Elliot in Australia

To get to Australia, we took a 6 hour plane ride and it didn’t have a TV!  I was excited for Australia to hear people say “mate” and see them walking around with surfboards.

When we arrived we had to go to an internet shop to buy a sim card because there was no free wifi, like they did in Asia.

Australia is famous for meat pies and they’re delicious. You really, really, really should try one. I’m not lying. They’re very good!

 

Lennox Head

When we arrived we rented a car and drove to Lennox Head. We were staying there for two weeks and had a great view of the ocean. In the afternoon we went swimming and saw jellyfish on the beach. They were blue and as big as a balloon. We later found out they were called Blue Bottles.

We bought a couple of boogie boards that were really good quality pro ones. Too bad we couldn’t keep them when we left Australia!

 

Surfer’s Paradise

We went to Surfer’s Paradise for a few days after Lennox Head and before we picked up our RV. In the afternoon we went for a walk along the boardwalk and saw a sand sculpture competition. I made a head of a knight. We saw the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. The first place winner was a sculpture of Poseidon that had a trident in his hand.

 

RV

This morning we drove from Surfer’s Paradise to Brisbane to pick up our RV. It took half an hour to get our RV and I have a picture of it in my photo slider. Our RV has two beds at the top where my sister and I slept. At the bottom, there’s a table that slides out and if you put the table away, a bed folds out and that’s where my mom and dad slept. We have one oven, four cabinets and one stove.

 

Noosa Northshore

When we arrived in Noosa we put up our awning right away because it was so hot! Then we saw little dots of poop everywhere. When we found out it was Kangaroo poop it blew our minds because we thought it was from Dingos.

One afternoon we went swimming and when we tried to go back to shore we couldn’t move! We kept trying to swim back and couldn’t until somehow, what felt like half an hour, we made it to shore.  When we got my mom got the idea that we were stuck in a rip tide.

When we stayed at Noosa Northshore we saw a baby and mama kangaroo at our campsite. And we saw them every day! My sister and I fed the kangaroo and they have crazy big feet. Did you know a kangaroo can stand up just on their tail?

 

Fraser Island

We rented a 4WD jeep named Tilley and it was the colour of the Italian flag. First we took a ferry that took 45minutes to cross to the island. When we first started driving it was very bumpy.

On the way to our campsite we stopped off at Lake McKenzie. The water was so, so crystal clear and the sand was like flour! After Lake McKenzie the road was flatter. When the tide is high you can’t drive on the beach because you might get swept into the water by the current. When we got to our campsite, we put our tent up. For dinner we had Kraft Dinner.

The next morning, when we were packing up our campsite and putting our pots away, two dingo approached us. They stayed at our site for only for a few minutes then went to another site and zoomed away.

We also visited Lake Wabby and we took this exhausting walk to get there. It was 2.5 km in the hot, hot sun rays. The total walk was 5km in the heat. When we got to the lake there were many sand dunes. Some people run down the sand dunes right into the water and for some reason I did that too!

 

Whitsundays

We went on this cool overnight boat. Well it’s a sailboat and I got to steer the sailboat for a bit. When we stopped we went snorkelling and saw all kinds of fish. We were so close to the coral I could almost touch it. Sorry forgot to tell you, we had to wear stinger suits to protect us from the deadly jellyfish stings. After we finished snorkelling we had nachos as a snack.

The next day it was raining, but we still got our wetsuits on and went snorkelling. We saw these fish that were literally as big as me. The ocean was very wavy when we got out. Then we sailed to our overnight stop.

The third day we went to Whitehaven beach. When we were walking to the beach we saw this little leaf nest. They’re actually made of ant saliva, stuck together. When we got to the beach we forgot our stinger suits, so my dad had to run back to the boat to get them.

 

Agnes Waters

We took surf lessons and it was kinda simple, I guess…except for getting wacked in the head by a surfboard coming full speed towards me.

“I’m your coach for surf lessons today. Are you ready? Boards down and paddle, paddle, paddle. Then push up and start to stand up on your board. Now let’s go in the water. Whoever is reading this, you’re a natural. If you fall down on your back, fall down like a starfish. Now go!”

Mission Beach

On the way to our campsite in Mission Beach a Cassowary ran across the road. When we got there we unpacked in the hot sun. Then we jumped into the ocean to cool off! It had a singer net to protect us from the deadly jellyfish…so we were basically swimming in a box. Then we ate lunch. Oh I forgot to tell you…most of the campsites have a camp kitchen with tables, so we ate lunch there. While we were having lunch a baby and mommy cassowary started running at us because we had food. Then they stopped, turned the other direction and, for some reason, started kicking the motor boat that was parked outside.

 

Great Barrier Reef

We went on a day trip to the reef. We went snorkelling twice. There weren’t as many fish as in the Whitsundays. We saw a swarm of fish around us. The company was suppose to be famous for their bacon and egg breakfast sandwich.

 

Jellyfish facts

When you hit a jellyfish it breaks a little capsule and shoots out poison like a harpoon into your skin.

There are 200 types of jellyfish and only three types are deadly and they all live in Australia.

Jellyfish are 95% water, so if you’re swimming in the water they’ll only come towards you if the current pushes them that way.

 

Daintree

We went to Daintree and passed little villages along the way. We stopped at an observatory along the way. When we finally got there we parked our RV and it was so hot we went to a swimming hole to refresh. The water was freezing but felt good. We couldn’t swim in the ocean because it was filled with stingers and crocodiles. When we were leaving we saw a sign that said “There’s no crocodiles in the water, we put them in our burgers”.

 

Then we ate lunch and dinner.

The next day we went on this crocodile cruise. For the first two hours we didn’t see anything. Then we saw a crocodile’s eyes that was so hard to see!  $20 for just a pair of eyes?! I can go online and search that.

 

Australian facts: Did you know?

  1. Did you know that the Australian 50 cent is as heavy as a hummingbird?!
  2. Most Australians walk in grocery stores, banks and shops without a t-shirt or shoes. They walk barefoot everywhere.
  3. When you’re swimming in the Great Barrier Reef you need a stinger suit.
  4. Surfing is 80% paddling
  5. They say: “hey mate”, “how you doing”, “good on you” and “cheers

 

Australia was fun, minus the heat. We loved Lennox Head so much we were thinking of moving there.  I recommend going there. Bring some water guns to make it even more fun!