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exumenius

170 Blog Entries
2 Trips
477 Photos

Trips:

Down Under trip Preparation
Kiwis and Kangaroos

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Back to Land - Night 34

Fraser Island, Australia

We all awoke a bit groggy after last night’s partying.

Our Rotunda
Rob and I had made loose plans to catch the Sunrise at the Maheno wreck; Rob was late, I didn’t show. Everyone quickly finished off the remaining breakfast food and packed up the troupee. Lake Wabby, a small lake slowly being engulfed by an approaching sand dune, was our first stop on the long drive back down the beach to Eurong. In order to get to the lake

Lake Wabby
one must trek two kilometers over perfectly shaped sand dunes. Quite simply, an amazing walk. Once you get to the lake the sand drops down into the water at 30 to 40 degree angle. It is a great place to run down the dune and dive into the incredibly deep water. Just another world-class attraction on Fraser Island.

After Lake Wabby we had to start heading back


The Wabby Dunes
in order to catch the ferry home at 2pm. A stop off for lunch and swim at Lake Mackenzie, this time with a bit more sun and less wind. Lunch today was our last group meal and nearly all the food was gone and no one went hungry. All things considered, we ate like kings this week while aboard the island.

Girls Sunbathing at Lake Wabby

We made the ferry in plenty of time and were back at the hostel by 3:30. The girls rushed to showers in desperate need of hair washing. The sand on Fraser is so fine that it gets into everything, sleeping bags, shoes, hair, cameras, sunscreen…everything. I didn’t mind the camping so much, but I am used to going a few days without a proper shower. It seems as if most of our group (Rob and Laura and the Canadians aside) had never experienced that before.

I spent the evening having a few beers with Rob and Laura, looking through photos, catching up on my journal and packing for Noosa.

What I Learned Today: The less you worry about things the better they will come out in the end. The trick is to let go and concern yourself not with those things outside of your control.


permalink written by  exumenius on November 13, 2007 from Fraser Island, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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Sand and Sea - Night 33

Fraser Island, Australia


The Beach on Fraser Island
As usual, I was the first to awake despite my bout of wine drinking the night before. My customary morning walk took me down to the sea and then north to the Pinnacles, strange sand blown formations much like the Badlands of South Dakota. Upon my return the group was up and at em’, so we left for the Eli Creek floating adventure before 8. Getting to Eli Creek we soon discovered that the boardwalk was closed and only 100 meters or so of the creek could actually be floated. Our guide from Next, Troy, had failed to mention this, leading us to question the remainder of his recommendations for the day.

The tide was coming in so we had to book it back to the campground. Unable to leave for a few hours, Rob convinced the four aborigines to take us on a bush walk up to Knifeblade Sandblow. They happily agreed, saying they had not been on a walk like that for years. Only four of us, Rob, Laura, Rebecca and I,


Rob and I on the Dunes
volunteered for what they assured us would be a tough hike. When we went to meet them at their house they were smoking and drinking whiskey straight out of the bottle…at 11 am. They quickly got ready and off we went; us in sandals, them barefoot. We walked up the road a bit and then just cut straight into the bush, no trail, no nothing. This was a true bush walk, aboriginal style. We climbed up over three large ridges and when I say climbed it was nearly hands and knees-type ascending. We arrived on top of the third ridge to find that we missed the mark by about a kilometer. We then walked the ridge over to the

Leaving the Aborigines in the Dust
beginning of the sandblow. Along the way they explained what plants were used for medicine or food and other interesting tidbits about the land. We even tried a few berries and a hallucinogenic grape.

Arriving at the beginning of Sandblow it was stunning, almost unworldly. The coffee rock and dead trees were reminiscent of nothing I had ever seen. Getting a bit lost had cost us some time and we needed to get back to the rest of the group, so we climbed right up and over the knifeblade ridge; absolutely killer. A bit like climbing to base camp on Mt. Rainier, but just slightly steeper and much, much warmer. The view from the top was amazing, you could see out over the pinnacles and the shipwreck.

We got back and ate lunch. Afterwards


At Indian Head
we made the long drive up to Indian Head, a large coastal head jutting out into the sea. Again, the views and climb were phenomenal. On a place like Fraser you run out of adjectives rather quickly. Everything has just been amazing. After Indian Head we drove over to the Champagne pools for some swimming. The pools are a small part of the ocean cut off from the rest of the sea, thus safe from sharks and box-jellyfish. The name comes from the bubbles that arise as the surf crashes over the rocks into the pools. We headed home after the

Champagne Pools
pools. Not quite content with the day, Rob and I grabbed a beer and drove down to Eli Creek for a freshwater bath and float.

View from Indian Head


Sandblow

The Knifeblade Sandblow

On tonight’s menu was chicken and pasta…another stellar bush camp meal. Again we got good and pissed on wine. Around 10, Rob and I along with three Canadian guys in camp took a midnight stroll down to the beach. Light pollution on Fraser is very minimal and the night sky was stunning. Though it could have helped that we were fairly drunk by this time. I don’t remember what time we went to bed...I guess it really doesn’t matter, like the aborigines, for us on this trip (ferry landing aside) time was irrelevant.

What I Learned Today: Although the four aborigines at the camp drank, smoked and generally wore western clothes, our bush hike showed that they still have a serious appreciation for Mother Earth. Every time they stepped on a plant or broke off a limb they apologized to their nature spirit for the offense.


permalink written by  exumenius on November 12, 2007 from Fraser Island, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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First Day on Fraser

Fraser Island, Australia

After our short introductory meeting we left the Next Backpackers hostel around 9pm for the drive to the ferry terminal. We were early enough to be the first ones on, which meant we would be the first ones off once the boat was docked on the Island. The sea was rough and 45 minute crossing was a bit cold. After landing, we headed straight to Lake MacKenzie for lunch.

The lake is only about 10 acres in size,


Lake MacKenzie
but has the finest, white beach sand I have ever seen. It is much like walking on flour. The water is so clear and blue we were told that you can drink it (I tried it and it tastes better than any water you’ll ever buy in a store.) In order to keep the water clean they suggest not swimming after using sun block or lotion. The Lake MacKenzie beach is consistently rated one of the top in the world and I would have to agree that it is pretty damn amazing.


Lake MacKenzie
Post lunch, we took the rough, winding road through the rain forest down to the little town of Eurong. As you descend the hill, the forest changes dramatically based on the amount of rain it receives. Fraser Island is composed solely of sand (with a few volcanic rock outcroppings) so I is quite amazing that 120 foot tall trees can grow here. At Eurong you leave the winding forest road and head out to drive along the beach. Nearly perfectly straight for 50 miles or so, at low tide the beach makes for a great highway. Speed limits are posted at 70 kmh, but a fully loaded troupee can do about 90 safely on the hard pack sand.

An hour into the beach drive we came upon


Maheno Shipwreck
the Maheno ship wreck. Back in the 1920s the Maheno was a cruise ship making the run from Sydney to New Zealand. Eventually considered obsolete, a Japanese company purchased it for scrap metal and was towing it back to Japan when it came loose in a violent storm in 1935 and washed up on Fraser Island. Built in the same Irish shipyard as the Titanic, it was once a large ship nearly ten stories high. But the seventy years of wind, surf and its occasional use as target practice for the Australian Air Force have not been kind to the Maheno. Not much remains of this once proud ship.

We arrived at our campsite, which was just 2 kilometers north of the ship wreck, around 4pm. Blessed with decent weather we decided to go for a small side trip up to Knifeblade Sandblow. The camp hosts, four native Aborigines, pointed us in the right direction. On the way to the lookout we hit a large bump and suddenly my entire left side (I was riding shotgun) was covered in red. A bottle of wine – my bottle of wine – stored on the top rack had burst and spilled down the side of the troupee. I was a bit bummed at first, but everyone offered to share their booze (and the stains washed out) so I might have actually come out ahead on the deal. The Sandblow was amazing, but we were too far away to actually get onto the dunes.


Steak and Potatoes on Fraser
Dinner for the night was steak, potatoes and salad. The Dan Krause special potatoes went over very well. Quite surprisingly the food was very good, almost too good for camp food. Accommodations were a large rotunda that held 22 cots and one large huntsman spider on the roof. Some of the people though it a bit too wild, but for a true backpacker it was rather luxurious.

We all sat around with the other groups at the


Tribal Dances
campground and swilled wine and beer and stared into the fire. Around 9 the aboriginal hosts came out to do some traditional dances for us. Much ground stomping, yelling and playing of the digeridoo, the dances are intense and exciting. We were seated on the ground so each of the foot stomps reverberated through the crowd. The men were dressed in traditional clothes complete with body paint. One of the men had three stripes on his chest which he explained stood for the three principles of his tribe: 1)If you have more than enough you must share with your fellow tribesman, 2)Respect Mother Earth for she provides you with everything, 3)Respect your elders for they teach you everything you need to know to live. I don’t think we’ve improved upon these principles over the last 60,000 years; in fact we (western civilization) seem to have forgotten all three.

What I Learned Today: The thirds and the quadrant rules of photography. That and a few other pointers from Rob (a professional photographer – www.robheathcote.co.uk), which I hope will vastly improve my photographs for the rest of my trip.


permalink written by  exumenius on November 11, 2007 from Fraser Island, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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Trip to Hervey Bay - Night 31

Maryborough, Australia

I awoke around 4 am with a sewing needle stabbing me in the ass. Apparently someone had left one on/in the mattress I had stolen and set outside to sleep on. Son of bitch that hurt. I managed to squeeze out another hour of marginally sound sleep before waking for good. Showered, packed my bags and said good bye to the CVA volunteer house. I caught the 7:45 Greyhound from the Roma Street Station bound for Hervey Bay. Hands down the most comfortable bus I have ever been on, that and I had an open seat next to me. In front and to the right of me sat a Methuselah of a man who would fall asleep every ten minutes and then awaken suddenly and make some sort of jibberish, grunting noise and promptly pass back out. Just amazing. Seriously, who are these people? These strange, aged characters who seem to flock to public transport, libraries, and flea markets. Is this what will happen to me in fifty years if I don’t adequately pad my 401k upon returning from this odyssey?

We arrived in Hervey Bay around the one


Next Backpacker, Hervey Bay
o’clock hour, whereupon I hitched a ride with the Next Backpackers Bus back to the hostel. After signing some paper work we were treated to a rousing overview of our Fraser Island trip by Troy, a guide for the tour company. Our group consists of eight women and three men.

The Roster:
Rob, England – 30
Laura, England – 29
Rebecca, England – 22
Amy, England – 22
Elaine, Ireland – 25
Marie, Ireland – 25
Hannah, Germany – 19
Jana, Germany – 19
Aaron, Canada – 22
Morgan, Canada – 22


Hervey Bay
Everyone threw in $20 for food and after some deliberating decided on a menu for the next few days. Rob and I agreed to do the shopping. Buying food for eleven people sounds much easier than it really is. Not only did we forget the sausages but we blew the budget by $60. We are all on our own for buying alcohol and sunscreen, the only two true necessaries on Fraser.

What I Learned Today: Americans just don’t seem to travel well. Of the 40 or so travelers I have met so far on this trip, only one of them has been an American, whereas the British seem to be everywhere.


permalink written by  exumenius on November 10, 2007 from Maryborough, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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Last Day of Volunteering - Night 30

Brisbane, Australia

After packing up our gear and giving the cabins a thorough clean we made our way down to Buckley’s Hole for one last go at the weeds. Again the morning sky was cloudy, but soon gave way to a beautiful spring day. Shane was off for the day, so the CVA crew worked in anonymity until about 11 am and then called it good. While geographically it didn’t seem like we made much ground, in fact we had removed many hundreds of pounds of weeds (and planted a fair amount of trees and shrubs) thus greatly improving the growing environment for the local flora. A quick lunch by the sea and we were back at the volunteer house by 2pm.

My volunteer session in Australia being over, I’d like to say that I had a great time doing it. Would I do it again? Absolutely. With this company? Never. First off, I think the jobs were poorly estimated, thus we spent too much time doing nothing. Secondly, there were too many Koreans. Don’t take me for a racist, I have nothing against the Korean people, it is just that most of us choose these opportunities to experience a variety of cultures and when 60 to 70 percent of the volunteers are all one nationality, that doesn’t quite fit the expectations. That and most of the Koreans volunteers are doing it for the certificate which they tell me goes a long way on the resume. I’d much rather work with people who are in it because they care, not because it will help them down the road.

I finished my laundry and finally had some


Beers at Birdee's
success uploading photos to my journal. Around 7 I left for the Valley to meet Daniel, Callum, and Anna at Birdee’s. Once again the bar was hoping, leading me to vote it best hostel bar in Brisbane (though I have only been to two of them). Chris and Sabine showed up as well, along with some Irish girls. We played a supersized version of Jenga, which I am proud to report I did not once spill. I even met some local Brissy girls – a first for me. After setting a mandatory going home time of 11 pm for myself, due to my early bus the next morning, I finally managed to pull myself from the bar at 12:15. Getting off the train in Albion I heard someone yell my name and who is it but Koala (actually Rex) the sleepy Korean guy. He reaches in his jacket and pulls out two beers for the walk home. A fitting end to my volunteering days at CVA.


Barroom Jenga
Not having an alarm and not trusting myself to wake up in time, I took my mattress and sleeping bag out to the covered porch, trusting the sun and the birds to wake me in time for my bus the next morning.

What I Learned Today: Giving myself a curfew is a colossal waste of time.


permalink written by  exumenius on November 9, 2007 from Brisbane, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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A Change of Pace - Night 29

Woorim, Australia


Bribie Beach
We began the morning with tree planting. Though there wasn’t a whole lot of them to do, we managed to stretch the job out until noon. Around 1 pm the sun finally showed its welcomed face, the first time since we had been out to Bribie Island. To enjoy the great weather, Daniel and I decided to walk the few kilometers home after our work was done. On the way, we came across legions of the small soldier crabs that I had seen the day before; and this time my camera was handy.

For dinner this evening we had a ‘clean out


Bribie Island
the fridge’ barbeque. All over Australia (well Queensland, at least) are these public electric barbeques. Just push the button and you get ten minutes of grill time, freely renewable whenever the time runs out. Lena and Chris were in charge of the vegetables, so took to cooking the meat. Despite the low lighting and unfamiliarity of the grill, my chicken turned out delicious.



Bribie Sunset

What I Learned Today: I am actually a pretty good cook and enjoy doing it.

permalink written by  exumenius on November 8, 2007 from Woorim, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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Rain, Rain Go Away - Night 28

Woorim, Australia


Bribie Beach
Ominous clouds hung low in the sky again this morning, but the rain held off as we had breakfast and eventually drove to Buckley’s Hole to do more weeding. Just after break, when we were preparing to switch gears into some tree planting, the skies opened up once more. Shane led us on a brief tour of the island and we then returned to the cabins to wait out the storm. If it quit in time, we planned to return and plant in the afternoon. It didn’t and we didn’t.

I spent the afternoon reading John Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, a tale of his hike to the summit of Mount Everest, in which eleven people ultimately lost their lives. Though I have no desire to climb anywhere the use of supplemental oxygen is practically a must, it did remind me of how much I miss hiking in the Cascades, or anywhere above the tree line for that matter.

I finished the book and took a long walk down the beach promenade in the blowing wind and light rain to think about what I am going to do with my life when I return. Before I left I promised myself I wouldn’t let this concern get


Weeding on Bribie
in the way of my vacation down under, but I cannot but to ponder what it is I should do. The larger answer is obvious: find something you love to do, regardless of the pay…but what is it I love to do, or rather, my problem is narrowing it down and finding a compromise so I don’t have to sacrifice one enjoyment at the expense of another.

What I Learned Today: In 1996 Goran Knapp packed his gear, rode his bike from Sweden to Kathmandu, hiked to base camp and then climbed to within 300 feet of the summit of Mount Everest only to turn back because the snow wasn’t quite right for safe passage to the peak. That’s determination with the knowledge of when to quit.


permalink written by  exumenius on November 7, 2007 from Woorim, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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More Weeding - Night 27

Woorim, Australia

Today was the running of the Melbourne Cup, Australia’s version of the Kentucky Derby. To celebrate we did more weeding at Buckley’s Hole.

At lunch I took a walk on the beach and


The Dreaded Weeds
came upon a huge group of small blue crabs, though I didn’t have my camera with me. They move in a sort of pack movement, like ants or bees and when approached will quickly burrow themselves into the soft sand.

After work I went down to the library and was relatively unsuccessful in uploading more photos. For dinner with had both Korean and Chinese food.

What I Learned Today: The Korean word for ‘Fuck You’…..but I quickly forgot it.



permalink written by  exumenius on November 6, 2007 from Woorim, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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To Bribie - Night 26

Woorim, Australia

My assignment this week was to do bush regeneration on Bribie Island, a large sandbar northeast of Brisbane. It would also be my first week with Team Leader Chris. We loaded the troupee for an 8am departure. Joining me this week would be Daniel, Hong, Han, Rex, Mark and Lena. The drive isn’t far and after fighting Brisbane traffic for a bit, we crossed the bridge onto Bribie at around 9:30 am. The island itself is populated mostly by retirees and we weren’t the least bit shocked to see nothing but old folks upon our arrival.


The Mexican Chef
Our lodging consists of three man cabins at the Bongaree Caravan Park, directly across the road from the Moreton Bay side beach. To the immediate south is a lawn bowling club that at 10 am on Monday was full of octogenarians acting out their last athletic endeavors. We were working at Buckley’s Hole Conservation Park, just a mile or so south of the caravan park. Arriving at the park, we were greeted by two rangers from the Caboolture Shire Commission, Ed and Shane. Shane would be our day-to-day assistant, while Ed was on hand to give us an informative, detailed introduction to the uses of the park, its wildlife and how man has changed the area over the years.

Weeding, weeding, weeding would be our main task. Many invasive species have taken over the shores and prohibit the native plants from growing. Names such as Mother of Millions and Mother-in-Laws Tongue speak to the aggressive reproductive powers and painful nature of these plants.

As opposed to working John, Chris requires each person or groups of people to cook one night of the week. Lacking any real interest in cooking American food, I offered to do a Mexican food night. This stunning meal consistent solely of a do-it-yourself taco bar, which worked really well considering ¼ of the


Taco Night in Bribie
volunteers are vegetarians and the refried beans and veggie mince served as a sufficient surrogate. It all turned out surprisingly well, there was enough food to go around and the meat tasted very well, much better than anything I’ve ever had at Taco Bell.

What I Learned Today: Lawn bowling clubs in Australia seem to serve the same purpose as country clubs in America: to retain the division of classes long after retirement.


permalink written by  exumenius on November 5, 2007 from Woorim, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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Life Maintenance - Night 25

Brisbane, Australia

Nothing of any significance occurred today.

I awoke shirtless lying on top of the sheets,


Brisbane at Night
throat parched, bladder full, stomach queasy; my first Australian hangover, pretty much the same as those back home. I spent the remainder of the morning drinking water and preparing myself to do little to nothing with the day.

In retrospect, it wasn’t a total loss. I updated some journal entries, bought some bus tickets, made a few reservations for future travels, emailed, and took a good, long walk through Everton Park. After being busy for a couple weeks at a time, you need a day to just get your life back in order.

What I Learned Today: In the end, time is the only currency that really matters. Spend yours wisely.


permalink written by  exumenius on November 4, 2007 from Brisbane, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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