Newcastle on time

Our bus promptly picked us up and whisked us away from the bay and back to Casino, where we had an hour til our train.. The staff who checked in our bags can't have much to do there as they were the first to make me remove my shoes clipped to my bag, as they may be lost. After watching Australia's Funniest Home Video's in the waiting room we boarded the train not a minute too soon. We were due to arrive in Newcastle at another ungodly hour, again being picked up by a relative. Fortunately we were all on time, so we loaded up, arrived, drank coffee and went to sleep!!
It was a Sunday so everyone was at home, a good chance to get out and see some of where we were. We headed out down in the direction of Nobbys Headland stopping off at Merewether Beach then we went to visit Bogey Hole, an ocean baths that was cut out of the rock by prisoners - since closed but due for renovation.. As we stood watching the surf crash over the rocks in front a few dolphins swam past, right on time!! It was a great viewpoint to get our bearings and see some of what was on offer, the 14km beach further along the coast, sheer cliff-faces exposing the coal which this areas wealth is seemingly built upon and hang-gliders dancing around overhead. It was another terrific scene, truly the Aussie idyll - plus the sun was back.
Next day and we were left to our own devices, taking the opportunity to do some research for New Zealand which was looming ahead of us, then funny enough as a result of a mistake in a medical our host gets the week off - people should pay us to visit. This meant everyone but the kids were off the next day so we headed out to Blackbutt Reserve, another free zoo. We saw a variety of birds and more wombats, emus, wallabys and kangaroos plus a rather noisy black goose. Though with less variety than Rockhampton it was nice to get out and see some more furry and feathered friends, even if I did lean in bird poop.
Thereafter we headed to Lake Macquarie, the largest salt water lake in the Southern Hemisphere though due to its vast size we could only really see a portion before it disappeared behind land in the distance. It was certainly a nice place to have a home if you had the money!!
We visited the local mall a couple of times and went down to Newcastle Harbour one afternoon, taking the dog for a walk and then after school headed down to the Merewether Ocean Baths, two pools at the base of a cliff with the sea crashing over rocks below. The water was pretty cool to put it politely, which half froze me!!
Before we knew it the weekend had arrived. A netball match took up Saturday afternoon then Sunday we set off early for the beach. Nelsons Bay was around 45minutes drive away, including a flying visit to Anna Bay where camel walks were available - very much suited to the desert-like sandplain stretching all the way back to Newcastle. Nelsons Bay was a beautiful corner of a vast inlet from the Tasman Sea, calm and with a small marina tucked away for the yachts and whale and dolphin watching boats. The water was warmer than the Ocean Baths and not long before we left to the park for lunch we saw our second pod of dolphins that week. Behind the park a small afternoon market was packing away so we managed to tour that quickly before it disappeared then all headed back to the beach for one last swim. We then moved on up to the lighthouse at Nelsons Head. This was another great view, almost like the Whitsundays from Mt Rooper..
A few more days planning and a visit to the Max Brenner chocolate cafe (yum yum) and we were all set to head to Wollongong via Sydney. It had been a fun time and it was good to see some more of the lifestyle you expect to encounter..

Between Rocky & Byron is Brisbane

Unbelievably after pulling in at 4.50am not only were we due to stay as guests at the house of people we'd never met nor spoken to prior to a week before, they picked us up to!! Pulling up in a 4x4 we guessed each other easily enough with there being very few others around, and so arriving at our home for the next few days we had some coffee, toast, a good chat and promptly went back to bed. Our hosts have welcomed over 150 other strangers to their home and were accustomed to all sorts. They themselves had met through the website so whether it was a form of thanks or just a love of its positive sociability I wouldn't care to guess, but after we were all back up and more coffee they were raring to get out and show us something - had the weather been better we may have gone surfing that morning, however the perpetual rain had followed us there. We all headed out in the car about an hour North toward some forest owned by their family, and it was a lovely patch. A small stream ran to the rear and with a caravan and tent in situ there was provisions for tea and lunch whenever you'd arrive. From here we headed out into the National Park adjacent and went 'off-road' which meant powering up a steep rain drenched hill at some speed and when we got the top having been well shaken by the ride took in the view from on top - which extended to about 100 yards of grey rain. A shame as it was obvious it would have looked fantastic but fun none the less. We headed back down and on our way stopped by a seperate river where we headed downstream to their 'secret' waterfall. This was nice of them to divulge and good to see, all adding in to the fact we were all soaked by this time it made a good day of otherwise adverse conditions.
Next morning and time off plus the downpour meant an extra day off work for both our hosts and they took us up to the Rockhampton Zoo & Botanical Gardens right the way across town. This seems to be a top visit with their previous guests as apparently they'd been there about 50 times.. They popped in with us and saw the dingos and apes before leaving us to it. Fortunately this was a free admission zoo and it was really good considering. We saw wallabys, emus, cassowarys, a wild kookaburra, lorrakeets, other birds and parrots, a small croc and koalas, then as we finished the animal demonstrations started so we went round again - seeing the apes get yoghurt and a carton of drink, then getting to visit the koalas inside their pen and stroke them - not to hold though as they only have a few and there's time restrictions on the amount they should be handled to avoid stress.. Anyway, considering this alone could cost $16 we had saved a fair few cents.. We started walking back and though I'd known it was a fairly long distance back I didn't expect it to take the two hours it did. Exhausting!!
We'd been planning to visit the Dreamtime Cultural Centre while in town as well as it was a good opportunity to learn more about traditional Aboriginal life and activities in and around Australia. This was again a lot cheaper than elsewhere and with our YHA cards we also got a discount - the first time they'd been of use!! We took a walk round while we waited for a tour to start and managed to walk round most of the site, not really seeing much significance but as the tour got underway a lot more became apparent. Ochre wall painting, Dreamtime and their significance to daily life pre-colonization and the changes in structure post. We then moved to another area where the Torres Straight was explained, along with various items which before we'd simply seen as pretty and curious - from the tortoise shell adulthood/war mask to drum blocks. Overall these were really good explanations - not to all peoples taste but we weren't expecting a multi-media presentation with university lecture detail, it was a laid back 'any questions' tour that satisfied a basic understanding.. And from there it was time for the fun bits, didgeridoo playing and boomerang throwing, both again interesting and definitely entertaining. We caught a dvd that we'd missed before leaving and having learnt our lesson the day before caught a bus back to the house after a small wait.. In the rain I might add, which still hadn't properly let up.
This was our last night in town so after another good meal we settled down for the night having arranged our train and hostel for our next night in Brisbane, a stop-gap on our way to Byron Bay - the same day train leaving forty minutes before we arrived.. This gave us half a day to investigate the City though so after catching the train around 7 in the morning we pulled in round the early afternoon, our hostel being just over the road. This meant we could dump our bags and head straight out, so we strolled over the bridge to the Southbank, giving us a good view of the City and after a short walk made it into the Botanical Gardens. Starting with a wooden temple it was like a small slice of Asia, beautifully ornate it was built in the early 90's by craftsmen from Nepal. Carrying on down the weaving paths led us around and out to two swimming lagoons and then past various cafes and a small waterpark. It was a nice break from the usual city-scape, breathing space in the usual urban charge - plus cycle lanes along the river providing great access without the threat of the roads. We crossed back over on the Goodwill Bridge and headed up to Queen Street to look around the shops and pick up a bit more food for our journey the next morning. It was a fun way to see Brisbane, and though we might have enjoyed another day maybe it was enough for us and meant we had more time at the beach.. We got up and out to the station early, our train only going so far as Casino before we changed to a bus. It was a beautiful journey, through rolling hills and valleys before curving down towards the bay with a wonderful panorama before us. We arrived and lugged our bags to a hostel fairly near to the beach, dumping them off and heading out to see the town and beach. It still wasn't great weather so we spent more time in the town which was a real mixture of tourist garbage, surf brands and arts and fashion stores. Overall it was overpriced except one charity shop!! Next day we headed to the Main Beach, our hostel provided body-boards free which was great, the sun had returned so we set off into the surf to battle the tide and waves. Only thing we forgot was to put sunscreen on.. Four to five hours later we headed back, hungry, worn out and slightly burnt. It was a great day anyway and was a beautiful night with the setting sun illuminating the array of colours in the bay.
We'd only arranged to stay here for two nights so next day we packed up and left our bags in reception while we headed back to the beach to wait for our bus later in the day. The cloud cover had returned but it was still nice to spend time there, the atmosphere being completely relaxed, families, surfers and hippies all under the spell of the surf, sand and scenery, unwilling to have it broken.

Airlie Fairy

Dragging our luggage to the station we were on board and ready to leave at 9am and thanks to our 'luxury travel pack' from the airplane were able to sit back in comfort on the Sunlander train - a great silver steel giant that has been running for 60 years although it's being retired in 2013.. Trailing for miles the coastline I'd hoped to see was hidden behind hundreds of km of sugar cane. We pulled in to Proserpine that evening and gladly my cousin was there to pick us up as we'd be staying with her family for a bit. We stayed up a while that night, few drinks and catch up on the past 16 years since we'd met and other family life before retiring to a lovely proper bedroom.
Next morning I headed out with her husband for the first time and helped out at a few places near Airlie beach, the view from one being particularly beautiful and a healthy crop of avocados ripe for the picking in the front lawn - so we earnt a few. The next day was Amys birthday so we hammered out a few ideas of what to do that evening.. We headed off to Airlie in the car the next day and had a good trot around the seafront and some shops before heading back toward Proserpine and past the town to the airport - where wallabys could be seen in numbers along the roadside. As for dinner, we were in for a real treat - a fresh box of mud-crabs had been delivered to a family friend so we all set off to their house where we enjoyed a night of drinks and hammering away at the shells to get to the tender flesh - just as good in a sandwich as it was fresh out of the claw. To top it all off a wonderful ice-cream birthday cake came out, so making sure to stand closest to Amy while she cut it (if the knife touches the bottom you kiss the nearest guy!!) then all but those of us on diets tucked in to a 'sl-ice' ha ha..
So, expectedly, a few of us had a headache the next morning so we didn't do a lot that day, maybe a swim in the pool.. Come the weekend all felt back to normal, we headed to Airlie again to catch the small market near the seafront, though we arrived just as people were starting to pack up. Mostly the prices were out of our range anyhow but it was good to see. We moved from there up to Mount Rooper, overlooking the Whitsunday Islands but we could only take this view in once we'd conquered the 2.5km walk up along a trail through light forest. There were some great views on the way but it was hot!! Once we got to the top there was a viewing platform with a great view toward a few of the Isles. We headed down from there taking a different route, down past Shute Harbour and round the main road rather than back down through the forest, maybe a bit longer but worthwhile as we got to see the whole bay rather than be surrounded by trees.

Next day we set to the task of finding somewhere to stay in our next destination of Rockhampton, the cost of staying in hostels is exorbitant so we started to mail people through Couch Surfing, a web site where you can stay at someones house without charge. It's a great site and we'd hosted before in the past so felt our chances of finding somewhere were positive. Alongside this we also started looking to the future and how we were planning to travel New Zealand; ideally we'd be able to work somewhere in return for accommodation and possibly even food.. To do this we signed up for Work Away, which cost us a small fee however compared to the saving from not staying somewhere it'd soon pay off..

After a few days off I went back out in the field and helped out this time with some pretty different tasks, mostly hedge-trimming and collecting the cuttings, hot work in the baking sun. The weather took a turn after this and the rain that had mostly been reserved for the night time decided to stay into the day - two cyclones, one in the North toward Darwin was followed by another off the coast of Western Australia, dragging rain right across us both times.. This put paid to the idea of going cray-fishing which would have needed a still and clear night, fortunately however there was one in the freezer so we had the opportunity to try one out. It was a beautiful looking creature, and the tail was packed with gorgeous and giant sections of flesh. After a few more days and the release date of the new Twilight DVD it came to our time to leave and take our second train journey. No delays this time so we were packed up and ready to leave at roughly the same time we arrived. It had been a great time staying with the relatives, and I can't thank them enough for letting us stay and visit the area, it was nice to get out and see a bit more of the area which was truly beautiful, its vast valleys making a Kentish one look inferior in size!

This time was an overnight journey so once on board and waved off the lights soon dimmed and we'd attempt to sleep til we arrived in Rockhampton very early the next morning.