November 27th- December 1st

Day 11- Yeppoon to Rockhampton to Emu Park (70km)

We woke still a little fragile from the chicken burgers! Sad times. After breakfast we had to travel to the nearest large city to attend an important meeting. That city was Rockhampton and the meeting was of the utmost importance. Our lovely camper 'Laika Virgin' (we still hate the name) was having some troubles. The troubles were mainly the fridge, it wasn't doing anything but making noise, and by morning it wouldn't make any noise and would be warm. After a phone call to the company we took it to another company to fix the battery. The 'fixer' told us the second battery that powers the fridge was totally flat and was even the wrong type. He fixed it and we finally have chilled milk!

We left the garage and went to the shopping centre to get new food that wasn't warm! We also picked up a small Christmas tree for the van! After our shopping trip we dithered around town before moving on. We headed back through Yeppoon to a place called Emu Park. Emu Park was a really small seaside town on a part of the coast known as Capricorn Coast. We're guessing Captain Cook was here at some point as he had a monument on the top of a cliff. The monument was a strange steel ship-like structure that had 3 large 'guitar strings' that allowed the statue to 'sing'. Hence it's name the singing ship. We quickly found the beach and spent the rest of the day there. Two small events happened while on the beach. The first was that a crazy person was wandering around with a shovel and metal detector. He probably was quite sane; he just had a very suspect shirt on! The second event was that Declan was attacked. No need to worry it wasn't by a person. It was again by a bird! This attack wasn't as direct as the previous encounter. The bird hit Declan with a long range strike in the form of poop!!! The poop narrowly missed Deccy's head and covered his towel and book. Melanie found the whole encounter hilarious but agreed to a strategic relocation!

That night we had a simple dinner, thank god, and continued the now tradition of sleeping in a sweat box.

Day 12- Emu Park to 1770 (272km)

Today's was one of those days where very little was achieved. We all have them, and it is mainly caused by the same reason, road works!! The whole Bruce highway, which is twice the length of Britain, is undergoing a resurfacing. We have encountered this all the way down from Cairns and it had barely added a few minutes to our journeys. Today however the stretch we were driving on was full of teams digging and drilling. All the way from Cairns we have been impressed that the road workers in Oz actually do some work and don't stand around a hole scratching their 'heads', like back at home. That's was until we met the Emu park to 1770 crew. They were doing sweet FA and held us up for at least 4 hours!!! Fear not, spirits were kept amazingly high by Craig David's 'born to do it' and the smooth sounds of Phil Collins!

By now you might be wondering why the town is called 1770. It's very simple; some very uninspired British sailors landed on this part of Oz in....... 1770. Surprisingly the whole area wasn't over run by Brits and remained a hidden gem. The nearby town of Agnes Waters is where the few people (1619) mainly live and 1770 itself only has 56 residents.

Because the area is so sparsely populated large chunks of the coast remain untouched, this also includes a nearby island. Apart from the road and houses the whole area is a giant national park. This national park has some very strict rules, however a man called Bruce has a special relationship with the rangers and is allowed to run a unique trip.

When we finally arrived in 1770 we faced a mad dash to get ourselves booked onto this very special trip but did so in the nick of time. We found a campsite and counted down the minutes till the next day.

Day 13- 1770 to 'The Island' (distance unknown)

We woke, got our supplies (including goon) and headed to the pickup point. We were lead by a hillbilly woman down a long dirt track until we came onto a shoddily constructed airfield. As we waited a small, and we mean tiny, plane appeared on the horizon and landed on the strip of grass and pebbles. The tiny 4 seater plane looked like it had been through the mill and after finally coming to a spluttering stop, Captain Bruce stepped out. The passengers he let out after him thanked him for an amazing flight before turning to us and wishing us luck. Before we board the plane we'll tell you what it is we're up to.

This special trip we are going on involves basically being flown onto an island and left there. It's very much like 'Lost vs. Shipwrecked'. Bruce and his tiny plane land on a strip of beach, he gives us some food and supplies, then turns the plane around and flies off.

Anyway back to the airfield. The hillbilly woman left with the previous tenants of the island, probably to eat them, and we were left alone with Bruce. It's very hard to describe Bruce. He wore his pilot shirt to make himself look formal but then a pair of battered shorts and flip flops destroyed the look. He spoke quite formally but then what he was actually saying was pure 'Hugh Heffner' sleaze. As we clambered aboard the plane he decided Melanie was to ride up front with him, and the other girl with us Andrea, rode in the back with Dec. Bruce quite proudly told us his aim was to make all the boobs in the plane bounce as much as he could. He insisted Declan watched Andrea's to confirm this while he kept watch up front. Seeing that we were nervous about the washing machine with wings he ran us through what to do in an emergency, he essentially told us that if he had jumped out the plane, so should we! Melanie not being a massive fan of aircrafts explained to Bruce that she would be gripping his arm for most of the trip .Bruce wittily responded that we wouldn't by flying anywhere unless at least one woman was holding something of his. The one propeller then burst into action and we slowly made our way to the top of the airfield to begin our take off. Bruce surprisingly did some checks and was chatting happily to Melanie up front, in the tiny seat behind Bruce Declan and Andrea was searching for any form of seat belt. Bruce turned around and asked if we were ready and even before we responded he had hit the accelerator with a grin. He hurtled into the air and levelled out at around 1500ft. The view of the whole area was amazing. Bruce asked how the boobs were and didn't get a reasonable response from the two ladies. He then started dipping and raising the plane as much as he could. The whole thing had us all screaming as we starting plummeting towards the ground before being hauled back into the sky. After re-levelling the plane he asked if we were good and reassured Melanie he wouldn't do it again. He lied! He lied a lot, an after the fourth time his ears must have been ringing from the screams. Declan however loved it and wanted some more. Bruce said he wouldn't as it was time to see the dolphins. He pointed his arm over Melanie and out the window. "Can you see the dolphins?" He asked. Blank faces and shaking heads. "There, there" he shouted over the wind. "Let's get a better look" he then said face grinning like a Cheshire Cat. He rolled the plane sideways and everyone toppled right, faces squashed against glass, squealing with joy/fear. As soon as we levelled he asked the same question with a sly grin. He then rolled the plane the other way and pushed down on the stick; we banked left and were hurtling straight into the sea. He pulled the plane level and we were finally nearing our destination. We saw the long curved beach below us as Bruce did a fly by. We slowed turned and started our descent. The landing was as smooth as silk and Bruce was clearly a master of these conditions. With the waves approaching Bruce slowly turned the plane and brought it to a stop. He got out laughing to himself and we saw the other people on the beach knowing we had shared the same fate. Bruce introduced us to two Canadians that were like guardians of the camp. They had done the same trip as us but had decided to stay on, their time on the island now nearing 70days. We sorted out our stuff and readied the tents.

By now it was nearly 3 so we decided to treat ourselves to a dip in the ocean. The waters are all safe round this area so no need for the all in one stinger suits. We did however take advantage of the inflatable tractor tyres and lounged around for a while lapping up the surf. After hearing some commotion and seeing the 9 other castaways running down the beach we thought something was wrong. They were however all pointing out to sea. We turned around and saw a pod of wild dolphins about 300 meters from where we were splashing around. We slowly made our way towards them as the group swam towards us. The dolphin’s didn’t stay long as they were following a shoal of fish but a few did swim close to the group and jump out 'flipper' style.

After a good afternoon we took ourselves off on an exploration of the island. Sadly we didn't come across any polar bears but we did find an old graveyard. The graves were all for locals lost at sea and they all dated back to the 1800s. A small community had lived on the island maintaining the lighthouse at the top of the hill. We eventually came across the lighthouse which is now automated. It was all fenced off and locked up. We watched the sunset from the far side of the island before making our way back to the base camp. At one point we were sure we saw a cloud of black smoke but we put it down to the dusk light playing with our eyes.

The Canadians had set up a pretty good base on the beach and had a campfire burning by the time the whole group had returned from their travels. We all chatted and thought it would be rude not to start drinking. The conversations before dinner were basically interrogating the Canadians and hearing other tales from the island. The boys had a beef stew on for our dinner and by the time the full moon was high enough to light our patch of beach, it was ready. Quite simply the stew was amazing. The taste was top notch and there was enough for everyone to get seconds. We would have preferred more potatoes so Roisin you have nothing to worry about, yours is still a must for our return. After dinner the drinking ramped up and we started sharing drinking games. After a few from the Essex girls which were funny, we tried a Canadian game called concentration. The plucky Brits took the game by the horns and changed it into half an hour of hysterics where we all had to be Aussie animals. By now it was our turn and Declan explained that they had saved the best game till last. Dec explained the simple rules of 'ping pang pong' and made sure they were enforced, much to his drunken embarrassment. The group loved it and we all went to bed as happy as Larry.

Day 14- 'The Island' to 1770 (distance unknown)

Waking up bleary eyed on a solid tent floor covered in sand is not meant for two upstanding adults, it was however how this day began. Totally dry mouthed and with a dense sweat appearing, a head first dive into the ocean was the only cure. By God did it work! We slowly dragged ourselves up the beach and lay next to the other worst for wear castaways. We now didn't go by our names mearly the animal call signs we had given ourselves the night before. Melanie was now the eagle and Deccy the frog. After recovering on the beach we decided to take an ocean kayak around to the next bay. The Essex girls had told us that they had capsized numerous times trying to reach the beach, but we had nothing to fear. Melanie was assured that Declan's years as a sea scout had made him sea hardy and able to steer the small vessel. This confidence even lead her to pack the camera!!! We made it round to the small beach without incident and tried searching for oysters the Canadians had told us frequented the bay. After a lacklustre search we hopped back into our craft an out into the ocean. Confidence high we even took some action shots of our trip. Back on the castaways beach we lounged around until we heard the familiar sound of the plane.

When Bruce clambered out of the cockpit he was clearly a man on a mission. A tradition of the island is that sleazy Bruce gets to perform a beach based photo shoot. The various poses he had people doing by the plane eventually led to somebody having to wear his pilot shirt. Topless Bruce only had one girl left to snap, Melanie! Getting her to make it look like that was all she had on, Bruce was attempting to orchestrate a sexy shoot. He got his wish and even allowed Declan in a few shots. Although the price of Declan's inclusion was that he could roll the plane over him!(see photos) Photo-shoot over, time to go. As we were the last to arrive at Castaways Island we were also the last to leave. We waved goodbye to the island and our new friends left behind and rose into the sunny sky. Bruce and Melanie chatted away merrily up front while Declan stared out at scenes below. On this trip there weren’t as many shenanigans as the flight out. Bruce explained to Melanie everything he knew about aviation and even demonstrated to us a crash landing. He took the plane down skimming the water and rolled it along a remote beach before hitting the throttle and flying us home.

For the rest of the day we sat by a pool at a campsite we found outside of town. We slept well that night in the 'comfort' of Laika Virgin.

Day 15- 1770 to Bundaberg (190km)

A few road works littered the journey to Bundaberg but nothing that dampened spirits. All the way down the coast Declan has amused himself by saying the name of all the creeks we cross in an Aussie accent. On day one it was mildly amusing, two weeks later and at least 200 creeks crossed we now see it a challenge. Can Declan say every creek name from Cairns to Sydney (2645km) in an Aussie twang? Stay tuned for results.

We arrived in Bundaberg early as we had to book up for our night’s event. We booked up for the evening and noticed the town was home to a rum distillery. Being avid followers of all things alcoholic we went to have a look. The rum, called Bundaberg rum, is the most popular rum in Oz and is made from the surplus from the sugar cane production in Bundaberg. The factory offered a tour of the grounds so we thought why the hell not. Not knowing how rum is made we found the tour very interesting. Our tours guides were very funny and made us shout out 'huzzah' and 'poppy cock’ at random times along the route. They were doing this to get us to earn our 'samples' of buddy rum at the end. As with all tours and trips we ended the walk in the gift shop!! This gift shop however was home to the rum and we could try 2 glasses each. It was at this point the guides asked the crowd who was driving; this received a few grumbles, one coming from Mel! They had a drink the drivers could have while everyone else tucked in to the 'hard' stuff. Because Mel couldn't have her 2 samples Declan ended up having three rums in quick succession and thoroughly enjoyed his visit to the factory.

We found a campsite on the beachy side of town and relaxed the afternoon away. Someone was light headed and needed the lie down. That evening we had a trip booked to go and see the loggerhead turtles laying their eggs on a secluded beach. The turtles are some of the rarest in the world and we are lucky to be here at the right time of year. We headed out to the beach which has a large visitor centre attached. The beach is off limits to humans at all times of the year as they don’t want to ruin any of it for the turtles. The centre housed lots of information about the turtles and how they had became endangered. Since 1970 their numbers have dropped by 90% and it is solely down to humans. The centre has been protecting and aiding the turtles since that time and their numbers are very slowly on the increase, although only by 40 a year. We were split into 4 largish groups and had to basically sit around until a turtle had crawled up the beach. After about an hour’s wait in the total darkness we were taken down to the beach. Our timing in Bundy could’ve been better as the research team were also there tagging and recording turtle numbers. The guide led us to the turtle that had just begun digging a hole. We watched in total silence as the turtle dug a hole with its strange ‘hand like’ back flippers. The researcher was explaining alot of the process to us and told us that we could start taking photos once she had laid a dozen or so eggs. The turtle continued laying eggs for about 15 minutes then proceeded to move heaps of sand over the hole. She slowly made her way down the beach towards the moonlight. The black water hit her shell and she disappeared into the night. The researcher explained that she would be back to repeat this 3 more times in the coming weeks. Back at the nest another researcher was undigging the hole. To help assess numbers they dig up the nest, count the eggs and return them, this also helps them locate the hatchlings when they emerge in two months. The researcher carefully dug up and took out all the eggs and lined them up in rows of 10 alongside the hole. Fancying a flutter we bet on the number in the hole. Melanie was spot on with her guess of 117 eggs. A single turtle will lay around 500 eggs during the season, however only 1 in every 1000 eggs will mature into a fully grown adult. In wanting to support the turtle we went and bought a certificate of our visit that is now proudly on display in the van.

We’re now over halfway down the East Coast of Australia with 1932km driven. We still have lots more to see and do before we eventually get to Sydney for New Year.