BigRedOnABike: Starting 2012 on the bike: Brisbane, Byron & Fraser Island

After Christmas in Melbourne I packed the bike up again (getting good at this) and flew up to Brisbane to catch up with Lochy again. We jumped in a 4x4 and took the boat over to Moreton Island for the New Year. It was a great few days of exploring, sand boarding, body surfing, cool (but not quite cold) beers and frequent attempts at surf fishing which resulted in a lot of lost worms and 1 tiny fish we I had to throw back. Still I’d like to claim a win based on the one fish over nothing for Lochy.

Hello Byron, so much more satisfying to arrive by bike!

After New Year I was itching to get back on the bike, Christmas and summer holidays merge into one for Australians so there was no chance of finding work before at least late January. I rode down to the Gold Coast to catch up with Melissa, skipping the glitzy theme parks for some time in the surf, then trying my luck at getting into bars in Flip-Flops – 1^st time I’ve had to worry about anything like that for a while. One night was enough in the party haven and I was back on the road to Byron, passing sleepier areas of the Gold Coast & Northern New South Wales with coastal views, beautiful beaches and golden sands. At Byron I met up with Lilli, another Aussie friend from London and after throwing the bike in the back of the car I jumped in the ocean to wash the sweaty road off. Another relaxed night at the Beach Hotel followed – no problems with flip-flops here!

Rolling past, rather than up, the Glasshouse Mountains

After cycling almost 200km south, there was not much exciting on the map for another few hundred kilometres, so I decided to hitch a ride back to Brisbane and head north instead. Over the next 5 days I joined the backpackers and other travellers jumping from the coast to inland fruit farming areas and back again. The glasshouse mountains looked spectacular from the valley, but the steep slopes and late hour made a ride up into them unappealing. Onwards to the Sunny Coast, I battled through the commuter and holiday traffic, but certainly preferred the feel of the beach towns more than the glitzy Gold Coast. I had to relax a couple of days in Noosa to allow my mobile to catch up with me – somebody had kindly removed it from the charger to hand in at the campsite lodge, which only opened 2 hrs after I left! I consoled myself with some more bodysurfing, kayaking over sting rays and partying with the backpacker crowd. Back on the road the next stop was Gympie, another non-descript inland town with fruit farming nearby. Finally I had a hot ride into Rainbow Beach – one of the few Gateways to Fraser Island, where after cycling through the sand dunes of the Great Sandy National Park in the heat of the day I rejoined the backpackers at Dingoes and signed up for a 3 day, 2 night Fraser Island Tour.

The Sunshine Coast lives up to its name

Noosa Main beach at 5pm, too cold for most of the locals

Getting into trouble with the backpackers at Noosa Nomads

The road to rainbow beach - watch out for wild horses!

Take the 7 biggest guys on the trip and pack them into one 4x4 with one lucky girl

I should have realized I was in for a rough ride over the next 3 days as soon as I heard the heavy Irish accents belonging to half the 40-strong group, maybe I should have protested when my group was put together with 7 heavy lads and one girl in a cramped 8-seater 4x4, and finally I could have run a mile when together we ordered 6x 4 litre cartons of “Goon” (cheap boxed wine” that “may contain traces of fish”). I opted for cider and avoided the hangover inducing goon, which was a good call as warm cider tasted a lot better than warm Aussie beer! After our equipment check and a briefing warning of all the dangers of driving on the Island it was time to jump into the 4x4; feeling polite and hardly knowing anybody I took my time only to find everybody else had scrambled and all that was left was the driver’s seat – guess that was mine! Fortunately despite having driven maybe 3 hours in 6 months, we managed to survive the first few hours on the island as I revved the engine, skidded through soft sand and bounced over hard inland roads to Lake McKensie. The Irish didn’t disappoint and the nights were messy, but the days were amazing too – sunsets over the ocean, dingoes roaming the camp, clear freshwater lakes and amazing views. We each took it in turns to drive and I never got behind the wheel again, but we all survived although some inspired more confidence than others. Arriving back at Dingoes I was shattered but managed one more night with the Irish, but the early start heading north the next day was going to difficult!