the island they call fraser and the lady they call elliot
what am i even up to? who can remember these days... oy.
to be honest, i don't really feel like blogging at the moment, but i'm here and i've prepaid so i guess i'll give it a go, as they say.
so, all the way back to the whitsundays, eh?
as i wrote, we got winded out of our cruise, which made me sad. but i didn't want to sit at the pool anymore (got old pretty fast - and just that infamous one road of shoppy shops and nothing else to it. boooooring). so we made our way down to mackay. there we found what was the best hostel to that date. gecko's rest. cute. real beds. that's right. i said REAL mattresses. and they gave us towels. it has potential - needs some redecoration and shifting of furniture, and maybe an extra clean of the kitchen once in a while, but it's pretty new and the owner took suggestions well, so i think it'll be great once it's all set up.
we took a day trip from there to go see the platypussies in eungella national park ("youngulla") - apparently the best place for spotting the shy monotremes. we had a lovely day, just the two of us, one 19 year old brit, and the guide col (whom, i think, we were able to convince to become a servas host). we did a walk up in finch hatton gorge, getting all nice and sweaty before having a brilliant swim in the rock pool under the waterfall at the top. when we got there, actually, there was a group of people with a photographer. the EPA (environmental protection agency, of course) and Queensland government are making a brochure of Great Walks in Queensland and this gorge was part of one of them -- and they were taking photos for the brochure. they asked us if we wouldn't mind posing for a couple of them, as we were so sensibly dressed with our sunhats and good walking shoes. we didn't mind. i think it'd be awesome if i were in a queensland tourism brochure. i just hope they don't end up using the pictures for a deodorant ad or something - cuz we signed those papers that said they can pretty much do whatever they like. anywho, it was really a beautiful swim - the water was SO crisp and cold. felt great. and we saw a bright blue ulysses butterfly. and a goanna. and yay. we had a BBQ lunch courtesy of col at the "bush camp" at the base of the gorge, went to a lookout or two, and then went to spy the ole duckbills. It took us 2 hours of waiting and trekking through bush and lots of patience, but we finally spied a little female coming up the river. they're so much smaller than i thought! once we saw her, we followed her up the river on the banks and ended up at the lookout with a bunch of other people, cameras poised for the moment the bubble trail stopped and the thing that looked like a little log with eyes broke the surface again before diving and scratching up the bottom of the river for treats again. then we saw a whole bunch of them. one had fleas, col thought, and spent a fair amount of time on a log a little ways away, scratching furiously. very cute. oh and that night, after we got back from our eventful day, we treated ourselves to a nice italian dinner. it was SO good. but i was really hungry. so i probably would've said that about anything on a plate in front of me. but it was really yum. and it ended with vanilla ice cream and almond biscotti, which is always good.
moving on, we hired a car and headed south to yeppoon where we were staying with yet another servas family. more a single 75 year old man than a family, actually. don is an amateur photographer who has a bright orange VW "kombi" (minibus) that he's fitted out with fridge, toaster, hot plate, nice mattress, etc... he lives in the little 1 1/2 room annex of a house he built (was a carpenter) 30 years ago and now rents to housesitters so he can take off in the kombi at a moment's notice with no worries of bills or anything. it was really great hangin with don. we watched some educational tv, looked at his pictures of namibia, madagascar, and from road trips around australia, another one of which is planned for later this year, i believe. he took us our first morning for a little hike and "outdoor breakfast" on one of the outdoor grills in a nearby park. very heartening to see how strong he's still going. making plans but not promises for the future. he said he's self centered and independent because he was the youngest of 6 boys in his family and had 3 younger sisters. so he pretty much did whatever he pleased. he said it probably made him a no good bastard of a husband. i think it would've been interesting to meet him as a younger man.
anyway, the rest of the "outdoor breakfast" day was spent on Great Keppel Island, napping on the grass, listening to the live band at the resort, and doing a little snorkel snorkel over by the rocks at the end of the white fine sandy beach. i had a beautiful day - the weather was not to hot not to cold. very baby bear's porridge.
i don't have any time left to finish (grrrr i hate that) so i'll wrap here. as for now: i'm currently in Hervey Bay, staying with YET ANOTHER servas couple, going on a day trip to the largest sand island in the world tomorrow, then the next day flying to the southernmost island in the great barrier reef to hang out a little more with squirt, crush, and the gang (met squirt and some of his buddies last night at the turtle rookery - more on that when next i get a chance to write, i guess). the next few days will be rushed, i think - we're trying to see a lot - but then we'll spend a chill better-part-of-a-week at Byron Bay, (aka hippie central) before we visit brisbane and then fly to sydney.
i miss you all and wish you well.
hope i'll get to write again soon. i hate getting cut off...
amy
email me
to be honest, i don't really feel like blogging at the moment, but i'm here and i've prepaid so i guess i'll give it a go, as they say.
so, all the way back to the whitsundays, eh?
as i wrote, we got winded out of our cruise, which made me sad. but i didn't want to sit at the pool anymore (got old pretty fast - and just that infamous one road of shoppy shops and nothing else to it. boooooring). so we made our way down to mackay. there we found what was the best hostel to that date. gecko's rest. cute. real beds. that's right. i said REAL mattresses. and they gave us towels. it has potential - needs some redecoration and shifting of furniture, and maybe an extra clean of the kitchen once in a while, but it's pretty new and the owner took suggestions well, so i think it'll be great once it's all set up.
we took a day trip from there to go see the platypussies in eungella national park ("youngulla") - apparently the best place for spotting the shy monotremes. we had a lovely day, just the two of us, one 19 year old brit, and the guide col (whom, i think, we were able to convince to become a servas host). we did a walk up in finch hatton gorge, getting all nice and sweaty before having a brilliant swim in the rock pool under the waterfall at the top. when we got there, actually, there was a group of people with a photographer. the EPA (environmental protection agency, of course) and Queensland government are making a brochure of Great Walks in Queensland and this gorge was part of one of them -- and they were taking photos for the brochure. they asked us if we wouldn't mind posing for a couple of them, as we were so sensibly dressed with our sunhats and good walking shoes. we didn't mind. i think it'd be awesome if i were in a queensland tourism brochure. i just hope they don't end up using the pictures for a deodorant ad or something - cuz we signed those papers that said they can pretty much do whatever they like. anywho, it was really a beautiful swim - the water was SO crisp and cold. felt great. and we saw a bright blue ulysses butterfly. and a goanna. and yay. we had a BBQ lunch courtesy of col at the "bush camp" at the base of the gorge, went to a lookout or two, and then went to spy the ole duckbills. It took us 2 hours of waiting and trekking through bush and lots of patience, but we finally spied a little female coming up the river. they're so much smaller than i thought! once we saw her, we followed her up the river on the banks and ended up at the lookout with a bunch of other people, cameras poised for the moment the bubble trail stopped and the thing that looked like a little log with eyes broke the surface again before diving and scratching up the bottom of the river for treats again. then we saw a whole bunch of them. one had fleas, col thought, and spent a fair amount of time on a log a little ways away, scratching furiously. very cute. oh and that night, after we got back from our eventful day, we treated ourselves to a nice italian dinner. it was SO good. but i was really hungry. so i probably would've said that about anything on a plate in front of me. but it was really yum. and it ended with vanilla ice cream and almond biscotti, which is always good.
moving on, we hired a car and headed south to yeppoon where we were staying with yet another servas family. more a single 75 year old man than a family, actually. don is an amateur photographer who has a bright orange VW "kombi" (minibus) that he's fitted out with fridge, toaster, hot plate, nice mattress, etc... he lives in the little 1 1/2 room annex of a house he built (was a carpenter) 30 years ago and now rents to housesitters so he can take off in the kombi at a moment's notice with no worries of bills or anything. it was really great hangin with don. we watched some educational tv, looked at his pictures of namibia, madagascar, and from road trips around australia, another one of which is planned for later this year, i believe. he took us our first morning for a little hike and "outdoor breakfast" on one of the outdoor grills in a nearby park. very heartening to see how strong he's still going. making plans but not promises for the future. he said he's self centered and independent because he was the youngest of 6 boys in his family and had 3 younger sisters. so he pretty much did whatever he pleased. he said it probably made him a no good bastard of a husband. i think it would've been interesting to meet him as a younger man.
anyway, the rest of the "outdoor breakfast" day was spent on Great Keppel Island, napping on the grass, listening to the live band at the resort, and doing a little snorkel snorkel over by the rocks at the end of the white fine sandy beach. i had a beautiful day - the weather was not to hot not to cold. very baby bear's porridge.
i don't have any time left to finish (grrrr i hate that) so i'll wrap here. as for now: i'm currently in Hervey Bay, staying with YET ANOTHER servas couple, going on a day trip to the largest sand island in the world tomorrow, then the next day flying to the southernmost island in the great barrier reef to hang out a little more with squirt, crush, and the gang (met squirt and some of his buddies last night at the turtle rookery - more on that when next i get a chance to write, i guess). the next few days will be rushed, i think - we're trying to see a lot - but then we'll spend a chill better-part-of-a-week at Byron Bay, (aka hippie central) before we visit brisbane and then fly to sydney.
i miss you all and wish you well.
hope i'll get to write again soon. i hate getting cut off...
amy
email me
posted by theonetheycallamy at 2/16/2005 02:21:00 AM
1 comments
