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Down Under: my experiences in South-East Asia, Australia & New Zealand.

Guido's Down Under Experiences: September 2004

FlyingDutchman
2006-03-19 18:41:38

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Thu 30 September 2004
Drinking & Driving
Hervey Bay, QLD

Monday evening we had dinner with everyone from the Whitsunday Islands boat, and we went on a bit of a pub crawl in Airlie Beach afterwards. Especially the teapots with shots were very tasteful.

Needless to say, we (Rachel and I) did not leave Airlie Beach very early the next day, but still had to drive around 500km to Rockhampton. On the way we had lunch in Sarina (some tiny town along the highway). In Rockhampton we checked into a very nice hostel (Oxford Hotel Backpackers), and relaxed there for the evening.

We left Rockhampton on Wednesday morning, and drove almost straight to Bundaberg. There we did a tour of the famous Bundaberg Rum distillery, and got to taste a little bit afterwards (not even one standard drink, since I still had to drive, and drink driving is bad). I did buy some rum for later use though. From Bundaberg we drove on to Hervey Bay to spend the night there. Pretty much everyone I met during my travels did not recommend to stay in Bundaberg itself, and it would make the drive to Rainbow Beach today a bit shorter as well.

Mon 27 September 2004
Whitsunday Islands
Airlie Beach, QLD

Late Saturday afternoon Rachel and I got on the Romance, to sail and dive around the Whitsunday Islands. There were 20 people on the boat in total, with more girls than guys, so it already started off good. Our first destination was Whitehaven Beach, where we anchored for the night. It was also the only place we sort of sailed to (we had some sails up, but the engine was running too), and we did not even sail the next days, since there was virtually no wind. But that was okay with me, and I guess you get what you pay for, which was only A$299 (= 175 euro) for 2-days 2-nights Whitsundays, 3-days 2-nights Fraser Island self-drive safari & 2 nights accommodation in Rainbow Beach.

Saturday evening ...