Treve & Katrina Travel The World

Hello from Auckland, New Zealand!

A 3 hour flight has taken us to what is possibly our furthest point from home on our trip. The sun is shining and Christmas decorations are up, but otherwise it feels very much more like England in the spring.

We've had a very busy final 2 weeks in Oz, cramming in as much as we could, discovering Bundy rum, turtles and the Great Barrier Reef.

We took the bus 6 hours north from Noosa to Bundeberg and checked into the quirky Matilda Motel, our first dabble in this type of accomodation. We'd read horror stories of bedbug-ridden backpacker hostels inhabited by travellers who spend their days fruit picking in the fields and partying hard at night and we weren't about to join them. The local farmers are reknowned for working the travellers hard for very little reward & the hostel owners were in on the game, effectively holding them to ransom by charging rent for 1 week at a time.

Bundy high street

Rita and Glen were our architypal Aussie hosts - very down to earth and extremely friendly. Glen clearly wasn't about to help Katrina with her heavy bags (not that she needed it anyway! KL) It's a man's world in Bundy!

Mega cheap bottle-o

Bundeberg itself was a country farming town full of real characters, like the one who joined us at our table in the watering hole over a Bundy rum (served pre-mixed with coke on tap, no less!) and preceded to tell us his unfortunate life story. We made our excuses and escaped as quickly as possible!

Classy joint!

Great Aussie icon - the souped-up ute

Unless you're into farming or rum, there isn't a lot to do in Bundy. Our reason for visiting was to watch turtles at the nearby Mon Repos sanctuary - the main site in Australia that the turtles visit at night to lay their eggs. We were led along the moonlit beach to witness the huge turtle lumbering up the sand. Turtles are easily distracted by bright lights and our friend seemed more interested in watching the full moon rising in the night sky than getting on with the job of laying eggs.

Turtle laying eggs

Finally, she laid a staggering 137 ping-pong ball sized eggs in the space of just 10 minutes. She then painstakingly shovelled sand with her flippers to hide the nest from predators such as dingos and then, glancing up at the moon, she trundled off back into the sea. Unfortunately, she had made her nest below the high water mark, but never fear as the group was on hand to dig another nest and carefully move the eggs to a higher, safer spot.

Moving turtle eggs

We also visited the Sugar Museum (there had to be one somewhere in Bundy!) and learnt how South Sea islanders were brought in as slaves to perform the back-breaking job of levelling forests and moving rocks to make the land suitable for sugar cane growing. Even today, there still exists stone walls (some stretching as far as 2kms) made from the rocks that were cleared during this period.

Trumpy Trevor spotted in Bundy

Another 2 hours up the coast, through sugar cane fields and thick forests, crossing numerous creeks (we particularly liked the sound of "Little Pig Creek"!) and we arrived at the Town of 1770. This is the spot where Captain Cook first set foot on Queensland, just months after proceeding north from Botany Bay in Sydney. The tiny town was in the middle of absolutely nowhere, but acts as the gateway to the southern most reaches of the Great Barrier Reef.

We spent 5 nights in a cabin at the Captain Cook Holiday Village, just 500 metres from the beach (Queensland's most northerly surf spot).

Captain Cook holiday bungalow

Hello!

The holiday village was a 2km walk to the tiny, but very smart hamlet of 1770 which sat on a natural harbour, proctected by numerous sandbars. The village had only one pub, frequented by sea-dogs who worked the boats that ferried passengers to and from the reef. Next door was the lovely Salt Water Cafe which served the most delicious seafood pizzas. It was a friendly place and one of the pub locals kindly picked us up one day in his beaten-up truck when we were staggering back laden with bags of nosh.

Santa photos available in 1770

We had an amazing day taking a boat out to Lady Musgrave Island, 90 minutes from the mainland.

Coral sign

The island itself was protected by a surrounding atoll. As we passed through a narrow channel (created by the Americans to protect their boats during World War 2) the waters turned to an incredible turquoise blue, teeming with tropical fish.

Lady Musgrave Island

It was amazing to jump off the back of the boat to snorkel through the bank of coral and come face to face with turtles and beautiful fish.

Katrina snorkelling

We took a glass-bottomed launch boat across to the island itself and came face to face with paradise.

Viewing the marine life

Arriving at the island

The beach was made up of rough but brilliant white coral, never fully ground down due to the tranquility of the lagoon.

Paradise

Incredible leaping coral!

Another snorkel, this time from the beach itself, gave Treve the chance to have a "special moment" swimming alongside a turtle.

Treve scaring off marine life

Turtle does a runner!

A great day got even better when we were joined by a dolphin, leaping out of the water next to the boat as we headed back to the mainland for a sundowner beer on the beach (delicious! sorry about that!)

We arranged to spend our final weekend in Australia with Pascalle in the seaside holiday town of Coolum, back down south towards Brisbane.

Ned Kelly crazy golf in Coolum

Wobbly mirror at Aussie World

We all managed to get a discount in a luxurious apartment, complete with pool, sauna and spa (as you can see, we're really slumming it!) The sea proved to be too much of a temptation for Katrina and Pas on the first evening as they leapt in fully-clothed, soon to be joined in the shallows by a manta ray (and luckily no lurking sharks!)

Put 'em up!

We had a fab last few days back in Brisbane, going to a benefit gig for local bands, having a very giggly meal chez Pas's sister and spending some time with Paul and his family.

The up & coming Avalon Drive

So that's the end of our Aussie experience folks! We didn't make it to "The Rock" or even see a single kangaroo alive in the wild (plenty of squashed ones though!), but we've had an interesting experience.

Many thanks to Pascalle, Paul and their families for giving us an insider's view of Queensland life - missing you already!!

So now for the campervan experience in New Zealand. Katrina is banking on the fact that Treve can still drive, while Treve would like to point out that Katrina "conveniently" left her driving licence at home! Hmmm... should be interesting!

Wish us luck and see you on the other side!!

Lots of love,
Treve & Katrina x