The Diary Mt. Isa, the world's biggest city (40,000km2 - as listed in the Guinness Book of Records) was not exactly bustling with life. We declined the 7:30am underground mine tour and headed to the hostel. It reminded me of a hospital. Oz and Beth crashed out and I explored the town - which didn't take long at all. The town has a distinct Billingham feel about it, with it's chimneys on the horizon, though Mt Isa is a lot further from the nearest town.
I decided to make use of the swimming pool in the shadow of the mine - 32x50m lengths - 18 front crawl, a new record. Then I went along to the gym and did a light work out before wandering over to the bus depot. The nutter was waiting for the bus. Yes please, referee, he's not on our bus. Oz and Beth arrived, shortly followed by Hels and Kate. Off we went to Boyd's hotel for food. Kate had a 'mare ordering a burger but soon it was time for them to leave again. Off to Darwin - with the nutter !!
Mt Isa or Billingham?
Mt Isa or Billingham?
We returned to the hostel via the city lookout with its signposts to various spots around the world. How could London be 700km further than Edinburgh? Surely Rio de Janiero is closer than New York City? And what is a Great Circle anyway? (I think you'll find it's the shortest route between 2 points on the globe - informed Ed).
Back at the hostel we watched the soccer and chatted to my room-mate Sean an ex-British Aerospace employee and Spurs supporter who was doing our trip in reverse.
The Diary Went to the Townsville Natural History Museum and paid $2.50 for the most disappointing museum ever. About the size of Brunner School gym, most of the exhibits were models or fakes and hardly any of the themes survived more than one or two display cases. Oz and Beth went off to the aquarium after that but I decided to save my money and watch France beat Wales. This, they duly did but only 12-9. They must both be quaking in their boots after watching England. Famous last words??
Townsville
Checking in for the overnight bus to Mt Isa, a voice cried out something about a "daft hat". It was Hels and Kate just getting off the bus we were due to get on. We had a quick hour in the transit centre cafe, swapped a few tales and arranged to meet them in Mt Isa the following day.
The bus journey was memorable for the nutter who couldn't remember which seat he'd been sat in and accused everyone of pinching his inflatable travel pillow. As is usual with nutters he made horrible snorting noises in his sleep.
2012 I don't really remember the museum - which may prove my diary entry - but the current museum looks a bit better than my description.
If the reverse is true (nutter = snorer, snorer = nutter) then I must be a bit of a nutter according to Christy.
Oz spent most of the year complaining about my snoring but I'm sure it was a myth - he never proved anything.
Daft hat - the aussie bush hat I bought in a market in Cairns. It stayed on my head most of the next 6 months.
Townsville to Mt Isa - 904km Total distance since Sydney - 4,165km
The Diary I normally associate Feb with the coldest month of the year but somehow I think it's going to be different this year. Oz and Beth noticed that I'd been depressed but what could they do? We hung around the hostel for a while then Ken our sound-engineer-strong-opinion-on-everything-especially-music host took us to the ferry.
Back to the Townsville Backpackers'. The town itself was shut. The highlight of the day was watching England hammer Ireland 38-9.
2012 Looks like Feb is living up to it's reputation in UK and Europe though it's not that great here either (relatively speaking).
I remember Ken debating (arguing) with me and Oz that Australia had made a much greater contribution to pop and rock than the UK. After living here for 16 years I've concluded that you were smoking something really, really strong Ken. I'm sick of hearing the same handful of Aussie rock songs over and over again. Australia would be better compared with, say, Surrey.
The Diary My bum was aching like mad after the previous days walking and my back was not great either. Decided to have a quiet day. Beth and Oz went for a walk to the forts and I went to the local pool. Floated around for a while and then went back to the hostel. Grabbed a few magazines, laid on the floor and hardly moved until it was time to sleep. What a day. Phew!
2012 A pretty dull day but I'm sure the following had more exciting days as they all celebrated birthdays on 31st Jan 1992.
Johnny Rotten (36) Lloyd Cole (31) Phil Manzanera (41)
And on electric transparent violin is another Billingham boy - Eddie Jobson
The Diary Went into town early to find out how much it would cost to fly back to Sydney - $189 - I had to think long and hard before deciding to see what happens over the next few days. Christy recommended Magnetic Island but from what I've read it looks pretty much the same as most of the small coastal resorts we've been to with perhaps a few more walks.
A short ferry ride and then a courtesy car to Centaur House at Geoffrey Bay. There seems to be a good atmosphere of pop trivia (!) at this hostel and there are some Qs and Rolling Stones' lyrics lying about. Oz suggested going to lie on the nearest beach just as I knew he would but I'd already decided I was off to do some of the walks.
I walked for a good 5 hours, in the heat of the afternoon, at a fairly brisk pace, over some very hilly ground. I managed to get through about 3 litres of water and and 0.5 litre of orange juice. I didn't see any koalas but discovered some gorgeous little bays and it was good exercise.
I returned to the hostel, went for a chicken curry and then when Oz and Beth returned we played Australian trivial pursuit aided by free pancakes and ice-cream.
The Diary We all got copies of Beth's underwater pictures which were good as long as there were supposed to be no people in the shot. The shots of a headless Oz will probably be missing from my albums when I get back to the UK.
In the afternoon we caught a bus to Townsville with another driver you couldn't get off his microphone. Watched most of Dances with Wolves which was still going when we reached Townsville (as everyone but the bus driver realised would happen). After not being amused by the Backpacker's at the Transit Centre we went to the Adventurers' for a very hot and sticky night.
I started feeling depressed today, I think, for several reasons. Talking to Christy on the phone made me wish I was back in Sydney and travelling with a couple certainly doesn't help. Three's a crowd and I'm feeling pretty lonely. I wish I'd stayed in Sydney and travelled back on my own. I think the lack of exercise and sport affects me - and I've just had a year of bugger all after my back operation and this is prolonging the situation. Finally, the relative values Oz and I place on money are causing me to find Oz's pettiness with money very annoying. I don't think he'd make a very good branch manager. He'd alienate me as a customer for a start.
2012 Mitigating factors:
taking underwater photos with a cheap disposable camera in choppy waters ain't easy
Dances with Wolves is a long film, approx 3 hours
Hot and sticky - it's January in Queensland, what did we think it would be like?
Oz had earned very little money in Sydney whereas I'd earned a lot - this exacerbated the situation. His tightness was legendary at Uni. Oz was the man who had mastered the art of striding to the pub first but somehow arriving at the bar last and therefore avoided ever having to buy a round. I can get away with saying this because he's not on Facebook as he wouldn't pay the joining fee. Anyway I'm sure there are several people reading this that could give examples of his mainfishness......
"I don't think he'd make a very good branch manager." An in-joke from Uni. You wouldn't understand.
Cairns to Townsville - 348km Total distance since Sydney - 3,261km
The Diary We all picked up photos from the chemist. A very exciting day as we dashed back to number and comment them. I posted a few cards and the Stone Alone book to Christy but not a lot else happened. Another $3.50 meal at Magnums and then I phoned Christy. I pissed off a lad who was waiting for the phone because I was on so long. There are no rules about how long you can use the phone. It's a good job it was a reverse charge call or I think I'd have been slitting my wrists.
2012 Back in 1992 Telstra was known as Telecom Australia and Optus was just getting off the ground.
I think I've previously mentioned the effort we had to go through with photos. Get them developed, write on the back of them so you could remember what they were, separate the negs from the prints, mail the prints to the parents in the UK, check poste restante several months later to confirm that the prints had been received and then mail the negs back. This is not to mention the several rolls of film that you had to have spare in 100, 200 and 400 ASA, the bulky camera that you had to carry around and the fact that you wouldn't shoot hundred of shots at random as every shot cost money and had to be developed.
The Diary The three of us walked to Barron Falls exploring the weirs and rocks along the way. Now, that's the sort of thing I'm happy doing, it's a little more energetic than lying in a prone position by the pool and it satisfies my inquisitive mind. Unfortunately it was an extremely hot day and we didn't take enough water with us. We also had to wait over an hour to catch the train from Barron Falls station. We then had to sit through the train commentary that we'd sat through 2 days previously. It might have been interesting but I could only hear about every other word.
Back to Cairns where the couple Oz and I had met at Noosa Heads (from Ilkley) were still hanging around Tracks. Their wardrobe seemed to consist of a Hard Rock Cafe Sydney T-shirt each. In the evening we went for another $3.50 meal. We then went to the International Hostel and discovered a message Hels and Kate had left. They'd just spent 4 days (yes FOUR days) at Kuranda, apparently in the same hostel as us and were then off to Cape Tribulation. I somehow think we won't see them again, especially as they've got Beth's books.
2012 I was always amazed that people would hang around in boring places and crappy backpackers for day and weeks on end. We just kept moving and later got into the habit of crashing out for a few days if the travelling had been hard or tiring. We spent a few days on the beach in Phuket recuperating but I don't think we ever chilled out for more than 4 days before hitting the road again.
In the days before email and smart-phones the only way to stay in touch with other backpacking friends was to leave notes on message boards at hostels. We all used to swap books and cassette tapes as well, with no guarantee that you would get them back. An interesting thing that I remember Oz doing was ripping the pages out of the Lonely Planet after we'd been to the places on those pages. He didn't see the point of carrying un-necessary weight.
Almost every backpacker used Lonely Planet guidebooks to get around - though I think Hels and Kate used the Handbook series - and thus LP had an incredible influence on local tourism and the success or failure of many local businesses, cafes and hostels. As can be seen here, Lonely Planet's influence is still significant.
Up early again to catch the scenic railway to Kuranda. The journey was not as scenic as it could have been since the waterfalls traversed en route were nothing more than trickles. Once at Kuranda we checked into the very tropical Mrs Miller's Backpacker's Hostel. I was in a very basic dormitory that was infested with flies and, apparently, mozzies.
We went to the Kuranda Markets, avoided the Japanese tourists, watched the Bungee and then wandered back. Oz and Beth went to laze by the pool and I went for a walk past the river, along the bank and back around. Later on, I went for a run. Kuranda is pretty small, it wouldn't take long to run a lap.
I'm beginning to get bored. I'm definitely a city person. Kuranda is very beautiful and tropical but without the markets it's a boring, expensive, tourist village. I need to be doing something and I'm already over lying on beaches and beside pools.
2012 No mention in the diary that it was Australia Day. Did we know? Did we care?
There are other ways to get to Kuranda now - including the Skyrail.
Out to sea again. This time on a pearl lugger called The Falla. Our intrepid crew of Dave, Perry, and Pete and Perry's mate from Manchester - and 27 others and us - ventured forth. More snorkelling but this time we were given a tour of the reef and were shown jellyfish, sea cucumbers etc.
Sea thingys
More sea thingys
Behind you
I encountered a small shark about 3 feet long but fortunately it's parents weren't around. After Perry's talk about diving we all decided to take the plunge (bad pun intended) and fork out $45 to do 30mins scuba diving. Pretty good fun it was too and I even had the dubious pleasure of my face mask filling up with water.
Relaxing
Oz and I snorkelled out to a sand island in the reef where we bumped into Roswitha and Markus. Small world. On the way back to Cairns the crew kept us amused with tales of pearl diving and a game of water melon world championships. We sailed into Cairns to the sounds of the Beach Boys. Great day.
Catching watermelons
Beth
We went straight to Magnums for another meal for $3.50 and several jugs of beer and the sounds of the 70s. Quite a few of the people from the boat wandered past during the course of the evening including the Swiss miss with the gorgeous legs.
2012 I remember this as a fabulous day out. I remember Beth saying that it was so good she was going to change her views ob Club 18-30 holidays - maybe they were worth going on after all.
The 4 days we spent out on yachts were by far the best parts of the trip round Australia. Maybe we should do something similar with the kids this year.
See here, here and here for a modern, eventful history of the Falla.
The Diary Nightmare journey. The seats didn't recline very far and I ended up in a window seat next to a big fat aboriginal woman who squeezed two kids on her lap. She was dressed as if she was going to the Antarctic and at various stages I ended up being draped with kids and blankets. Hooray for Townsville. People got off and I moved to a new seat and eventually got some sleep.
Arrived in Cairns. Thank heavens for courtesy buses. No lugging the rucksack around after 2 hours sleep. Once safe in our 'cell' in Tracks Hos-tell we booked on a day trip to the Great Barrier Reef and a return journey to Kuranda on the scenic railway.
Wandered around town, nothing at Poste Restante, Oz got a haircut (or so he says) and I phoned Christy. She's moving out of her flat in order to save some money and (small world) her parents (Jeff and Sharon) are in Cairns this week.
We all crashed out for about 3 hours sleep and we were still experiencing bobbing up and down despite being back on dry land. The evening meal cost $3.50 plus free beer. Bargain.
2012 Tracks is apparently now called Asylum and is a big party hostel. I remember it for it's breeze block cells.
The first mention of Jeff and Sharon. The don't feature too heavily in this story of my trip round the world but they do feature heavily in my subsequent life with Christy. Jeff was brought up in Cairns. Which explains why he lives in Sydney !
Airlie Beach to Cairns - 623km Total distance since Sydney - 2,913km (1,820miles)
The Diary Sean's birthday. I bet he wishes he could be here. More jolly japes on one of the islands including international frisbee and keepy uppies in the sea (see xmas day). No world, southern hemisphere, continental nor national records were broken. We arrived back on dry land at 4:05pm, a mere 5 minutes late.
The crew
We then managed to squander the next 8 1/2 hours before the bus left. We talked to Heidi and Ian and used Heidi's room while she went out 'raging' with Stefanie. Ian was on the same bus as us and he joined us for a pizza before we left.
2012 Sean was turning 24. He's currently living in Adelaide with Louise and kids Hannah (13) and Joe (11) and is almost old enough to play O45 footy.
The Diary A very early start - before 7am. It rained, the sea got rough, went calm, the rain stopped, 3 cups of tea and breakfast. All this happened before Oz and Beth surfaced from their cabin well after everyone else. I shall draw my own conclusions. More snorkelling and some swimming in the strong tides getting nowhere. We landed on one of the islands and went on a brief bush walk. Big lizards everywhere.
Thar she blows
Ian at the helm
Nessie ?
Oz and the South Star
I ate loads for lunch having missed out on the previous meal. After lunch we sailed again and indulged in a spot of boom-netting. All good clean fun but hard on the hands. The evening was very tranquil and we passed it by, by discussing Queensland politics with Ed who turned out to be very pro-Joh (Bjelke-Petersen).
2012 Joh Bjelke-Petersen. An incredibly controversial figure in Australian politics.
The Diary We've been travelling for 6 months now. Beth's bus was on time so the three of us got on the courtesy bus to the Ariel Point Marina while Beth recounted tales of Fraser Island and her dodgy travelling companions. Oh-oh. On the South Star we were greeted by Ed, our skipper, and Yvonne, our deckie.
The Souh Star
Our fellow passengers were Chris & Debbie from Somerset and Manchester reading Mech Eng and Pharmacy, Ian from the Royal Navy, Heidi from Canada, (I never found out if she had a Canadian flag on her bag, which seems to be obligatory for Canadian travellers), Stefanie, the cute if slightly overweight German from Stuttgart who's English was pretty good and Roswitha and Markus, the German speaking Italians from a restaurant in the Tyrol. Everyone turned out fine, Ian was a little overbearing at times and Markus and Roswitha could be a little quiet but everyone got on. Definitely no dickheads.
We sailed, or rather motored, out to a sand island and did the first of several snorkel sessions. This was the start of "did you see...", "it was this (arms spread out wide) big". Tea, biscuits and sandwiches appeared throughout the day and were quickly devoured. We had a little bit of trouble with the engine but managed to get in some more snorkelling on the reef. Wow.
I felt quite ill in the evening due to the smell of the peanut sauce on the bbq satay sticks - definitely not seasickness - so I went to bed early without my evening meal.
The Diary The usual courtesy bus to the hostel. This one's called Reef Oceania and has the biggest hostel pool so far. Can't go into the sea due to the box jellyfish so Oz and I had a quick look around town. He bought some socks and I bought some swimmers. We then booked onto a 3 day/2night cruise around the Whitsundays leaving at 10am the following morning. If Beth's bus is late we've got problems.
The afternoon was spent lazing by and in the pool and the evening was spent by the TV. Australia beat India by 7 runs in a close game, packed with incidents (as ITV would say), plenty of talking points there Elton. And I finally got to see some British soccer again. Liverpool still look crap. Hope the neanderthal British elements watching the TV are not on the boat with us. Same goes for the Yanks.
2012 Oz had probably worn out his other pair of socks. Swimmers = trunks = speedos, depending where you come from
Beth was catching up with us after her side trip to Fraser Island and we must have known which bus she was booked on. There would have been no way for us to check on her progress and whether or not she made the bus, until it pulled up in Airlie Beach.
We picked the hostels that we stayed in out of Lonely Planet Australia. Most of the ones I've looked up seem to no longer exist or have been renamed. In 1992 nothing had websites so the "book" was what we had to rely on. Current hostels in Airlie Beach are below.
"Liverpool still look crap" - this was the final season of the old div 1. The clubs had been plotting and scheming and a month later the Premier League was founded and the new League kicked off in August. Liverpool had been the dominant team for most of my football watching days - they'd won the league 11 times in the previous 17seasons but the cracks were showing now. It was strange to watch them struggle.
Australia beat India in the cricket - not much change there then as that's what's been happening all summer.
The Diary Up early again. Bus to Hervey Bay. The beach here is pretty crap. Hervey Bay is just a stopping off point for Fraser Island. Still, the beach was interesting for it's crab life. We spent the day at the backpacker's swimming pool wasting time.
Gaz
Oz
Good job the rainy season hasn't affected us yet. Overnight bus to Airlie Beach. This is not too bad. I'm either getting used to this or my back's quite a bit better.
2012 Tough life being a backpacker. Overnight bus trips were a but of a problem for me. Sitting long periods was still a bit much for my back and coach seats in particular were uncomfortable. Too narrow, didn't recline much and it was difficult to get up and walk around. Trains were always easier but Australia is not well endowed with a decent rail system.
Noosa to Hervey Bay - 188km Hervey Bay to Airlie Beach - 875km Total distance since Sydney - 2,290km
