mike's travel blog

Last stop on my OZ tour and probably the last post of this trip as I am not sure I will have phone/internet in Fiji. I am flying out first thing in the morning. I have only seen Manly during the day on a previous trip and was very impressed. This time I stayed 2 nights and still have to say this probably would be my place of choice to live in the Southern Hemisphere. Overall the trip has brought so many new impressions and experiences that it will take some time to digest. I am glad I have 2 weeks of beach vacation at the end to get some time to reflect before going home and facing reality again. Job search will be high on the agenda I guess, even though continuing the travels in the states is tempting as well. Thanks for sharing this trip with me - it was nice to see all the public and private responses during my travels - it certainly made me feel more connected with home and less lonely. Hope to see you all in the next few weeks. I have taken about 3000 pictures and will...

This little guy wanted to cuddle a bit :-) Picture taken at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary just south of Brisbane. Thursday was a major driving day. I made just over 1100 km from Cairns to Rockhampton. Friday I drove to Noosa, about 100km north of Brisbane where I spent the night in the Sheraton. From all the resorts I visited Noosa seems the most exlusive and beautiful. After a solid 2 months in backpackers and hostels it felt nice to sleep in a good bed again. I wish I had more time there. Tonight I will be in Byron Bay and the last 2 nights I booked into a backpacker in Manly before heading over to Fiji.

The Daintree area is largely rainforest. There are some nice walks to enjoy the diversity. One hectar here can have more tree species than all of Europe or North America. I also visited Daintree village for lunch, Hatley's croq farm and Barron Falls. The 2 major stops on the drive back to Sydney will be Brisbane and Byron Bay.

I just returned from a fantastic 4 day 3 night sailing excursion of the Whitsunday islands and the Barrier Reef (Fri thru Mon). The 25 meter Maxi was nice and fast and made for a great ride. The boat spent one night out at the reef and we got a lot of snorkeling and diving in. I had PADI fax my registration so I could do a dive as well. The size of the reef and its diversity is incredible. We unfortunately had to wear stinger suits as the jelly fish are still around. The weather has been great and the waves on the reef were small which allowed great visibility. It just cleared up a week ago after Queensland had a rough wet season this summer. I managed to drive to Mission Beach last night and spend the morning there before driving to Cairns for lunch. I will spent the next 2 days north of here at Port Douglas/Daintree/ Cape Tribulation.

Whitsunday Bay is truly beautiful with a tropical feel to it. The picture doesn't capture the real scenery but you can see the Islands in the background. Weather is excellent, sunny and 30C. And supposed to stay this nice the next week. I am on stand-by (deep last minute discount) for a 4 day sail on a Alan Bond built Super Maxi leaving Friday that also goes beyond the Whitsundays to the Barrier Reef. This will make the end of the trip a bit stressful if I want to get Cairns and Daintree in, but well worth it. Will skip Sydney completely it seems on this trip.

Not much new today - just a long drive up to Mackay, which allows me to make it early to Airlie Beach for my sailing trip of the Whitsundays. Thought I show off my jumping abilities and monkey impersonation in the meantime. Still having a good time down under. Picture taken yesterday at picturesque Lake McKinzie and its super clear water.

Just got back from an awesome 3 day self drive 4x4 camping adventure trip to Fraser Island. Weather was in general good with a few showers inbetween. We had a little storm Saturday night which made it difficult to keep the tents in place - one tent blew away. I did the trip with 13 other fun people in 2 Land Cruisers organized by the backpacker where I stayed. Last day was a highlight spending the day at Lake McKinzie, after we had to drive there through an exit one-way as access was blocked by a tree. There are only few access roads on the island. Driving is done on the beach outside the 2 hour high tide windows - see tire tracks in the picture. Got to Hervey Bay Friday and did the trip Saturday through Monday. Will drive to the Whitsundays next for a 3 day sailing cruise. Expect a couple days to get there.

This place is even more build out than I expected. You think you are already there when you hit the first high rises, but those start several beaches down, even though the area seems to be really one large beach. Surfers Paradise is party central, even the backpacker is fully licensed and offers club crawls. I just spent a few hours at the beach as I will have plenty of beach time in Fiji. Just thought this place was a nice stop over on my way to Hervey Bay and Frasier Island. On my way here I saw a few nice areas with plenty of activities if I have time on my way down. Will spent at least 3 days on Fraser and 4 days in the Whitsundays. Heard they have a great deal on a multi day cruise on a 90ft Maxi.

New month - new country. Flew into Sydney this morning and drove up pacific highway to Port Macquarie. Nice change in scenery. My initial sadeness of leaving NZ changed quickly when I arrived to a perfect 25 C and blue skies in Sydney. I finished NZ driving from Wellington to New Plymouth / Mt Takanaki on Monday. Incredible scenery from both mountain and the rugged coastline with plenty of caves and holes in the rocks. Also some of the most famous surf beaches are there. I continued the ride Tuesday, stopping many times before getting to Auckland airport in the evening. Port Macquarie got me now half way to Surfers Paradise, the Aussie Cancun. I will either stay there tomorrow or in Brisbane. I also bought a SIM card at the airport - you can reach me here the next 3 weeks at +61-41-556-8307. Unlike NZ I expect full coverage along the coast line.