Rainbow Beach is a bit like Summer Bay without the caravan park.
There are a thousand people and a couple of dogs. Spent one night there
before the trip to Fraser Island. What a night it was! It was one of
the staff in the hostel's leaving doo and they had a cross dressing
party to celebrate. Well, there's not much else to do, is there? You
have to make your own entertainment in Rainbow. Sticking on a dress and
heading to the pub is just an average night here. I wish I'd taken
photographs, although it's probably best I didn't, given the number of skirts that were lifted up during the fashion parade at the end of the
night. Let's just say not many boys were wearing their Bonds very comfy undies.
The trip to Fraser was the highlight of Australia so far. We
wussed out and did the guided tour, but it was worth it. We ended up
with an excellent bunch of folk and laughed non-stop for three days.
Our driver Shane was a drinking guide with a tour problem. A true blue Aussie who knew his stuff about the island and kept us safe and the bus
going (most of the time). We swam in the freshwater lakes - Birrabeen
had perfect clear turquoise waters and soft white silica sand. It was
the nearest I've come to the Bahamas since March. I wasn't brave enough
to sandboard down the enormous dune into Lake Wabby. Knowing my
complete lack of coordination it would have ended my trip with a free
helicopter ride to Brizzie. And floating down Eli Creek was hilarious
- there was more sand in my swimming cozzie at the end than in the
creek itself. But the best bit of the trip for me was at night. We
walked down to 75 Mile Beach to see the stars and the phosphorescence.
The sky was so clear it looked just like the planetarium and the
phosphorescence was amazing. Every movement of your foot across the wet
sand sends off glow in the dark sparkles. It's supposed to be best on a
cloudy night, but we had clear skies both nights and it was still
spectacular.
After the longest bus journey yet (13 hours) the next stop was Airlie Beach, the jumping off point for the Whitsunday
Islands and the start of the Great Barrier Reef. We had two nights in Airlie before setting sail. It's a real
party town and we had a good time. I had fish and chips that wasn't
quite as good as Anstruther, but a whole lot cheaper and while I was in
the chippie there was a punch up at the pub across the road. The
Aussies laughed when I said it was just like being at home.
We had two days sailing in the Whitsundays. We were on an overcrowded
boat and below deck was unpleasantly hot to sleep in, but it didn't
really matter. The water was warm and clear and perfect for snorkeling.
The coral reefs are wonderful and I got to swim with a turtle on my first
outing. I was the only one to see it and the skipper said I'd been very
lucky to find one in that spot. We also visited Whitehaven Beach. It
has the same white sand as at Fraser Island and it is supposed to be in
the top three beaches in the world. I don't think it would make my top
ten, but it was definitely the nicest beach in Aus so far. But perhaps the
west coast will change that..... And that is where I'm headed next. Bus
to Townsville this evening and fly to Perth tomorrow.
