 |
Whitsunday Island (Australia)
by anwar7
Before leaving for our trip to Australia I spent many hours researching the places I wanted to see. I knew that as we had just less than 2 months away, I would not be able to see and do all the things I desired! However there were a few destinations that I didn't want to miss and one of these was the Whitsunday Islands.
The ... Whitsunday Islands consist of a group of 74 tropical Islands situated off the coast of Queensland. They form part of the Great Barrier Reef and are classed as a world heritage site. Hayman Island is the closest to the mainland situated 25 km off shore.
Getting there.
***********
I hired a car from Noosa and drove to Airlie beach, classed as the gateway to the Islands. As a guide Airlie beach is about a 13 hour, 1.095 km drive from Brisbane. It is important not to underestimate the distances in Oz! We didn't want to rush and so took a lot longer to get to Airlie beach, stopping for several days at locations on route. The Bruce Highway is the main route and I found it quiet and easy to navigate.
The nearest airport to Airlie beach is situated in Proserpine. Virgin blue operate flights from several locations .It is about a 30 minute drive from Prosperine to Airlie beach. There are good bus connections from the town.
Greyhound buses stop in Airlie beach in addition to several other companies.
...And on to the Islands.
*******************
From Airlie beach there are numerous tour operators that run both day tours and longer tours of several nights. Before booking check what the price includes. We were keen to avoid the backpacker's party type trips! The Islands visited varies too as does the time you are allowed to spend in the water.
After much research we choose to travel with Whitehaven express; a small family run company. We were collected from our campsite in Airlie beach early in the morning and taken to Abel point where the boat departed. The trip cost 160 dollars each with a small reduction for my children. The trip included a barbecue lunch, walk to Inlet lookout, swimming at Whitehaven beach and snorkelling at Mantary bay. We visited in July and although this is supposed to be the dry season, the weather was truly awful! The sea crossing was rough and I was glad I had packed the seasickness tablets! However despite the wet and cold weather we had a wonderful time. The crew were lovely and nothing was too much trouble.
Whitehaven beach.
*****************
This is probably the best known of all the Island destinations and numerous tour boats visit every day. Even in the rain this beach looked truly stunning! The wide arch shaped bay is backed by rain forest and looks exactly as a tropical paradise should! The 98% white silica sand is the most dazzling white I have ever seen. Walking along the beach is a unique experience as each footstep makes a squeak like sound. The sand has the consistency of fine salt and feels wonderful between your toes!
The Coral Sea is a beautiful turquoise colour with patches of darker blue and green. The water is crystal clear and fish can be seen swimming under the surface. Even though the air temperature was cold we still went swimming and the water was surprisingly warm.
There are numerous walking tracks around the Island although we didn't have the opportunity to explore fully.
This is a good place to spot wildlife although we saw little. We did see a brush turkey and a few dolphins just off the mainland.
There are composting toilets located a short walk from the beach. However there are no other facilities.
The best snorkelling is to be found at Mantary bay, a short boat ride from Whitehaven beach. The Islands form part of the Great Barrier Reef and I was expecting spectacular underwater sights! However although we saw coral and colourful fish it wasn't nearly as vibrant as I had expected. The rough sea conditions didn't help .There are much better places to see the Reef in al its glory, such as from Cape Tribulation in the North.
Accommodation options.
**********************
We stayed in the Big 4 campsite in Airlie beach . I am not sure I would recommend it as it was expensive and our cabin was filthy! However it was a friendly site with decent general facilities on offer. There are numerous accommodation options to suit all budgets in Airlie beach. It certainly wasn't my favourite town and has a reputation of being a young backpackers resort. It is a small seaside town with a single main street that seemed to consist of bars and booking agents for the Islands. There is a lovely sea water lagoon although it was far too cold when we were there to think about swimming!
If you fancy staying on one of the Islands then camping is the cheapest option. There are several small sites on the Islands and all are managed by the Queensland parks and wildlife service. You will need to apply for a permit to camp and these are available from the Queensland parks web site .Camping costs $5.45 a night. The Islands have no facilities apart from pit toilets and you will need to bring all you need including water. Boats to the Islands leave from Shute harbour and Abel point.
If money is no object then you could always stay at one of the exclusive resorts such as the 5 star one on Hayman Islands costing around $466 per night! Hamilton Island has accommodation for around $280 per night.
The weather.
************
Summer is from December until February and temperatures average about 31 degrees. This is usually the wettest season and you will need to wear stinger suits in the water to protect yourself from box jelly fish.
Winter is from June until August with temperatures averaging 24 degrees. It doesn't usually rain much during the winter although we experienced constant rain! Spring is from September until November and temperatures are around 29 degrees. Autumn is from March until may and temperatures are around 28 degrees. Cyclones are most common from November until March.
Overall I loved the Whitsunday's even in the rain! Whitehaven beach is everything a tropical Island should be with its dazzling white sand and turquoise clear water. I would love to return on day and spend several days camping to have time to explore properly.
Read the complete review |
 |
Brisbane (Australia)
by thedevilinme
Brisbane is boring, compared to the rest of Australia. It's like Milton Keynes by the sea, but 2.15 million people living there. The glamorous surf beaches to the south of the city are far too far away to be a draw and the Great Barrier Reef too far north to be part of the reason to live or holiday there. It's on the crossroads of the ... tropical north and the industrious south, and as we know, there are plenty of crossroads in Milton Keynes. It's the sort of place you might emigrate to if you are older or you have a younger family and you don't want the hustle and bustle of Sydney or the beach and sports lifestyle or Perth or the charm of Melbourne. Imagine it's full of accountants, pensioners and golf courses.
Brisbane's seafront has a rather dull harbor that spits out the Brisbane River that snakes through the city and that sea front area hardly exploited and ideal only for dog walkers and the homeless. All I remember from their promenade was looking for sea cows in the murky water, big ugly lumps of marine life that look like huge floating turd's called Manatee's. The lumbering grey beasts sort of summed up the place. Brisbane just doesn't have that Aussie buzz. The most exciting thing there is the regular and spectacular thunderstorms.
Backpackers begin to head north around May and June to do the Great Barrier Reef and enjoy the playful sunshine coast that runs 2000 miles up to Cairns and beyond. You only stay south of Brisbane if June if you are working or looking for employment. Everyone just passes through Brisbane, like Milton Keynes station between London and Manchester. And they are in a rush these days as it has been reported that 50% of the GBR coral has died and broken off in the last 30 years alone, they say to increased acidity in the water and more tropical storms, the locals would say because tourists, especially those of South East Asia, insist on snapping bits off to take home.
Brisbane is the capital of Queensland, of course, warm and humid for most of the year and clear and crisp in the winter, temps not really ducking under double figures in the day time although can frost at night in July to August. It has the most colorful sunsets and the strangest and iridescent wildlife for a big city, a fruit bat hanging from a palm tree never far away. I even saw a kangaroo in a public park in the suburbs. The feared Red Back spider lurks in dark and damp places and likes biting local's bottoms on the toilet. Their snakes are pretty menacing too and also likely to laze near the U-Bend and garage. The grey house spiders there that are not poisonous are much much bigger than ours girls so keep a real man handy. There are a lot of both in Queensland. Oh and forget about killing the roaches, a jackhammer not even enough to flatten these babies.
The city itself is functional and affordable, lots of neat suburbs fanning out from the modest city center, and no discernable crime rate. Four or five areas didn't fair well through the world slump and saw an increase in gang crime and general delinquency through drugs but the rest of the city pretty safe. Even the crim's get bored here. The aboriginal and immigrant population dominates the above statistics and there are also theft issues at some of the stations. It's much safer than London and many foreign cities that Brit's would be escaping for a better life too.
Things to do in Brisbane are probably classed as being urbane for Australian standards but for me a struggle. Some decent restaurants and waiting for Billy Connelly in concert once a year isn't that much fun. I was there for two spells of 4 weeks and we struggled to find 'a scene' that other Aussie cities like Melbourne and Sydney have. Brisbane, for some reason, just doesn't want to engage in the whole Australian thing. Even the shopping malls are rather drab.
It celebrates sports as all Aussie cities do, top class cricket and rugby available, all housed in excellent modern stadiums. It gets a test match or two in the famous Gabba Ground every year and the crunching State of Origin rugby league matches between Queensland (the 'Cane Toads') and Victoria (the 'Roaches') take part at the Suncorp Stadium. Rugby Union is nowhere near as big but the city still the heartland of their once all-conquering rugby union side. You can forget competitive soccer in Australia although English football is sneaking on to the TV there, the Brisbane Roar their team in the A-League.
Employment wise it isn't really the right place to look for work on your year out as you don't feel like you are in Australia if you anchor there. If you want to do the rather cliché agricultural work students and travelers do, though, then it is the launch pad for that if you want to pick in the winter in warmer climbs, sugar cane, exotic fruits and vegetables and wineries the deal in this sub-tropical area as you head west. The catastrophic floods of 2010 destroyed 25% of Queensland crops and so work abundant and varied now as they catch up. If you fancy crop picking don't take it lightly as its hard long hours and sweaty work and you often need to wear protection to avoid bites and stings. If you pick far north you need to worry about snakes and spiders and so not for girly girls. You will get everything in your hair if you don't wear a hairnet.
Accommodation in Brisbane is neither expensive nor cheap, all the major hotel chains indulged and some decent hostels and cheap hotels for the budget crowd. I stayed in the functional IYHA in the centre for around seventy quid a week back in the 1990s and made good friends there. It has a clean kitchen and dormitories and a nice TV room. I retreated there from Cairns to watch England in the football as they had the only live cable channel in the north showing the England World Cup games. I also took in a State of Origin game at the nearby Brisbane Broncos Lang Park rugby stadium, the year after the great Wally Lewis retired.
Read the complete review |
 |
Meteora (Greece)
by bluestreety
I've seen pictures of the monasteries at Meteora and thought that maybe one day we will have to go and see them for ourselves.
So this year we booked to go as part of a 3 week tour of Greece.
I researched for good hotels and picked one in Kastraki which is at the foot of Meteora. Not the easiest place to find, if you haven't ... been before, but WOW when we got there it was truly amazing.
Breathtaking scenery both when looking up at the monasteries and looking down when we went up to them.
Now you would expect, when being in such a wonderful place that you would pay for the privilege, but on the contrary. The hotel was the cheapest of the 6 we stayed in on our tour, but was certainly a brilliant place to stay. We had our cheapest meal of the whole 3 weeks in Kastraki and having paid anything from 3.50 to 5.00 euros for beer in Athens and Patras, I was overjoyed to pay 2 euro for a half litre of beer in Kastraki.
There are 6 monasteries, 2 of which are inhabited by nuns rather than monks and these are St Stephen and Rousanou. All 6 can be visited but they close on various days to the public. The owner of our hotel told us the opening times, so we weren't wasting our time. We chose to just go in one. They were all busy and I think you lose the serenity when these places are packed. Yes you will have to pay to go in and please be aware to dress respectably if you would like to enter. Shorts are not allowed for either sex and ladies will have to cover their shoulders.
Meteora can be found on the plains of Thessaly near to the city of Kalambaka and is a pretty straight forward drive from Athens or Patras from the south or from Thessaloniki in the north or Igoumenitsa on the west coast, which is a short ferry journey from Corfu.
Read the complete review |
