The Rest of Australia!!!  

After spending several days in Sydney, we decided to see the ‘rest of Australia’ in a little over a week’s time in our campervan. Yeah, Right! I think we underestimated the size of this country! Australia has so many “bests” including the best natural scenery, the best beaches, the most brilliant scuba diving and snorkeling, the weirdest wildlife, the best wines, the most unusual , largest and dangerous critters, and the best weather to name a few. We had hoped to cover it all in the short time we were in a country larger than the Continental US!

We decided to concentrate on visiting the glorious beaches on the southeastern coast and drive to the gateway of the Great Barrier Reef at Hervey Bay, a distance of about (1400 km) 850 miles from Sydney – one way!! While heading north on the main highway, we couldn’t help but notice Australia’s breathtaking coastal scenery, river outlets heading out to sea, lush green tropical vegetation from palm trees to rainforests. Cattle, horses, and sugarcane fields were everywhere. We spent an afternoon and evening at Surfer’s Paradise, (one of many beaches along the Gold Coast) which reminded us of Miami Beach or Southern California. This was a very popular section of swimming and surfing beaches that stretch for 22 miles. This popular area also included several major theme parks, luxury hotels and 40 golf courses. The best activity we found didn’t cost a cent – hitting the surf after a long day’s drive!

After two solid days of driving, we arrived at Rainbow Beach to visit new friends we met on a cruise in Fiji. Karen and Rick are from Vancouver Island, BC where Karen is a grade school teacher. Through the BC teacher’s exchange program they swapped jobs, houses and vehicles with an Australian couple for one year. We sampled real home cooking (first home we have been to in a month) and enjoyed spending the evening with new friends who we hope to see next February in BC. While Karen went to work, Rick took us out sightseeing the next day. They live very close to Fraser Island which is the largest sand island in the world (405,000 acres and 75 miles long). It was interesting to see the car ferries landing on the beach where 4 wheel drives are a must since there are no paved roads on the island. We went out in Rick’s truck and got to experience riding on the beach in the soft sand noting how easy it would be to get stuck or stranded.

The next day we made plans to fly from Hervey Bay to Lady Elliott Island, one of the most southern islands of the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef is actually bigger in size than most countries! It’s more than 1,250 miles long and it is necessary to take a boat or plane to see it. It is also one of the Greatest Wonders of the World and the biggest marine park in the world. We boarded a small Cessna plane with 10 other passengers and flew across the Pacific Ocean for approximately ½ hour to reach the Island.

Lady Elliott Island was a small speck in the distance, but as it got closer, we were able to view the shallow coral close to the shore. It is a 105 acre coral cay ringed by a wide shallow lagoon. It is so small that you can walk across it in 15 minutes along the grassy airstrip which divides the island in half.

As we boarded a glass bottom boat on our way to snorkel, we learned interesting facts about the fish and the coral, while seeing several huge turtles swimming close to the boat. This area is noted for their giant green turtles which lay about 120 golf ball size eggs during the nesting season from December to February each year. As we snorkeled, we were astounded to see so many varieties of very colorful fish both large and small, many in schools of hundreds, swimming just feet away from us. The coral and the variety of fish were the best we had ever seen and the clearest waters we have experienced.

We also learned that Lady Elliott Island was home to tens of thousands of swirling noddy terns (birds) that nest in every available branch during the summer months. When we landed on the grass airstrip, we thought we were on the set of Hitchcock’s “The Birds”. Just about everyone returned with a cheap souvenir on our hats, including us, but it was a day we will never forget.

We are now headed back to Sydney airport for a flight to Viet Nam.

Where’s Pat and Mike?