Kailua

When your airplane looks like this you know you are in for a good time!

Landing in Honolulu airport I sent a happy thought to my travel agent from Airtreks. She had initially planned my flight to New York from Sydney with just a change of aircraft in Honolulu, but when we walked through the ticket together she suggested to stay for an extra day or two.. And what a couple of days!

I was picked up at the airport by Damien, an american sailor living on O'ahu that I met in the blue mountains near Sydney. We then drove literally through the mountains to the south east coast and the town of Kailua, where I met his father John an ex brit and now professor at University of Hawaii. Damien had graciously offered to let me stay at their house a mere 2 min walk from the beach and with palm trees all around. 

  

After receiving my own room, a delicious lunch and a cold mexican beer in the garden I was given a tour around Kailua by John while Damien went to work. This gave me a good overview of the town so afterwards I jumped on a bike to explore it further on my own. But I wasnt let loose before I had experienced an original shaved ice cone from the same store that Barack Obama frequents when he is visiting his home town Kailua. 

   So I biked around the suprisingly bike friendly town with bikelanes and everything! Going all the way out to Lanikai beach and working my way back towards and along the coast of Kailua. 

Mountain ranges surrounding Kailua. Between the town and the mountains were a large marsh area. 

Lanikai beach. Notice the guy in the blue t-shirt flying his kite

At Lanikai beach I met a guy who was putting up his kite.. but he had also attached his go pro camera in a simple wire beneath it, making for some great pictures from more than a 100 meters above. This little trick I will definitely have to try one time.

  

Next day was packed with hikes around Kailua starting with Makapu`u lighthouse hike. First stop was at a natural lagoon sheltered from the crushing waves, where we went snorkeling. Then a hike along the cliffside till another set of natural pools, called the thai pools. Here the waves smashed againt the volcanic rock creating great displays of spraying water. 

  

Finally ending the hike at the Makapu`u viewpoint. 

From here we changed scenery from bare rocks to steaming jungle and muddy tracks to a waterfall in the mountain range begind Kailua. This track was extremely muddy and along the path you would see abandoned shoes and socks, while swinging from branch to branch to keep your balance. The reward came in the form of a small waterfall with several options for jumping from the surrounding cliffs. 

After a long day of hiking we ended the day with cold beers and barbequed oisters in the garden. 

Next morning was my last day on the island so we were up early to make the most of it. Me, Damien and their dog Kula hiked up to a line of observation bunkers overlooking Kailua and from there we watched the sun rise from the pacific.

 

After some well deserved breakfast we took the scenic route to the airport, making a stop at the huge Diamond Head Crater, where we hiked up to the top overlooking Honolulu. 

Then it was time to say goodbye. It had been a very intensive and enjoyable stay. I cant thank the Casken family enough, Damien, John, Emely, Sarah and Jason, Brad and Cody you all made we feel so welcome!

Mahalo!

Among koalas and kangaroos

Coming back from K'gari I left the Dropbear Adventure column in the town of Rainbow Beach. Here I was picked up by an old friend of mine, Bobo and together we drove down south to the town of Alexandra Headlands, a beach town melted together with its neighbors along the Sunshine Coast. Here I spent a couple of days catching up and telling stories about the good old days when we had met back in Europe. We even found the tallest rock in the area and climped it for a nice view of the coast. 

View from Mount Coolum

Bobos appartment right on the beach, not a bad life...

Before coming to Australia I kinda got the impression that everything were out to kill you, but so far only a few non lethal critters had crossd my way so I thought I better come to them then. And where else to go than the home of Steve Irvin! So while Bobo was working I ventured inland to the Australian Zoo. 

Now a big focus of this was of course the crocodiles and alligators. And the rest was pretty much koalas and kangaroos. I liked the atmosphere of this zoo, sometimes it can be very depressing being in a zoo because of the conditions for the animals but this place was great. Visitors and animals lived almost side by side. Koalas were hanging from the trees as you walked through the park and kangaroos were sunbathing or being hand fed by little kids with a huge smile on their faces :) Elsewhere birds are flying freely around and you are passed by wombats out for their daily stroll around the park. 

Luzy a very determined wombat lady out walking her keeper around the park. 

Red Panda 

Emilio a split tail eagle showing off for the camera. 

Before I left the Sunshine Coast there was just one thing I had to do...

I grapped a surfing lesson and had a really good time with a lot of local aussies   Something I will definitely have to do again. Then it was time to say goodbye and jump on a train to Brisbane. 

Thank you so much for your hospitality Bobo, I hope to repay you again some day!

Arriving in Brisbane it was time for another catchup with an old friend of mine. I was picked up at King George Square by Trent and his girlfriend and they showed me around the city center and the southbank area, where we met up with his parents for dinner and storytelling. I had a great time and hope to see you all again on your next euro trip!

   Suckling pig lasagne!

Futuristic icecream bar using nitrooxcide to fast freeze your dessert

  Icecream and caramelized macarone on the top!

 Brisbane southbank, a great area to socialize and relax

The next day I returned to Melbourne with tiger airways of which I should by now be a frequent flyer. Here it was time for one last social weekend with lots of gaming before leaving Australia. 

Making new friends and meeting up with old ones

It was amazing traveling half way around the world for then to be taken in by the local gaming community as if it was the most natural thing in the world! Everyone where so friendly and helpfull and I really enjoyed this weekend, where I got a chance to make a lot of new friends and catch up with yet an old one! 

So this was a month in Australia... By far not enough to do this place justice, could have easily spend another just continuing up the coast. 

Thank you to everyone I met along the way, you all made me feel so welcome and showed off the Australia I was hoping for!

Now it is time to go, the time machine is fully fueled and ready to cross the international dateline as I inch myself closer to Europe. Next stop is Honolulu Hawaii where I will have a short stop before going to New York. 

Aloha!   

K'gari

Landing in Brisbane I jumped on a shuttle bus taking me directly to Noosa a town on the Sunshine Coast for the super rich and the backpackers working there to care for their every need. This would be my staging area the next day and a half before going of to Fraser island. After checking in to a horrific Nomads hostel because everything else was booked due the food festival this weekend, I headed straight to the beach and threw down my travel towel to suck up some rays..

  

Next day I spent wandering the adjacent national park and its beautifull coastal track, taking in the view of massive waves smashing against the rocks, golden sanded bays and lots of surfers. 

Statue raised in memory of Harrold the Koala that was killed by a dog attack in the park. 

The track took me to Hell's Gates, a deep carving into the sandstone rocks by the relentless sea

Past Alexandria Bay, where I turned inland and started walking around like a true tourist with head looking up to try and spot a koala. Unfortunately my effort was only rewarded with a rain shower of biblical proportions forcing me to take out my emergency rain poncho no matter how ridiculous it makes me look..

  Alexandria Bay

So no Koala sighting for me but next morning I was going on the highly recommended 4WD tag along tour by Dropbear Adventures to Fraser island. 

Fraser island is the worlds biggest sand island and has a unique eco system that allows for rainforest and animals to thrive here that would otherwise be impossible because everything is sand and rocks. The island is only accessible by terrain going vehicles and you are ferried onto the island by a barge landing on the beach itself. The main road of the island is the 75 mile long eastern beach that is used even by small aircraft as a landing strip.

We took off from Noosa in a 4 car convoy using back dirt roads through the great sandy national park. Arriving in Rainbow Beach where we drove to a small sand peninsula waiting for the barge. 

As we rolled onto the island and started driving up the beach our guide Dave passionately introduced us to the wonders of this island and at the same time opened our eyes to the rich history and tragedy that had befallen the original Buchella people. 

First stop was lake Wobby. A sacred site for the Buchella people that only males were allowed to go near. This only applies to Buchella people thou and tourists of both sexes has been given permission to come there. To get there you need to walk through a forest area and then a sea of golden sand dunes before arriving at this beautiful fresh water lake completely isolated from anything but rainwater. 

From here it was back to camp and a nicely cooked Australian BBQ. But on the way Dave pulled over and got us all out and showed us these little oval raised spots in the sand. Digging a handfull down revealed a clam burried underneath the sand ready to be cocked up as an entrée. Everyone spread out and began digging up little treasures!

 

Fraser island is home to a specie of wild dogs called dingos. These guys has an excellent sense of smell and will show up within minutes of you opening any food or even just bringing something with a different smell onto the island. This means that everything needs to be stores dingo proof in metal boxes or in vehicles. Anything you leave in a tent will result in a torn apart tent(as dingos do not operate zippers) and a chase through the bush to retrieve your passport or cellphone. If walking around you are obligated to bring a dingo stick to give them a good whack across the snout if within reach. Dingos are not necessarily dangerous but if they learn not to fear humans they will increase their interactions with us and thereby the danger of someone getting bitten because they do not understand the nature of the dingo. A dingo that bites a human must be put down so when our guide Dave were chasing dingos out of the camp with rocks it might seem cruel but in reality it is because he loves these dogs and wants to protect them against humans. 

The next day we continued our drive up the east coast stopping first at Eli Creek. This creek comes from a gigantic underground water ressouir that pumps up 150 year old sand filtered rain water, making it extremely clean and very refreshing! So the trick is to run up the creek and jump in while you let the stream take you out to sea. 

Next stop was a skeleton from a mere 1 year old baby humpback whale. 

The wreck of the old luxury liner Maheno used for bombing practise during WW2

Then the pinnacles a sacred site for the female Buchella, a regular beauty spa with plenty of aloe vera plants at hand and exfoliating vulcanic rocks. 

Daves show and tell about Buchella people beauty products

Then we arrived at the most sacred site of the Buchella people, Indian Head cliff. This site was named by Captain Cook as he sailed past and spottet the Buchella people there. This cliff was a ritual meeting place and according to Buchella people belief the place from which the world was created by among others the spirit K'gari. The spirit K'gari enjoyed the world that she had helped create so much that she wished to stay there, her wish was granted as she was turned into the very island connected to the cliff. The Buchella people therefore named their island after her. The official name "Fraser" came along under tragic circumstances. The rich Fraser family shipwrecked on the island and was taken care of by the Buchello people until rescued. Unfortunately mister Fraser died and misses Fraser was now without a living. So she started to sell her story of living on the island. But as it didn't sell too well she added horrific elements like cannibalism and torture of her husband, which turned into an uproar against the Buchella people, tragically ending with 250 women and children being driven of this very cliff to their deaths below. 

  

Last stop for the day were the Champagne Pools, where you could chill in the shielded pool with the roaring ocean at your back. 

The evening was spend looking at star formations under a clear sky using a laserpointer which was quite cool and watching the moonrise as it came up later. 

The last day we went more inland to hug a very old tree and visit lake Mckensie. The sand there is so fine it is basically silicone and even used by NASA to make lenses for their telescopes or by tourists to clean their teeth or rub their feet.  Besides that the area was covered in tea trees giving the water very healthy properties.

 

From here we only had a stop at an old lumber yard before we were heqdingback  towards the barge landing area. But not before we all had a chance to say goodbye to K'gari. All along the beaches fresh water streams from within the island runs into the ocean. These streams are said to be the lifeforce of K'gari and if you  stand in them with your bare feet you can feel the hearbeat of her, as the streams seems to come in pulses. 

I had a really good time on K'gari and what I expected to be 3 days roaming around in terrain going vehicles were in fact a much deeper experience and appreciation for the life this island has sustained for so many years.