After leaving Melbourne, Matt and I stopped at the breathtakingly beautiful Wilson's Prom and climbed a small mountain for incredible views in the twilight. Then we headed East along the coast stopping in various national parks on our way towards New South Wales. One campsite we stayed in was right next to the beach in lush forest and was very rugged and beautiful. We went for a surf despite being a bit shark wary. Eventually we got to the beautiful little coastal town of Malacoota. A few hundred metres offshore the wind was howling but due to the shape of the coastline it was too sheltered by the beach for us to be able to get out to the windline, which was frustrating. But it was a very pretty place nevertheless. From here we headed north towards Canberra. The scenery was magnificent on this drive, as we drove along huge rural plains over 1000 metres above sea level. The rolling hills and farms reminded me of Wales and the green grass and trees were a real contrast to the dusty barren look of Western Australia. We arrived in Canberra and went to the parliament house and then the zoo where they had an impressive array of wild cats including two snow leopards, lions, tigers, a cougar and a tigon (lion/tiger crossbreed). They also had a bear and many indigenous species such as roos, dingos, emus, wombats etc. It was pretty cool but sad to see all the animals caged up. After the zoo we went and met my old mate Nick Streeton who was a housemate in Abingdon and is now studying at uni in Canberra (he's an aussie). He and his girlfriend Emma cooked us dinner and we watched French Connection 2, it was great to see them. the next day Matt and I went to the war memorial and museum which was huge and fascinating, far too much to see for the time we had, but highly recommended for any history enthusiasts.
After leaving Canberra we were on the final stretch of our collossal roadtrip across the South of Australia. We had covered about 7000 kilometres and seen three states, three cities and a lot of beaches, mountains and national parks. As we drove into Sydney, across the harbour bridge, past the opera house, we started to recognise things from when we were there 8 years before. We drove through to Manly, where we stayed all those years ago when I was just 18 and was leaving home for the first time. Manly hasn't changed all that much and it had a lot of nostalgic value for me! Matt and I had a couple of nights out to celebrate our journey and then he had to fly back to Perth. My good friend Marky was in Manly so i was not alone, and Tom, my old buddy from the hostel in Perth popped over on business. I also saw Lizzie and Laura, another couple of friends from the hostel in Perth. My old windsurf buddy Max turned up in Sydney too, so it was great to see lots of people I knew. On my birthday Max and I and a few others went to Botany bay and I kitesurfed while they windsurfed. Then we went into Sydney for a pizza and a few drinks. Two weeks in Manly seemed a long time in one place so it was nice to finally hit the road again with Marky. We headed north to Myall Lakes national park and camped by one of the lakes, near the ocean beach. We went for a swim in the sea and Marky was in awe of it all, which reminded me how lucky I was to be there. Its easy to start taking amazing beaches for granted when you've spent 4 months on them. The next day we went to Smiths lake where I did my instructor course 8 years ago and to the squeaky sand beach that I loved so much back then. You have to walk on a boardwalk through a rainforest to get to it and its magnificent, totally unspoilt. the sand squeaks when you walk on it and the water was crystal clear. There was a lovely mellow wave rolling in and I had a great surf, catching a good wave right in front of Marky. Afterwards we headed on north and stayed the night in Nambucca Heads at a very nice and reasonably priced campsite. The next day we headed on up to Byron Bay, which was very beautiful, we visited the lighthouse from which there were incredible views of the coastline. Next stop was Surfers Paradise, which seemed like tourist hell, so we onlys topped long enough to spend a day at the waterpark before heading on to Brisbane, where we stopped for a night out but didn't stay long, prefering to stay out of the cities. Our next stop was Noosa Heads, a very pretty little place where we decided to stop a few days and charge up our various phones and cameras and wash our clothes. I managed to get out kitesurfing on a lake nearby too. Then it was time for what we had both been really looking forward to, Fraser Island. Its the worlds largest sand island and is made entirely out of sand except for a few rocky outcrops. I think its about 120 kilometres long. The tracks proved very challenging, with loose sand, steep ascents and descents, large bumps and ruts and twists and turns. The beaches were great fun to drive on, although we had to watch out for landing planes! We visited lake McKenzie, the most impressive lake on the island where the water is fresh and crystal clear, surrounded by white sand and rainforest, then camped in the thick of the forest. The next day we drove up to Indian Head, a rocky headland with excellent views, then found a deserted sopt to camp on the beach, where we could imagine it was our very own island. The next day we were due to leave but stopped for a walk down a creek on the way. Not long after this we started smelling burning oil and discovered the car was leaking oil quite rapidly. We got off the island and to a mechanic who told us it was the crankshaft seal and it would take a week or so to get teh part. We headed up to Hervey Bay, about an hour or so further north where there was a Landrover specialist. He had the part but couldn't do the work till after the Easter break. This was Thursday, and now its Easter Monday and we're still in Hervey Bay waiting for the repair on Wednesday. Its a bit of a pain having to wait around, we had planned to be in Cairns by now, but at least the problem isn't too serious and Hervey Bay is a fairly pleasant place. Our campsite is right next to the beach, but also the road, so its one of the noisier we've stayed in. The tree our tent is rigged under becomes home to hundreds of huge bats every night too, who make a lot of noise around twilight but luckily stay quiet during the night. We've been mainly chilling out watching movies and trying not to spend any money. Yesterday we watched all three Godfather films back to back. It was awesome! I know it was you Fredo, and it breaks my heart. It breaks my heart!
