My Favorite Places Where I live.

[Tonz]

I have meant to start this Thread for a long time but i have always put it off .So to day I get started . iT'S A LONG ONE SO BRACE YOURSELVES
I live in an area that is surrounded with exceptional beauty and i wish to share it .
For the locals in Aus. Most of it won't be so surprising but then again there may be a few that still will be surprised.
As for the one ones that live far from here , I'm shore you will enjoy it.

Last August , My family had only a short time together so i planed a hands on holiday, no special luxuries, a sorta get ya hands dirty thing.
I bought a soft 4x4 (not a tough one with all the gear)as the budget was very, very tight, its a 2002 xtrial that was in fairly good shape,and as i had a lot experience in these types of adventures years ago , i thought i could relay on my experience and not have to much trouble with the vehicle that was really not the most educate for the trip.

The kids 15 and 17 thought the trip was going to be boring! Ha! were they in for a surprise.They wanted a hotel resort holiday,As they had arrived from Europe and it was as though they had no idea what i'm like giving the chance to travel.

First was Frazier Island., leaving from the gold coast
with a a pit stop on the way
to set up camp for the night in a place called rainbow beach.3.5 hours drive mostly highway.

[Tonz]

Before I continue , I want you to enjoy a vid i found about a whole bunch of families doing this sort of thing ,enjoy it as this is where we are going , although these people caught the wet season and had a few hurdles to cross. enjoy and i will continue afterwards.OH they embeded really good music with this one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXCVKWOcDkc

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXCVKWOcDkc

[Tonz]

Going for a walk to see what trouble lay ahead to get the vehicle across the soft beach ready to board the barge





As you can see the xtrail loaded was so very low for this type of thing , so I knew it had my work cut out for me, the family were unloaded to help cross over.


As you can see the kids were loving it!

[Sooz]

This is great Tonz! That pic of 'Yatala Pies' gave me a chuckle.

When I drove to Brisbane from Byron at Christmas (which was a big deal for me, driving all that way, with that dreadful 6 lane highway, coming into Brisbane), my pick up point to meet my friend was at the Yatala Pie Shop!

You and your kids look great!

There used to be another thread (perhaps lost in the meltdown), of pictures of where we lived all around the world. I'll have a hunt for it.

Cheers,
Sooz

[mojo]

very nice of you to share with us...

[lookbeyond]

Good on you Tonz, that is a holiday for your family to really remember and cherish, sitting around a resort pool has nothing on this, lb

[Tonz]

I thought you would comment on the yatla pies Sooz as it is such an icon thing for the locals ,and yes there was another thread done when church was around.
Hope you enjoy the ride mojo.

Hmm rainbow beech a true beauty to stay but our time was short and it was an early rise to continue our journey, perhaps next trip we will have more time there . That night the sky was so transparent and milky way was sooo clear it was like massive clouds of light , the miss's couldn't believe her eyes.You certainly wont get a sky like that in Europe she would say, memorizing!











The crossing was easy , a little expensive these days with the barge costs and camping and vehicle permits required i think it cost us around $400 for the 3 day stay. years ago things were so much cheaper in Aus . but i must admit the services on the island are amazing.

The driving experience

Well as i am, i wanted to do all the driving but I had to swallow the male 4x4 ego track head of mine and i encouraged everyone to learn to drive on the sand. The Mrs, started pretty shaky, and i have to admit i was too sitting next to her, but she did well in the end , she didn't have confidence with driving something with only 50% Tyre pressure, swaying and wet ,slippery, with low river crossings, after all she isn't from here and it takes a little getting used to .
As you can see my son was on his L's and yes need to be displayed even in this place , he loved it.
And as always thats me wondering if that height isn't gonna get us into to much trouble .anyway so far so good.
And enough about the car for awhile.time to start seeing what we saw.

[Tonz]

Oh I have to show you these , they are every where,before you catch the barge , on the barge on the island landings in the toilets in the showers at all camping areas and anywhere where there is more activity.

For the non Aussie , it must be a bit of an impact.
The general rules for wildlife , are simple , leave it alone , dont feed it and don't get to close ,keep your food inside the 4x4s.

These are your typical welcome boards.






We set up camp in a prepared camping area as they are fenced with little to no problems of Dingos wandering in,there are showers and clean places to have a bog when that moment is due.With the camp set up we quickly had a few visits from the locals, the forighn campers didn't know weather to run or sit back in there 4x4's till they went away , but when they saw us admiring them they chilled but still kept a good strong distance. they were cool they are goannas can grow quite large i think about 2mtrs. max., not dangerous but if they feel threatened they turn around real fast and give you a powerful hisss for you to back off.(beleave me ,most back right off only a fool would persist as he would have you clearly within reach).In general they will just wonder along unbiased of your presence. Indigenous say if one bits you you can get a little ill but you will have a rash there that inflames at the same time of year for the rest of your life.Good bush tucker , although protected taste a bit like chicken thigh but a bit tougher. Anyway they are powerful,and spectacularly beautiful with the different shades of green and brown

[Tribe]

ah .. how wonderful thanks Tonz x

[Tonz]

A long walk through The sand dunes

Returning through a dry but interesting spooky type Forrest'

These are whats called the pinnacles , is sandstone formed over thousands of years but still very brittle ,they are common alone many coastlines.Further south they are more impressive with stronger colors near a place called Noosa Heads.

[Altaira]

Thanks for sharing this adventure Tonz. This is so amazing.

[sandy]

Quite the Trek so far Tony and this trip is one they will remember and talk about long after to their own children

[Tonz]

Fraser Islands Maheno Shipwreck

The word Maheno means ‘island’ in Maori, which is the native language of New Zealand. The Maheno was built in Scotland in 1904 and was the world’s first ever triple screw steamer, weighing a massive 5323 tonnes. It also held the blue ribbon in trans-atlantic crossing for several years after she was launched. The Maheno was then used as a hospital ship in WW 1, following which it was purchased by a Sydney shipping company who planned to use it between Sydney and New Zealand. After several years of this trans Tasman journey the Maheno was sold to a Japanese shipping company, that at the time were running very low on funds. The company made the decision to sell the huge brass propellers from under the still-working Maheno. The reason behind this was to fund the towing of the Maheno by a ship named the Ottawa back to Osaka, Japan. Once in Japan the Maheno was to be melted down and be sold as scrap metal. It was on this journey that the Maheno was hit by an unseasonal cyclone off the coast of Fraser. Maheno Shipwreck Fraser IslandLuckily, there was only a skeleton crew on board. Some of the stories of the ship washing up on Fraser tell the tale of the Japanese crew being too afraid to get off the vessel after hearing of the cannibalistic traits of the local Aborigines. Attempts were made to refloat the Maheno unsuccessfully and eventually it was left abandoned on what is now known as 75-mile beach.



A little fishing as the sun leaves us



And yes your seeing right the planes also land on the beach , have to watch out for wild life other 4x4s, children,water crossings and also the blumen small aircraft landing over you as well!


Life can be nice.

[Tonz]

There are some very nice rain Forrest areas to enjoy and we had a visit of another Dingo in our journey , beautiful ant they!.




Loading up for our final day and journey to lake McKenzie



This is a Kookaburra very common , we were cooking some sausages and bacon and he was there just looking down at us , and i said look at the friendly kookaburra , but as soon as i took a sausage out of the pan to put it on a plate , the bugger flew down in a swoop ,stole the sausage from my folk and flew back up the tree and gobbled it down.


Leaving me there with my mouth wide open saying WTF the Kookaburra stole my sausage !And the family laughing to tears .HaHa dad lost his sausage.......

HMMMM the things a dad has to put up with at times.

[sandy]

You weren't the only one burnt by that sausage move, as I bet the poor kookaburra's tummy was on fire once it swallowed that hot sausage...

I would have LMAO too, at the look on your face. Great story~~