Houseboat on the Hawkesbury River (Marcs 30th)

Shortly after returning from Queensland, we all decided to rent a 10 berth boat for a weekend on the Hawkesbury River for Marc's birthday.

After transferring everything from the cars - food, beer & sleeping gear, we finally all made it aboard safely and were ready to set sail.

Up until this point, nobody had driven a boat before. Due to the size of the engines, we werent required to have a boating license to drive. We all had a turn trying to manoeuvre the boat and some were more successful than others. I personally was pretty crap at it and was unable to keep the boat in a straight line.

Instead, I stuck to what I was best at doing and headed to the sun deck, BBQ and beers :)

We headed towards America Bay which was about 2.5 hours of cruising time down the Hawkesbury River. We decided to moor up and row to shore and chill out on some of the untouched beaches. The coast line had a number of bush walking tracks that headed inland but we decided to explore the rocky foreshores.

The beaches were pristine. We even contemplated setting up a camp and sleeping through the night on the beach. After further discussions we opted against this idea due to the thought of various snakes, spiders and local critters that would come out throughout the night. We made the decision to row back to the boat and the party continued.

Wenoah Head Beach, NSW

On the way back from Queensland, we decided to take a pit stop at Wenoah Head. Initially we had planned to camp here but after seeing a few "no camping" signs we decided to stay for a few hours and then move on.

The beach was pristine with nobody else in sight and was a perfect spot to escape the busier beaches in the surrounding bigger towns.

Dogs are permitted here but they had to remain on a leash.

Waterfall Creek Reserve Campground, Scenic Rim - January 7th

On the way back from Queensland to New South Wales, we decided to stop off close to the border of NSW / QLD in the Scenic Rim Region.

Waterfall Creek Reserve, is a council owned reserve / campground that is pretty remote and secluded. There were probably only 2 other campers that we could see around.

Within walking distance of the campground, there is a bush track that leads to the small waterfall and plunge pool. We took the liberty to explore the tracks with the dogs.

After wandering through thick bush and over rocks (on crutches), we finally found the destination which the campground is famous for - a swimming hole with a small waterfall around the corner (which you cannot see in this picture). The water was cold but on a hot day in the mid 30 degrees, it was somewhat refreshing. In the picture below is Dave, Jane and Marc.

Fraser Island - January 1st - 6th 2016

Over the last few weeks we have had the misfortune of having bad weather, I ruptured my achilles tendon on the first day of the holiday and the clutch failed on the truck costing $4000 worth of repairs. After an eventful and somewhat bad start to the holiday we finally made it to Fraser Island.

Fraser Island is located just off the coast of Australia, accessible by ferry or barge. It is the worlds largest sand island with pristine beaches, freshwater lakes, tropical rainforest and 4WD tracks.

There were a number of designated camping spots that are fenced to keep the dingos out throughout the island that have all the amenities that you can think of. However, we decided to camp in the un-fenced areas on the eastern foreshore right on the beach that have no facilities. With only 6 nights on the island, we only had time to travel half way up the island camping at Govi, Gabala and Eli Creek Campground.

Being out "in the bush" there were plenty of animals, wildlife and of course spiders. Right next to our tent on the first campground was a tree snake that was probably about 2-3 metres in length.

And we had a number of encounters with the native dingo's that roam freely around the island.

Probably the highlight of the trip was Lake McKenzie which is a large fresh water lake located in the middle of the island accessible by quite rough sandy 4WD tracks. The water was pristine and perfect for snorkelling and swimming.

Another highlight of the trip, second to Lake McKenzie was Eli Creek. Eli Creek is a board walk that takes you the top of flowing fresh water estuary that meanders through the rainforest. People float or walk through the water to reach the mouth of the creek on the eastern foreshore beach. The only downside to this day was that it was cloudy, which took away of how pristine it was.

All in all, a great trip and definitely worth re-visiting. Probably next we would take 2-3 weeks and traverse to the top of the island.