Byron Bay

Byron Bay is probably one of the best places on earth. When I was here six years ago I stayed for five months in total, I would have done it again if I had the chance. Being back here just made me realize how sweet of a place it is. The surf was firing, there has been relatively small amounts of change and the pie shop was still serving up the best raspberry pies on the planet.


Our days were spent on the beach, the nights were spent cooking meals on the outdoor BBQ's and having a beer. A few nights saw us head to the pubs to meet the locals, old friends and stare at the on-going surf films that grace the big screens.

The surf was incredible for the entire duration of the time in Byron, five days in total. Off shore winds and head high surf make for a happy little hobbit. After a few years away from town and it was sweet to come back and see some of the best waves ever come through at my surf destination of choice (the wreck). I pretty much had a grin on my face for a week straight.

One fine afternoon we hopped into ole' Remy and headed north to the water slides. I knew that we would have to go once Andi saw them from the car on the way down to Byron. After she saw them it was like a kid stuck on repeat... “Can we go to Wet and Wild today?” “Can we go to Wet and Wild today?” “Can we go to Wet and Wild today?”. I can assure you that it was a super kick ass day, it was both wet and wild.

Now that we have left town and moved on it easy to look back at this place and understand that Byron is just one of those places that feels right, good vibes, everybody loves it and so do we.

An Ode To My Reefs

Such a good set of flippers;
You were as comfy as slippers;

So sad our time has ended;
These things just can't be mended;

From the Elbow River to the Aussie outback;
Ohh so many times you were packed!

Carted around the world, 5 countries in fact;
My first set of Reefs, and I'll never look back.

A Forrest

Housekeeping

Sorry for the delay in updates, I have excuses but you don't want to hear them.

First up please note that the video clips have been updated for the following entries.

• The Great Barrier Reef
• Crocodiles!!!
• 1770

Please take a minute to view the clips if you choose, best done when nothing else needs to be done immediately, I am looking at you office workers.

Next item of business,

Meet TACO the Tui Gnome!




After one week of voting and 8 actual votes, Taco was the winner. As mentioned before, Taco will travel with us for the duration of the trip and can be spotted in the slide show on the right hand side of the page. This slide show is updated every so often, so poke through it once in while to get the dirt on where Taco has been hanging out. This slide show is the same one...for now. Thank you for voting.



Here is another FIND TACO!!

Heavy Situation

The other day were were traveling south along the Pacific highway in a rain storm. I have been in some nasty weather in the past but this was epic rain, think the hardest thunderstorm for hours on end. For a few hours the rain came down in a fashion that would make Noah say holy shit. Our travel van Remy leaked liked the Titanic post iceberg confrontation, everything was soaked and we were quite unimpressed with the entire situation. The rain got especially bad for a few moments which led to poor visibility on the highway. Andi was driving and I was starting to nod off just when we noticed the truck in front of the car in front of us slide to a stop and started steaming. It took me a minute to register what had just happened but I told Andi to get over to the side of the road as quickly as she could and I jumped out into the pouring rain. It was a head on collision on the highway and I was the first responder to one of the vehicles.

I have never been in a situation like this in the past and it was a heavy one, I did not know what to expect as I approached the smashed in Toyota Hilux. The rain streaming down my face I came too the window to see a 30 something guy obviously shaken but conscious. It was first reaction to make sure he was awake and see if he had any obvious serious injuries. As soon as I noted he was awake, albeit not completely with it, I shouted over to the man handling the other car and told him that my guy was alive and awake and I ran to the nearest car to get them to call the emergency line (which is 000 if you are every in Australia and in a similar situation). Just as I was returning to the car a man came running up and declared himself as an off duty paramedic (Ambo) and he took control of the entire situation.

I was shaking until I knew that somebody else was calling the shots, I can't say I knew exactly what to do but all I could think about was keeping my guy awake and to make sure an ambulance had been called.

The other car had a middle aged man and a young boy who looked white as a ghost, but nothing real serious. I overheard conversations of abdominal injuries on the young boy but cannot confirm anything. My guy had a broken leg I think.

In the end the ambulances showed up as well as the cops who then took control of the site but until that time it was up to us the people who responded to the situation to make sure we could do what we can to help these people. It was a scary ordeal as I walked up to the truck not knowing what I was going to see. I am glad that everybody survived but I can say that I don't want to have to do that again.

1770

The town of 1770 was not much at first sight, so I bought a pair of board shorts and we moved on. Unfortunately 1.5 hrs down the road I realized that I forgot my credit card at the surf shop and we faced a decision of: stay in Bundaberg and go in the morning or turn around and go now. After a stern look from Andi were we back on the road to the town we decided to leave behind.

We got in late and headed down to the beach parking lot. There were greeted with free public BBQ's and a few other backpackers chillin' out and living in their vans, we figured it was a great idea and joined in. So there we stayed at the beach for the night. The next day we awoke to surf, sun and I was reunited with my Visa. It is a common statement, never leave good surf so we didn't and we stayed for 5 days over the Easter weekend. The days were filled with surfing, the nights we went to the pub and watched the live bands. Living in a van down by the sea.... It is a good way to spend a vacation.

One afternoon we came across a biker tour and decided, why the hell not. We paid, jumped on and toured town on our sweet hogs. 60 kids, 50cc's, ape hanger handle bars and a horn that sounds cuter than a bucket full of baby ducks. We were a mean looking backpacking gang of losers, on kick ass looking bikes. It was a scene straight out of “Easy Rider” but we're actually not as cool, we just felt like we were. A three hour cruise left us wanting more, but it was dark out and I had no head light so we headed back to the office and dropped off the bikes.

When we got back to our temporary home to cook dinner a hoard of local teens showed up that were fueled on the booze. This situation was not rare but what added to the uniqueness of the moment was a thin piece of high tensile rope that was set up like a tight rope by one of our new backpacking friends. All of these special ingredients led to a:

Fall Down Report

It was about 2 hours after sunset and the local kids were into it. They seemed intrigued by the tight rope (slack line) and flocked to it like insects to a bright light. At first it was a challenge to try and walk the line, which hovered three feet above ground, without falling but since most of them had the balance of a three legged giraffe this feat was quite impossible. Next the kids tried to one up each other by walking the furthest along the rope, but once a record was set the record holder would then ensure he kept his status by tugging violently on the rope whenever a rival was closing in on the new title. Then out of nowhere drunken teenager “K” came galloping from the shadows at hurried pace, 2 feet from the rope he planted and did a hop with both feet in the air with intentions of landing on the slack line and winning approval amongst the hoard of teens. Unfortunately for the teen, but super beneficial for all spectators, the alcoholic impairments the teen was dealing with completely threw off is timing. The result was a two footed trip at the ankles and a rather embarrassing, not to mention sudden, face plant into the Australian version of Kentucky Bluegrass. You could tell from the distance that more than just his ego was bruised.

Not ten minutes later teenager “K” had recovered from his embarrassing endeavors and reappeared to redeem his status within the pack.

FALL DOWN REPORT

This time he volunteered to be the cargo in a slingshot-esk launching from the slack line. So he did what any volunteer would do in this situation and nestled into the rope discreetly under his buttocks. As nine of his friends grabbed a hold of the rope and backed up, he too slowly marched in reverse until the rope had reached the threshold of it's potential energy and the stage was set. In unison the teens counted in reverse, disregarding the standard three count they started at five. Four echoed through the night, three passed by, at two the attention of all in attendance was had and at one it was as if the planets aligned and a new form of physics fell upon this boys world because at release everything went wrong.

The slack line traveled down the boys legs instead of launching him as intended. The pace of the line as it traveled down the length of the boys legs was unmatched by his balance, the result, a clean sweep. He was taken out at the ankles once again, this time he went over backwards delivering the punishment to the backside of his head, the part missed on round one. The crowd roared as laid star fished on the ground. For many it was a great moment, for one it was the worst moment.

Whitsundy Islands

This entry is about The Whitsunday Islands. They are an old mountain range that has since been inundated by the sea, the result...a group of islands surrounded by the warm Coral Sea. This place is quite popular for sailors, yachties and backpackers. There was a myriad of options available for seeing the islands, the most popular was a three day sailing trip but we decided that since Andrea will get sea sick in a bathtub we went for the quick and dirty speed boat option.

What we didn't realize was that this company was run by a group of Kiwi's which means that the trip won't just be a quick zip to the islands and back. Minutes into the boat ride the skipper decided it would be a great idea to spin a few donuts and zig zag his way across the bay at speeds Micheal Shumacher would be jealous about. It was a bit eye opening as I thought that this is what the rest of the day was going to entail. Luckily enough the high performance boating quickly ended before my Cheerios became fish food.

The day started with two hours of snorkeling at two different locations, still on The Great Barrier Reef, still just as amazing. From here were off to the one of the best ten beaches in the world. I do not know where this stat comes from but I did not feel like asking the skipper for the back up information for fear of another 20 minute round of sea donuts. Whitehaven Beach was the name, stunning was the adjective. Bright white 99% silica sand makes for a great place to get a sunburn. We were quite entertained by the small reef sharks and sting rays in the water and the squeaking sand below our feet, definitely a cool place to spend the afternoon.

The day was closing out so it was back on the boat for the trip home with the skipper at the helm. The ride home we rendezvoused with the sister ship in the Ocean Rafting fleet for some more high spend hijinks. This time the skipper managed to do a wake slide with the entire boat. Let me explain, we traveled behind the other boat and came in at a rapid pace towards their wake. We rode up the wake and at the apex the skipper turned the boat as quick as he could, pulling the engine out of the water and putting the boat into a full sideways slide on the wake. It was a high performance maneuver best left for wake boarders in my opinion but I wasn't driving. After about six of these, we got nauseous. The ride home was not a pleasant one but whatever it makes for a good story in the end.

Check out the slide show...

Crocodiles!!!

This entry is about Crocodiles, the big bastards. These things grow up to 8.5 meters in length and become lethal to humans after 1.5m. We saw a couple today that were 4.5 – 5.0m and they looked bloody huge, I can't imagine what a 8.5 grand-daddy would look like. Very scary animal.

Now how did we get to see the crocodiles? Well that is a somewhat boring story that goes like this. We hired a rental van from Cairns, his name is Remy and he will be our wheels, home and magnet for any young female Danish backpackers that need a lift down the coast. It is our intention to drive to Sydney over the next 19 days (a good 2500 km south), so we got in the van for Day 1 of our adventure and headed north for some stupid reason. On the way north we passed by a sign stating crocodile farm 400m on the left. It was a quick vote in the van, 1 vote no (Andi) vs. 2 votes yes (Dion and Gnameless Gnome). We pulled in and went to see the saltwater beasts.

I said it before, they are big bastards, and we lucked out because it was feeding day!!!! On the menu, fish, not that it would matter, these things would probably eat a shopping cart if it was dangling in front of them. These are our video clips and shots of the impressive leftovers of the Jurassic Era. We were only a couple of feet away from them and after seeing the power they have I think my only defense if one got a hold of me would be to crap myself out of spite insuring that his afternoon snack would be ruined.

Later on we went swimming in the Mossman Gorge. We talked to several locals to ensure that we weren't getting into crocodile territory (it's called being croc-wise). I got sunburned again, I obviously haven't been following Baz Lurmans instructions.

The Great Barrier Reef

Obviously the last entry was completely lies and thank goodness for that as the Great Barrrier Reef topped my list of things to see while in Australia. It is the most extensive structure ever built by living creatures and the only life form on earth visible from the moon. Consisting of 2500 separate reefs it stretches over 2000 kms and supports the greatest concentration of life on this planet. On Wednesday we managed to visit two of those reefs. After a 2 hour cruise out to sea we arrived at our first destination, Mikelson Cay, a sand island in the middle of the sea (see 1st photo). We promptly jumped off the boat and headed ashore for some snorkelling. Dion and I were immediately separated as we set out and I decided to snorkel my way back to the boat.

It is difficult to put into words the beauty of the coral reef. Brilliant coloured fished that swim amongst a garden of all sorts of coral. Schools of fish would pass me by as I happily floated amongst them. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw a big sea turtle and almost choked on my snorkel. It swam right on by me barely taking notice. I was awe struck by the grace and ease which it moved through the water. I didn't stand a chance of keeping up to it.

Once I got back to the boat I had the option of doing a scuba dive, which I opted to try. I was really nervous about being in the water and almost fell over with the weight of the equipment, but jumped in. The guide was really good and I was swimming with the fish in minutes. He brought us down to the bottom and we got to stick our hands in a giant sea clam that was about 1 meter wide (aprox 60 years old!). He encouraged us to touch a few of the corals, a star fish and a sea cucumber. It all went by too quick and we were back in the boat to head to our second reef of the day. Dion and I managed to stick together and floated around among even more fish than the first spot. Here is a quick video of the Giant Trevelli being fed.

Unfortunately our day on the reef with perfect windless conditions quickly came to a close and we headed back into Cairns for the evening. This was an experience I will not soon forget and a place I am keen to explore further. If anyone is even considering a visit to Australia this is a Must See!

After my turtle encounter I was feeling lucky and we headed to the local casino to try our luck. Keno was our game of choice but we didn't fare well and left much lighter in the pocket. I think we will be paying for retirement until we are 60!

How is this for dumb luck, we only have one day to check out the Great Barrier Reef and we get hit with this.

I pulled this excerpt from the Cairns Telegraph, you can't make this shit up:

“An unkempt backpacker from the Netherlands by the name of Henrik Von Hughmor caused a major upset to the delicate eco-system of the Great Barrier Reef yesterday. Allegedly the wax used to dread lock the hair of the 24 year old man reacted with the metallic paint of a “Hot Wheels” toy car (embedded in the dreadlocks) and the salt water creating an “oil cloud” within the water. The resulting cloud has caused 97% of the marine life to retreat to deeper water to escape the “cloud.” Eye witnesses stated seeing the blue '57 Bel-Air toy car bursting at the back of the mans head and the resulting “cloud” dissipating at a rapid pace.

“It was crazy” stated Cory Bull from the United States,” I remember looking over and seeing this cloud emanating from that hippies head, then I got spooked as it got close to me, I barely made it out of the water...but I do remember that a lot of the fish took off.”

Lead marine biologist Andrew Fullovit from the Australian Department of Marine Conservation has released this statement “ The Great Barrier Reef will be closed until further notice due to the mystery “oil cloud” released yesterday at 1:30 PM local time. The hydrophobic nature of the oils present in the cloud are spreading at an extreme pace and are affecting approximately 1 sq km every half an hour. Mr. Von Hughmor is being held by Queensland Police for questioning and charges are pending upon full investigation of the incident from the Federal Department of Fisheries and Marine Conservation”

The estimated hit to the local tourism operations stands to be upwards of 500,000AUD per day during the closure. At press time it was not known when the reef was scheduled to re-open.

Mr. Hughmor was seen being taken into custody yesterday at 3:00 PM with the remnants of the toy car tangled within his dreadlocks. A yellow “Telly Tubby”, a “Mercedes Benz' hood ornament, beads, leaves and a full set of plastic utensils (fork, spoon and knife) were also infused into the mans hair.

The full version of the story is here, it also has picture goodness.

Arrival in Sydney

We timed our arrival in Sydney well. The sun was rising, the swell was rising and so was our excitement. We were met at the airport by my former roommate Sarah Hill and her lover Marc. From here it was directly to the beach to check the surf and have a bite to eat, over night flights can really put a hamper on the ole eating schedule.

The day was a sweet one, a surf at Manly beach, good friends and getting reacquainted with my favorite city on earth. It's good to be back here albeit only for a day or two. Tomorrow we fly off to Cairns to pick up our camper van which will house us the next 3 weeks as we tear up the East coast of Aussie. This is a fun place, and we are looking to explore some of this lands icons, 40 hours from now we will be swimming on the Great Barrier Reef.




On a side note, we will not be getting haircuts due to the outcome of the recent poll. 4 votes NO, 3 votes yes. If you think we looked like hippies now, just wait longer.

Please take the time to vote in the current poll regarding the Tui Gnome. He needs a name and these are your options. Stay tuned for photos...