Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Does It Ring A Bell?
Twenty years from now I will be 48 years old, I am quite sure I will have at least one child and I will be working my head off at work, or at home. If I did not make the drastic decision to be a Working Holiday Maker last year, I am damn sure I will be praying to God every minute that my son or daughter will have the courage the do it. And I will be envying every young people who is willing to sacrifice the financial gain and bear the scorns & skepticism from their peers to walk this path.
Still remembered many many years ago, I told myself that I would like to live a life that is with no regret and after my death people will remember me. I guessed I’ve lived up to the first part of it so far.
Still remembered many many years ago, I told myself that I would like to live a life that is with no regret and after my death people will remember me. I guessed I’ve lived up to the first part of it so far.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Fraser Island – Day 3
After two days hidden behind the clouds, the sun had finally shown his face. The Lake Wabby is a small lake right next to the desert. It was said that in 30 years of time, the lake will be totally eaten up by the sand. Then we had to walk across desert and into the beach.
Finally we set foot in the paradise of Lake Birrabeen, it was when I started to believe all the photos in promotional brochures of Fraser Island had not been through the Photoshop. The place is genuinely a paradise. Crystal clear water, smooth white sands & cloudless blue sky… … hm… can you imagine how great it is just to lay there and absorb all beauties……
This is definitely the place I would like to revisit years later, because it is just the closest image to paradise.
Finally we set foot in the paradise of Lake Birrabeen, it was when I started to believe all the photos in promotional brochures of Fraser Island had not been through the Photoshop. The place is genuinely a paradise. Crystal clear water, smooth white sands & cloudless blue sky… … hm… can you imagine how great it is just to lay there and absorb all beauties……
This is definitely the place I would like to revisit years later, because it is just the closest image to paradise.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Fraser Island – Day 2
There were clearly two groups of people during breakfast, the sulking dorm group and the energetic hotel group. It was so funny just to observe the different moods of the two groups.
The day started by going to the Stonetool Sandblow Lookout. It was like a small desert with tops of the trees clinging to the last bit of their lives. That area was once a forest full of green tall trees, but as the sand moved to this area, the whole forest was gradually buried under the sand and became a small desert.
One of the things I was so looking forward to see on this island was this shipwreck. It was indeed stunning to see it by yourself, and the whole thing makes it more interesting when you knew this ship had been once a luxury cruise, a hospital ship during WWII and then sold to the Japanese for scrape metals.
It was said that the Maheno was too heavy to be towed from Australia to Japan. So the Japanese decided to remove & sold the propellers first before towing back to Japan. On the way, strong winds had made the towing extremely difficult. Although Maheno was in perfectly good condition, she was unable to move on her own without the propellers, so the Japanese just let her go and she ended up on the shore of Fraser Island.
One of the best things about guided tours was that you get to know the history or stories of the things you see. Without the colourful background of the Maheno, she would just look like a huge piece of pathetic rusted metal.
The Indian Head was one of the volcanic rocks on the island. Climbing up the steep rock on a rainy day on your thongs was not a good idea, but everyone seemed did not mind. There was no constructed route to the top of the Indian Head, I nearly slipped a few times on the way.
When you reached the top, you know it was worth it, and hoping you were here on a bright sunny day, because that would be more spectacular. It was said if the weather was good, you could see sharks preying on schools of fishes, huge turtles, stingrays and other sea creatures. I spotted only one stingray.
The day started by going to the Stonetool Sandblow Lookout. It was like a small desert with tops of the trees clinging to the last bit of their lives. That area was once a forest full of green tall trees, but as the sand moved to this area, the whole forest was gradually buried under the sand and became a small desert.
One of the things I was so looking forward to see on this island was this shipwreck. It was indeed stunning to see it by yourself, and the whole thing makes it more interesting when you knew this ship had been once a luxury cruise, a hospital ship during WWII and then sold to the Japanese for scrape metals.
It was said that the Maheno was too heavy to be towed from Australia to Japan. So the Japanese decided to remove & sold the propellers first before towing back to Japan. On the way, strong winds had made the towing extremely difficult. Although Maheno was in perfectly good condition, she was unable to move on her own without the propellers, so the Japanese just let her go and she ended up on the shore of Fraser Island.
One of the best things about guided tours was that you get to know the history or stories of the things you see. Without the colourful background of the Maheno, she would just look like a huge piece of pathetic rusted metal.
The Indian Head was one of the volcanic rocks on the island. Climbing up the steep rock on a rainy day on your thongs was not a good idea, but everyone seemed did not mind. There was no constructed route to the top of the Indian Head, I nearly slipped a few times on the way.
When you reached the top, you know it was worth it, and hoping you were here on a bright sunny day, because that would be more spectacular. It was said if the weather was good, you could see sharks preying on schools of fishes, huge turtles, stingrays and other sea creatures. I spotted only one stingray.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Fraser Island – Day 1
I kept praying after the rain last night, hoping the sun will come out today, afterall, it is not uncommon to have shower in the morning and shinning sun in the afternoon. However, God must be away from holiday as he must have missed my prayer.
Boarded the bus with 2x other young people, as stated in the brochure, this tour is recommended for people aged between 18 – 35, people outside this range is suggested to join day trip.
Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world, so once you set foot on Fraser, you are actually walking on the sand. At first it was really hard to imagine how sand can form an island, and with so many vegetations growing. I cannot find dessert have so many green trees.
It was explained that this island holds enormous amount of sand and clear water. The water saturated sand was compacted to form this big island. As for the trees, they were able to dissolve particular yellow sand and extract the nutrients from the sand. As explained by the guide, you can find totally different habitat in this island within a very short distance, and that is truly amazing.
First we have to walk 15 minutes in the forest to go to Basin Lake. On the way, the guide asked us to pick some little berries from the bush, and try to taste them. They were small white berries with purple spots, and tasted like mixture of toothpaste and cinnamon.
Basin Lake is a small oval lake surrounded by trees. One minute you were walking in the bushes and the next minute the small lane lead you into a lake, it was like entering Narnia as you walked into the closet.
Then we had to walk 40 minutes in the forest to another point, while we bushwalked, the guide would drive the car to the destination to lay out the lunch. This was when I started to like this tour. It was designed for you to experience the island, and not just put you into the car and drive through the place.
The next lake is the infamous Lake McKenzie, as seen from the photos and brochures, this was the most beautiful lake on the island. But with dark clouds lingering above and rain falling, the beauty of the lake had been discounted. Still, everyone rushed into the crystal clear water to have some exfoliations with the smooth white sand.
Soaked up in rain and a bit disappointed, we waited to be sorted into our room. The room came with the tour was a dorm room (probably 4-beded) up in the hill. The guide solemnly advised that the dorm rooms were over booked, so some of us had been upgraded to the resort hotel room down the hill. So everyone’s fingers were crossed hoping that he would not call your name when distributing the dorm room keys.
It turned out that I was one of the lucky bastards (I was quite convinced those staying up in the dorm would call us this name). The hotel room was not exceptionally impressive, but it was a hotel & double room & with TV & with bathroom & it cost $300 a night (almost the price of the tour) & I was going to sleep for 2 nights. ^_<
Boarded the bus with 2x other young people, as stated in the brochure, this tour is recommended for people aged between 18 – 35, people outside this range is suggested to join day trip.
Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world, so once you set foot on Fraser, you are actually walking on the sand. At first it was really hard to imagine how sand can form an island, and with so many vegetations growing. I cannot find dessert have so many green trees.
It was explained that this island holds enormous amount of sand and clear water. The water saturated sand was compacted to form this big island. As for the trees, they were able to dissolve particular yellow sand and extract the nutrients from the sand. As explained by the guide, you can find totally different habitat in this island within a very short distance, and that is truly amazing.
Berry tastes like toothpaste & cinnamon
First we have to walk 15 minutes in the forest to go to Basin Lake. On the way, the guide asked us to pick some little berries from the bush, and try to taste them. They were small white berries with purple spots, and tasted like mixture of toothpaste and cinnamon.
Basin Lake is a small oval lake surrounded by trees. One minute you were walking in the bushes and the next minute the small lane lead you into a lake, it was like entering Narnia as you walked into the closet.
Then we had to walk 40 minutes in the forest to another point, while we bushwalked, the guide would drive the car to the destination to lay out the lunch. This was when I started to like this tour. It was designed for you to experience the island, and not just put you into the car and drive through the place.
The next lake is the infamous Lake McKenzie, as seen from the photos and brochures, this was the most beautiful lake on the island. But with dark clouds lingering above and rain falling, the beauty of the lake had been discounted. Still, everyone rushed into the crystal clear water to have some exfoliations with the smooth white sand.
Soaked up in rain and a bit disappointed, we waited to be sorted into our room. The room came with the tour was a dorm room (probably 4-beded) up in the hill. The guide solemnly advised that the dorm rooms were over booked, so some of us had been upgraded to the resort hotel room down the hill. So everyone’s fingers were crossed hoping that he would not call your name when distributing the dorm room keys.
It turned out that I was one of the lucky bastards (I was quite convinced those staying up in the dorm would call us this name). The hotel room was not exceptionally impressive, but it was a hotel & double room & with TV & with bathroom & it cost $300 a night (almost the price of the tour) & I was going to sleep for 2 nights. ^_<
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Boogie Boarding Under The Rainbow
Excited and scared of going into the ocean to boogie board, but there were few kids under the age of ten were having fun with their boogie boards, so… why not?I walked 100 meters away from the beach, the water just came to waist, but when the wave came, it was twice the height. If you managed to get on the wave at the right time, it was extremely fun as you were actually riding on top of the wave at high speed. One wave is good enough to bring you back to the shore. With no skill and pure luck, I experienced the thrill a few times.
No doubt the surfers will stay in the water for a long time just to wait for the right wave to come, because the excitement is just beyond explanation.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
A Brief Encounter @ Noosa
While having a long lunch break at beach front of Noosa, I had a brief conversation with an Irish lady in her early sixties. She and her family had moved to Australia when her children were 1X years old.When I told her I am a working holiday maker from Hong Kong, she said she always encouraged her children to travel around when they finished college. At that particular moment, I said to myself I would encourage my children to do the same thing as well.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Koala Sanctuary
Koalas are not the only residents in Koala Sanctuary, you could feed & stroke kangaroos, touch the big bird – emus & wave at the close relative of koala – wombat. There are also many lizards walking around the sanctuary warming themselves under the sun, forcing you to see them.The lovely koalas are hard not to like them, and they are not as smelly as others claimed. But one thing is true, they look really dumb.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Glow Worms In Surfers’ Paradise
Surfers’ Paradise in Gold Coast should be the ideal place to practice surfing and soak up in the sun, but since I was still unsuitable for any water sports and the sun was hiding behind the thick rainy clouds, I decided to try another activity.This was the first time I saw glow worms, they were actually not flying around like I always used to think (or those are another species?). They were living in the humid mud and stone cracks, with their tail sticking out emitting green lights to attract their preys.
It was amazing to see thousands of little green lights scattered around you in the middle of the forest. It was definitely breath taking when you are inside the cave surrounded by a huge glow worm colony and a waterfall.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Bryon Bay
This was taken from Bryon Bay lighthouse, the most easternly point of mainland Australia. It was about 9:15am, the sun had just up and shining over a calm sea. I would really like to stay there longer and admire the scene. I would also like to see the sunset from here, then I will be the first person on Australia mainland to receive the sun.
Maybe everything that you missed doing is the most beautiful or desirable. Due to bus schedule and room availability, I can only stay in Bryon Bay for one night. I rushed to the lighthouse in the morning before I checked out the hostel. I was unable to stay up there longer nor to see the sunset on the next day.
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