Hiking the Sunshine Coast, Australia

FullSizeRenderWhile driving south from the Fraser Coast, I saw a tall peak a few kilometers from the highway. Whenever I see a mountain, my first thought is that I want to climb to the top. I asked Sara to look at her offline map app (Ulmon) to see if there appeared to be a hiking trail but she didn’t see anything. As we got closer, I spotted an exit from the highway and pulled off in hopes of finding a trail up the steep slopes. After bit of driving on small windy roads, we found a trailhead sign that seem to lead in the right direction. There were several signs warning about the steep trail ahead – we must be in the right place. We packed up a small bag and started up the trail.

FullSizeRender15The hike was pretty quick and all the steep sections had chains to help with the ascent. When we made it to the summit 45 minutes later, we were blown away by the views. It felt good to stretch our legs and get some exercise while enjoying the great scenery. Apparently, we were not the only ones with that idea. Continue reading

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

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

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