Sleeping with the dingo's

So Noosa was my last check in point. Since then I have been to Rainbow beach, Fraser Island, Hervey Bay, and am currently in Agnes Water/1770. Funny name for a town I hear you say.........named so because this was the year that Captain Cook landed here in Australia. Sydney initially before travelling up the East Coast, stopping to refuel in Agnes Water.

What have I been up to in the past week or so? Well.......stayed on Rainbow beach for a couple of nights before joining my Fraser Island adventure tour. Its a small beach town with only a handful of shops and restaurants. It is said that you can see the colours of the rainbow in the sands here, it was beautiful soft sands, though I cannot back up the colours theory myself. While'st here I took the Carl Blower sand dunes walk which had fantastic views of the coast from the golden sand dunes. Throwing boomerangs as paragliders attempt to avoid being knocked out by them. From here we watched the sunset.......uncertian why but the scene reminded me of the Lion King!!

From Rainbow beach we departed for the 3 days, 2 nights camping tour on Fraser Island. A group of 8 backpackers assigned to a 4WD and given food and camping equipment. For the next 3 days we were to live out of this vehicle. It got more than a little sandy inside! During the course of the journey those of us with a driving liscense had the opportunity to attempt driving through the sand. Some of the tracks were pretty trecherous. Camp site was basically just a patch of land off the beach. No frills tour!! No toilets or showers, shovels and fresh water lakes instead. The island itself was beautiful and the stars at night were spectacular. Infact one evening toilet trip down to the sea I spotted a shooting star. The island had an abundance of wildlife. We saw dolphins, sting rays, turtles, wild snake, and encountered dingo's. Infact one couple left food in their tent only to return one afternoon to find the tent had been savaged by dingo's. A highlight of the trip was tasting bbq shark freshly caught by one of our tour guides. Needless to say we took heed of the warning not to swim in the sea! Ironically, the group had managed the whole trip without getting stuck in the sand right up until the last day that is. On the return journey to Rainbow beach we all had to pile out the vehicle and push one van after another. This was hell!! The sand was soooo hot that you could here the sizzle and smell the smoke. I just wanted to cry! Apart from this and the huge biting bugs it was a great experience.

From Rainbow beach I stayed in Hervey bay for one night. Nice place! Usually catch whales swimming just off the coast though the season had ended for this so I just checked out the beach.

On to Agnes water stopping only at the famous Bundaberg rum distillary on the way. Had my photo taken with the famous big bottle outside. For $10 we could do the self-guided tour and get 2 free taster drinks in the bar afterwards. Scrummy!! Bundaberg rum has been distilled since the 1880's, having suffered two major fires in the early 1900's it now sells aroung $550 million worth of rum annually. Bundaberg is the biggest producer of sugar cane in Australia. Once the cane has been harvested it must be transported to the mill within a short period of time. This is done via mill trains. The famous 'Bundi'polar bear seems a strange mascot for Aussie rum. However, it is believed that the rum helps to fight colds and flu. Hence, polar bear.......that and he's cute!!

So five nights at the hippie hostel is more than enough. Ready to move on tomorrow. Saturday evening participated in an aboriginal evening down in the town of 1770. A small group of the Goorang Goorang tribe from Bundaberg shared with us some cultural dances and stories around a camp fire. Examined a selection of ancient weopons, including the 'Killer boomerang'. Extremely heavy-will do what it says on the tin!! Had the privilege of witnessing a tribal naming ceremony for some of the locals who work closely with the tribes people. The evening ended with tribal face painting, photos and tasting some bushtucker ( billy tea and damper bread).

Yesterday did one of the things that I have been looking forward to for months......Chopper roo. It was fantastic! Sitting on my flame embazoned bike complete with helmet and leather jacket cruising down the open road with my bad ass biker buddies. Tempting enough to consider getting my bike liscense when I return home.

Moving on from Agnes water tomorrow morning.