Destination Unknown

noreply@blogger.com (Destination Unknown) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 04:42:00 +0000

Day 11: This morning we went for a walk up a nearby mountain which was an easy route, on the way down we saw a big spider which was the size of my hand (check out the picture). After brekkie we headed into town. I got my haircut which was desperately needed as it was turning strawberry blonde or whatever you want to call it. After an ice-cream we went back to the lake from the day before (no luck this time), got chatting to an English couple which were on there way down south, they were staying in camp sites though so it was a bit of a shock to them when we said that we were freecamping. In the end we swapped notes of what to see and went our separate ways. One thing i'm loving during this trip so far is that we have no plans, its such an adventure. Whoo-hooo

noreply@blogger.com (Destination Unknown) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 04:38:00 +0000

Day 10: Travelled to the nearby coastal town of Yeppon. Really natural and the beaches are out of this world with massive bays overlooking loads of scattered islands along the coastline. One of the islands is called The Great Keppel Island which was reccommended to us by Mooreen (the woman on the boat). So we went to the Information centre and booked it up. It has white beaches and has coral reefs swimming distance from the shore. If you have time google it and see how nice it is. We will be going for 3 days, 2 nights leaving on Sunday. We can't wait. Took some time out of our busy shedule to watch a load of school kids getting chased around and around a shopping centre by a Tuant inspector which was hilarious, brings me back to my youth. Went down the beach for a while then had dinner over a lake with the sunset, the pictures are great. Also caught a fish using my steak dinner as bait. They were biting loads, cant really blame them as it was tasty. Then had a night walk along the beach and forgot where we put our sandals so I had to stumble over sand dunes and bushes to find them. Found a spot near wetlands which isnt a good idea for mosquitos but went ahead anyway. Note to self: Gotta buy insect repellent tommorrow.

noreply@blogger.com (Destination Unknown) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 04:35:00 +0000

Day 9: Still itching all over we went for a walk. After we came back to the van, switched the fan on and laid there reading for a while. We then went to gladstone museum which was a load of tosh. Having had enough of the place we decided to move on again. We headed 1 and a half hours to Rockhampton 'The beef capital of Australia'. Just to give you some more inside information we have now changed the vans name to the more suitable 'Caracola' meaning Snail in Spanish. We came to this name as we are carrying our home on our back's (back of the van) and secondly at the speed in which we travel. We hold up so much traffic that every now and again we pull over to let them by. We have learned a new road language though, If the truckies tap there horn a few times it means that they are grateful that we pulled over, and if they keep there hand on the horn it means thank f**k for that. Rockhampton is a funny place, one street is beautiful with wide roads, old buildings then the next street is really tired-out with most of the shops closed. In the evening we went to the cinema to watch 'Funny People' then found a back street and slept. Honkkkkk-Honkkkkk!

noreply@blogger.com (Destination Unknown) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 04:33:00 +0000

Day 8: Walked along the beach this morning for a few hours. We then travelled north to Gladstone and went straight to the information centre as we usually do. Got chatting to a lady called Maureen who invited us for tea on her 15metre yaugt which was moored just out of the harbour area. We of course accepted and went aboard her boat. She showed us around the place and we stayed there chatting for a few hours then it was only polite that we showed her around our home which was brief. She was a lovely woman from South Africa with great stories to tell. So after she took us back ashore we bought some snorkals and mask (yes mum I bit the bullet) and also got a fishing line, then headed to a sleep spot we found next to a lake and fished a little, then as the sun went down we got absolutely eaten alive by mosquitos (I can do a dot-to-dot on katy's legs). Went to see lord MDac again and then had a kip still scratching. Bloody mozzies.

noreply@blogger.com (Destination Unknown) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:22:00 +0000

Day 7: Today we travelled onwards 2 hours north to a coastal town called Tannum Sands, nearly running out of fuel again as there is nowhere in between the places to fill up at. Problem solved though, new rule - never go below quarter tank. Anyway it's the nicest town we have been to in Oz so far. Lovely deserted beaches and a great park area looking over the beach from the cliff. We decided to go down the beach and do some rockpooling first. I caught a big crab which put up a fight, I tired it out though and managed to get the better claw. lol. We then had our first proper bbq, and I mean the real ones that you have to light with wood. Got it going first time with is a great achievement. Had massive pork chops, red wine and a sunset over the sea, what more can you ask? A nude shower on the beach would have topped it off though... Went back to a spot we found. Got awoken numerous times by huge bats which sound like kids whispering in the woods area we were in. mowa ha ha ha.

noreply@blogger.com (Destination Unknown) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:20:00 +0000

Day 6: After waking up from our overdose of sleeping pills (joke) we went to the seafront and had our breakfast, then for a walk on the beach.Later on headed into Bundy to have a look around and had a coffee in the golen arches and used the free internet for about 1 and a half hours (thank the lord for its free wifi... no thank lord ronald mcdonald). After decided to drive on so drove north until we reached a sleepy town called Gin Gin. Parked outside a church as we thought it would be the safest place to leave the van. We immediately found out it was nearly their Sunday service when the lovely lady there got really excited as she thought they had two new faces to there service. So we had a look around their little chapel, got blessed by the father for our safe passage though Australia which was nice and was even offered dinner after the service. Katy quickly but politely declined. It's was lovely to chat to some great people all with a tale to tell. We then headed to the pub which we were originally trying to get too to watch a rugby league final which has been really hyped up laterly. Had a few beers there then headed to a nearby rest stop to camp the night. God bless you all.

noreply@blogger.com (Destination Unknown) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:05:00 +0000

Day 5: Travelled onward to a town called Bundaberg. Stopped off at an information centre, 2 hours later we walked out of there because the man that worked there helped us but only after telling us his life story and some dodgy jokes, he was a lovley man though. Went to a ginger beer factory which bundy is known for, 5 mins later walked out because it was crap. went to the nearby coast, on the way katy spotted a 2 metre long snake which we touched when he wasn't looking. later on in the evening had a bbq on the beach, it was lovely. yum. Found a spot to sleep, fell asleep by 8pm and didn't wake up till 6.30 the next morning. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

noreply@blogger.com (Destination Unknown) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:43:00 +0000

Day 4: Woke up early and in good time for the trip or so we thought. We stopped off to get a takeaway coffee and the woman behind the counter had no idea about time, she made a good coffee though. Boat was waiting for us (sounds about right), The boat was lovely. Got out of the bay area and immediately saw 2 dolphins which was great. About an hour later we had our first glance of a humpback whale and its baby we got so close.
Then a call came in from one of the other boats saying that 2 mothers and two babies up ahead and that they were teaching them things like tail slapping, breaching the sea and playing around, so we got there in no time and saw it. It was absolutely amazing seeing a massive whale that jumped out of the water. In the end we saw about 12-15 whales throughout the day.
It was a really special day which was topped off by a great lunch and a few beers. We were constantly topping up on sunscreen thoughout the day but managed to both get badly sunburnt on our heads When we got back we walked along the pier at sunset then went back to our spot to sleep. A couple of hours later we got rudely awoken by the dustman (only messin), it was a policeman, he said that we had 20 minutes to leave otherwise he would fine us 500 dollers and that we were lucky as he knew we slept there the night before and was in a good mood. (note to self never park in the same spot 3 nights in a row). So we were gone in seconds.
We were going to move on the next morning anyway so decided that we may as well move on now. So we headed north through countryside and just about made it to a petrol station it was closed though so we camped the night nearby. In the morning we got the shock of our lives
when the 5am train went past us very fast. We parked right next to a train track! Chooo Chooo

noreply@blogger.com (Destination Unknown) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:41:00 +0000

Day 3: Another good sleep, defo getting used to it. Ran the battery out last night charging the laptop, it lasted all night though as we forgot to disconnect it and it ran out. Luckily we parked on a hill, all good though as mighty strong katy was on the scene to give it a good push. Went down the beach for a few hours in the morning, tide was out so we walked out miles. Looking forward to our trip tommorrow. Gonna cook dinner and have a few beers tonight. Too easy!

noreply@blogger.com (Destination Unknown) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:36:00 +0000

Day 2: Can't believe our eyes....we have finally seen some kangeroos! What happened was we woke up early after a good nights sleep in a rest stop just off the main road, I was just finishing off having a tinkle in the bushes to find a group of kangeroos less than 100 metres from us, it was amazing 3 adults and a baby. We then went to a town called Maryborough bithplace of the author of Mary Poppins, they truely celebrated this by dedicating a statue of mary poppins. We couldnt get over the sheer size of it...It was 3 foot high. We laughed when we were sent half way round the town to see it. We then headed to Hervey Bay known for its bay where each year thousands of whales including humpback whales give birth then head on.
So we booked up a full days catermaran tour to see the whales close up, we both cant wait. Walked along the beach and I accidently stood on a flat fish of some sort which was camoflagued in the sand. Here is much more relaxed than all the other places we have been too so far,
so much infact that tonight we have a sea view on a hill 80 metres from the beach. Sweet.

noreply@blogger.com (Destination Unknown) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:13:00 +0000

Destination Unknown: Day 1. Well you guys that do not know what we are upto here goes. We intend to travel around Oz in a converted van for the next 3 months. We head off from Brisbane today and are heading north, we havent planned a route yet and are just gonna hit the road.
We started packing yesterday for a few hours and ran out of time, so katy (my girlfriend) started flapping and going mad. I had to let her in on a little secret... that we have nowhere to get to in a hurry, no deadline to be out and that she is going mad for no reason. She laughed and saw my point of view.
So today we packed up the rest of our shit Had a last warm shower? Which I acted as if I was going on a first date, giving myself a deleuxe wash instead of a normal standard, really scrubbing myself as if it was the last time ever I was washing. By this time Kristian (my friend) was making last supper. So in the next few hours we should be heading off (4pm - whoops a little late but hey whats the rush). I'm a laid back person anyway, so if this trip makes me any more laid back and you want to see me ill be lying horizontal on some beach waiting
for the next coconut to fall from the tree. More from us later.