games, and stared into the heavens; it was a crystal clear night and the amount of stars was mesmerizing. One of the girls brought sparklers and we all lit them and ran around the beach like madmen, howling at the moon. As one of the most memorable moments of the trip, we finished our night with a big group hug underneath the blanket of stars; everything was silent except for the light wind and waves crashing on the beach. It was an amazing, profound moment that Brian and I will remember for the rest of our lives.
For our last day, we spent much of our time driving back the distance we had traveled in two days. Our plans were to go to another swim spot called Lake Wabby, which boasted a huge sand dune, but we couldn’t go up the road that led to it from the beach. Instead, we decided to head back to Lake Mackenzie to sun bake and swim. It was a very relaxing day and we headed back to the ferry completely content and relaxed.
When we got back to the hostel we had some food and drinks together, exchanged contacts, and crashed early. Brian and I were going to take the night bus to 1770/Agnes Water, but decided to stay an extra night with our new friends and drank beers in the bar, played pool, and watched the slideshow from our trip on my laptop. It was a perfect ending to a great weekend.
Our bus left Hervey Bay at around two o’clock in the afternoon and we pulled into 1770/Agnes Water around half past six. We had booked a hostel called Cool Bananas and immediately upon entering the building we felt as if we were home. After a crazy few weeks of partying hard and going full-on, we were ready to sit back, relax, and rejuvenate our bodies and minds; Cool Bananas was the perfect place to do it. The main building was a giant lounge with couches and beanbag chairs, internet terminals, and reception. Outside there was a giant landscaped courtyard with picnic tables, a fire pit, hammocks, a clean kitchen, and other cozy social areas. The main dorms overlooked the picnic area, and housed approximately 80 guests. It was by far the best hostel I’ve been to so far on my travels.
After dropping off our gear and meeting up with our Brit mate Ollie, we headed up to the pub for an amazing feed and a free pitcher of beer for only $11.50; an absolute steal! We got back to the hostel and immediately started chatting with four Irish girls, a German dude, and a Canadian from Port Elgin. One thing led to another, and low and behold we were in the classic backpacker situation: Picnic tables and a box of goon. We soon migrated to a circle around the fire and eventually called it an early night.
The next day we went on a free tour of the area, stopping in the nearby 1770/Agnes Water where we had the opportunity to hang out on some of the most expensive land in Australia; one particular property, which was less than an acre, cost 2.2 million! Granted, the view was amazing, but way too overpriced considering the only structures on the property were a small shack and an old dirty outhouse; we joked with the tour guide since the toilet alone could be valued at a million dollars! For the rest of the day we took it easy at the beach and hostel, relaxing and enjoying the sun. At the supermarket, I noticed a flyer for a free meditation class and both Brian and I agreed it was a perfect way to spend the evening.
We showed up to the evening class with two other people from the hostel who we recruited to come. There were about 30 chairs surrounding a lone candle on a table in the middle of the room. We quickly introduced ourselves to Pascal, one of the hosts for the evening, as people began entering the room and sat down. Pascal was a French woman in her late fifties and definitely had a special energy about her; she was cheery and immediately memorized everyone’s name. Once everyone arrived, she had us choose from a deck of special cards that revealed aspects of our personalities. Each card had a title and both a light and dark attribute. She asked everyone to read their title and light attribute. Mine was ‘The Detective’ and discussed how I was in search of truth and had a endless admiration for the details; so true. She also that she had received an e-mail from some friends about a special cosmic light that was to be focused on earth that evening, and proceeded to take us into deep meditation, helping us visualize our energy chakras and focus on the healing energy of our minds. It was a very profound experience considering the number of people who had attended and were all focusing their minds and energy together at the same time. I personally felt as if I had left my body and was flying around the universe basked in light. There was an extreme feeling of contentment and happiness as she took us deeper and deeper into a meditative state.
For the rest of the session another man talked to us about unconditional love; not an unconditional love simply for another human being, but a true unconditional love for absolutely everything in the universe, both seen and unseen. He was very articulate and had us focus on what he called an ‘AH’ moment, which is a moment where we are completely happy and time seems to halt. I pinpointed my last truly philosophical ‘AH’ moment to have been on Lord Howe Island and I shared the moment with the group. Brian’s was a moment with his uncle watching fireworks together, while others discussed the birth of their child, giving their marriage vows, and staring at the stars. All in all, it was an extremely positive experience, and Brian and I both agreed that it had made a major impact on us.
After the session Brian and I had a discussion with Pascal and she mentioned that her husband was away on business and one of her pigs had escaped from the pen and she could not get it back in with the other female; she even showed us a big bruise on her leg where the vicious little animal had bumped her. We offered to catch the pig for her and she agreed to pick us up the next day and cook us lunch. Furthermore, she was the mother of a psychic technique using colours and tarot cards that enabled her to read our subconscious. Both Brian and I agreed that we wanted to have a reading. She mentioned that she charged $50 for the reading, but both Brian and I were keen to see her farm and have lunch with such a fascinating lady that we agreed.
Brian called her in the morning and she picked us up at 10:30. Pascal picked up some fresh fish, prawns and wine and we drove about a half an hour into the outback. The farm and her house were absolutely incredible. She had two pigs, two dogs, two donkeys, two peacocks, chickens, guinea fowl, sheep, and an energetic little Billy goat that took a liking to me; he followed me around everywhere I went. She took us around to her gardens, picked us out some vegetables and eggs for us to take home, and introduced us to her vicious pig. Undaunted, I climbed into the pen and chased the pig back into the smaller pen with a stick. To be honest, it was quite easy once the gate was opened, since the male was pretty desperate to get back into the pen with the female.
She then served us some homemade camembert with crackers, prawns with fresh herbs, and cooked a delectable fish curry. We sat around the table and had a pleasant conversation, and learned about her life and the tragic death of one of her sons in a car accident. It was very sad to hear but she seemed to have coped with the death in a positive way. She told us that she was once a journalist for the ABC but had changed careers to focus on what she described as her destiny.
I was the first one to have my reading. She explained her technique and had me choose 12 vials from a large selection of numbered coloured vials. We sat out in her comfortable lounge as she explained some very interesting aspects of my past, present and future based on my selections. She used the colours to correspond to tarot cards and explained the spiritual aspects of my life, as well as some future prophecies. It was very enlightening and invigorating to hear, despite the fact that there were some things she said that I didn’t particularly want to hear. Regardless, it was a very positive experience that made me think hard about my life and my future path.
While she completed Brian’s meeting I walked around her labyrinth that she had built using rocks; there was a bowl surrounded by crystals in the centre of the structure which held energized water. I continued around the yard for a while, thinking hard about the things she had said and played with the animals.
After Brian’s reading finished, she took us to her shed where she presented us with her book, published by Penguin, and some homemade bread. We thanked her for her genuine kindness and she drove us back to the hostel.
When Brian and I returned we discussed our afternoon and both agreed that it had been an utterly amazing afternoon. It was both fun and spiritual, and it allowed us to see a different part of the country off the beaten path and meet a new friend.
The next day we were changed; we couldn’t pinpoint it, but we were definitely different. Pascal had left her mark. We were determined to make the most of the day so we headed to the beach to be lazy in the sun and surf at the last safe, stinger-free beach in tropical Queensland. I grabbed a friend’s board and headed out around the point for a few hours and caught some good waves.
That night, we boarded an all-night bus to Airlie beach to go sailing on the Whitsundays. We had both come down with colds, and knew the ride was going to be horrible; it didn’t matter, because we knew that in less than 24 hours we would be sailing on crystal clear turquoise water.
We arrived sleepy-eyed in the morning, had a coffee, and booked a tour on the Pegasus, a beauty of a sailboat that offered a free dive! The ship left at four o’clock in the afternoon, so we spent the day at Magnums, a big and impersonal party hostel that had the smallest kitchen ever! We used the facilities, I.E. showered and used the toilet, put our bags in storage, and went to check in with the tour company at the marina. We walked through a beautiful man-made lagoon, and wandered around Airlie for the afternoon. Airlie is a gorgeous little town, and we had a good time wandering around in the sweltering heat.
At four we met our group and boarded the vessel. Our crew was all young, and the vibe from the group was great. We had an orientation and immediately set off for the islands.
The first sunset while sailing on the water was unreal. The sea breeze was warm and a salty mist blew into our faces as the captain raised the sail and we headed for our first destination in a secluded bay near Hook Island.
Just after sunset, our first meal aboard the Pegasus was cooked and served by a wicked-cool Irish girl Kira. The menu was steak, roasted veg, and apple pie and custard for dessert. Delicious.
Straight after the meal we hit right into the drinking games in the galley. Almost the entire boat squeezed around a massive table and played multiple drinking games with cards and other madness. Eventually, it got messy and we ended up writing dirty sayings on our forearms with permanent markers. Many of the crew put on capes and the party went on until about midnight when everyone crashed out hard. It had been a long one for Brian and I, and we were absolutely destroyed after an all night bus ride the previous night and then a good, solid drinking session.
We all woke up early the next day and shook off the hangover with a stiff instant coffee, some toast and cereal. Captain Pete navigated the ship into a nice calm bay on the opposite side of Whitehaven beach, one of the most beautiful and picturesque beaches in the Whitsunday islands. While everyone decided to take the free and easy ride in the dingy to the beach about 500 meters away, I jumped off the side of the ship and swam. I have to say, the swim was one of the most beautiful and refreshing swims of my life; the sea was warm, blue and inviting, and I couldn’t resist a little fitness after a hard night of drinking.
Once ashore, Brian and I headed up to the Whitehaven beach lookout, which was roughly a kilometer through rainforest and fragrant Eucalyptus trees. When we finally reached the lookout, we were taken aback with the sheer beauty of what we saw; it was endless paradise of silky sand and transparent blue water. We snapped a few pictures that could have easily been turned into postcards. The view was so good, that each time a new person arrived at the lookout, we could anticipate the initial gasp, followed immediately by a long, drawn-out “wow.” The water called us, and we left to swim in the shallow waters.
Down at the beach we slathered on sunscreen and put on our stinger suits to go for a swim. We wandered around in knee-deep water for a while and headed out to the end of a sand dune where we encountered a good sized shark. I pointed it out to Brian, and when I looked back after a millisecond, he was already bolting back to the beach. It was pretty funny, but I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive myself, despite the fact that I knew the sharks in the area were harmless. We headed back to the beach, tossed the Frisbee, and explored the rest of the beach. It was truly an unbelievable place, straight out of the pages of a novelty calendar you buy for relatives you have no idea what to buy for Christmas; an image of paradise.
Our next stop was about 50 kilometers away in a secluded bay where we strapped on our scuba gear and headed to another beach to go diving. The coral and sea life at this particular dive site was incredible; there were massive, healthy and colourful corals, heaps of fish, and the backdrop was serene. We couldn’t ask for a better dive, and it was free as part of the tour! After we completed our dive we lounged around on the beach for a good few hours soaking up the hot sun.
That night we anchored in a sheltered bay at the northern end of the Whitsunday islands. As the sun set, we tossed meat overboard to watch giant osprey swoop down and take it from the water. As the stars began to come out, more ospreys came onto the scene, and a dolphin poked its fin out of the water. It was a wonderful thing to behold.
Brian and I ate a delicious roast beef meal outside on the deck with a few other people and gazed up towards the heavens. I couldn’t think of a better place to chomp down on a piece of meat than on a boat in the Whitsundays! While we ate we sipped on some Canadian Club and colas, and once we finished we got on it hard. After a great day of diving and a full belly, everyone was ready for round two aboard the Pegasus.
Throughout the night we sat in the galley playing drinking games and telling dirty secrets about ourselves. It was pretty funny to listen to everyone’s sex stories, especially after a few glasses of truth serum. I was amazed to find out some of the weird places people have gone the distance. For instance, one girl got down in a grocery store!
Although the conversation was funny and interesting, it soon got boring and I headed out on deck to check out the scene. I met a really nice Dutch girl and sat with her for the night. She had a great personality and was extremely good conversationalist despite the fact that English wasn’t her strong suit. At one point in the night, we went to the bow to catch some peace and quiet and ended up bumping into the dive instructor and the Norwegian girl bunked up together. They were totally busted!
The next morning Brian and I awoke, ate breakfast and had a coffee to shake off the hangover, and straight away jumped into the water to go snorkeling. Although the boat was anchored about 200 meters away from shore, the water quickly became shallow and the visibility was crystal clear right to the bottom. We were both amazed at the amount of fish swimming in the water and the diversity of corals. Because the sun was shinning right onto the reef, the colours were brilliant. We practiced free diving to the bottom of the reef and chased giant Maori Wrasse, including a famous one named ‘Elvis.’ We got our fill swimming near a small sandy beach and crawled up on shore to dry off. The snorkeling took us to around midday, so once we got on board we set sail back to Airlie beach.
For the rest of the afternoon we ate food, had a few more drinks and listened to awesome tunes on the deck of the boat. The sun was so hot; I think all of us on board got a sun burn, despite triple-applying the sunscreen!
Once back at the Airlie marina, the crew of Pegasus, Pete, Jono, Kira, Brianni and James invited us to the beach to have a few drinks before we had to set off on a bus to Townsville. Brian and I knew we had a tough one ahead of us; because Brian started his Open Water Diver course early the next day at Magnetic Island, our only choice was to take an 8:30 bus that got us to Townsville at approximately 12:30 in the morning, which meant we were going to sleep in the bus station. Both Brian and I were both surprisingly excited about the idea. We gulped down a couple jugs of beer and played a couple games of pool with the Pegasus crew at Magnums and headed to the bus.
Interestingly, as we were grabbing our bags from the Magnums lockup, we met a Canadian girl traveling the coast; she had just finished a biology degree at Queens University and was taking a break before heading back to Canada to apply for med school. She had plans to go to Cambodia to film a documentary as part of a volunteer position helping people with clef pallet surgeries. Needless to say, we hit it off straight away, and given the chance, I am sure we could have become good friends. It’s such a shame when that happens and it seems to be happening more and more these days; you meet someone you really click with and you both continue on your different paths. I took her e-mail address and said I’d check in with her to see how her documentary is going.
We arrived in Townsville right on time. The bus dropped us off at the bus terminal which also happened to be the ferry terminal to Magnetic Island. We thought that was pretty convenient. I had shaken a cold I had picked up on the Pegasus but Brian was sick as a dog and was coughing up goblins. We initially tried to bunk up on a bench facing the water but the wind was strong and it was raining periodically, so we decided to take cover under a big newspaper trolley at the front of the building. Despite the fact that we were curled up in the corner on the hard pavement, I slept like a kitten; Brian on the other hand, who was sleeping on the outside, told me that he had to fend off a round of hoodlums asking for cigarettes, and other creepy night-crawlers.
After a slight delay, we boarded the ferry to Magnetic Island at around 6:30 in the morning. We disembarked on the beautiful and rugged island and caught a bus to Maggie’s, the hostel that was included in our dive packages; the hostel is located in Horseshoe bay on the north-east part of the island. We checked in and crashed hard, although poor Brian had to cut his nap short to go start his diving class. Unfortunately, the weather was predicted to be bad for the first three days on Magnetic, meaning that I couldn’t do my Advanced Open Water until Friday. I was a little disappointed, but considered it an opportunity to explore the island and relax. Furthermore, Brian finished his Open Water on Thursday and decided to take the Advanced Open Water with me so that he could dive the world famous Yongala wreck, said to be the third best wreck dive in the world and the best dive in the southern hemisphere.
When I awoke the sun was beginning to smolder. I splashed on a heap of lotion and went out to explore. My initial impression of Magnetic Island was that its terrain is similar to northern Ontario, except that it’s tropical and has koalas jumping around the eucalyptus trees. I walked along the paths down to the secluded beaches on the eastern part of the island, sweating profusely in the tropical heat. I dipped my feet in the water and worked my way up onto a high cliff; the climb was treacherous, especially in flip flops. When I got to the summit of one cliff, I noticed a big osprey nest with two birds in it and one flying above, searching for food. I made my way closer and met a Dutch guy taking pictures of the nest. His name was Ramco and he was thirty years old traveling around Australia by himself for the second time. He was a very adventurous individual and had much to say; apparently he had taken a survival course for a few months in the Yukon. We spent the day wondering around together telling stories of our travels.
Magnetic Island, and Maggie’s in particular, was refreshingly quiet and low-key. There weren’t many people at the hostel or any major parties going on while we were there. We met heaps of really cool people, including some stellar German dudes and people we had previously encountered down south, but we weren’t there to party. The reason we decided to go to Magnetic Island in the first place, was to dive.
While Brian was back in school completing his Open Water course, I continued to take long hikes around the island. The scenery on Magnetic Island is unbelievable, and consistent with the magic we encountered down south in the Whitsundays. While on my walks I saw many sea birds, skinks, and a variety of fragrant and colourful flowers, including the largest orchid I’ve every laid my eyes on.
As part of my package I received two free dives that I decided to take on the Thursday with Brian and the rest of his crew, including a bunch of crazy Germans. All together, there were eight of us diving including our instructor, an Italian girl named Catarina. Although we had an awesome time together as a group, the diving in the morning at Alma bay was absolute crap due to the recent high winds which resulted in extremely low visibility. It was so bad that we had to hold a rope or each others hands to keep track of each other. I saw one fish the entire 40 minute dive.
The second dive was the Miltke wreck in Geoffrey bay. Although the visibility was a little better, it was still dreadful, and the diving was a real challenge. I went diving with a dive intern named Jimbo and another couple, and we had to ascend to the surface twice because we got lost and couldn’t find one another. Fortunately, because I got lost I found the wreck and was treated to a spectacular array of fish and a coral-encrusted hull of an ancient German cargo ship.
Our nights on Magnetic Island were generally pretty quiet. We would eat our free meal, often buying a second one to supplement our intake, go for a walk down the beach, watch a bit of television, read our PADI books, and talk with the other travelers. Thursday night was an exception. The locals were having a party for a guy and a girl who were leaving to go cycle around the world; they had been on the island for three months and were heading off to Vietnam to continue their cycling adventures. There were about 30 people gathered in the park, drinking and hanging out. One of the locals brought out four bongo drums, so needless to say, I was in heaven. We jammed for the better part of an hour.
The next day Brian and I started our Advanced Open Water diver course. Our first three advanced skills we learned were peak performance buoyancy, navigation and naturalist; however, the visibility was still pretty poor around the island, so observing and recording the little fishes was extremely difficult.
Our second day of the course was the Yongala wreck dive we had been so anxiously anticipating. The Yongala wreck is considered by many the third best wreck dive in the world, and many say it is the best dive in the southern hemisphere. The Yongala sank in 1911 and all 122 passengers on board perished when the ship encountered a cyclone. No one really knows what exactly happened to the ship, since none of the life boats of preservers were deployed. It remained undiscovered until the 1950’s, and remains fairly intact due to strict laws governing maritime wrecks in Australian waters. The Yongala is a ghost ship that has had a hundred years of coral growth, and is home to hundreds of species of marine creatures. We were pumped.
The boat ride out to the wreck took two and a half hours. Brian and I both took a seasickness pill to make sure that we were all good, despite the fact that I don’t generally get seasick. When we arrived to the dive site, a sea turtle and a sea snake were swimming side by side on the surface; it was a great sign. We were briefed on the wreck, safety procedures, and geared up for the dive. On the two dives for the day, we had to accomplish the deep water dive and wreck dive as part of our advanced course. The first dive was the deep water dive.
When we got in the water, the current was extremely strong, and we had to grab onto a safety line to avoid being swept away. Once everyone in our course got into the water, we descended the line together. On our way down the moor line, thousands of fish scuttled about. There were schools of colourful tropical fish being chased around by schools of barracuda, trevally, cod, huge Maori wrasse and groper, stingrays, sharks, turtles, snakes and heaps of beautiful corals lining the entirety of the wreck. We settled on the bottom and completed some simple tests to ensure that we weren’t ‘narco,’ a term that describes the intoxicating effect of too much residual nitrogen in the blood that occurs at deeper depths. Since we were still less than 30 meters, all of us were fine, and didn’t experience any of the symptoms. To be honest, I was a little disappointed; I wanted to feel the free natural drunkenness! The first dive was only 20 minutes because we used our air quickly due to strong currents and the deeper depths. Despite the short bottom time, we were exhilarated with what we saw. The wreck was completely amazing! There was so much to see down there that when we finally ascended, we couldn’t wait to get back down in the water to check it out some more.
We ate a small lunch on the boat and quickly geared up for our second dive. I’d have to say that the second dive at the Yongala was much more rewarding because we spent the entire dive swimming along the wreck opposed to doing skills on the bottom. Also, we stayed at a reasonable depth and used much less air. I was extremely surprised at the amount of coral growing on the steel hull; the entire deck was thick with colourful soft and hard corals, and there were hundreds of thousands of fish swimming in and out of the cabins and cargo holds. To sum up, the entire experience was breathtaking, and cannot truly be described by words or pictures; it was that stunning! I have no doubt in my mind that I will dive the site again someday.
We got back from the dive and went for some drinks with the rest of the divers and our dive instructor. Both Brian and I were elated and truly happy with our decision to stop at Magnetic Island.
The next day we had to fix up our PADI certifications and we also had the option to do some free dives that Brian had accumulated by taking two courses, but we decided to get on a bus and go straight to Cairns. Brian’s time in Australia was running out, and we still had much to see including Cape Tribulation, the Daintree rainforest, and the Great Barrier Reef off Port Douglas.
We got to Cairns in the evening, checked into the International hostel on the Esplanade, and made our way down to the pub for a free meal that was included with a night’s stay at the hostel. After the meal we wandered aimlessly around Cairns, and eventually found the Koala hostel. Along the way we came across a big mango tree with hundreds of giant bats flying around eating fruit from the tree. It was a pretty spectacular sight to see. When we arrived at Koala it was happy hour, so we grabbed a couple $7 jugs of beer and parked ourselves at a picnic table. It wasn’t long before we bumped into some familiar faces. Two Swedish girls that we met in Magnetic Island came walking past us with a pizza in their hands; how could we resist?
After chilling out with the two girls for a bit we decided to leave and have an early night; they decided to go and phone home to tell their folks that they were staying for longer than expected. Furthermore, one of the girls was calling her boyfriend to break it off. Brian and I stuck around for the drama and headed back to the room.
Once we got back to the dorm, we decided it was still a little early to be calling it a night and decided to smoke the last of our Nimbin stash. We rolled our last one up and took a stroll down by the lagoon. The lights on the pier and over the water were mesmerizing. A lot of people have put Cairns down for being a terrible place to visit; however, I found it quite enticing and beautiful. Granted, it was a little too touristy, but at least it was blatant.
We both got up early in the morning and went for a wake-up swim in the man-made lagoon across from the dorm. It was a very refreshing dip, aside from the camera happy Japanese tourists snapping hundreds of photos and laughing like schoolgirls.
The Dougies shuttle bus to Port Douglas arrived to pick us up before lunchtime. Just before we left, I grabbed a cappuccino and a muffin from the McDonald’s at the corner of the Esplanade. To my shock and surprise, while I was waiting in line, glanced at the front page; the news story was about a 17 year old teenager who had been bashed to death the night before in front of the very store I was standing in. It was a very creepy experience to be in the store with everything running so normally after such an atrocious act of violence the previous day. Even in Australia, with its hot sunshine and perfect beaches, bad things often happen.
The drive up to Port Douglas from Cairns was spectacular. Our driver, Ronan, stopped at a perfect lookout along the highway and we watched a free-glider take jump of the cliff into a hot thermal. It was funny to watch the guy take off since he was apprehensive due to the lack wind. In the end, he risked it and his parachute caught the draft. We filled up on cordial and made our way to Dougies.
If I had to describe Port Douglas in one word, it would be “hot.” We stepped out of the Dougies van and into a humid oven. It was so hot that we immediately dripped sweat. We checked in, put our stuff into our air conditioned room, and went for a walkabout of the hostel/campground.
Dougies is one of the better hostels in Australia. It is family owned, has a pool, bar, lounge area, big kitchen, internet terminals, a large campground, clean bathrooms, lush tropical landscaping, satellite television, and plenty of hammocks; hammocks are a main selling feature of any hostel. The people at the hostel were all welcoming and it had a great vibe the moment we stepped through the door. I would say it was very similar to Cool Bananas in Agnes Water/1770.
After our orientation we went and talked to the reception and Rowan about our diving, renting a car, and some fishing rods for the evening; Brian and I were anxious to reel in the big one and had been talking about it for the last week, and Dougies happened to rent rods for $5 a day including tackle. It was an absolute steal. Within half an hour of arriving, Brian and I had secured three dives on the outer reefs with a company called Calypso, booked a car to go up to Cape Tribulation and the Daintree rainforest, and were invited on a fishing adventure with Rowan, his best mate Darryl, and his father. We were both thrilled to have the perfect ending to our adventure ahead of us, and even more thrilled that we were going fishing with the locals. We offered to grab the beer and met Rowan in the evening.
Before we could cast our line into the river for fish, we needed bait. We headed to a small lake in Port Douglas next to some absolutely stunning homes and used nets to catch small bait fish and prawns; we put them in a bucket with a bubbler to keep them alive. It was a pretty dodgy situation since there are signs indicating that there are crocodiles swimming around in the lakes and rivers, and we could have been easily gobbled up by a nasty one. Although it is rare to see crocs in the particular area we were collecting bait and fishing, they have been known to come into the areas periodically, and we had to be weary. I snapped some pretty cool shots of Brian and Norman bent over the water with the croc sign in the foreground, and a beautiful couple of shots of Rowan and Darryl tossing their bait nets into the water. Once we had enough bait we packed up and headed back down by the hostel to fish off of the jetty.
The night was extremely calm and the sun was just setting as we baited up our lines, cracked a beer, and cast into the river. Brian and I exchanged looks of satisfaction and toasted to friendship. I think we both knew in our hearts that this particular occasion was only the first of many fishing excursions. We fished for a good couple of hours, and although no one caught anything, we had an extremely memorable and relaxing time with some new friends, a couple of beers, and a serene backdrop of a pristine river and mangrove forest.
Back at the hostel, we continued to relax, using our down-time to the maximum. We lay around in hammocks, swam and played volleyball in the pool, prepared luxurious meals, and sipped goon with fellow backpackers around the picnic tables.
Our first full day in Port Douglas was spent aboard a boat with the outer reef tour company Calypso. We were picked up early in the morning and brought to the marina where we met the crew and went over the itinerary for the day. Brian and I paid for all three dives offered, and there was only one other man out of group of about 50 doing all three; the rest would snorkel around the boat while we explored the depths of the outer reefs.
It took us about an hour and a half to get to the outer reefs; although we didn’t stop, we went passed the reefs where the Aussie hero Steve Irwin met his fate at the end of a stingray barb.
Our first stop was at the Agincourt reef. We were briefed by our dive master Matt and geared up with some really good equipment. We jumped in and were immediately met by a huge Maori wrasse who absolutely loves roast beef. Matt gave us all a handful of meat and we spent a few minutes dangling meat in the water so that the fish would come and snatch it from our hands. It was really cool to actually run our hands over such a large fish; the texture of its scales was really smooth and somewhat slimy. For the rest of the dive Matt took us all around the reef to explore for exotic creatures including rare nudibranches, sharks, and huge areas of anemone and angelfish. The range of soft and hard corals was amazing, and since both Brian and I had recent practice on our breathing, we stayed down for much longer than some of our previous dives.
The next two dives took us to two similar dive sites about a half hour north of Agincourt. From the boat we could see the breaks over the reef and were close to a drop off of about 1000 feet despite the shallow waters on the reef. At both sites we explored unique terrain full of vibrant coral and marine life. There were plenty of interesting fish, and we even got a chance to see a black tip shark swimming around!
Once back on board after a busy day of diving, Brian and I discussed how ecstatic we were with our diving accomplishments over the last month; we had dove the famous Yongala wreck, obtained our advanced certification, and explored three of the outer reefs off Port Douglas. Diving had become a passion for both of us, and we discussed visiting other wrecks and completing other adventure dives together in the future. It’s pretty safe to say that we are both hooked on diving, and will probably do something crazy like ice diving in Canada. Who knows where we’ll go next!
The next day we hung around Port Douglas, explored the town and soaked up the sun at the beautiful four mile beach. The good news is that the town had put up a stinger net so that you could safely go swimming at one part of the beach year round. The bad news was, the water wasn’t refreshing at all; the water was so warm that there was barely a difference between the air temperature and the water temperature! For the rest of the night we hung out with fellow travelers; Brian got connected on the net and I met a really stellar Aussie girl from Melbourne.
For Brian’s second last day in Australia we rented a car and drove up into the Daintree rainforest, the oldest rainforest in the world, and north to Cape Tribulation. To get into the Daintree you have to cross the Daintree River by barge. It cost $16 dollars return; initially it seemed a little steep to me, but in retrospect it was a small price to pay to get to se some of the most beautiful forest and beaches in Australia.
Our first stop of the day was Alexadria lookout which overlooked the entire Cairns and Port Douglas area, as well as the mouth of the crocodile infested Daintree River. Since it was still the morning when we arrived, the mountains were covered in cloud and the view was hindered by a dense fog overtop of the canopy. Regardless, the air was refreshing and fragrant, and the mouth of the Daintree was still visible despite the fog.
Our second stop on our day trip was straight up to Cape Tribulation. Cape Tribulation is a beautiful beach in the very heart of the lush Daintree. The scenery surrounding the beach is lush and green, and the water warm and clear; however, you can’t swim because of the deadly box jellyfish inhabiting the waters from the end of October until May. It was such a tease since we were both boiling and wanted nothing more than to rip off our clothes and jump in. Even still, we waded through up to our knees, although the thought of billions of stinging cells from a box jellyfish burning me to death prevented us from going all the way in. We walked a brief way through the forest at the Cape for a spectacular view and saw a couple of huge goannas lazily sleeping in the sun.
After scoping out Cape Tribulation we hiked along a two kilometer boardwalk through a diverse range of ecosystems such as mangrove forest, rainforest, and swamps. The walks were well maintained and provided information on some of the flora and fauna living in the unique habitats, including intricacies their, ancient, delicate and mutually beneficial coexistence. It was a great opportunity for us to breathe deeply and completely immerse ourselves in the powerful energy of the Daintree.
We worked up a healthy appetite walking around Cape Tribulation and other parts of the Daintree that we decided to quench our thirst and empty tummies with a delicious pie and an ice cold Coca Cola. We explored a swimming hole at a river just around the corner from the shop but decided to wait until we got to Mossman gorge to go for a swim.
Before we got to Mossman gorge headed up to the Daintree village and completed another boardwalk further south. It was quite surprising to find that Daintree village wasn’t all that special; a mere street with a few pubs and tourist shops that sold trips up the Daintree and arts and crafts. However, the second boardwalk was much different than the first walk we had been on earlier in the day, and was excellent. For instance, there were more creeks along the second boardwalk, and the changes in forest were more distinct than that of the walk fifteen minutes north. At one point, we couldn’t help but laugh; the roots of the mangroves stuck out of the mud and looked like erect penises sticking out of the ground. We took pictures.
The last stop of the day was at Mossman gorge, which was back across the river and closer to Port Douglas, although still part of the Daintree. After walking the two kilometer hike through the gorge, Brian and I both decided it was our favourite spot of the day. Everything was covered in a green moss and the trees were absolutely huge. There was a freshwater river running alongside of the hiking track and it was crocodile-free so you could go for a swim in the rapids. Being the adventurous types that we are, we decided to explore a side path leading away from the main track and were rewarded with the most insanely gorgeous little swimming hole and chill-out area in the middle of the jungle. A small stream led to a fresh pool that we bathed in. We took pictures on a log that had fallen over the waterfall and stuck around for a while taking in the scene. It was seriously straight out of a Tarzan movie!
We finished the walk, making haste because of the setting sun; we still wanted to go for a swim at the large swimming hole near the parking lot and only had an hour or so of light left in the day. We made it to the river in time and jumped into the cold water. It was really refreshing to actually swim in water that isn’t over 25 degrees! The river was fairly shallow, with fish swimming though the rapids. We splashed around for a bit and got our fill before jumping back into our rental car soaking wet and headed back to Port Douglas, absolutely exhausted.
Brian’s last day in Australia was low-key and relaxing; an opportunity for us both to reflect on our experiences so far, and to plan for the future. We rented bikes and peddled around Port Douglas, including up some pretty big hills that overlook four mile beach. I’d have to say Port Douglas is amazing for many things, but most of all it is amazing for the fact that it remains stunning regardless of where you are in town. From the top of the hill, the perspective was breathtaking; I could tell that Brian was absorbing every last moment, and enjoying it to the fullest. Although he has much to look forward to in Calgary, including a girlfriend and a new job, I could sense that he was going to miss Australia.
We continued down the hill and onto the beach, riding to the end of the beach for exercise. Along the way we found a dead shark near the shore; it was only a small black-tip. Before heading back to the hostel to grab some beers and go watch the sunset, we sat in the shade and cracked open some fresh coconut. Honestly, I’ve never tried to tear open a ripe coconut without a power tool, so it was quite an accomplishment to finally get it open with my bear hands. I saved mine for later once I got the husk off but Brian cracked his open and we drank the juice and devoured the flesh. It was one of the tastiest coconuts I have ever eaten.
Once again the sun was setting faster than we anticipated, so we hurried back to buy some beers and head back to the beach to watch the sunset. Along the way back we went to the grocery store and picked up some items for a killer barbeque, including almost a kilo of fresh prawns from a little seafood store; we were going to cook Brian’s final meal in Oz, and we were determined to do it right.
We got back to the beach just in time and took some really nice pictures of us with four mile beach, pink clouds and palm trees in the background. As we sat on a piece of driftwood sipping beers, the tide came in to our feet and we had an amazing conversation that ranged from recapping our trip to discussing our ultimate plans for the future, human nature, business and friendship. At that moment, sitting on the beach with Brian while the sunset over the horizon, that I truly understood the nature of our friendship. We would from that moment on be friends until the day we died, and I articulated that aspect to him. We both knew that we would have many more adventures in the future, although, we both knew that this was a one time deal. We probably wouldn’t have the time or opportunity to go on an adventure like the one we had just been on ever again. Nevertheless, it was really reassuring to talk about families, career, and the fact that our children would one day play and grow up together. In the end, we would both grow old, having shared incredible adventures and nobody but the two of us could even begin to contemplate the gravity of the experiences; we could show pictures and tell stories, but the unspoken moments of utter bliss and understanding are just to hard to explain through pictures or even words. We gave each other a look of complete satisfaction and held our beers to the heavens, thanking God and the entire complex of choices and decision that led us to the present beauty before us.
Brian left on the shuttle to Cairns at three in the morning to catch a flight to Sydney, and then to Calgary to commence his new life. I was planned to stay in Port Douglas for a while and give it a go in the tropical heat. He woke me up before he left and we gave each other huge hug; we had arrived at the end of our adventure and would be forever changed.
