Exploring Queensland

We had a great 10 days with Dad & Chris; we got spoilt with BBQ food, beers, treats from home and stayed in nice camp sites with their own pool.  Lola led the way with our Sat Nav guiding us up the Sunshine Coast.  Beaches, Museums, Waterfalls, Dams and a National Park walk - all seen in our first couple of days and  then onto the Fraser Coast where we got out fix of wildlife.  We went to Tin Can Bay where dolphins come in each day for feeding, (like Monkey Mia but fair less publicised) it’s a fairly low key affair and it felt really special as we arrived at 7.30am and already Patch and Mystic were in the shallows waiting for their adoring public!  We were allowed to get in the water with them, they were only inches away; you can’t touch them but they can choose to touch you and Patch gave Chris’ leg a nudge and my hand a nuzzle.  Then you can feed the dolphins, which me & Chris did (such a lovely experience) and then I got an extra go along with Dad who had been given some fish for being in a football shirt!



Rum Tasting in Bundaberg

From here we had a relaxing day in Hervey Bay and then had a busy couple of days in Bundaberg.  Our first evening we headed out to the turtle rookery and we were lucky that there were baby turtles hatching as soon as we arrived!  We headed out to the beach and on the higher banks over a hundred little turtles were emerging out of the sand!  The volunteers bundle the babies into a bucket and give them a hand by taking them a little closer to the shore before releasing them again, then the little turles fumble towards the surf and out to sea.  The poor little guys have to fend for themselves from day one, so survival rate is 1 in 1000 but I like to think all our turtles will make it.  Then another nest started hatching and we were lucky to see the process all over again, really special.  We had a lovely day visiting the Hinkler museum (dedicated to aviation master Bert Hinkler, very interesting) and then onto the Bundaberg rum distillary – huzzarh!  Never ones to exit a bar early, we got given a few extra freebies at the end of the tour and Chris picked himself up a bargin new shirt.

Our next destination was Cania National Park, lovely walks and Gorge views.  Then into Rockhampton, where Chris B found the wildlife a little too close for comfort with frogs in the loo, snakes in the laundry room and hairy grasshoppers in the plug holes!  In Rockhampton we passed through into the Tropic of Capricorn and it really was hot!  We managed to visit the zoo, the steam train museum and see the Singing Ship before we all needed to cool off in the pool.  Sadly this is where we had to part ways with Dad & Chris (– SO lovely to see you both J) and me & Chris went to a Crocodile farm.  It was brilliant!  We saw a baby croc hatch, saw the big guys (up to 5 metres) get fed and we held a little one.  They showed us pictures of a crocodile skull found in Texas – they think the full size of the crocodile would have to be over  18 metres – that is HUGE and not something I want to ever come across!

We have since been to Eugella National Park.  We stayed at the most beautiful campsite, basically on top of a mountain overlooking the valley, the view was spectacular.  Here we also went platypus spotting – we went twice at dusk to see the shy creatures, it’s fairly unrewarding as we averaged a glimpse of a platypus every hour!  But they are so darn cute when you do catch a look at them!

We are now in Airlie Beach – the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands & the Great Barrier Reef.  We have splashed out on a trip to the reef and we get a free trip to Hamilton Island the following day, so we’re very excited about it!  But Airlie Beach is a little spoilt due to the competitiveness of everyone trying to get you to book with them, there are LOADS of operators, some aggressively pushy and they all offer the same price and same deals – so why are there so many of them!?!   But hopefully we made the best choice for us and the touts will leave us alone now!  Bring on the coral and the fishes!

Lots of love & miss you all,

Kat & Chris xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx