Barbeque that evening, Kate with full insect protection on!

After all the excitement of the afternoon, we got showered and fired up the barbeque. Andy and I heard a loud scream from the other cabin, it turned out that Australia’s placid but extremely big, hairy and downright scary looking huntsman spider had paid them a visit!! Kate was clothed from head to foot for the remainder of the night!
We saw, and heard, lots of wildlife that evening, but the food was delicious and it was really exciting to be sat outside in the middle of a rainforest having a barbeque!

They've got control of it...for now

He reckoned it would probably be dead though because it hasn’t been in the wild before and may have unknowingly eaten a venomous cane toad.

Carpet Python playing with mum

It was great, but a little un-nerving as the snake wrapped itself around your arm! The best bit was when he told us that he actually bought two of them about a month ago, but the bigger one has gone missing… lovely.

Kate playing with a carpet python

When we got back to our cabins, the carpet python was waiting for us. The owner actually let us all have a hold of him, although Andy bottled it – he’s not the bravest when it comes to spiders and snakes! Carpet pythons can grow to a length of 4m, but this one was just a baby!

The Wheel Of Fire waterfall

The Wheel of Fire has a deep natural pool at its base and it is one of the most popular fresh water swimming holes in the region with locals and visitors alike drawn by the appealing thought of swimming in a clear rock pool as water cascades down from tall boulders and large rainforest trees tower above. Needless to say, there was no-one about today, but apparently some days it gets packed with people swimming there. In a moment of madness, Andy and I decided to dodge the leeches swimming on the surface of the water at the edge, and plunge in to the very icy cold waters! It was very exhilarating!

The tropical rainforest

It eventually stopped raining and we walked though the amazing tropical rainforest to get to the Wheel of Fire – which it turned out you could only actually see properly from the water, hmm. I really can’t resist a challenge, and after a few shall we/shan’t we conversations, Andy led the way and him and I clambered across the rocks to the centre of the watering hole at the bottom of the falls.

Attack of the leech!

It was then I noticed the leech… attached to my calf! It was terrifying to see something clamped to your skin sucking blood from you, even though you know deep down that it isn’t going to hurt you! I must admit that I even thought it was diving inside my leg at one point and was screeching to mum to get the salt pot out that we had so fortunately brought with us. As mum shook a black powder onto the leech, and the leech shook itself, had a little sneeze and then carried on sucking blood, we realized the error. Not to worry, Andy had our salt pot… which again contained pepper which had absolutely no effect on the leech, who was laughing at us by this time. It turned out that the pot with one hole contained the pepper – never assume anything! After all this performance I was starting to feel faint (!) and dad ended up just pulling it off my leg. Blood was pouring out of the little hole it had made and I wasn’t very impressed about it all! They are clever little organisms though, they insert a needle-like protrusion into the body of the host (i.e. ME!) and secrete an enzyme, hemetin, which dissolves clots once they have formed. This is why the blood keeps flowing for ages after the leech has been removed. Australian leeches can vary in size from about 7mm to an enormous 200mm when extended – I am so glad that my leech was only a couple of centimeters long. Mum and Andy were also ‘leeched’ on the way back!

Araulen Falls with the huge swimming hole

We grabbed the salt pots from our cabins and headed to the start of the 5.4km bushwalk which would take us past the 'Araulen Falls' to the ‘Wheel of Fire’ and back. With the luck we had been having with the weather it was absolutely no surprise to us when, just as we stepped out of the car, it started lashing it down with rain. We decided to plough on regardless, as we really wanted to do the walk and there wasn’t much else we could do indoors anyway. It is the worst feeling when your hair and clothes gradually get saturated with water, and we all were in a very sorry state trudging along the path totally drenched, dad with a towel round his head! It was such a shame because the Araulen Falls were stunning, with a huge shallow pool to swim in at the bottom. However, it doesn’t really put one in the mood to jump in and swim when a) it is raining and b) there are allegedly leeches about! We snatched a few photographs and carried on to the next waterfall.

The river running through the property about 15 metres from the cabins.

They were situated on land belonging to the man who owned the cabins, with a river lined with palm trees running though it and lots of trees, flowers, birds and insects giving the place a very tropical feel. The owner was really nice and told us we had free run of his property for walks and swimming in the river. He also showed us some ants that were about that would bite, so you had to stamp on them before they got you! He told us where to go for a lovely walk past several waterfalls and swimming holes, however he did warn us that with the recent wet weather then there would be leeches about near the water… eeek!! He advised on taking salt with us just in case we ended up with one of these delightful creatures on our skin. He then mentioned that he had a pet carpet python which we could look at when we got back if we wanted, oh yes!!

The Finch Hatton Gorge Cabins

DAY 13: March 2nd, Finch Hatton Gorge

It was an early rise for us again, we caught the ferry back to Shute Harbour and then drove through to Mackay. After picking up lots of food and drink in Mackay for a barbeque that evening, we headed off towards Eungella (Young-gella) National Park. Today we were stopping at Finch Hatton Gorge which is located within the Eungella National Park and is a spectacular piece of tropical rainforest, interspersed by pristine rock pools and waterfalls. We were staying in the Finch Hatton Gorge Cabins, a lovely site with just three cabins, of which we would take up two. It was a truly back-to-nature experience, although that isn’t to say that the cabins were really basic. They were lovely, with bunk beds and a double bed, a kitchen and bathroom with shower.

Me in action at the karaoke night!

That evening was karaoke night so after a lovely evening meal we headed off to the bar to see what the karaoke experience would be like. It turned out that there was only a big group of young travellers and a couple of other families there. Every single song was by a couple or group of the travellers singing terribly and ruining almost every song they tried to perform! We were totally fed up after about the tenth ear-bursting rendition of something that once was a great song. I decided I would do one, even though I felt very nervous about it… soon enough I marched on stage determined to show these people a proper performance and I started off with the immortal words, “Alright stop, collaborate and listen”!! I totally went for it and rapped my little heart out to Ice Ice Baby, it was a resounding success and I got lots of applause and even people asking me to do another song, haha! I thought I would leave on a high though and graciously declined, and soon after that we could bear no more and made a hasty departure!
We slept very well that night, our bodies still rocking about from the sea!

The Whitsundays on the way back - when it had finally stopped raining

It was a really great day and we all had a fantastic experience there, but I know it would have been so much better on a calm sunny day. The boat trip back to the hotel was terrible, so choppy that everyone got sick bags and they were telling people to take motion sickness tablets that they were handing out! It seemed to be the longest two hours ever as you tried to keep your stomach from not giving up! We were certainly very glad to be back on dry land!

Brain Coral - guess why it's called that...

Dad and Kate had been on the semi-submersible whilst we did the dive and also had a go at snorkelling which they both enjoyed. After lunch, we all had a snorkel and then the heavens opened and it absolutely poured down, grey skies and horrible conditions. It was so upsetting after all the planning and money that had gone into the trip, but it is just one of things you can’t possibly predict. Dad and I went into the sea to snorkel in the rain and we were totally alone out there! It was actually the best time to go out though and the visibility had actually improved. There was a huge giant clam opening and shutting, and an eel, heaps of parrot fish and other colourful sea life.

Mum waving!

I think the experience would be so much more enjoyable in calm waters, and I look forward to trying it again in the future, with hopefully better conditions. Mum had lost her nerve, not surprisingly, but we were so proud when she decided she would go down with the second group, I don’t think she would have forgiven herself if not!!

Me, with some Humbug Damsel fish looking after me!

It is difficult to make out who is who when you all look like ugly black sea monsters, but I realised that mum wasn’t with us! It actually turned into a good dive and we saw a Clown Fish (Nemo) which thrilled me! We saw lots of types of fish and they were swimming right next to your face at times, which is wonderful! It was such a shame about the weather though, which meant that the visibility was only about 6-8 metres and the current underwater was quite strong making it difficult to concentrate on anything but keeping in a straight line and not hitting the reef.

Andy diving on the way down to the reef

We were all slightly apprehensive, this is an extreme sport after all, and made our way down into the training area in the water below the platform. This was absolutely awful. We had to learn how to recover a face mask if we lost it under water, and how to blow any water out of our face masks. However, the water was so choppy that we were being buffeted about under the water with the instructor trying to get us to perform all the required tasks before we were allowed to do the dive. He kept us there that long though that we started to get a bit panicky and we all surfaced at one point. He sent us back under water and Andy and I eventually managed to get off the platform and we set off on our dive feeling very anxious!

Damsel fish and Butterfly fish on reef

We were in the first scuba group and as soon as we got there had to head straight to the changing area and get our tanks and breathing apparatus fitted. I have done this a couple of times before and still cannot get over the weight of the scuba tanks, I could hardly stand up! It really makes you realise the buoyancy of the water.

Me practising the shark signal and mum doing the so-so or something is wrong signal, this was for a video they were shooting of our trip

We had a highly entertaining snorkel demonstration from the excellent crew on the boat journey there, which put everyone in the mood for a good day. Mum, Andy and I also decided to do the scuba dive!! We had to attend a talk about diving and what we would have to do, and fill in and sign those alarming ‘we’re not responsible if you die or are horribly incapacitated due to this scuba diving experience’ forms.

If you look closely, you can see a parrotfish

The Great Barrier Reef is the only living organic collective visible from Earth's orbit. The reef lies off the east coast of Australia and is one of the wonders of the natural world - it is the world's largest coral reef ecosystem. It was declared a World Heritage area in 1981. The reef covers more than 300,000 square kilometres consisting of more than 3000 reefs which range in size from 1 hectare to over 10,000 hectares in area. The length of the reef is over 2000km, ranging from above Cape York on the most north eastern point of Australia, down to below Gladstone.

Reef, from the semi-submersible

Reefworld is situated on the Hardy Reef in the Coral Sea, 39 miles from the Whitsunday coast, and the journey took about 2 hours. Reefworld consists of two huge floating platforms. The main platform, where the boat docks, is where all the activities are based, there are showers, changing areas, sun decks, a café, underwater observatory, scuba facilities, the semi-submersible coral viewer docks here and there are racks of stinger suits and snorkelling equipment. From here you can snorkel your way across to the second platform along the edge of the Great Barrier Reef, with the happy knowledge that ‘Snorkel Watch’ are keeping an eye on you at all times in case of any trouble. They provide inflatable jackets for those who are not confident swimmers, or those who want that extra bit of reassurance. You get about 5 hours at Reefworld, with a buffet lunch included. It is a fairly expensive day out, but let’s face it, it’s not everyday you get the chance to snorkel on the GBR is it?!

A Groper, he was HUGE, they grow to 1.5 metres long and I reckon he was about that.

DAY 12: March 1st, Reefworld

It was a nice sunny morning when we tore ourselves out of bed for our 7.25am high speed catamaran ride to the reef. We sat outside on the upper deck of the boat enjoying the rays, even though the sea was a little choppy. As we neared Hamilton Island (one of the major islands in the Whitsundays complete with high rise hotels and airport) the sea got a bit rougher and as we powered along all of a sudden a huge spray of water shot over the edge and drenched a lady sat near the edge of the boat. Obviously, this wasn’t at all amusing…!! We decided that we would be sensible and grab some good seats inside the cabin before the people at the next stop got on. Oh, how we chuckled to ourselves as the rich people from Hamilton Island all sat in the sun on the upper deck, the stillness of the sea in the harbour there very deceptive. We positioned ourselves ready for some cheap entertainment and looked on eagerly as the boat got faster and the waves got choppier. We weren’t disappointed; sure enough a huge drencher hurled itself over the upper barriers and caused chaos as people scuttled about trying to move seats. Soon, the waves got so bad that the staff actually made everyone go inside as it was too wild sat outside. Although, we realised later that the real reason they made everyone go in was because they were being sick over the side as the 2.5 metre swell took its toll on even the most experienced seafarers.

A Bush Stone-Curlew and a couple of Wallabies

That evening, after spotting all sorts of creatures outside our rooms, kookaburras, wallabies and curlews, we had a lovely buffet meal and then it was quiz night! None of us are particularly good at quizzes so we weren’t expecting to win, but we have a few brain cells between us so didn’t expect to do too badly either… I think we managed one point out of 25!! The questions were so stupid though, and we weren’t the only ones to leave at half time because we just couldn’t take any more! One example was “How long does it take for food to be digested after swallowing it?” And it wasn’t multiple choice! There were about 10 questions about kangaroos, so unless you were a knowledgeable Australian, you would struggle!
We walked back along the beach which was wonderful, there were flying foxes (fruit bats) flying about everywhere, and there were loads of fish in the shallow waters of the sea. I even spotted some baby white tip reef sharks, they were only about 40cm long but were skulking around just like their parents would. A guy fishing a few metres away confirmed they were sharks and that their parents all were at Long Island not long ago to give birth in the calm shallow waters so that their babies would have more chance of survival – maybe they pick off a few children for dinner!

Feed the Birds...

After that we decided a well-earned rest was in order and got laid out on the sun beds by the pool. We had a swim and a Jacuzzi, and then one of the hotel staff held a feeding session for the Rainbow Lorikeets. It was great, we had an apple mush in our hands and the lorikeets flew over and sat on your hand to eat! Mum even got one on her head!

This is the life!

We got to our beachfront rooms at Long Island and decided we would go for a walk though the forest on one of the sign-posted tracks they have there. It had stopped raining thankfully so the conditions were nice. I was doing the map reading and we ended up on a totally different walk to which we had planned, but it was nice nonetheless! We saw a wallaby along the way and there were lots of birds about, still no snakes though! We got to some mangroves and spent a while watching all the mud fish and crabs going about their business. Long Island has just two resorts on it, Peppers is the other resort and is the complete opposite end of the scale to where we were staying, there are only five or six rooms and you have to stay there a minimum of seven nights. The rest of the island consists of woodland, with various lengths of walks, one allowing you to trek to a remote beach with a picnic.
We just got back from our walk in time for the fish feeding session out on the jetty. The guide threw some bread into the water and within a minute there were long Garfish swarming round to feed. Then, along came the Batfish, they were huge! We all got to lean off the jetty and actually feed them out of our hands, fantastic! It also got us even more excited about the next day’s trip to the reef.

Feeding the Batfish

DAY 11: February 28th, Airlie Beach and Long Island

This morning was supposed to be a wander round the idyllic Airlie Beach, sit by the lagoon reading the morning papers in the sun, paddle in the sea, walk along the boardwalk and take in the holiday atmosphere. A huge black cloud creeping nearer and nearer meant that a quick race around the lagoon was all we had time for before the heavens opened and we clambered into the dry haven of the Territory. There isn’t an awful lot to do when it rains at Airlie Beach other than eat and drink, and after last night’s excesses then we didn’t really fancy that.
So, we headed off to Shute Harbour to get an earlier ferry across to Long Island, where we would be staying for the next few days. It was such a shame about the rain because it makes such a difference to how you perceive a place, the views driving to Shute Harbour are beautiful, but in the bleakness of the rain we may as well have been driving past BOCM in Selby.
Of course, we managed to have just missed one of the ferries and had to wait over an hour until the next one, on plastic chairs which we had to wipe dry with a serviette and sipping at a rather extortionately priced cup of tea. The worst thing about rain in hot climates is that they still have to have the air conditioning on, because it is not actually cold outside. The resulting combination of wet skin and an icy stream of air blowing on you is not very pleasant and we spent the trip to Long Island huddled up in the cabin.
Air conditioning is a constant niggle for me, places just don’t seem to ever get it right. I think that air conditioning should be at such a temperature that you don’t actually notice it, so that it is cool to walk into on a hot day but you don’t then have to put a coat, hat and gloves on in order to eat your meal without goose-bumps appearing all over you. But, places seem to think if they have air con, then it must be at minus seven so that everybody knows about it. There are restaurants where I know I will have to take a jacket with me even though it is mid-thirties outside, which is daft! Maybe they could consider having designated areas in the restaurants colder, so that instead of the smoking/non-smoking question we get asked, “would you like the freezing cold area or the pleasantly cool section?”