Hervey Bay / Fraser Island & Mooloolaba / Australia Zoo
Well...we arrived in retirement town...Hervey Bay. Lovely accommodation but quite far away from the main shops and cafes. We wanted to check out the area obviously, so after chatting to a lovely local lady who kindly pointed us to the right bus, we headed back to the main area, this time without all the luggage. After a lovely free lunch we started walking back....unaware at this stage exactly how far away we were from accommodation. After approximately 2 hours in the scorching heat (no we didn't get sunburnt mum!) we stepped up the pace and ran after a bus to the next bus stop!
And succeeded!
A fun filled packed day on Fraser Island followed this exhausting day.
Fraser island ('K'gari' (meaning paradise)) is the largest sand island in the world and one of the few islands where the rainforest actually grows in the sand! What? Wow! How? Well nick, let me tell you ....it's all to do with the minerals the sand provides the vegetation with. Sand is notoriously low in nutrients essential to plant growth. The plants growing on Fraser Island can obtain their nutrients (other than nitrogen) from only two sources - rain and sand.
The sand is coated with mineral compounds (i.e. iron and aluminium oxides). Near to the shore the air contains nutrients from sea spray which are then deposited on the sand. Fungi in the sand make these nutrients available to the plants, which then supply various organic compounds to the fungi (symbiotic relationship). Nick is amazed people...we hope you are too!
So driving along the island was pretty cool. With all that sand and no proper roads it was quite a bumpy ride in the ol' 4WD bus...entertaining to see the bus driver bouncing around on his suspended seat whilst we were being jolted left right and centre! Nick really wanted to take the wheel just so she could have a go in the suspension chair!! Big kid!! haha. We headed for 75 mile beach first (a natural highway) and watched a small plane landing. Driving along the coastline was pretty awesome, wouldnt be able to do that in the UK...too many silly pebbles and rocks! We headed to two of the gorgeous crystal clear freshwater creeks (Eli Creek and Wanggoolba Creek) and had a bit of a paddle. Next up was the Pinnacles (amazing different colour sand formations) and the Maheno Shipwreck, once a cruise ship built in Scotland in 1904 and was the world’s first ever triple screw steamer, weighing a massive 5323 tonnes. Then used as a hospital ship in WW1. Sold to the Japenese shipping company, on route back to Japan, the Maheno was hit by an unseasonal cyclone off the coast of Fraser. With unsuccessful attempts to refloat, it was abandoned (partly due to crews fears of the Aboriginals) and now remains as a famous landmark on 75-mile beach (getting your fix of interesting facts reading this blog aren't you!!?).
The highlight of our trip was Lake McKenzie, a pristine freshwater lake. Probably being the most visited feature on K'gari, it is a 'perched' lake meaning it contains only rainwater, no ground water. Lake McKenzie is not fed by streams and does not flow to the ocean. The sand (pure white silica just like that of Whitehaven Beach) and organic matter form a impervious layer, preventing the water from draining away.
Back on mainland Hervey Bay, and we decided to leave it once more, this time going 14,000ft....UP! Quite literally up in the sky to subsequently jump out of a plane, freefall for approximately 1 minute before slowly gliding back to the mainland once more! :) We got to see Fraser Island and Hervey Bay in all it's glory birdseye view. Once the parachute was released it wasn't hard to forget that our lives were dependent upon a piece of material not getting a hole in it! It was so peaceful and tranquil up there, with such spectacular views. Before we knew it, we were coming in to land on the beach, but not before having a go at steering the shute :).
Next up was a morning dolphin tour on board Blue Dolphin Catamaran. Unfortunately there was not much activity out on the water, due to the amount of recent rainfall in the area, and run-off from the Mary River.....result: heavily suspended sediment water - very brown water! We did however enjoy a nice morning tea and cakes/fruit followed by a ride on the drag net! See facebook for photos! :D All was not wasted, Haz got some very useful information from Peter our Skipper, regarding Sea World (Australia) where he worked for 15 years! With addition to marine biology related job ideas which will be thoroughly researched....you can be assured of that!
After having a couple of funfilled adventures, our last day was spent chilling out by the pool, followed by a nice free meal at Smokey Joes using a 2 for 1 voucher....? And free cocktails again using a 2 for 1 voucher....? We don't think Australians know what 2 for 1 means! :) we weren't complaining though!!
Greyhound to Mooloolaba...our typical backpacking trip truly begins! No more nice apartments for us!! Here we come ....4 bed dorms.....shared shower rooms....kitchens with no pots.... pans.... ovens.... cutlery......plates.....hmmm? Woo hoo! :D Never mind, we enjoyed walking along Mooloolaba beach and chilling in a cafe catching up on emails. And of course Australia Zoo. Very exciting.
Australia Zoo - Established as a wildlife park by the Irwins back in 1970 (The Beerwah Reptile Park) when it was originally only 2 acres. Taken over by Steve and Terri Irwin in 1992, they renamed it as Australia Zoo, and is now a 100 acre entertainment mecca with ovewr 1200 animals (not just reptiles!) . All money raised from filming and merchandise is put back into conservation efforts.
We saw some awesome things including The Crocoseum! The Crocoseum is the fulfillment of one of Steve Irwin's lifelong dreams. Steve wanted to provide the visitors to Australia Zoo with the opportunity to see crocodiles in clear water ponds. We had a great display of free-flight birds, snakes, and the main show - Saltwater Crocodile Graham! One of 15 Saltwater Crocodiles at Australia Zoo all caught by Steve Irwin!
Freshwater crocodiles and American Alligators are also presant at the zoo.
Guess what...? ...we saw even more koalas and took even more photos! - never going to get bored of them!
We had a great time going to South East Asia where we went to Elephantasia and got the chance to hand feed Sabu (and Siam and Bimbo) some of their favourite fruit. :)
We also enjoyed a fantastic presentation held at the Sumatran Tiger display. We were introduced to Bashii and his sister Maneki. The keepers showed us how they interact with the tigers, training them to perform certain behaviours so as to allow them to easily check their teeth and health daily. After a short walk we arrived in Africa- the latest development of the Zoo. It was part of Steve's dream to build an African Safari Park, where animals can roam free in open plains, and where the public can watch these animals interact as they would in the wild. So far stage one of the African Savannah is complete, with Giraffes, Southern White Rhinos (including a bady rhino) and Zebras. Later stages will include a Cheetah run....that would be awesome to see!
In addition to all of this, we managed to get up close and personal with some Red Roos. They were so used to all the people wondering through, that we managed to get right next to a couple for a close up pic! Pretty awesome.
There were many more animals we saw along the way including the Tasmanian Devils (not really like our loveable Taz), camels, wombats, red pandas and plenty of lizards (additional to those already in displays!).
All in all a great trip to Aussie Zoo and of course Hervey Bay.
Love Haz and Nick x x
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