Before leaving the States we did quite a bit of planning. A lot of it was pretty set in stone with reservations made and trains booked but we did know that no matter how much research we had done things were subject to change and it wasn't all in our control. "Adventure starts when everything goes wrong" is a quote that comes to mind from the movie 180 degrees south.
Fraser Island is the worlds largest sand island with lush rainforest and many freshwater lakes. Our original plan was to do a Great Walk on the island, spanning over 11 days, hiking from destination to destination and camping along the way. The destinations range from beautiful crystal clear Lake Mckenzie to The Maheno which is a shipwreck along the beach and many beautiful things in between. We booked the camping permits months in advance and it had become one of the things we were most looking forward to!
A few weeks before our planned Great Walk we were in a little town called Eden when Jeff got a call from Queensland Parks and Rec telling him the Great Walk had been closed due to fire restrictions so we wouldn't be able to walk through most areas let alone camp and they wanted us to either amend our reservations or cancel them. Feeling pretty bummed about the situation we reluctantly decided to walk along the beaches instead. The woman Jeff had spoken to told him she would send an email detailing where we would be able to walk and what was still open. We found that the email was no more than a basic summary of pretty much exactly what she already told him (which was very vague and not that helpful). Jeff had been instructed to respond to the email with questions or plans and it would get taken care of. After sending the email he got an automated response that she would be out of the office for at least several days. In the meantime, if we were to shorten the walk we also had to change an existing reservation at a caravan park that was for the day after the walk was to end in Hervey Bay and the fine print said that any cancellations within 30 days would result in no refund. It was exactly 30 days until that reservation so we needed to change it then if we were going to be able to. Luckily Jeff, being the suave smooth talker he is, was able to get the caravan park to be flexible and they would change the date for us. Provided those dates were available and the request was made in a timely manner.
Now since the walk was closed it meant we had to rearrange everything. We needed to look into different ferry services that would take us to a different part of the island. This would allow us to hike on a minor 4x4 road for ten kilometers which we even considered hitch hiking on. We would camp at Central Station and then have to continue hiking on a road (instead of a trail) for another 10 k or so until we reached the eastern side of the island where we would hike on the beach (instead of a trail) and camp where available along the way. Im sure everyone knows how annoying it can be to hike in sand, especially with heavy packs on. It seemed like very "dodgy" way to travel on the island but we were determined to see it.
Jeff made several calls to Parks and Rec to get more information on what was available to hike and camp before any changes were to be made. Each call was ended with no resolution either because they could not provide the info or because they could not locate our current reservation. This made us very frustrated and we decided not to bother with it anymore for the time being.
During our stay in the blue mountains Jeff received a phone call from a Fraser island rep who attempted to help us but still with nothing resolved. I guess our booking was made in the "old system" and they have since updated the system. After many more calls to and from Charlie it seemed to be sorted out until Jeff got a confirmation email with still the incorrect changes. Very frustrating! We decided to just go to Fraser island, continue with our changes even without the booking amended and let them sort it out. At this point it was obvious we couldn't get anything done and wasted too much money on pointless phone calls.
Since our original plan to do the Great Walk was compromised we decided to shorten our F.I. trip from 11 to 5 days. Jeff contacted parks and rec, again, and requested a refund for the remaining 6 days and was told it should not be a problem due to the circumstances and obvious lack of assistance.
So we were on our way to Hervey Bay on the same day the U.S. Presidential Election was going on, feeling a bit frustrated with the booking ordeal and not really sure what to expect when we got there. When we arrived in Hervey Bay, Jeff found that there wasn't a barge in Hervey Bay and the cheapest way to get to the one we needed to go to was to pay some outrageous amount to take a Limo because there was no public transportation. He was told that they operate this way to get tourists to spend more money since most accomodation is in Hervey Bay but the ferries depart from Rivers head. They want you to buy package deals including ferries, accomodation and/or shuttles altogether. It definitely wasn't an expense we budgeted for and while we could have forked over the money, it was kind of the tipping point for us, not to mention the black rain clouds hovering over the island in the distance. We would have ended up paying quite a bit to do something not even remotely close to our original plan and it didn't seem like it would be nearly as enjoyable as we had wanted. So we decided we would spend a week in Hervey Bay and see what it had to offer.
Back at home while President Obama had been re-elected my family was also informed of the unfortunate news that my Grandpa had become very ill and most likely wouldn't make it through the night. My mom broke the news to me over the phone and while I wasn't extremely close to my grandfather it is never easy to have a family member pass and I really just wanted to be home to be there for my mother. It definitely hurts to hear someone you love and care about hurting and not be able to at least hug them. My mom is such a strong woman and she inspires me daily. Grandpa Kanaley passed over the night at the age of 80. I can safely say that my love for the Phoenix Suns started at a young age, inspired by him, and I have many fond memories of visits in hot Arizona.
Over the next few days we enjoyed our "cabin" in the caravan park and walked around the boardwalk in Hervey Bay. Our original reservation had been for two separate nights with the 5 days on Fraser in between so when we decided to stay in H.B. the whole time I asked Curly at the front desk if we could move the second night's reservation to be consecutive. He said the cabin we had already stayed in was taken for that night but he upgraded us to a nicer one at no extra cost! We even had our own toilet and shower instead of having to use the communal ones in the amenities block!
During those nights we flipped through a Queensland Caravan Park directory we had picked up and contemplated going somewhere else random so we wouldn't spend an entire week in H.B. We liked the looks of Noosa but unfortunately our train pass didn't include a stop or connection there so we eventually decided on a small coastal town called Yeppoon. We still had 2 more nights before we would head there and to save some money we downgraded to a campsite and set up Dumbledore under a lovely purple flowering tree across from the amenities.
In the middle of the night I woke up to Jeff tapping me in the arm and then pointing to the top of the tent where I heard the soft pattering sound of rain on the ceiling. We frantically grabbed the tarps, pegs and hammer and quickly fixated our makeshift rainfly before the complete downpour started. For the rest of our stay in H.B. it never did stop raining. We spent the whole next day playing Skipbo in the camp kitchen, drinking wine, watching movies on the iPad and listening to a depressing domestic dispute unfold all around us as this couple fought loudly wherever they went. It broke my heart to hear/watch the mother treat her toddler so poorly, constantly telling her to "shut the F up" among other rude and unacceptable demands. I wanted to steal that little girl and give her to someone who would make her feel loved. By the end of that day we were feeling pretty discouraged having been rained out, forced to listen to/watch this domestic issue and finding that some people go by the "finders-keepers" mentality when browsing through the communal refrigerator and our newly purchased soda had been stolen. It may have only been soda but it was still frustrating as we aren't made of money and don't buy ourselves "treats" very often. We did, however, enjoy watching Cain Toads hop around in the rain and giant bats hang upside down above us in the trees. I tried to cheer us up by playing the song "Cool Water" by Roy Rogers, Sons of the Pioneers over and over out loud which you can't help but laugh at.
Another nights sleep in the pouring rain. The tarps keep the rain from completely soaking us but the sides of the tent have small leaks where the pockets are sewn on and with that much rain it's impossible to keep out. Small drips become a huge puddle fast so we used towels and clothes to soak the water up as it came in to prevent our sleeping bags and valuables from getting wet. Thank goodness for tarps! There was so much rain that the road had pretty much become a big stream and we were at least glad we had decided to cancel Fraser Island. At least at the caravan park we could seek shelter in the kitchen if needed whereas on Fraser we wouldn't have had a choice.
The next morning we started packing up under the roof in the kitchen and laying out some of our wet items to dry. A woman named Elenore from Cambridge, U.K. walked by and asked if there was anything she could do to help. We told her that we were fine and were just packing up and she insisted that we drink some of her freshly brewed "real coffee" (must have seen us drinking the freeze dried instant stuff earlier). She brought over cups of steaming coffee as we packed and her husband, Philip, asked us questions about Idaho. Upon telling them of our plans to head to Yeppoon and walk to the bus stop (not very far away) to catch a bus into the central part of town so we could connect to wifi and wait for our coach out of town they also insisted that they give us a ride into town instead. They said it was the least they could do and really wanted to make sure we got to Centro dry. We would have been fine and surely we would have survived but we accepted their offer and caught a dry ride to McDonalds where we would connect for a bit. There are some bad people in this world but traveling has also restored some of my faith in humanity. There are a lot of great people in this world as well and to repay what they have done we can only pay it forward to someone else who may need a ride somewhere, a cup of coffee or just someone to uplift their spirit in some way.
After connecting for a bit we were on our way to Yeppoon! We were going to camp at a caravan park that night not too far away from the bus station and I'll be honest I was a bit concerned seeing the black clouds filling up the sky around us and was sure we were in for another rainy night. Our bus driver was kind enough to drop us right in front of the park and we set up Dumbledore right in between two caravans of people who live there. Luckily, there wasn't a drop of rain that night but PLENTY of wind. I'll take wind over rain any day though.
The next day we were able to stay in one of the trailers at the park so we felt more comfortable leaving our bags while we explored since they would be locked up. After a morning of text by text updates from my dad on the 49ers game (through Siri of course and full of comical interpretations) we reflected on the last week and how we really don't like feeling so discouraged and wanted to find a way to lift our spirits and get out of the "down" side of traveling. I talked to Nancy on the phone and instantly felt better (she is so kind) and we decided we would head back to Wollongong for a few days to be around the people we know we love and explore New South Wales. We enjoyed a walk along the coast, watching the sun set and surfers hit the big waves and were glad to be moving onto a new leg of our journey. We can't be feeling discouraged for our final month and a half of travel, can we? There is a bit of rivalry between Queenslanders and the people who live in NSW and I have to say that even though I have enjoyed many moments in Queensland, I've been excited to leave each time ;)
Nancy also told me that when she asked her daughter, Carolyn, where Yeppoon was she responded "Next to your knife and fork, I guess" and I thought it was pretty funny.
So we are on our way back south, already feeling refreshed, stopping in Brisbane for a night and then off to spend a weekend with the lovely Nancy, Hedley, Carolyn, Jen and LuLu.
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