2 Crazy Sheilas

From Kroombit we took off yet again like two gypsies reaching Hervey Bay where the following day we were picked up for our Fraser Island tour.  Fraser Island is the world’s largest sand island and rests off the coast of Rainbow Beach.  Our 5 ton vehicle road the ferry to the island and once onshore took off on the open sand.  Although there is no road on the 75 Mile Beach on the east coast of the island, vehicles swerve around waves in their own two lanes.  It felt like being in a giant enclosed four wheeler as we raced on in the open. 

As we drove along we were notified that it is whale season and it seemed that no sooner had these words left our driver Sarah’s lips then we were stopped watching a giant black beast break the surface of the water.  It was amazing watching huge puffs of mist go off as the back of the whale would pop up gliding along the beach with us.  We moved on as we were told we’d get a better view later.

Our first stop was a walk to Lake Wobby.  The group took a small path that opened onto a massive sand dune.  The light tan sand gave our legs a workout as we climbed upwards.  Claire occasionally turned around and said something but all I could hear was the wind rushing past so I just smiled and nodded J  Just as I began to feel like we were in one of those movies where the characters are stranded in the desert walking for miles, we were suddenly standing over a huge green lake.  We walked down the steep sand hill and dipped our toes.  The huge, green trees and bushes around the lake swayed lazily in the breeze, their leaves rustling, while black fish swam around our feet.

The second destination of the day was just as cool.  Indian Head was a cliff we climbed that looked out over the clear blue water.  In the distance we saw whales breaking the surface yet again and directly below we saw black sting rays and schools of fish who turned silver as the light hit.  We even saw sharks which were the main reason we were not allowed to swim at all in the ocean.  The population of tiger sharks is the biggest around due to the fish supply and breeding grounds around the little island.

Before the sun set we also stopped at the ship wreck of the Mohina.  Only the rusted bones of long ship remained and took a beating from the tide.  Barnicles clung to the sides and a large bird sat at the top picking at some dead animal.  The whole thing seemed out of place.  The next stop was more fun.  It was called Eli Creek and was a perfectly clear and perfectly cold stream that bled out into the ocean.  Claire and I both agreed it would be the perfect place to bring inner tubes and a cooler as we walked past gray fish.

Our night stay was at a hostel/resort which had a fence around the premise to keep the many dingoes out.  Pretty ironic considering as we were going past the front gate a dingo walked through the parking lot casually as though he was just heading to the bar or something.  Claire and I talked to two very gullible and ignorant boys who thought all Americans acted like the actors on “The O.C.”  We excused ourselves by heading to the beach where the giant full moon cast a glow on the waves.

The second day on Fraser Island was spent taking a hike in the morning and resting on the white banks of Lake Mackenzie.  It was perfect as I swam in the clear chilly water and then rested on the beach which is perfect for cleaning your jewelry as the sand is made of a kind of quartz.  On our way back we saw a swamp wallaby sitting at the water’s edge.  It quickly jumped in the waves and we all let out a hysterically gasp.  Our tour guide assured us it could swim and we watched as it swam down from us.

Well that’s all I have for now . . .

Thanks for reading J

Miranda

            I think this trip is starting to make my mind slip as time, days, and where I was previously is all becoming a bit blurred.  On the 16^th Claire and I hopped on the OzBus where we were greeted by our tour guide who reminded me of a creepy Ned Flanders from the Simpsons, using terms like “okaly dokaly.”  It was a long drive to the Kroombit cattle station, finally arriving there as the sun was setting.  The lazy Brahman cows greeted us as we entered the long drive and reached our sleeping cabins.  After getting settled into our tiny rustic rooms we went to dinner first taste testing a mystery meat that made me feel brave for trying. 

            Once dinner was finished we hung out for a bit around the bar.  The bar was not technically a bar, though there was an ancient white fridge that stocked beer.  The bar was actually an old wagon complete with wheels and a tawny chicken with it’s red crested head nestled in it’s wings in a deep sleep.  The bartender (and manager of the station) was a white haired man sitting on a recliner next to the fridge and within an arm’s reach of the counter.  His name was Big Al and a wooden sign posted on the wagon that read Boss gave a strong connection to Dukes of Hazard.  This man, no matter how old, looked like someone who’s orders were taken seriously.  As he talked about the cattle station his wrinkled and spotted hands ran over a leather whip.

Big Al turned out to be excellent at teaching us all how to crack a whip.  I must say I was pretty good and took a second turn which I later regretted as I could barely move my shoulder.  After we all took our turns standing on boxes, using goggles for protection, and occasionally snapping ourselves in the back or arm, it was time for the real excitement . . . mechanical bull riding!  Claire and I foolishly put our names down first.  Claire put on her white helmet and climbed into the maroon, inflated ring.  She jumped onto the fur covered machine and the three girls operating the bull gave a countdown.  It seemed before the girls had finished with one Claire hat shot off like a cork from a bottle of champagne.  Her second time was slightly better but once again her little, helmeted body went flying.   I couldn’t stop laughing hysterically (neither could the others), that is until it was my turn next.  I nervously put on my helmet and had to get one of the three girls to hoist me up onto the machine.  My stomach lurched as they began their frightening countdown.  I may be bigger than Claire but I flew just as far.

The next morning we woke up early to grab some grub.  Originally Claire and I were not going to enter the country festivities like horseback riding  or shooting guns but soon we were in the spirit and I’m glad we went.  We waited as the wranglers put saddles on the horses.  Mine was Grace, tan with a  bright blue bridle.  Our task on the horses was to muster or herd goats into a pen which took awhile as we each adjusted to our horses.  Tons of goats were slowly  penned, the babies crying the whole time noisily.  After that job was done we headed back and got off of our horses, walking away a bit bowlegged. 

After horses and goats we went to shoot some clay pigeons (you heard me).  It’s funny how everything is either made in China or Taiwan but the bullets for our shot gun . . . “Made in the U.S.A.”  The boys went first and then it was the ladies turn.  Surprisingly I shot 3 of the 5 clay pigeons and everyone joked that “The Americans were definitely here.” 

We had penned all of the goats earlier and we soon learned why.  We were going to be in a goat rodeo!  Divided into groups of three, Claire, I, and an older man from Las Vegas teamed up as Team America.  We laughed and watched as the teams before us chased the goats, grabbing them by the horns, and branded them with a fake brander.  Once again I laughed until it was my turn.  The wrangler, a hillbilly in a blazing orange shirt covered with holes (probably from goat wrestling),  brought out a large goat who gave us the stink eye until Claire grabbed him by the horns, the older man brought him to the ground, and I poked his bum with a metal rod. 

Before leaving the station we played a game where we all joined hands in a circle and spun a bottle.  I know what you’re thinking but I didn’t end up kissing some country boy.  The light green bottle paused, pointing between the guy next to me and the person on his other side (thank God).  What this meant is that this is where the two people would be zapped by a cattle prod, sending the electricity to each of us in turn.  The moment the electricity hit everyone in the circle jumped simultaneously.  That was the end of our stop in Kroombit.  Goat mustering on horseback, shooting clay pigeons, wrestling goats, riding mechanical bulls, and cracking whips all in a couple day’s work.  Oh and the meat we had for dinner the night before . . . goat :S

Miranda

I swear I am getting SO sick of these early as starts! I am beginning to feel like an old woman, waking up so early and going to bed so late has really caught up to me, and I’m starting to get tired at nearly 8 p.m.! I know I know, I’m young right? I feel a little bad for my parents, I have a felling that when I return and spend a week at home they’ll actually want to spend some time with me, I’m just afraid that once I fall asleep, especially in my own clean bed, I might be put into a coma and not wake up for days! Well I guess we’ll see if they read this, because at least they can’t say I didn’t warn them !

Ok so guess what? I’m still traveling down the coast and yesterday and today I spent some time on Fraser Island. If you have read the end of my last entry you will find that I have already told you a little about Fraser Island, and quite frankly I am not going to repeat myself so you all can scroll down

We woke up early and hopped on the 4WD with the others travelling with us on the two day, one night tour. We drove south from Hervey Bay to Rainbow Beach where we picked up a few others and where Miranda and I dropped off our bags and booked our hostel room for the following night. After some reservation making we hopped back on the 4WD and headed to the coast of Rainbow Beach, boarded the farry and were taken across the ocean (or straight, or sea??) and landed on Fraser Island. When we grove off of the ferry I quickly learned that there were no paved roads on the island (only sand) and that the only highway was along 75-mile beach, an unswimmable beach on the east coast of the Island. We learned that the waters were practically unswimmable of you had any brains at all due to the large population of Tiger Sharks, and inhabitaion of Jelly Fish, and due to the current northern migration of Humpback Whales bringing Great White Sharks into the area as well. The two words, shark and jelly, were enough of a warning that there was no way I had even wanted to put my feet in the water! 

Along our drive to the north of the island to check out Indian Head, a rocky cliff suspended 60 meters above the sea level, making a great look-out for marine wildlife, we saw jelly fish and even some migrating humpback whales (which is what I really wanted to see, and let me tell you it was REALLY amazing!) Along our way to Indian Head we also learned about the dingoe population on the island, which was the largest in Australia, and learned that we were not to feed them and what to do if they get agressive, as there have been maulings of children and even deaths on the island that were completely due to dingoes. After being a little worried about the dog-like animals we got out first glimpse of them just before we arrived at Indian Head. They just look like tan dogs, but looks can be decieving as I already mentioned, they can be very dangerous.

Before Indian Head we made a quick stop and had a hike up through huge sand dunes to Lake Wabby. Lake Wabby, being a freshwater lake and surrounded by sand dunes was as green as ever and played home to many catfish-like fish swimming beneath the surface. When we got to Indian Head we immediately hiked up it and got a beautiful view of the ocean below, where we got to see sharks, stink rays, turtles, whales, and diving birds at an arial view, amazing huh! On our way back down the coast we stopped at the Pinnacles to see the different colors of sand in the rocky sliffs above and learn the aboriginal story behind it. Ater quick photo we headed south again and made another stop at a shitwreck on the beach, the ship which was named Mohina, and it made a home on the shores of Fraser Island years before. The heat of the day brought us to Eli Creek, a freshwater creek that leads to the ocean with a strong current. Miranda and I quickly hopped into the freezing water and walked our way up to the point where we had to listen to the signs and turn around and head back down. Along the walk we saw many grey fish below the clear waters surface and enjoyed the view of the ferns, palms, and trees that surrounded us.

Erong Island Resort was our home for the night and Miranda and I had a relaxing (and early) night after we stuffed ourselves with the Mexican buffet.

This morning we woke up, had breakfast and hopped back onto our 4WD truck and headed inland to a rainforest walk in the central station of Fraser Island. On our way there we learned that Fraser Island had previously been mined for sand and was the spot for logging as well. Central Station, being the hub of the old mining families homes, also has a few really nice hikes around. We went on a mile hike through the rainforest and got to view lots of plants and creepy crawlers. We got to see a King Fern, which is apparently really rare for the environment, and saw that it really was a king, as its fronds cound get as long as 5 meters long (15 feet)! The ones that we saw were about 4 meters long, and still huge!

Wer made our way throught the trees and saw that our 4WD was there waiting to take us to famous Lake Mackenzie. Lake Mackenzie, being a completely freshwater lake and having sand made from perfectly round quarts crystals, was so beautiful, especially under the cloudless sky. We were given a lot of time there to lounge, take pictures, and have a dip in the freezing water before we were to return to the truck eat lunch and make our way back to the mainland, Rainbow Beach. Along out bumpy ride back to got to see some more wildlife, learn about the Island and its name and even see a rare Swamp Wallaby! Our tour guide told us that in the two years that she has worked on the island she had never seen a Swamp Wallaby so it was an exciting sight, especially when it dove into the ocean to get away from our snapping cameras! 

We arrived in Rainbow beach this afternoon and Miranda and I have been lounging ever since. Having a cleansing shower, doing some laundry, painting nails, and writing blogs. Tomorrow we have to catch the Oz bus at 6:45 a.m. and head down to Brisbane so I’m assuming that we’ll have a pretty quiet night as well.

Not to sure whats the plan for Brisbane, besides the glorious Sunday Markets (Miranda and I are market crazy these days) so I will let you all know about my adventures. The days are dwindling down, only a week left in Aussie…I can’t believe it…at least I still have three weeks left of traveling!

Until next time…

~Claire 

If you have been reading my blog you are all aware that I was last off to Kroombit, a cattle station in the middle of nowhere Queensland. I was completely sure that it would be a horrible time and I would have no fun at all, besides being reminded of good old Grant County (and I was), which didn’t turn out to be as bad as I thought.

As soon as we stepped off of the bus and glimpsed at the resturant, which was a wooden shed, the bar (a.k.a. old trailer) and our entertainment, which consisted of a country radio station and a mechanical bull, I was immediately reminded of Grant County. This was made even more realistic when I saw the old beaten up, dirty, scruffy men sitting at the ‘bar’ having a good old Aussie beer, Tooheys. I thought being reminded of Grant County was going to be a bad thing, but as I stated before, it wasn’t as bad as I thought, almost kind of welcoming (p.s. that will most likely be the one and only time I will ever say that so don’t get to used to it folks!).

We were quickly assigned to our rooms, a small wooden shack with three bunk beds and headed out to the campfire circle to have a beer (on happy hour special of $3.00, another reminder of the midwest and its cheap alcohol) and waited for our outback dinner. While we waited for dinner and had a few beers I sampled some mystery meat sitting out for taste-testing, in which we would be told the source after dinner. I swore I was eating possum or something horrible, and to my surprise it tasted good which made me even more weary because I was thinking how horrible it would be to have tried something unquestionable and actually liking it! Later, after our roast beef, mash and veggie dinner, we found out it was goat…not so bad huh?

After dinner we gathered around and learned a little about the cattle station we were on, which if I could have understood what the poor old man, Alan, was saying through his thick Aussie accent and over the country tunes, I would be able to repeat right now. After smiling and nooding for some time we left the fire circle and went out to a clearing and learned how to crack some whips! I stood up on the milk crate, strapped on my protective goggles, and gave it a go! The first time, being that I smacked myself in the back of the head with the whip, didn’t turn out so well. After a lot of coaching, flinching, and horrible whipping technique I managed to crack the whip a few times! Once everybody had a shot at the whip it was time to have a go at the mechanical bull, and go figure, my name was called first . I hopped on and held on tight with my right hand and threw my left into the air, with a count of three and am instruction to lean back on three I rode my first mechanical bull….very poorly, Miranda said I shot off of it like a bullet the second it had started! In order to redeem myself I hopped back on and gave it another go, this time I think I lasted about 3 seconds, not good enough for a professional. Miranda was next and didn’t do considerably better than I did, and was okay with !After we all rode the bull one of two times we headed back to the campfire circle where we played games and dwindled off to bed.

The next morning I was shocked awake by a shotgun going off, nice alarm huh, and told to get up and get out to breakky. After breakfast and packing up our things a few of us were off on a horseride to muster goats out in the paddock (or was we call it, field). Myself, stating that I was a beginner and nervous on horses (which I am, being that they’re so huge and intimidating) was assigned to one of two of the most docile horses on the station, named Avis. Avis treated me very well and listened and did everything as I directed as we mustered the goats in the paddock. While mustering we were told to yell, “AYYY UP UP UP” in order to move along the goats. I felt like a maniac speaking goat but it surprisingly worked! With the team of about 15 to 20 of us we managed to successfully muster the goats into the pen and ride out horses back to the stables. Getting off of the horses, quite hilariously as we all were walking funny and rubbing our sore butts, we headed to the goat pen.

Once at the goat pen we were able to have a go at some clay pidgeon shooting, which I definately took part in. Having never shot a gun before I was very nervous, especially since the shotgun was half the length of my body! Being American, and almost all internationals thinking that we as Americans always carry and shoot guns (on a daily basis) everybody was stoked for my go at it. I will have to say that I did not impress as I missed all five of my clay pidgeons, and may have put the stereotype that Americans are crazy gun carrying maniacs to rest for the others on the trip.

Shooting five bullets was enough for me and our next activity was a little bit of a competition. We broke up into groups of three, Miranda, an old American guy (mid-70’s) and I formed a team and called ourselves Team America. The object of the game was to stand in a circular pen where a cowboy put a goat into, and when the timer started one would run and catch the goat, another would pick the goat up and place it gently into its side, and the third to go and grab the ‘hot’ branding iron (which was painted red in effect) and brand the goat for 3 seconds (the other point is that only one person could leave the fence at a time), after which the timer was stopped. I had the job of running, catching, and gragging the goat back to the fence, our American teammate tp tip the goat over and Miranda to run and grab the iron and brand the goat. The time had started and I got lucky and got to the goat right away and was able to drag it back to the fence, where our other teammate had a bit of trouble tipping it while Miranda ran for the iron. All in all we had done a really quick job and were sure we had once…and sadly did not, as we lost by .1 seconds after another team! Bummer huh! The goat racing was pretty hilarious and fun and after we all held hands and played spin the bottle with a taser gun! It sounds crazy huh, well it was. We were instructed to take all of our metal off and hold hands and where the bottle stopped the two people inbetween had to each hold onto a pop can while it was hit with a taser…at which point we all got shocked and screamed!

Being shocked was the last activity for our time at the cattle station, and as much as it made me feel like I was apart of the Jackass cult (I mean come on who willingly lets someone else shock them! Its ludacris!), I was ready to get back to civilization.

We all boarded the Oz bud and headed to Hervey Bay, the outlet to Fraser Island, and all sand Island (the biggest in the world actually) and said to be one of the natural wonders of the world. Once Miranda and I arrived in Hervey, after a stressful ride as we found out that our tour had cancelled on us but we were luckily able to book another tour last minute to go over to Fraser Island the next day, we had some pizza with a few new British friends and watched a movie. The movie made me tired as so I headed to bed being that it was going to be an early one the next day because we were heading to Fraser.     

All in all my time in Kroombit ended up being a really fun time and I learned a lot about all the hicks out there and the lifestyle that comes with it. Although I may now have a partial understanding for them I still will never be a country girl, even if I’m from there!

~Claire