australian discoveries

Perth, the Nullabor and Adelaide

nooltn — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 11:43:00 GMT

Travelling from Perth over to Melbourne was definitely an experience. I had picked up a German guy to do the trip with in a Mitsubishi camper van and we headed off with six days to get to Melbourne, but planned to make the most of the trip. We started our first day to get to Hyden and view wave rock, spending the night within sight of the large rock. It is a crazy sight to see this large rock formation that looks like a crashing wave. From here we head down to Esperance and did a coastal drive around and also had time to refuel both food and gas as from this point on we would need to stop at most fuel stations as you never know for sure how long your fuel would last or if the fuel station actually had fuel as we found out the day before. The beaches here were wonderful but there was a strong breeze from the south right off the great southern ocean which made it cool. Our next stop is in Norseman which is the last town before the straight trip over the south and the start of the Nullarbor. It is also the host to one of the holes on the world’s longest golf course the Nullarbor links which stretch across the whole of the Nullarbor from Kalgoorlie Boulder to Ceduna I think is the 18^th hole. We stopped for the night just on the Nullarbor at one of the holes and a sheep station and planned to get an early start to the next day and make it to Ceduna if possible but we would be losing time as we would lose two and a half hours during the trip. So an early morning the next day and we start our travel. There would be long stretches of nothing to see but open fields. Also we would be driving over the longest stretch of straight highway in Australia, a stretch of 146 km of no turns or bends in the road. This was not the most exciting part of my journey so far but a necessary part of the trip. From her we make it to the border with South Australia and stop to take pictures of the Great Australian Bight. Amazing coastal waters but not really a swimming mecca more of coast for surfers and even then it was a very hard to get to. Then we travel the rest of the day and head into Ceduna just before dark, it had turned pretty nasty the end of the day and was pouring down rain. The next day we head over to Adelaide another stretch of driving with not so much to see. When we get to see Adelaide we see the botanical gardens and tour a bit of the city but there isn’t much else there. So we move on the next day to get close to the great ocean road so that we will be able to see that without too much rushing through it. But that will be the next story, the finishing of traveling east, the great ocean road, Melbourne and Sydney for the holidays.

Perth, jobs and the southwest

nooltn — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 11:02:00 GMT

So i got to Perth and had to find work. I was lucky to find a job pretty quickly but i needed to ship off quickly back up north to Perenjori which is close to the rabbit proof fence. Other than that they are known for their wildflowers. Also the farmer i was working for was part of a Guinness world record of headers drivers harvesting wheat. There were 56 headers in one field. But for work i did odd jobs and also learned to fit tires. I helped to change some tires that were over 10 feet tall but most were car and road train tires. But this job ended early as ran out of work. Then back to Perth. Had some time so travelled to the Pinnacles. Then found a new job milking cows down outside of Bunbury. From here i have been able to explore the southwest from Margaret River to the valley of the giants in Walpole. In the southwest it is very different areas close to each other from desert to beautiful coastline to vast forests and then there were the underground cave to explore as well. I got to see a few of these things. Exploring some of these cave in Margaret River were amazing. There were some close quarters but also very rewarding once we got into the caves. It is amazing the structures created by water simply filtering itself through the ground. Then to go outside and be within 5 minutes to the beach in one direction and 5 minutes to the forest or wine region in the other directions is quite astonishing. This was my first adventure out into the southwest, where I also went all the way down to the cape Leeuwin lighthouse which is the point where the great southern ocean meets the Indian Ocean. Very windy here and also it had brought up a nice storm so not many pictures of it. My next big adventure happened after my birthday and that was to go explore down to Walpole and see the giant forest. I stopped in Pemberton to do some tree climbing which is basically you climb a tree that is 60 meters high by climbing up these poles that have been sunk into the trunk of the tree all the way to the top. It is a little daunting and also tiring to do but the experience and the view over the canopy of trees was well worth it. I then went further down to see the valley of the giants and walked the tree top walk which was interesting as it is suspended bridges that are made to move like the trees themselves so on a windy day like it was there was some good movement going through the trees. It was a very nice walk. Then I did a few walks on the forest floor where I got a chance to go inside a hollowed out tree. And then I spent the rest of the day at the Mandalay beach which was a beautiful beach that I had all to myself for the afternoon. Nothing like you would get back in Canada. The next morning I spent my time on a cruise around the inlet to Walpole before heading back to Bunbury. Our guide was very energetic and very knowledgeable. His family had been doing these cruises since the end of WW1 and had been living in the area for well over 100 years. He was able to explain how different people had come and gone in the town and different people to stay as well there was a connection to Lenard Tolstoy and one of his helpers actually lived in Walpole and they had uncovered a chest with some original writings in it in a little barn off the inlet. It was pretty interesting also we had our walk out to the coast on the inlet. Then back to work. This was my last big excursion but I did make a small one out to the Busselton jetty which is the longest wooden pile jetty in the southern hemisphere. It also has an underwater observatory which takes you 8 meters under the surface of the water. Quite interesting as there are windows along the way down so you can see the different stages of the tidal system. I have finished work and back to Perth. Took a trip over to Rottnest and spent the day travelling by bike around the island. Saw a few wrecks and lots of stunning coast off the island. I had a nice relaxing day. The next day I went to the marine museum in Freemantle and took a tour of a submarine. Found out that I would never be able to be a submariner as I barely fit through some of the spaces and also I would not fit in the beds. Then it was trying to find a way out of Perth over east. I found a rental relocation program and picked up a van and a partner to head east. The next stage of the adventure begins.

Broome to Perth

nooltn — Sat, 3 Dec 2011 21:50:00 GMT

So after leaving Broome we made some long drives down the coast. We Passed eighty mile beach driving down to Port Headland to restock our food and water supplies before heading away from the coast to stop through Karijini national park. We stop just outside the park for the night and make our own campfire as it has started to cool off over the nights. The next day we head into the park. We stop at the information centre to see what parts are open and what are closed as for this time of year some of the roads are still closed from the wet season, or are impassable without a four wheel drive. But luckily we are able to see most of the sites. We stop to walk the trails from fern pool to Fortescue falls, and circular pool. This is all walking through stunning gorges. I am happy we made the trip to see it but would like to know what the other gorges we couldn’t see were like but o well. We make good time here and stop for a dip in the falls and at the pool as even though it is getting to single digits at night it still manages to get to mid-twenties during the day. But we leave with lots of light left in the day so we can try to make the long drive to Exmouth and get to the biggest thing we have all wanted to do on the west coast and that is to be able to swim with whale sharks. And the time is running out as the season is coming to a close. We get there just before dark and find a campsite and also book a tour and it isn’t looking good as all the tours are booked for the next day and they haven’t seen a shark this week. But we book in for the Saturday and just decide to relax at the beach and try our hand at snorkelling as the reef on this coast is right off the beach. We are hopeful for our trip and have a great day just lazing around and snorkelling off the coast. We get to see many types of fish from parrot fish to stingrays. We also see a sea turtle. As the day wears on we are getting excited for Saturday and a chance to get to see and swim with the largest fish in the ocean. So we get up early for our trip out to sea and are whisked out to do a first snorkel on the reef to make sure everyone is confident as it is hard to stay with the shark when you get in the water. Part way through this we are told to jump on board as our spotter plane has found us a shark. So excitedly we jump on board and are given instructions to let us know the proper etiquette for our time with the shark. Then we are off and let into the water ahead of the shark and looking for it. As it gets closer we still can’t see it till it is right on us. And its breathtaking how big graceful and beautiful this creature is. They say it’s just a juvenile but still it could swallow me whole. We get to swim for about an hour taking turns between the two groups on board before another boat shows up but it’s all right as each boat is only allowed to stay with a shark for maximum of one hour. So we are handing it off to the next boat when the shark decides to dive down. It is unreal we just had a whole hour with it and as soon as another group shows up it dives. I guess we were lucky. We start to head back to the reef and on the way we stop to see the migrating humpbacks and also many see turtles and a few see snakes. Then spend more time on the reef before heading in. All in all it has been one of the best experiences I have had and well worth the extra time we stayed to actually see it. The next day we stop at coral bay for another snorkel on the reef, which is the Ningaloo reef if you are wondering. Our next stop will be in shark bay. Before we get there we stop in Hamelin bay and get to see the stromatolites which are the oldest living creature in the world. They look like rocks but it is definitely worth it to see where life started. From here we stop at shell beach which as you may guess from its name is made up of just shells instead of sand. There are all of these little white shells end it is really neat to see. We are told that there is a pub made from blocks of these compressed shells and true enough on our way to monkey mia we stop and see it and it is amazing what they did with the material. Then the next day we get up for the dolphin feeding at monkey mia. This is where they feed the wild dolphins for the visitors. They come in close and are playing at our feet in the water it is quite amazing. From here we head further down the coast to Kalbarri national park where we stop and do some of the walks along the gorges. The big one being the loop walk where t=you walk the eight kilometre loop around the gorge and get to see one of their natures windows, which is a rock formation where there is a big hole to look through. The trip around is very tough as the track is not very large and many spots you have to climb over and under rock formations. But it is beautiful scenery and well worth the trip. Getting close to the end I stop and get to see a large goanna walking just off the path as well as some wallabies hopping around. After this we decide to do one more walk and go see the z-bend which is also very nice and much less strenuous a walk. Then off to see a couple of the coastal lookout before heading south towards Geraldton. On the way we decide to stop and see what is called pink lake which is a lake that is tinged pink from the high amounts of beta carotene in the water. We get there but it is overcast by now and even though you can see the pink water because of the light none of the photos seem to pick up the colour. As it is getting dark we decide to find a spot to camp for the night before hitting up Geraldton the next day. As we pull into this free camping area the girl driving pulls off the gravel and just as she enters the grass we hear this large bang. So we drive around and see what is was. We find it was a hidden stump but it’s dark so we decide to look for problems in the morning. We set up camp just as it starts to rain. The next morning we pack up and get in the car as we can’t see any problems with it but as we try to start it won’t go. We get help trying to jump it but no go so we get it towed to Geraldton. Where we find out that the bang we heard was the sound of the stump hitting and driving the gear box back from the front of the car to just before the back wheels. So needless to say our adventure in the car was over. We grab our stuff out of the car and head for a hostel. The next day I explore the city before booking a bus down to Perth. I get to see many of the sights in the day and also saw an interesting portrait display at the local art gallery. I get the bus to Perth and now need to start looking for work.

darwin heading west road trip

nooltn — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 19:16:00 GMT

So after my trip to the national parks around Darwin were amazing also I got to spend a lot of time walking around Darwin and made it out to Mindle beach to see their weekly beach markets. The markets had everything in them from performer to every type of food you could want to try lots of Asian and also a few good BBQ areas where they had many different types of meat. I had already tried kangaroo and buffalo which were both very good so I tried crocodile which I am not sure if I got the right skewer because it really tasted like chicken. Well maybe a bit different but didn’t have the strong flavour like buffalo or kangaroo. From Darwin I got on with a group of people driving all the way to Perth with stops on the way to see the sights. I will admit that at points I got very frustrated by them as we were camping the whole time and I don’t believe any of them had had previous camping experiences before going to Australia so were pretty unprepared. But I made it through also they had never driven a car on anything but paved roads so were sometimes not the most willing to take it onto the dirt roads but by the end of it I had shown them that the dirt roads were mainly well maintained so we got to see a lot more than they would have without this. But we still couldn’t go to some of the more remote areas from Darwin through the Kimberly’s as some were not even open to 4wd trucks. But we saw an incredible amount of things. We did have to miss out on wolf creek crater and to see the true bungle bungles as the roads were both only open to 4wd trucks which sucked. We did stop at a couple of national parks along the way. Just along the border to Western Australia we stopped to see Lake Argyle and also went to see a zebra rock mine which is only found in that part of Australia. Zebra rock is a type of rock that has striped patterns running through it some of the art they had done with it was amazing. Lake Argyle is a lake that is bigger than the Sydney harbour. At every stop for the day and night I would go and talk to our neighbours at the campsites and figured out where we would want to see as our group had no clue what to see so this is how we found out about some of the stops like going to see the zebra rock mine. After lake argyle we stopped in Kununurra, Wyndham, halls creek, Fitzroy crossing and derby before leaving the Kimberly’s to stop at broome. At all of these stops there were some amazing walking tracks that allowed us to see various stages of the Kimberly’s as well as to see some great stone formations and gorges. As I said we were not able to go see the real bungle bungles or the wolf creek crater or do the Gibb river road but even still there was not a day that we didn’t see something to take your breath away and to see some of the wildlife up close. In derby we got to see the world’s second highest tides, (next to the bay of fundy). But by this time we were ready to start a new adventure closer to the ocean. So this is how we made it to broome. Now broome is not a large city by any means I believe that it is roughly 16000 people but after travelling for so long without seeing a community larger than 1000 people we were needless to say very happy to see civilization. We took in the various sites of broome but spent most of our time either on the city beach or on cable beach which has amazing blue water and white sand that stretches on and on. When we got there we were roped in to stand for a no gas protest where we spelled out no gas so aerial photos could be taken but in doing so we also got a free place to camp for the night so it was worth it. I had fun doing a little bit of body surfing but the waves were not the best so mainly just swam and relaxed in the water.it was so nice to do after doing so much driving and hiking during the last week. Also with the knowledge that we would be doing some pretty long drives to get to our upcoming destinations of karijini and Kalbarri national parks along with Exmouth and coral bay and monkey mi and shark bay. But the nice long relaxing stay on the beach was welcome and having that great backdrop for some amazing sunsets on the west coast

Photos: steve irwin zoo

nooltn — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 10:49:00 GMT

Photos: whitsundays

nooltn — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 21:53:00 GMT

Photos: fraser island

nooltn — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 21:41:00 GMT

Photos: darwin and beyond

nooltn — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:06:00 GMT

darwin, kakadu, litchfield and katherine gorge

darwin

nooltn — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 11:52:00 GMT

so ive now travelled from sydney all the way across the top and down the west coast to perth. stopping in darwin i was able to go see some amazing national parks like kakadu and litchfield as well as going to see katherine gorge. all of which had fantastic views though some of them were a fair trek to get to. you couldn't go by the distance to figure out how long it would take to get there as one of the trips said 400 metres was one of our hardest treks more so then the ones of a couple of kilometres. but well woth it in the end. seeing edith falls and even going to swim in jim jim fallswhich had just oppened up because the crocs had just left and also they had been seiing many crocs in other areas buit the water next to the falls was too cold now for them so it was safe. but it wasnt the first real bit of australian wildlife i saw that was for sure the snake that i got a little close to but it had just snatched a frog so i felt pretty safe. then it was both salt and freshwater crocs and bats of course thoughsands of bats and a lot of wallabees.oh also a few spiders. not sure which of them are really poisonous. we went to the site of crocodile dundee and also were able to see some real rock paintings that were tens of thoughsands of years old. well i will get more up soon as i get more time as teh computers here are slow as all hell.

cairns

nooltn — Tue, 5 Jul 2011 09:12:00 GMT

so i just made a quick stop in cairns but was able to see so much. i started off by going to see the great barrier reef once again. this time i was able to go out to the outer reef. i travelled on the reef magic boat that took us out even though there was a bit of a swell that day. there was a high school group from florida that didnt do so well with the waves and spent most of their time hanging off the back railing to feed the fishes. but once we got out there we were able to snorkel off their own private pontooned craft. just beautiful sights. got to see many different types of coral as well as to see many types of fish including a clown fish or "nemo" fish. they also have this large freinly fish called wally that comes right up to you he was a couple of feet long and might have weighed a couple of hundred pounds they say. but the experience was absollutly ammazing. i also took part in a guided adventure snorkel which took us out to he edge of the reef itself and were able to see more schools of fish. on the way back to the main ship we were able to see how the coral changed from the outer edge to the more prottected inner reef and the types of fish and coral that can live there. then we went back to cairns where i can say there is not much to do during the day other then sit by their man made lagoon as they dont have a real beach and it is better as they can swim in it even in stinger season. the next day i took a day tour to the rainforest and was able to get a guided tour through a small part of it before heading off to see an aboriginal presentation. i was able to throw a boomerang and got to try a digeridoo again. they explained a bit about their culture and how it has changed over the years. from there we went to a butterfly sanctuary where we got to see many types of butterfly including the birdwing butterfly whick is the size of a bird. to end off the day we took a skyrail trip over the rainforest and were able to see it from a different view. over the cannopy. so this was great and we were able to stop at two different stations to see some waterfalls. incredible. but the day was closing down and the next day i was off to Darwin. which i will tell you about soon. but am on my way to Broome by car and will be a while till i see internet again but will try to get some pictures as well as more writting up while in broome.

east coast

nooltn — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:26:00 GMT

well a long but fantastic part of my journey over here is over. i have been to see fraser island and the whitsundays. they were both amazing, fraser island i got to drive a four wheel drive across the sand, (first time driving left hand manual) which was a bit of an adventure in itself but was one of the only ones who didnt get stuck in the loose sand. got to see some wild dingos. they were cool and looked a lot like dogs do. also the campsite we stayed on they came quite close. a couple of them came within 3 feet of me but as soon as i moved they rean off. they were wuite skittish. we did all the main sites. saw the central station where the logging was done. also did a few walks through the rainforest there and saw what would have been dinosaur food. the plants without any rstructure and are only kept up by water pressure in them. also saw wabby lake lake mckenzie, the champagne pools, eli creek another lake and also the wreak on the beach. i will post photos soon. the water in the lakes was so nice and in one of them the sand was so fine you could brush your teath with it. had a great group of opeople to travel with which also helped. then onto the whitsundays.

upon arriving in airlie beach i found out that my sailing ship wouldnt be going out that week from low numbers but i got to be upgraded to the bigger ship the atlantic clipper which was truly a great time. the ship had a spa tup and a waterslide also you were able to jump off the upper deck into the water as well. the first day we went to see whitehaven beach whose sand is almost 100% silica so extremely fine. you had to keep good care of cameras cause if they fell in the sand it would ruin them. such a beautiful beach it was really spectacular. also on the boat crew we had a professional photographer that took pictures of the trip which i will share later as well. he also got some shots of when i went scuba diving and was swimming with sea turtles. which was a thrilling experience. both the diving which is cool but to be able to swim allongside the turtles was also great. the reefs we swam through are part of the great barrier reef syrstem, called the fringing reefs. now that i am in cairns i am going to go to the outer reef and view it there as well as going through the rainforest here in northern queensland. not sure how long i will stay here but at least another couple of days to do these trips.

hopefully i will have some more time soon to get caught up with writting my adventures as well as posting some of the photos which i think are some great shots.

Byron bay and Surfers Paradise

nooltn — Tue, 31 May 2011 14:13:00 GMT

So i have started my trip up the east coast away from sydney. first stop was byron bay where it was a very relaxed time, just lounging on the beach, watched some people surfing and met some very nice people. its a really relaxed town and so far my favorite place but im sure that will change. you could walk everywhere barefoot throughout the town as its all right on the beach. i havent had a chance to learn to surf yet but do wish to at some point just not at the start of this trip maybe when i get further up the coast.

i am currently in surfers paradise and while its a great beach and nice waves it is more of a built up area and not as nice as Byron bay for me. but i have stopped because im meeting up with friends from camp who go to university here. then i will be heading off to Brisbane for a couple of days before going to Hervey bay to start my Fraser island trip. which i am really looking forward to. i would like to see some of the sporting games when im here like rugby league, afl and even cricket but have been unlucky so far as they are either not playing when im in town or are out of season but i will get to them before i leave.

Photos: beaches

nooltn — Tue, 31 May 2011 14:09:00 GMT

Coogie, bondi, byron bay, and surfers paradise

1st week in sydney

nooltn — Thu, 19 May 2011 19:25:00 GMT

well my first week in sydney has been great. i met up with Keith and Audreys nephew Garett and he gave me the low down on what to expect in the city and what i would need to do to settle into the country, like cell phone tax number bank account and mailing number. he was a great help. last night we went to a bar on the warf to watch the hockey games held by the hockey night in sydney crew. was a lot of fun. i have also met up with one of my buddies from camp Will and we have caught up and he took me to the not so famous harbour in sydney and had a few beers.

i have decided to head up the coast to queensland and have booked a toor of the whitsundays and fraser island. google them for cool photos of what im going to do. for fraser island we take 4 wheel drives onto the island camp out and explore. then with the whitsundays we take a sailing tour around some of the islands as well as do some snorkling in and around the great barrier reef. should be a lot of fun. just waiting for my bank card then i can head out. i should end up in cairns by the end of june. before i leave sydney i will be heading down to bondi and coogi beach and will probly head over to manly beach again as i had a great time there and am looking to do the second half of the walk i started. but should be heading out early next week and will meet up with some friends in brisbane as well as see byron bay and hit up nimbin ( the australian version of woodstock) maybe stop at surfers paradise as well.

Travel

nooltn — Sat, 14 May 2011 11:23:00 GMT

the trip down was pretty uneventful. but i know i don't fit into planes very well. did luck out with getting a whole bench to myself for the long part of the flight and was able to strech out and sleep. getting settled going to do some looking around the city.