Sunday 26th December –Boxing Day

Yesterday was a very strange Christmas day. Festivities in Australia are just not the same. Waking up in a campervan for Christmas just did not feel right! I did have a nice Christmas but I’m looking forward to next Christmas a lot more now.

We woke up and opened our presents –mostly from each other but we’d bought some with Christmas money we’d been sent for ourselves as well. I’d wrapped mine up so I still had something to open from my family (you got me 2 pairs of shoes, nail varnish and a water filter bottle). I also had an adventure book (a notepad to write down all our adventures in) and pen, a little turtle from Reef HQ that I wanted, now known as Mr Turtle, a pink book light, a book of over 365 chicken recipes (I’d told Ryan that I wanted to work my way through a cookbook but it would probably have to be a chicken one as i don’t eat much else), a rubber duck and some chocolates from Ryan and his parents and Santa.

We then headed to Cape Byron where we walked up to the lighthouse for a Christmas day walk and then had a Barbeque on the beach. We’d bought a disposable one so it actually tasted like BBQ. Our Christmas dinner consisted of chicken kebabs and barbequed sausages wrapped in bacon . We then jumped into the sea to use our new bodyboard that we’s bought on Christmas eve. After this the day was nearly over so we headed back to the campsite where I spoke to my family and we watched Wallace and Grommit before bed.

Today we’re driving down south to who knows where. Need to get some kilometres done to get us to Sydney for New Year. Apart from Christmas since I last wrote we drove from Bundaberg to Tin Can Bay where we spent a rainy day and then got up early in the morning for dolphin feeding! They are wild dolphins that come up to the jetty in the harbour because originally one of the dolphins in the pod was injured and fed back to health in the harbour, once better she carried on coming back to be fed bringing her pod with her. It is now her grandson and his girlfriend that come for feeding! It was amazing to be so close to a dolphin –they were so gentle and playful.

After feeding the dolphins we drove to Noosa where we went kayaking in the river and then koala spotting. I was so excited to see my first wild koala and on the same day as feeding a dolphin made for an amazing day!

We then went to Australia zoo the next day where some of the kangaroos had baby joeys- they were so so cute! I want one as a pet! We also got to look round the wildlife hospital. Which was pretty wierd as there were windows into the operating theatre and treatment room, where you could see koalas being treated and operated on. This was very strange to see.

We then headed to Brisbane and stayed at Sunbeam for 2 nights while we did our Christmas shopping and sorted the van out a bit. It was strange being back in Brisbane, like our trip was coming to an end –it almost felt homely! I wasn’t looking forward to going back at all but now i think it might be nice to stay in the same place for a while and think I may be getting a little attatched to Brisbane. From there we drove to Byron Bay where we spent Christmas eve doing a little shopping and then bodyboarding. The waves were very powerful though and I managed to get swept off by one and somersaulting underwater it was so powerful! That was pretty scary! I went back in for one more go though! And they waves weren’t so powerful Christmas day anyway.

Miss you lots, can’t wait to see everyone again as have been missing everyone lots at Christmas!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Lots of love

Claire xxx

Stradbroke Island and the Sunshine Coast

Last weekend I went on the day trip to Stradbroke Island I was talking about. I really enjoyed it and felt like I was seeing the real Australia for once, rather than city life. We had an aboriginal guide for the day, who was genuinely one of the most interesting people I've ever met. He had so many stories to tell. He told us not only about the dreamtime stories and beliefs of his tribe but about the persecution the aboriginals underwent right up until recently. Up until the 1970s they were still considered to be animals. It seems so ridiculous it's hard to understand how that could happen. He told us stories of how he ended up in a young offenders institute and his teeth would be pulled out, basically as a punishment, and how the police have attempted to murder him on multiple occasions. He told a story of how they were holding the gun to his head but then they saw a small white child therefore could not go through with it in front of her. His story's were so shocking, it's difficult to comprehend how these things went on. He told us stories of aboriginals lining up to be shot, and the mass murders that occurred in the 'Secret War'. For a long time they were forbidden to practise their culture and had to do it in secret. At least now they are starting to receive equal rights. Although a lot of their land has been taken from them.

On a lighter note, I painted my own boomerang and at the lookout point saw dolphins and a mother and baby whale! Stradbroke Island is very beautiful, not quite Fraser Island standard but a really nice place.

This weekend was lovely weather so we spent Saturday going to West End Market in the morning and then heading to South Bank for a swim and some sunbathing. On Saturday we went to Sunshine Coast for the day with our friend George. We started out at Coolum beach where me and Louisa sunbathed while George surfed and Guy attempted. A couple of George's friends were there one of whom had a 4WD. We all piled in and headed up to north beach past Noosa where you can drive along the beach and climb up the sand dunes. It was very beautiful there but oddly there were hundreds of dead birds along the shore. We were thinking they were probably migratory birds that died during their journey and have been washed up as they were all in a line parallel to the shore. We climbed up a sandbank to a lookout point. My legs thought they were going to die! Every step you take you fall halfway back down. Not lovely. The view was pretty though. And going down was a lot more fun. We tried sliding down on a lid we had but it didn't go so well and I just ended up covered in sand. It's fun to jump down the dune though.

We then drove along the beach a bit more to get to a 4WD track that took us across to Rainbow Beach. This was a lot of fun but Rainbow beach is a long way from home. We then had to spend 3 or 4 hours getting back. The worst thing was we drove into the most horrible storm I have ever experienced. The lightening was coming every couple of seconds and the rain was torrential. We could not see the road only feel our way along by driving on the catseyes. I was very scared but obviously it all turned out alright and we all got back safely. Apparently storms get much worse than that though and every summer they have a couple of megastorms. Not looking forward to that- especially if we're in a campervan!!

So that's what I've been up to lately. I don't have much planned because exams are looming. But in a month today I will be on a flight to Cairns to start my adventures!!

Miss you all,

Claire

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