Category Archives: Australia

Playing in Sand along Fraiser Coast, Australia

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After the fun we had exploring and breaking down on Fraiser Island, we needed to take a little break. The weather had been very gloomy for a few days so Sara suggested going to the Cinema. We went to a morning showing of the new action film Mad Max just because it was all the Australians were talking about. It was an Australian director and filmed in Australia so it felt like the right choice. The action packed film was a fun way to start the day.

As we drove to our next campsite, Inskip Point, the RV felt incredibly boring compared to all the amazing vehicles in the movie. Inskip point is a national park with several budget camp sites available right near the beach. Almost all of the camping areas are 4wd only but one (Sarawak) was listed as suitable for our big RV. After driving out to the Yarrawonga Reserve, I knew we wouldn’t have any difficulty. I was wrong. Continue reading →

Off-Roading on Fraser Island, Australia

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My family had mentioned that Fraser Island was a must-see in Australia after visiting several years ago. We headed south from Central Queensland and arrived to the Fraser Coast on a rainy afternoon. We stopped at a couple of i-site locations to research options for exploring the island. Our preference (with anywhere) is to find ways to explore on our own – self drive or maybe rent bikes, kayaks, or even hike to see the island. But Fraser Island is a massive land of sand with very little infrastructure so there was no way we could take our camper. At over 100 miles long and 10 miles wide we would not see much exploring on our own. So we bit the bullet and signed up for a tour which was 3 times our daily budget. To offset the financial impact, we used a cash gift received before we left to sponsor the day trip.

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Petting Aussie Animals in Central Queensland, Australia

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IMG_7282After all our fun in Airlie beach, we had to start working our way back south or else we would miss our flight to Africa in a couple weeks. Our first stopover was Mackay again. We just loved their free beach side camping area! It’s really just a parking lot at the beach without camping prohibited signs but there are beautiful views and we can wake up to a beautiful sunrise. It wasn’t a long drive from Airlie so we had the rest of the afternoon to relax and watch the tide fade into the horizon.

While I cooked dinner, Sara looked for our next destination. She found a rugged free camp area just a short drive south in the Yarrawonga Park Reserve. There was a stretch of dirt road but I hoped Continue reading →

Diving the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

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The number one thing on my must-see list was the Great Barrier Reef. To be honest, it was a little overwhelming to figure out how to ensure we saw the best spots while getting the best bang for our buck. The GBR is humongous and very far from the coast. There are several towns offering many trips of varying lengths to the reef. It’s a lot to sort through. Using travel guides loaned by our friends in Sydney, we read that it’s recommended to visit the GBR on a live-aboard ship. We also saw that the Whitsunday Islands were recommended for their beauty and sailing around them is very popular. Will did a quick search with that knowledge and found a sailboat, Anaconda III, that does a 3 day tour out of Airlie Beach. It seemed to be a good fit for what we were looking for but it did not fit into our budget. We took several days searching other options without any luck then weighed the pros and cons. Ultimately, we decided it was worth the extra expense to ensure we enjoyed the GBR. We started calling the trip a belated anniversary present to ourselves.

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We were greeted at the ship, Anaconda III, by a friendly crew of 7 and 30 other passengers. Most passengers were backpackers from Europe (mostly Germany but Belgium and Canada as well). There were two Aussies on holiday. Also, several were enjoying a weekend trip during their time studying abroad in Australia – a nice couple from Denmark and a large group of Americans. With a total of nine, it was the largest group of Americans we’ve seen in months! But the group of 21 year olds were more like a reality show about sorority girls living on a boat than a home comfort.

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