OZ - Great Keppel Island & Rockhampton

After Fraser Island I wasn't particularly excited about seeing another island, but Great Keppel is THE island that dreams are made of. It is totally paradise.

I had a night in Rockhampton (freezing my butt off) and the next day I got the bus to Keppel Bay marina and then the ferry over. It was a gorgeous day and the scenery was spectacular, especially when we pulled up to the island. I was met by Mindy who drove me to the YHA and it was like nothing I had expected. It felt like I was in the Pacific again.

I opted for a tent instead of a dorm and I am so glad I did. I had a tent all to myself (except when the possums tried to join me) and I had so many covers and duvets that I had the warmest sleep I had had in a long time! It was great wakening up to the sound of the birds and falling asleep to the sounds of possums fighting.

I chilled out on the first day, then the second day I took a walk over to Long Beach, which was very long, very beautiful and totally deserted. If it had been in Spain you wouldnt have seen the sand for pink bodies! After a bit of sunbathing I walked round to Monkey Beach before heading back for the stunning sunset.

The next day I managed to squeeze in another great walk to Leekies beach, which was also very long, stunning and deserted. I headed back as I was getting the ferry back to the mainland. I was totally gutted to leave. It was the first place I had been in Oz that I really loved. The wildlife was amazing, all the birds and the Kookaburras were so friendly. Lots of nice photos!

Back at Rockhampton I had a few hours to kill so I hopped into town and took some photos of the boring stuff. Rockhampton had quite nice scenery too which reminded me a bit of New Caledonia.

OZ - Fraser Island

I was quite nervous about the whole Fraser Island thing. I had booked it as part of a package and was doing it as a self-drive camping safari in which 11 people get thrown together that have never met before. I had visions of being stuck with a bunch of 18yr olds that had no intention of seeing the island and only wanted to get drunk and stay in bed. Sometimes I am glad that I am a pesimist (cannae spell) cos that way things can only turn out for the better, as I found out!


Anyway, we had a briefing on the trip the night before then arranged after the briefing to hang out together so we would all at least know each other's names. Everyone seemed ok. There were two 19yr old guys called Matt and Dan (I knew they would be trouble!), a brother (Robin) and sister (Rosie) of the same age as the boys, a couple from Germany (Anne & Soren), two Irish guys (Jason & Aengus) who were in their mid-twenties and then there was myself, Gemma and Audere (Brazil) who were travelling on our own.

The next day we were up early and piled into the bus up to the car hire company. Our truck looked a bit skanky so we really checked it over and took some photos. We were rushed a bit and checked pretty much everything then we were off. The guy that was taking us to the barge jetty was a real chav. He drove like a lunatic. He had taken the air out of the tyres in our truck before we even left and as a result we nearly rolled at the first roundabout we came to. It was quite scarey!


We were well early and stopped off for coffee and 50cent muffins, nice! Then we were on the barge and sunning ourselves on the deck heading to Fraser Island (which was covered in clouds!).


At the other side we were straight off and on to the sandy highway. Aengus drove us to the first place on our itinary and we had a walk to a lake, which was nice enough. We were then supposed to head to Rainbow Gorge, but the tide had started to come in so we were on the soft sand going at 40km/hr. It was impossible to stick to our itinary so we just found a campsite.


This is when it all started to go pear shaped. First we pulled the tents out which our chav friend had 'guaranteed that every zip had been checked and were all in perfect working order', Bull sh*t! Half the zips were broken or stuck and the tents had rips in them and some even had rubbish in them! Then we went to make dinner only to find that the stove didnt connect to the flippin gas bottle! Then as it was getting dark we tried to connect the light, which also didnt bloody work. Eventually with a bit of fiddling we got it on and we all just sat down, laughed and started on the booze. Eventually we managed to borrow a stove and we cooked dinner. I made myself and Gemma veg burgers and sausages.


We all (including me!) had a fair amount to drink and played drinking games. It was good fun, until I went to bed and the tent was swimming around me.


The next day we were up early and if anyone had told me the day before that I would be the one that drank too much and puked I wouldnt have believed them, But I did! I puked twice, so that is me off the gin now and I had only just started to like it!


We chucked our gear in the truck and headed to Indian Heads, this time at 80km/hr as the tide was out and it was a nice smooth ride. I found it a struggle to walk up Indian Head but it was rewarding. We saw loads of whales and dolphins. The rest of them headed off to Champagne pools, but me and Gemma were too buggered so we just hung out in the sunshine.


After we all got back we headed to a campsite in the hope that we could find a stove to cook, which we did. And our resident chef, Audere, cooked up all the sausages and eggs. However, when we went to do the dishes it was at this point I realised that my reason for being sick might not have been drink but was probably because, as it turned out, I had cooked the burgers the nite before with washing up liquid. It was only when the guys went to pour what I thought was oil in with the dishes that I found this out. Yuk!


Matt & Dan got speaking to some of the other tour groups and decided they didnt want to see anymore of the island and that they just wanted to set up camp and party. I wasnt particularly up for this, but by the time we faffed about the tide had come in so we couldnt actually drive anywhere anyway, so we did just set up camp.


It was an entertaining nite and I kept right off the booze. Everyone else tho was downing the goon (wine) and getting steadily more and more drunk. Robin had way too much and started being a bit stoopid. At one point he tried to chase a Dingo, which is NOT a good idea on Fraser Island as they can kill you. He was puking, his sister was crying at the state of him and slapped Matt for no reason, Gemma was crying cos someone had drank her Goon and Soren was shouting all the English obsenities he could think of. I found it quite entertaining!

I slept in the van with Dan (on separate seats with boxes in between!) and thankfully it was windy so I didnt hear too much of what was going in Matt's tent, which involved a young lady.

The next day it was pissing it down so we just chucked our tents in the truck and drove to lake Mackenzie. I had a look at the lake and I am sure it is nice when the sun was shining. The rest of them had a swim. Mental!

We then headed to Central Station and pigged out on the food we had left over that didnt need cooked. All the other food had spilled all over the cool box. It was such a mess and we were thouroughly miserable that all we had to eat were sandwiches. Next thing our day totally brightened up tho as we met a tour guide who had stacks of food left over from his tour and he donated it all to us. It was heaven!

Back on the barge we were over to the mainland and the first thing our chav friend did was check everything and blame us for breaking stuff even tho we returned everything in exactly the same condition! Luckily cos we had starved for our trip he didnt try to charge us.

Back at the hostel we were all shoved in the same dorm, as if we hadnt had enough of each other! We had a massive feast and despite all the downs of the trip it all ended on a high!

Kookaburras hostel sucks!

OZ - Noosa

Noosa is a great place and I felt quite at home cos it is obviously where all the posh people have their fancy holiday homes. I can see me having one there one day.

The backpackers that I was staying in was a bit out of town, but it was just nearby the river which was stunning. The first day I headed into town and walked the main road (took 5 mins) and back along the beach. The next day I took a walk following the river until I got to the next little town Terwantin. I then headed back but followed the river into some of the housing estates. The houses are amazing and all have private jetties to the river. Each one is unique and has obviously been designed by top notch architects. I saw a couple of plots of land that I reckon have my name on them.

This is a photo of the house I will buy one day!

OZ - Mooloolaba

Mooloolaba was a nice wee beach holiday place. There isn't much to do there if the weather is bad, but luckily I had some sunshine. I just headed along the coast and walked until my feet ached. Lots of nice beach with no one on it. Not much else to say really.

OZ - My Last Day in Bloody Brisbane!

Well it was a shock to the system being back in Oz. I was dreading going back to the filth and the tourists.

On the day I had left Brisbane for Vanuatu I had gone to have a shower, only to find that someone had puked in the shower room all up the walls and everywhere. Minkin! So I wasnt exactly looking forward to heading back.

I arrived and was back in the same room in Brisbane for the night, but with different room mates. I had an early night, only to be rudely awoken later by some drunken bodies stumbling into the room. I heard a couple of voices and the next thing the panting started. I was livid so I waited until nearer the crucial moment and then I got up and stood on the bunk below me (where the panters were located) and stormed off to reception. I asked for a different room and when they found out that people were at it in a 4 bed female dorm (which you have to pay extra for) the guys went mad and stormed into the room and shouted 'no boys allowed'. The thing I neglected to mention is that I thought it was two girls. Right enough it was, so the receptionist boys were gobsmacked when only girls were staring back at them and felt like tits and just left them to it, so I was on the sofa for the night. Next time I will deal with it myself and get a cold bucket of water.

I just want one decent nights sleep. Is it too much to ask?

VANUATU - Tanna

This was the most expensive trip ever. It cost me for one day what it would cost me to stay in India for a month! However, it was worth it!

Loads of tourists come to Tanna for the main reason to visit Mount Yasur, which is a live volcano. I was picked up from the airport along with some other guests and whilst they had the comfort of being inside the truck I was stuck on the back of it holding on for dear life. At least there were only 3 of us in the back. If there had been more I would have been really worried. Next thing the truck stops and 10 Vanuatan guys hop in! I was bricking it cos I'd heard about the number of people killed by these kind of trucks flipping over when they hit a bump and have too many passengers.

Anyway after a very bumpy and very scarey 2 hour ride the volcano came into view. It was so different to the volcano in Hawaii which was all black lava rock. This one was just covered in black ash. It was kind of eery.

I had a couple of hours to relax at my accomodation, which was very basic. I was glad it was only for one night, cos the toilet and shower did not exactly offer any privacy. I think I only did one piddle when I was there. It was quite amazing though just lying on my bed and the whole bungalow shook everytime the volcano exploded.

My guide Jackson took me up the 4km track and we walked real fast cos I was determined to see the sunset (which I did). We got to the volcano where there were already about 20 other tourists.

It was quite something just standing a few hundred meters from the crater rim watching the lava bubbling away and then every couple of minutes the volcano would explode hot molten rocks into the air. Sometimes I was too busy trying to get the perfect photo to even pay attention to where the rocks were landing, which has in the past been within inches of tourists! It was almost like watching fireworks. I kept expecting someone to shout 'Happy New Year'!

Armed with a torch each, myself and Jackson started the walk back in the pitch black, but we were lucky to be given a free lift in one of the other trucks. Unfortunately, another group also jumped in so there were 17 of us on the truck and once more I was bricking it.

Back at my bungalow I couldnt sleep. Everytime I heard the volcano explode I was looking out to see the red rocks flying up. It was amazing!

The next day Fred cooked me the most amazing breakfast ever and then it was back on the truck (inside this time!) and off to the airport. What an amazing experience!

VANUATU - Espirito Santo

When I arrived in Santo I got the bus from the airport to Luganville, but we were redirected. I found out that there was a big parade on for 'Kinderday', so I dumped my stuff at the hotel and ran out armed with my camera to see the kids parade. They were having a fun day in the park so I found a tree stump to sit on and just watched what was going on. I was joined by a local called Raymond who was very nice and we chatted away and he translated some of the stuff being said for me.

The next day I did the 'Millenium Cave Tour'. I didnt know quite what to expect other than it required a medium fitness level. There were 5 of us and it took a bit of a drive and a bit of a walk to get to the village. The villages were the 'real Vanuatu'. They were in the middle of no where and were all self sustaining from the environment around. It is amazing that people can still live this way. Who needs money and mobile phones!

We headed off from the village with our guide along a very slippery, adventurous pathway. My legs were shaking by the time we got to the cave. It was in the sort of place that if anything happened to you then tough, cos the medical services wouldnt come to you.

Anyway, the cave was ok. Maybe not as spectacular as the one I saw in the Cook Islands. However, the reward for all our hard work was actually after the cave. We were each given a rubber ring and we just floated back to the village in the river. It was totally amazing! The scenery was just gorgeous as the river ran through a canyon that was so green and had the occasional waterfall. At the end we were all so clean and so gutted to have to get out!

I did a day of diving at the Coolidge. I was a bit nervous as when I had spoken to them they had said you can go to any depth between 20 and 70m. Then I was speaking to a girl who had just done her Open Water and had dived to 42m! Totally mental! If anything had happened to her she would have been up sh*t creek without a paddle cos she would not have been insured!

Anyway I had not intention of going past the depth I was insured to (40m) and which my camera would survive. I wasnt particularly excited about diving the famous 'President Coolidge' shipwreck as I tend to find wrecks to be just big lumps of metal. However, I was pleasantly surprised when we got in the water and there was a really nice coral garden. I would have quite happily stayed there the whole dive. Anyway, we headed down and did the 'lump of metal'. It was ok, but the coral garden was better.

I asked to do the same dive again in the afternoon as all the other divers were going to another dive site so I thought it would be good to have it to myself. The tide had come in and kicked up the silt, so it wasnt as nice. After I managed to finally clear my ears and get down we popped into the wreck and saw 'The Lady' and I kissed the horses arse (everyone visits this famous part of the wreck) and my depth hit 39.9m and I was about to deco and was pretty narc'd (diving talk), so we headed back. And that was about it!

Again I'd hoped to do a tour of Santo, but didnt have the time. Next time!

VANUATU - Port Villa (Efate)

I arrived inVanuatu the day before my birthday and was so happy I couldnt sleep. Mind you I woke up on my birthday to the rain pouring down and it rained on an off most of the time I was there. The night of my birthday there was a string band playing in the house next to the motel. It was great falling asleep to the music. Mind you I wasnt too chuffed when they had their music blaring again at 6am the next day!

I had a couple of days to kill before heading to New Caledonia so I headed into town, which was all of one street and took all of 20mins. I hopped on the free ferry over to Iririki island and had a walk round there.


The next day day I headed to Erakor island, again on a free ferry, and walked round there. The islands are quite small and it was only about a 15min walk right round.

After returning from New Caledonia I spent a day in town sorting out a trip to Tanna.

I was away for a few days on the other islands then arrived back for a final day which I spent trying to get rid of my left over money.

I had planned to do a tour right round the island, but I never seemed to have a whole day free to do it, so I really didnt see much of Efate. Next time!

NEW CALEDONIA - Isle de Pines

I did a day trip to the Isle de Pines and it is paradise.

It was an early start with the boat leaving at 7am, but we got some stunning views of Grand Terre from the boat.

We arrived at the island and I had forgotten my map and actually had no idea what to do, so I just started to walk and follow the road. Round the first bend I came to the most amazing lagoon ever. The water was just the picture perfect colour with gorgeous white sand and some little islands.

I decided to just carry on anyway and head to the main village Vao. It was very easy to find my way as there is only one road. I heard the first English spoken as I was heading along the road and I got talking to a nice couple from New Zealand.

I eventually arrived in Vao which was pretty much just a supermarket, a post office and a church. It was really cute though.

I bashed on to another couple of bays further round the coast. Totally stunning and not a single person there.

I headed back to the lagoon and had a snorkel. There was some nice coral and loads of fish and I got such a fright when a massive barracuda glided past me an arm's distance away! If only I'd had the camera at the ready!

NEW CALEDONIA - Noumea

I was so glad to leave Australia and had a couple of days in Vanuatu before flying to New Caledonia. Lack of a Lonely Planet book meant that all I knew about the country was that it was French. I didnt realise just how French it would be though. I had very few conversations as everyone I asked 'Parlais vous Englais' said 'no', until my last day when I met a nice French guy who spoke English and I also met a couple of Ozzie guys. The good thing was that there were no dirty smelly British/Ozzie/Kiwi drunken yobs. Only the French seem to visit New Caledonia.

I arrived late at night and was nervous heading to the hostel as the owner had emailed me to say the hostel would be closed when I arrived, but that she would leave the key for me. So I had a funny feeling I was going to arrive and there would be no key and I would be on the street for the night again. How wrong I was! The Auberge de Jeunesse is THE best THE most organised and professional hostel ever. I arrived to not only a key to my room, but a key to a locker that contained my sheets and a key to my food locker which contained my dishes. Well impressed!

The hostel is run by a German woman, so I guess that says everything. The place was spotless and I asked her if it was cos she cracked the whip or cos the French were clean. She said that you could tell when British/Ozzies/Kiwis had stayed in a room and when it had been French people!

Anyway, the weather was perfect and I spent a lot of time just walking round town and walking round the nearby beaches. The first day I did a magnificent walk to a beach resort called Keahou. Totally stunning and defo the kind of place you would want to have your honeymoon. Even I would force myself to get married if the reward was a honeymoon there!

I did the necessary walk round town and to the museum and I also did a trip out of town to the Tjboau cultural center, which was nice.

I spent another day walking round the coast to the Baie de Citrones and Anse Vate beaches and then up and around a big hill for some spectacular views.

I managed to squeeze in a day of diving. We headed to Amedee Island so it was both an island trip and diving combined. It was defo the hardest diving I have ever done with loads of surge and really strong currents. Anyway the hard work was rewarded by seeing a Manta. HUGE beasts but totally amazing! I couldnt stop smiling.

On my last day I went for a wee stroll to a viewpoint which took about 20mins, but then I just kept on walking and 6 hrs later arrived back at the hostel! The scenery is just spectacular and I found it difficult to stop in case I missed anything. Loads of big mountains, that I was desperate to climb, and loads of little islands scattered around the mainland.

I got a final treat when I flew from Vanuatu back to Oz when we flew over the South of Grand Terre. There was not a cloud in the sky and even though we were at 35000ft the scenery was amazing. I cant wait to go back!