It’s the largest sand island in the world which is pretty cool, there are around 100 dune lakes which at this time of year can be pretty cool, it’s a World Heritage site and is also home to the purest breed of Dingoes in Australia.

The fishing along the eastern coastline is incredible, the forests which cover large areas of the island are magical and its original name is ‘K’gari’ or in the Badtjala people’s language ‘paradise’.

According to Aboriginal legend, when humans were created and needed a place to live, the mighty god Beiral sent his messenger Yendingie with the goddess K’gari down from heaven to create the land and mountains, rivers and sea. K’gari fell in love with the earth’s beauty and did not want to leave it. So Yendingie changed her into a heavenly island – Fraser Island!

So taking all things into account you can see why I was absolutely loving the idea of heading back there.

Exploring Fraser requires a 4WD as the roads are made of sand and driving on this very different surface requires a certain amount of skill, training and concentration. Backpackers love to come here to explore, hiring a Land Cruiser, filling it with friends and heading off into the great unknown.

It sounds all very romantic doesn’t it? Well it definitely is but it was also a little bit dangerous too with a number of accidents happening over the last few years which have led to new rules and regulations being introduced to reduce them. The problem came from overloading the vehicles with too many people. Their luggage also had to go somewhere and so the roof-rack would be loaded up resulting in a very top-heavy vehicle, driven on sand by an inexperienced driver. Not the best recipe for a ’safe’ holiday experience.

So you can still head out and hire a vehicle but the new laws mean you can only carry a maximum of eight people at any one time, no luggage can be carried on the roof and an 80kph speed limit has been applied to all beach roads. As an experienced four-wheel driver this now makes total sense.

Getting past the problem of having no experience driving on sand roads is being addressed too. A new system has been introduced called ‘Tag-Along Tours” which allow you, your friends and your vehicle to join up with an accredited guide and driver. The theory being that you form a convoy to explore the island together, have less impact on the roads through responsible driving practices and at the same time learn heaps more than you would if you were out there by yourself courtesy of your friendly, informative guide. Perfect.

Brooke and David were there to meet me at Akama bright and early on the Sunday morning, the weather was just about perfect. One of those winter’s days that I’d have dreamt about back in the UK! Overnight the heavens had opened but when you’re about to drive on sand roads that’s a really good thing as the rain beds down the soft sand leaving a good hard crust on top that’s perfect for tyres to dig into.

Their started their company, Safari 4WD Tours, 15 years ago and offer a variety of different ways to explore the Fraser Coast. Today they’ve collected me in their Land Cruiser – big, comfortable and easily able to take on the roads across the water. But they also offer an even bigger, more luxurious way of travelling – the all American Hummer and their tour is pretty special. In one day you can get across to the island, take in a few of the attractions, feast and dine on a luxury hamper and to wrap it all up enjoy a glass of champagne as the sun sets.

But I’m here to try out their new adventure – the Tag-a-long experience. Normally the tour runs for two nights with camping at different locations on the island but as I’m only here for the day we’ll be joining up with the group to see some of the island’s sights before heading back to the mainland before sundown.

There’s a couple of ways to get across the water to Fraser Island and one of the easiest is to take the barge from River Heads to Wanggoolba Creek on board the Fraser Venture. It pretty damn cool really and the air of adventure starts to build as soon as everyone loads their vehicles! When you get to the other side there’s no fancy terminal building, no slipway – nothing. Just drive straight out onto the sand road that leads into the island.

The early start we’ve made is a great thing. The warmth of the sun’s rays is just starting to permeate through the canopy of the trees, evaporating the moisture from last night’s rain-burst with steam rising from the soft sand. It adds a mystical feel to the drive as we head due east towards Central Station through the forests that change with almost every corner, from light bush and coastal heath to towering rain-forest – some of the trees are enormous dwarf our little Land Cruiser. Central Station used to be the central Forestry Department station from 1920 to 1959, but ceased when Fraser Island attained its World Heritage Listing in December 1992.

The myriad of tracks across the island are well signed and once we’ve crossed the central hub of the island we make for Lake McKenzie – one of THE destinations that everyone aims for. This freshwater lake is simply stunning; the clearest fresh water, the whitest of beaches (that reminds me of Whitehaven in the Whitsundays) and a entirely new toilet block and amenities unit! Thank goodness, there used to be just a couple of old things when I was here in November!

It’s here that we find the group we’ve been looking for, four other vehicles making up the Tag-a-long Tour and it’s all backpackers. Loaded up with people, kit, food and what would appear to be some decent hangovers from the previous night’s escapades! There are 27 people here all enjoying Fraser for the first time and after chatting to a few find out that the tour so far has been great fun – and they’ve learnt something too. Paula our guide might only be on her first guided-tour but she is a wealth of information and as I change vehicles and jump on board with her learn loads about the history of the island, the trees and the animals that live here. You see this is what it’s all about – having fun with mates, getting out into the great outdoors and learning something along the way too.

The drive takes us to another one of Fraser’s landmarks, Lake Wabby – one of the Green Lakes on the island. It always amazes me that you can even have lakes on a sand island…surely the water should just drain away!? The actually survive as the water sits on top of decayed leaf and vegetable matter which creates a seal and the colour variation across them is huge some are dark green and some crystal clear. Isn’t nature just incredible sometimes.

By now the hunger pangs of lunch are starting to hit and Brooke drags out the hamper box just in time, once we’re done we have to bid farewell to the group as we have to get one more landmark in before returning to the barge…Eastern Beach. Driving out onto this vast stretch of sand finally gives you an idea of how huge Fraser Island is as it disappears off into the distance all the way to Indian Heads around 60 kilometres to the north. There’s not another person in sight, just Brooke, David and I.

The race is on though, enough time spent on the beach soaking up the view, unfortunately there is a boat to catch and David ushers us back into the car. An hour later we arrive back at the waiting area and there’s a few other people already here, also at the end of their own little adventures. The cruise back across the channel gives me time to think about the day and as the island gets smaller in the distance I’m already planning the next trip in my head.

In a few months time my lovely Land Rover will be arriving here from the UK and when it does my first camping trip away will definitely be back here. I’ve fallen in love with Fraser Island and I’ll openly admit it

It really doesn’t seem like a year ago I was stood on the balcony of the Blue Pearl on Hamilton Island watching the first of the year’s Humpback Whales pass by!

There’s something extremely special about witnessing these enormous, magnificent creatures up close and personal as they effortlessly cruise past. Akin to gigantic black islands that appear temporarily in our oxygen-filled bright world before diving down deep to the safety of their watery one.

I’ve been lucky enough to witness whales in different parts of the world before coming here to Australia and can honestly say (and not just because I’m being paid to say so!) that here in Hervey Bay is where they do it the best. There are chances to get out on the water in a variety of ways suiting all people, budgets and your ability to stomach sea-sickness! This time I’ve come here to help launch the ‘Return of the Whales‘ festival that celebrates the annual return of these gigantic, placid, krill eating Rorqual’s

Flying in a day before the festival was the plan and Robbie from Fraser Coast Tourism was there to meet me at the airport, it was getting late so he dropped me at my accommodation for the weekend, Akama. My beautiful apartment looked right out over the town with the marina, the base for tomorrow’s events,  just off in the distance. With loads on the cards for the weekend it was time to grab an early night.

No resting in bed this weekend! We were out of the door by 7 a.m. and made striaght for an early breakfast at Aquavue which advertises the ‘Best coffee, best cafe and jetski hire’. That’s quite a statement you know and being a great lover of the simple, dark, strong espresso I had to try it out. An Eggs Benedict and a coffee later and I was ready to take on the first activity of the day – a jetski ride across from the mainland to Moon Point out to the east of Torquay. Now I had hoped to see some whales over the course of the weekend but getting onboard a jetski probably wasn’t the best way to do it. There’s a great webcam showing you the beach in front of the cafe right here.

Humpbacks use sonar for communication and having the noise of a jetski engine doesn’t do a huge amount to make that job any easier so they dive and disappear from view, but it was a great way to spend a Saturday morning exploring the waters of Hervey Bay.

Once I was back onshore and warmed up (people talk about white knuckle rides – my fingers were pure white by the time I got back from the cold) it was onto a much more serene and relaxed means of transport – a Hobie Cat. The last time I was on one of these superb fast little boats was back on Lindeman Island and then my whale experience was truly incredible – would the same happen today?

We cruised out into the bay for a 20 minute sail but that’s not even enough time to get into the waters that are deep enough to hold whales! Oh how will I get to see one this year – they are there as the boats are reporting the first pods came through around ten days ago. With the morning’s hectic activitites out of the way it was time to do some real work and head down to the festival…

Around this time every year the Humpback Whales are migrating north from the cold, nutrient-rich Antarctic waters down south. Their migration brings them up the Queensland coast and into the area between Fraser Island and Hervey Bay offering the females welcome respite from the open ocean with perfect conditions to mate, give birth and bring up their newborn calves away from aggresive sharks and rampant males seeking further attention.

2009 image

2009 image

The Return of the Whales festival allows people to come and see the entire whale watching fleet in the marina. All of the operators allow people onboard to walk around and have a good look at their vessel and talk about the experiences on offer whilst bands play, face paintings happen and Hervey the Whale walks around for photo opps!

I take the chance to head out for a quick spin around the bay with Sarah whose family run ‘Thats Awesome’ – a 12.5 metre, 1200hp RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat). This is THE quickest way to the out and see the whales, with a cruising speed of between 30 and 40 knots they operate three times a day from the marina and the boat is pure madness. At full tilt it travels at nearly 100km/h and it’s an amazing rush being on board.

There are eight different companies offering different ways of getting out on the water from the wild to the mild. Personally I prefer to cruise out there on a yacht…but that’s just me!

Quickcat and That’s Awesome:

www.herveybaywhalewatch.com.au

Whalesong:  www.whalesong.com.au

Tasman Venture:  www.tasmanventure.com.au

Freedom III:  www.freedomwhalewatch.com.au

Mikat:  www.mikat.com.au

Blue Dolphin:  www.bluedolphintours.com.au

Shayla Cruises:  www.shaylacruises.com.au

Spirit of Hervey Bay:  www.spiritofherveybay.com

With another four months of perfect whale watching to come there will be plenty of other opportunities to get back up to Hervey Bay to see the Humpbacks on their long trek north. Today was all about getting the message out there that Hervey Bay is THE best place to get ‘up close and personal’ with our underwater friends. Have YOU experienced it yourself yet? Well it’s going to be a bumper year so head down there!

Today I got out on the water with my good friend Eddie Safarik, one of the most brilliant photographers I know and conveniently the President of Queensland Sea Kayaking Club. He’s got a fleet of kayaks and very kindly is letting me test them on the water. Today we headed down to Manly, just south of Brisbane.

The weather was pretty perfect when we left the harbour, sun shining, no breeze and warm temperatures. The paddle across the bay to Green Island was easy enough, then we turned north and headed towards St Helena Island skirting around the reef systems which flank the islands. The occasional turtle popped its head up to see what the splashing was all about, the odd mullet jumped in front of us and everything felt good – not a bad way to spend the morning really.

We pulled up on to the beach at St Helena Island for a bit to eat, it’s tiring stuff this paddling you know. The island has rather a full and jaded history as for 60 years from 1867 it was home to hundreds of society’s outcasts, as on the land stood colonial Queensland’s foremost maximum security prison for men. The Island is rich in history and has a fascinating and colourful past. Eddie and I had a wander around the island noting the big information board which detailed the history and even as much as the names of the undesirables who were imprisoned here.

After careful examination I couldn’t believe my eyes – THERE USED TO BE A SOUTHALL HERE!!! Jonas Southall was one of the inmates on the island charged with the offence of Larceny (or theft to you and I) and sentenced to 8 months hard labour. I’m not exactly sure that I AM related to Jonas but my Mum is looking into our family tree to see if there is a link. As I find out more I’ll let you know.

With the wind starting to pick up we decided to make for home and headed down to the kayaks to ready ourselves. The passage across the bay was pretty tough, the headwind was blasting through at 15 knots and it took some concerted effort to get the hour crossing completed – I suppose I’d better get used to it, the next project for me involves ALOT of paddling. The reward for our efforts was pretty special – three dolphins rose out of the water just in front of our bows and dived below us – it’s moments like these that I live for!

St Helena Island is really worth a visit, the old buildings are a blast back into the past and make you totally aware of the circumstances under which the early prisoners lived, there is a daily cruise across from Manly to the island and tours can be taken to give you a better understanding of the islands history.

Since then I have emailed the Queensland Prison and Penal Historical Association for more information and they have been brilliant at supplying me with the information they have on the prisoner and it’s fascinating:

Prisoner No 583. Jonas Southall. Tried by the Chief Justice, Brisbane 18th May 1874. Crime: Larceny, Sentenced to 8 months hard labour. Build: Medium. Height: 5′ 6″, Complexion: Sallow, Hair: Black, Eyes: Brown. Age. 32.
Arrived St. Helena Island, Moreton Bay 16th June, 1874. Released 13th January, 1875. Native of: London. Left arm disabled, Religion: Church of England, Could read and write. Occupation : Miner.
Arrived on the ship ‘ SHACKAMAXON’

Who knows….I may have a family with a jaded past. Oh well we had to get to Australia somehow didn’t we!

Ben

A couple of weeks ago I was making a presentation to QTIC (Queensland Tourism Industry Council) and in the audience was one very happy chap called Ross. After I’d finished he bounded up to me looking like the cat who’d go the cream “Ben you know how love running? Well I help to organise a Fun Run not far from here and I wondered if you’d like to come and take part in it?”

Having just completed the Gold Coast marathon last weekend I made the decision to head out to the Somerset Region of Queensland a couple of days after, safe in the knowledge that my legs would just about have enough juice in them to take on the relatively short 8.3km route. I grabbed the map and had a look…now it says Fernvale…where on earth is that then?!

Situated about 40kms inland (as the crow flies) from Brisbane, the Somerset Region is also known as the Valley of the Lakes and has some beautiful rolling scenery around the shores of the huge man-made lakes that supply Brisbane’s drinking water…and they also generate some renewable energy! Leaving Brisbane just after 6.30am I hit the road east as the sun was starting to throw some light on the hills in the distance. I was driving over the edge of the Great Dividing Range leaving the city expanses far behind me and where the landscape had changed into more agricultural farm land, wide open spaces and forest parks. It felt great to be on the road again.

Brisbane Valley Rail Trail and Fun Run

My main reason for heading there was to take part in the Rail Trail Fun Run between Fernvale and neighbouring Lowood. There used to be a railway between the two towns but lack of demand closed it down many years ago leaving a strip of wasteland running parallel to the edge of the road. Somerset Regional Council decided back in 2007 that this was rather a waste of perfectly good land so instead of letting it turn back into scrub land and bush, as has happened to many old tracks. They’ve instead cleared it, removed the old rail, resurfaced it and turned it in to a rather attractive path. It’s now used by horse-riders, cyclists and walkers and for the last eight years the locals have organised this very successful run weekend along its length. So far, over 100kms have been reclaimed and the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail stretches intermittently from Ipswich to Blackbutt with ongoing work meaning that new sections are planned towards the end of this year.

Once I’d arrived in Fernvale and registered for the 8.3km run I mingled about with the other waiting runners, all up bright and early on a Sunday morning. There are two separate races, an 8.3 and 3km version that run along the same course and over 800 people had turned up, from elite runners through to Sunday morning families with the baby strollers – it really is an event for everybody. The countdown started and we we’re off! Having never run a short race like this before I had no idea how to pace myself and went out confidently fast, keeping up with the some of the front runners – come on it can’t be that bad I thought…only just over 8kms!

The scenery was excellent; past houses, down dips and along the ridge, slowly knocking off the distance until with about two kilometres to go I realised I’d gone too fast at the start (deceiving these short runs you know!) and my already ‘Gold Coast Marathon’ weakened legs didn’t have much left in them and I started to drop back finally crossing the finish line in 0:33.57 seconds. Pretty good considering the winner crossed the line just under ten minutes before me.

The route along the Rail Trail is here for you to have a look at, but there is plenty more to explore for yourself and much more off the beaten track than this section too. It’s really easy just to throw your bikes in the back of the car, head inland and find a section of the track to walk, run or cycle along.

I’d done a bit of research into other attractions in the area and headed to the Visitor Information Centre in Fernvale to grab the up-to-date opinion on the best things to be doing here! There’s nothing quite like asking the locals who have the knowledge.

Wivenhoe Dam

The first view I got of the dam was a pretty impressive one, the wall itself is over 2 kilometres long and 50 metres high…that holds a serious amount of water, in fact around 2.6 million mega-litres – a vast amount of water! The visitor centre there has loads of information about the construction, the fish and plant life found here, and fascinating pictures from the floods back in 1893 and 1974, when water levels rose so much on the Brisbane River that the city experienced nearly 8.5 metres above their normal level – Edward Street was under water!

Today the Dam stands to protect the city from these extreme water levels and the spillway which forms the back side of the dam is opened occasionally to allow flood levels to be controlled. There is also a small hydro generator on the main dam wall which produces power through a small turbine system, creating 4.3MW of green power. There is also a power station situated between Splityard Creek Dam and Lake Wivenhoe, which produces a further 250MW.

Around the banks of the dam are public park areas and at Comorant Bay the restaurant has just opened again so I stopped off for a relaxing morning coffee to take in the view and read the papers. With time racing on I had to keep moving – there’s lots to do today…

Coolana Olives – located here

Now I don’t know about you, but I have a huge liking for olives and when I saw there was a farm in the area I couldn’t resist the temptation to drop in and see what it was all about. I’ve seen the trees growing at the edges of the road in Morocco and Spain but never looked deeper at what’s involved in processing them. Ian and Dot have been running the business since 1985, what they have here is a real gem of a place and as you pull into the driveway familiar trees line the track up to the farm building.

They now have around 1000 trees and a superb little shop with a huge range of culinary delights. I was lucky enough to try virtually the entire range from baked Sicilian to Lime Chili and boy are they good. Temptation got the better of me too…I ended up buying oils, olives, balsamic reductions – the works! Will make a very good Mediterranean style lunch this week though. Tours of the production plant and groves are available and well worth a visit.

Bellevue Homestead is here

Just up the road in Coominya is a fantastic step back in time. The Bellevue Homestead dates back to the 1870’s and really is a window into another world. The main building has been decorated to evoke memories of a bygone era when cattle farming was the trade, afternoon tea was the norm and it wasn’t unusual to have a prince over to stay (Prince Edward VIII visited and stayed here). Each of the rooms has been lovingly looked after with furniture and fittings all perfectly kept and presented…even down to the wallpaper.

The outside of the buildings looked amazing in the fading evening light and the vineyard off in the distance offers some very tasty wines, shame I’m driving actually. John shows me around the site and tells me all about the history of the homestead, it’s fascinating to hear his passion for the place and it’s not difficult to imagine yourself 100 years back in time pulling clothes through the mangle or stoking the fire in the lounge room. The remainder of the house is actually lived in and tours can be taken at any time over the weekend.

Mt Glorious drive

There was one more thing I had to try and fit into my packed day, and that was the drive up through the Brisbane Forest Park, or as it’s now known D’Aquilar National Park, to Mount Glorious. The last light of the day was starting to disappear as I wound my way up what I seriously consider to be one of the most beautiful drives I’ve been on whilst here in Queensland. The park is made up from open eucalypt woodlands, scribbly gum forests and lush subtropical rainforests.

More than 800 plant species are found in these forests, some of which are rare and threatened. As the road climbs up to around 600 metres above sea level the temperature noticeably drops, and when I reach the Wivenhoe Lookout there is a distinct chill in the air as the sun has just dropped out of sight for another night.

Mount Glorious itself is the name of the small village up top here, I for some reason imagined it to be the summit of the road! There’s some beautiful little houses, cafes and shops here all offering views out over both the dam and Brisbane far off in the distance. The road continues for another 40kms until it hits the outskirts of Brisbane itself and all of a sudden the day which had started early on, was now drawing to an end.

Somerset Region isn’t one of the obvious attractions initially when you look at Queensland and what there is to do, but you should make it exactly that…one of the attractions. It’s a real part of the State that gets you away from the hustle and bustle of city life in just over an hour from the city of Brisbane, and it feels as though you’re in another world altogether.

So a great run, some more food for the fridge and a national park I want to visit again! Good job Ross, thanks for the invite!

Ben

But if you haven’t yet flown KoKo the Koala or PoPo the Panda through the varied landscapes of Queensland, collecting as many points as you can on the way, then it’s about time you gave it a go…

Click here to attempt to beat the high score (I got 2578) …or just waste away your Friday afternoon whilst the boss isn’t about. It’s as addictive as ‘Angry Birds’ I can tell you!

There’s the chance to win a range of prizes including holiday vouchers and even a family exchange to Shanghai for one lucky Brisbanite giving you the chance to visit the World Expo there. I’ve been and it’s pretty amazing.

Have a great weekend and don’t forget to register your details when you play to be entered into the draw to win a ‘Family Exchange’ or one of two Queensland holiday vouchers valued at $500 and $1000.

Ben

Where on earth do I start this blog? It’s been such a busy weekend down here on the Gold Coast and it’s all because of one of Queensland’s most popular sporting events is happening here – the Gold Coast Marathon.

Last year I entered the half marathon but this year I thought I’d step up a level to the full 42km marathon on Sunday. Having just come back from South Africa where I ran the 89km Comrades I knew I could do the distance but I thought I’d try and beat my personal best time of 3:47 set back in 2006 at the London Marathon.

I left Brisbane on Friday morning and drove down the coast ready for another energetic full-on weekend of activities; first appointment being the Gold Coast Marathon Gala Dinner. As a Tourism Ambassador I’ve been promoting this weekend’s running festival in different countries to try and attract as many people here as possible and the dinner acts as the official start to the weekend.

It’s a source of great motivation too with inspirational images, movies and talks from some of Australia’s best known runners and is attended by the likes of Pat Carroll and Rob de Castella (two famous Australian 2:10 marathon runners in case you didn’t recognise them!). Lee Troop is one of the speakers, has attended the last two Olympics and hopes to get to the next one. I feel full of drive and optimism now for my own race on Sunday!

Today Show

The alarm clock thunders through my head the next morning at 5am and I wonder what on earth the fuss is all about…oh yes I’m doing a live broadcast as part of Channel Nine’s coverage of the weekend! Emma, Beth and Mary from TQ have arranged for me to go on-air with Emma Freedman during her weather crosses on the show and it all takes place down at Sea World. We’re joined there by the characters from Sesame Street and have loads of fun watching jetboats and helicopters race around!

Q1 & QDeck

Whilst I’m down here I thought I’d try and fit in some of the must-do’s too and Q1 was high on that list as it’s the highest residential building in the world. It’s the tallest building by far on the Gold Coast towering above everything around it at 322 metres high and perched at the 230m mark is QDeck where there’s a restaurant and bar…plus of course cracking views both up and down the coast. Even the lift is pretty amazing as it whisks you up 77 floors in just 43 seconds…so fast that my ears popped on the way!

My evening is a much more relaxed affair in preparation for the big race tomorrow, I’m staying at the Marriot hotel and decide to order a fat pasta meal and a movie to fall asleep to. I always struggle to fall asleep the night before a big race and finally doze off hours after I intended to…

Gold Coast Marathon

I whip open the curtains my first look is up to the heavens – yes the stars are out which means when the sun finally comes up it’s going to be a clear day! I had visions of wind and rain which help no-one on a day like this. If records are going to tumble then conditions need to be good.

Just after 5:15am we arrive at the corporate section of the race start area; I have a job to do before the big one and that’s an interview with the local radio station, Sea FM. Once that’s out of the way I go through my pre-race preparations – vaseline between my toes and taping up my nipples!

The start area is alive with people, the Japanese contingent is big this year with over a thousand people having made the trip from their little island all the way here. The countdown starts and then just as the sun injects some light and warmth into the chill morning air we’re off….I’m running again and I love it! I’ve trained and run in a few different countries throughout my life but I can honestly say that the view across the beach to the ocean this morning is one of the most beautiful and motivating I’ve been lucky enough to witness. It certainly beats training for the London Marathon back home during winter!

I’d thought early on about going for a fast time, my previous best was 3:47 minutes set a few years ago in London and I’ve decided that today was the day to try and beat it. As I came around the last corner of the 42km course I spotted the timing clock reading just under 3:30 minutes and made a final dash to the line finishing in 3:27 mins – 20 minutes faster than my previous best! Awesome news and well worth the aching legs afterwards. The evidence is here

No sooner had I changed out of my race gear than it was back to work. Tourism Queensland Korea have brought across a group of children across to take part in one of the other running events on this weekend, the 2km Junior Dash. Eight of them have made their first trip to Australia and it was cool to be able to sit with them and hear their stories of their own races. I told them a few about the Best Job and their eyes all lit up when I showed them my finishers medal as it was much bigger than theirs. Maybe one day they’ll come back and get their own

I love gadgets and my new Garmin watch allowed me to record my route and times which you can see below or click here for more detail:

Two more interviews before I could retire for the day, one with a Korean running magazine and then a live web-cast with the Gold Coast marathon team! The fun never stops

Balunjali cultural tours

The last thing my legs wanted to do at 6am the day after a marathon was leave the comfort of my warm bed…but when the offer of spending a Monday morning paddling around the Gold Coast waterways was offered I couldn’t refuse. I’ve had some pretty grim Monday mornings in my life; recovering from the weekend’s hangover, heading back to my office desk or working in a garden gnome factory as I once did…I honestly, truly did!

There are kayaking operators up and down the coastline of Queensland all offering the chance to get out onto the water in pretty stable boats exploring the differing coastline from here all the way up to Cooktown in the north. Balunjali do it in a way that I’d not yet experienced – integrating the indigenous side of Australia’s history into the entire experience.

The minibus and trailer pulled up outside the hotel with Mark and Josh onboard ready to whip me and the other passengers out to The Spit where we’d launch the boats. The morning was just about perfect with sunshine and a light breeze and we unloaded the kayaks from the trailer and down onto the sandy slipway across the water from Wavebreak Island. The sit-atop kayaks are so simple to use; wide, balanced, floatey and with loads of storage space so anyone can just jump onboard for the first time and feel confident. Josh’s family are the traditional owners of the land here and their history goes back hundreds of years giving him a complete understanding of the way the earth, water and creatures of the area work together. Having the input of someone as knowledgable as Josh makes Balunjali stand out as a ‘real’ Aboriginal experience and as the day unfolds we learn lots more…

As I dipped my toes in the water for the first time I flinched slightly at the temperature…and then remembered this is the coldest its likely to get all year – toughen up Southall! Our group of 11 paddled our way across the seaway and fifteen minutes later had arrived on Wavebreak Island, a man-made sand bar that protects the Gold Coast shoreline from the heavy winter swells which can pound the coast. The offer of a snorkel came next and I suppose I considered myself a bit of a Barrier reef snob, you know what it’s like – once you’ve seen the best nothing else really comes up to the mark. But I was taken aback and pleasantly surprised by what I found beneath the surface.

I took as slice of bread down with me and the sheer number of fish was awesome…bream, small parrotfish, yellow pufferfish, flute fish and even a couple of batfish. I’m glad I took my camera with me and I even had them eating out of my hand. Well it was in the job description for Island Caretaker…FEED THE FISH!! The chill of the morning swim was reversed by the spread of traditional Aussie food laid out for us by the kayaks; Lamingtons, Damper bread and Anzac cookies – perfect to get the blood flowing again!

Our next stop was just across the water to South Stradbroke Island the home of the elusive Golden Wallaby – something I’d never even heard about but was keen to track down. Josh would be the man for the job here as he has the knowledge necessary to track and spot them in the bush. As a group we followed Mark and Josh through the wooded area to a clearing where Josh carried out a traditional ceremony using white ochre which he wiped across our foreheads, hands and feet to cleanse us. And then we were ready. Off on a Wallaby hunt…but with cameras not guns.

Their tracks were all over the place, easy to spot in the soft sand with the distinctive two long rear feet and one tail-trail but all appeared at least a few hours old..and then Josh was off. He’d spotted something in the distance and we all waited, crouching down being as quiet as possible. Then in the distance we spotted it…but a normal, bog standard Wallaby not the special Golden one which can only be found on South Stradbroke – this 22km long sand island, the forth largest in the world. It raced towards us as Josh had moved all the way around behind it and driven it through the bush towards us…in a second it was gone but just enough time to snap a quick photo.

We continued our walk across the island until we’d completed a 360 degree loop and found ourselves back at the launch beach, our kayaks obiediently waiting on the sand. As we paddled out into open water I glanced across at the city skyline in the distance and realised this is a pretty unique tour and experience. 10 minutes drive from Q1 and I’m here learning about Aboriginal culture in the bush tracking wildlife. My short half day adventure is just one of a range of options from one to three day trips during which everything is done in a traditional way. Totally amazing and a must do if you’re staying down here…ever!

Time to let the body recover now I think…

Ben

Eddie was the official photographer for Tourism Queensland throughout the Best Job in the World and we always talked about the possibility of joining together at some stage for a paddle on the water as it’s a true love of his.

He owns a fleet of kayaks and so early on Sunday morning I jumped on my bike and raced across the city to meet him at his house. But halfway there disaster… a massive nail jams striaght through my tyre and….BANG…..PPSSSSTTTT….FLAT TYRE!! Darn it.

Plan no. 2 – jump on the City Cat and race along the river to meet him at Apollo Road jetty. He’s there to meet me in his superb Land Rover. Now I’m a die-hard fan of these great machines and seeing one there loaded up with boats was almost too much to take! The mission was on…

We drove up the coast to Redcliffe with me drooling at the feeling of driving in a Land Rover again (if you don’t know why then have a look at my trans-Africa website www.afritrex.com and you’ll understand – I lived in one for a year!) and pulled into the car park at Scotts Point and met up with a couple of Eddie’s friends from Queensland Sea Kayak Club. Once we’d unloaded the boats from the roof we ran through a few of the safety procedures and hit the water.

It felt excellent to be out there, the sun was out, the water was warmish and I could finally start to train ready for the expedition I’m planning for 2011 – to kayak the length of the Great Barrier Reef.

This is a winter’s day here in Queensland and there was no shortage of life around either with tiny fish all jumping at once in front of us, pelicans swooping low over the water and the occasional splosh as we caught a turtle off guard.

We paddled across the bay to Brighton into a pretty light headwind and then on the way back Eddie demonstrated his sail setup; something I will be using when it comes to my expedition as the prevailing trade winds will be behind me most of the way and will make the journey that much easier….hopefully!

It was a great afternoon and I learnt a heapload about how to fall out of the kayak and how to get back in afterwards, the basics of paddling effectively to conserve energy and lots more – brig on next week! So the next step for me is to join the Queensland Sea Kayak Club and to start attending some of their meetings, paddles and try to learn as much as I can. There are only 11 months until I hope to be on the water…

Back to work with the planning now…

Ben

Thursday

Tourism Queensland have launched a new competition called ‘Sunshine Exchange‘. If you haven’t played it before then head there now and guide KoKo The Koala or PoPo the Panda along the course collecting as many points as possible. You could win a family exchange with a family from Shanghai or some travel vouchers.

Peter Lawlor the Tourism Minister launched the campaign in Queens Street Mall, Brisbane and I went along to offer my support…and to have a go of course!

Friday night

There’s a new bridge been built here in the city called the ‘Go Between‘ bridge – not the most inventive name I know but hey it’s a chance to have a party isn’t it! The bridge officially opens on July 5th to road traffic so before that happens the Brisbane City Council closed it off, built a stage and invited some local bands to come and play. I went along and had a superb time with some friends listening to the likes of Angus and Julia Stone, Josh Pyke and the aptly names Go-Betweens (apparently they were big in the 70’s).

The night went off with a bang with a couple of thousand people attending and everyone seeming to be in good spirits, voices and moods! Shame that is has to be turned back into a road next week – would be a great venue for future concerts!

Saturday night

Last week my team England managed to hold onto victory against Australia and won 21-20 in the rugby union game they played at Stadium Australia in Sydney….well done boys! This week the Wallabies travelled to Brisbane to play their next test against Ireland at the Suncorp Stadium and I really couldn’t resist going along to watch the game.

I’ve been to the Suncorp Stadium before and it’s a awesome arena in which to watch a big game like this one. My last attendance was back in March when I saw the Socceroos beat Indonesia in their World Cup warm up games with around 20,000 other people. This time there were 45,000 fans all dressed up in green for the Irish and gold for the Aussies. The atmosphere was electric with singing, shouting and cheering…and not a vuvuzela in sight thankfully!

Bruce Wallace from TQ and I joined the thousands of other people on the march from the city to the stadium, I love the pre-match barracking that always goes on between teams..and the Irish seem to do it better than anyone else!

The game itself left a lot to be desired…well the first half was good with the lead changing hands several times, but the second half seemed as though both teams had gone to sleep. The final score was an Australian victory at 22-15.

Tomorrow I’m heading out onto the water for some kayaking and I can’t wait…

Ben

As soon as I’d landed and thrown my clothes in the washing machine it was straight back out to meet and greet the team from Channel News Asia; Amelia the producer, Sophian the cameraman and the presenter Tim.

They’re over from Singapore to film the final installment in a series entitled “I get paid to do what I love” that features people who have great jobs, which they thoroughly enjoy, and mine qualifies!

Over the course of the next three days I take them around some of the sights and activities which southern Queensland has on offer and here are just a few of the highlights:

Riverlife Outdoor Activity Centre – based right in the centre of the city Riverlife has become an institution and offers so many different activities you’ll never get bored. With Tim fresh out of the office it was a little harder than I ‘d hoped to get him into the Island Caretaker’s lifstyle and trying out what was on offer.

I did manage to get him onto the water with a little bit of persuasion from Amelia his producer and into a kayak…although you can see from the photos that he didn’t do too much work – in fact I ended up towing him up the river whilst he read the newspaper!

Once we dried off it was time for activity number two, abseiling. But this time Tim was nowhere to be seen…where had he gone? Come on you’re meant to be enjoying this and taking part! Now I’ve never particularly liked heights so the thought of lowering myself off the cliffs at Kangaroo Point wasn’t something I raced to do…but life is all about taking on your fears and this was no exception!

Blair my instructor had setup all of the kit at the top and once Sophian the cameraman was ready I put on the harness and prepared to lower myself over the rather high edge. Keep smiling Ben – you’re on camera here! Once I’d conquered the edge and lowered myself far enough down to become horizontal it was all a little easier and I made my way to the ground below….what?? You need me to do it again? Oh you’ve got to love the world of television!

Story Bridge Climb – With my temporary fear of heights conquered it was time to test it out again with a rather different form of altitude-induced giddiness. The iconic Story Bridge spans the Brisbane River between Kangaroo Point and Fortitude Valley and a walkway allows people to walk over the superstructure giving unbeatable views of the city surrounds. As the sun drops out of the winter sky and beyond the horizon the sound of the traffic far below is lost as we all stand there and soak up the moment together. I’ve done this twice now and I can promise the experience doesn’t fail to loose its appeal.

Cloudland – The is one place to take a film-crew for dinner is you want to impress them and that’s Cloudland. It really is unique in Brisbane and probably Australia. Based on four levels this super-club has a fully retracting roof for those sultry nights, a huge white marble bar downstairs and then upstairs a crazy bubble bar. The place is designed to the eyeballs and has so many cool/strange/bizarre/interesting corners and design features. Well worth a look if you’re in the area.

Tangalooma Resort – The life of an Island Caretaker of course revolved around the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef but to highlight the lifestyle in a single day we had to head a little closer to home – Moreton Island is only 90 minutes away from Brisbane by boat. We all headed across Moreton Bay and soon the familiar sight of Tangalooma resort came into view. Once we’d tied up, Henk the manager was there to meet us and told us of our busy day’s activities. First stop the drive inland to ‘The Desert‘ for a spot of sand tobogganing. We had great fun flying down the sandy slopes and I even remembered to keep my mouth closed after eating half the dune last time around when I was here with Bre last year. The vast expanses of white sand really are a sight to behold and the mainly Asian market who accompanied us up there loved every second of it.

No time for resting though as the afternoon had more fun lined up with an ATV bike ride up around the off-road course filming some of the ‘normal’ activities I get to do in my job. As the sun dropped out of the sky once more there was time for one more activity before heading back to the mainland – feeding the dolphins! Even though I’ve done this before the feeling of hand feeding these incredible creatures just doesn’t get any more fascinating. The one thing I learnt this time was that in the past the dolphins have actually brought gifts back to the marine biologists who feed them including fish and eels which are now kept in a preserving tank! How cool is that?

We head down to the Gold Coast for the next couple of days…

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary – Having been restricted to mainly the islands during the Best Job I hadn’t been down the coast to some of the really amazing wildlife sanctuary’s and a visit to Currumbin was well overdue. The place is huge covering roughly the same area as the theme park Movie World and really accessible with wide open spaces filled with some of Australia’s best known animals. But there are other things going on behind the scenes which we took time to film, the introduction of a new animal hospital which has recently opened adds a new, educational side to the sanctuary and one which is essential for the local community too.

Jonathon (CEO) and Andrew (Vet) showed us around and explained that how the hospital has be such an important addition to the local animal welfare community with the RSPCA and other organisations bringing their injured wild patients to the hospital for treatment. They have around 30 cases arriving everyday. Their most common casualties are the Rainbow Headed Lorikeets who fly at ridiculous speeds but unfortunately sometimes into buildings and cars. One of their more unusal patients is the Echidna which we met and was run over by a car resulting in a broken rear leg. Poor thing and with all those needles it looked even more sorry for itself!

The sanctuary itself was full of people all enjoying and learning about Australia’s wildlife with shows, demonstrations and even a mini-train which takes you from area to area past the too-chilled-out kangaroos, the slightly odd emus and onto the aboriginal dance show. Now I’ve come to realise that as soon as I go anywhere near one of these I am instantly recruited to dance…I have two left feet and can’t!! Always good fun for everyone watching, not so good for me.

As we leave the sanctuary I have to show the crew the beach here at Currumbin. I mean it’s a perfect winter’s day, it’s the weekend and the surfers are all out on the last few waves of the day so hopefully we can pick up some tips for the morning as our last activity is exactly that….

Surfing with ‘Go Ride A Wave’ – As the alarm rings I realise that the late night sat up watching the FIFA World Cup may not have been such a good idea as I’m exhausted and ready to sleep some more…but as I look out of the window I realise that the surf actually looks superb through the window and not being someone to waste a moment I head down to the beach to meet the crew and Sam our instructor for the morning’s endeavours.

I’ve surfed a few times before but never to any sort of decent standard and as we kit up and head out the waves look particularly destructive…it’s low tide, there’s a sandbar right in front of us and the waves are crashing down onto it…could make the paddle out interesting anyway!

Tim and I have a great time getting smashed by the waves, swallowing litres of the Pacific Ocean and emptying the sand out of our eyes/ears/nose and before we know it the lesson is over. But like every surfer knows…just one more wave!

Job done…

It’s been a superb couple of days into which we have crammed as much as we can to give the crew from Channel News Asia and idea of exactly why it is called ‘The Best Job in the World’ and enough material for them to produce their 23 minute episode as the season finale of their program. Greg transports us all back up the coast to Brisbane where the crew jump on-board their flight back to Singapore and I head home to unpack, wash and start to get used to life in Brisbane for more than a ten day period. I haven’t had that since moving here in January!!

Once the program has been edited and is ready to go to air I will make sure I put it up here for you all to see!

Over the next few weeks I intend trying out lots of the local attractions around the area and reporting the experiences all back here to the blog for you to read about. On top of that there’s the Gold Coast marathon looming large on Sunday 4th July which I hope I’ve done enough training for and of course planning my expedition ready for next year.

Life continues at the usual crazy pace…

Oh one more thing before I go, if you haven’t seen my new series on National Geographic that has been aired worldwide over the last few weeks then you can get onto this website and download them all…they make the perfect present for someone you really don’t like!

DOWNLOAD THEM HERE

Over and out

Ben

The entire whirlwind journey – from the moment I stepped foot on Australian soil, which happened to be my birthday, to seeing the awaiting global media as we arrived on Hamilton Island, being the first to step off of that plane and wave to the entire world, the dinners, the friendships, the nervousness, the suspense, the extreme exhaustion, the jolts of adrenaline, the moments of sheer ecstasy, the moment of devastating disappointment, the realization of the end being near – experiencing all of that in about a week-long period felt like I was thrown in a washing machine that was filled with copious amounts of goodness and some sprinkle of “reality bites” detergent and set on the spin cycle.

Long story short, I lost. You probably already know because you are reading this on the “winner’s” blog.

Oh and that part about “devastating disappointment”, I lied. I put it in for dramatic effect, and as I said a countless number of times, it really felt like I was competing against my siblings and I felt genuinely happy for Ben. I’ve had a chance to catch up with Ben for a Korean media tour back in February and the more I get to know the guy, the more I know that TQ picked the right candidate out of all of us there. It is the “Best” job, but it’s an incredibly taxing job and you have to be “ON” all the freaking time. I’m sure every one of us would have brought a different flavor to the position of “island caretaker” but I firmly believe that Ben Southall is the one guy out of the 16 that really had the package that was a perfect match for TQ. That’s why Ben has turned his 6-month stint, into an 18-month job and probably a lifelong career. Good on you mate!

Now, enough ass kissing and let’s get a little more narcissistic. How did “TBJITW” change my life in the past year? Oh where to start? During my 1-year relationship with TQ so far, I had such a wide spectrum of experiences.

I experienced Australia free falling from 14,000 feet in the sky and scrounging around on the ocean floor.

I waited for sunrises floating in a hot air balloon and said goodbye to sunsets while sipping wine on some of the world’s finest sandy beaches.

I climbed on top of suspension bridges and crawled up 150m sand dunes.

I’ve hugged koalas, pet kangaroos and held crocodiles. I’m sure Ben has put up plenty of pics of these so I won’t bore you.

I gave it a go on the surfboard and I WAS the sand board, multiple times.

I traveled in everything from choppers and seaplanes to quads, white water rafts and luxury yachts.

I’ve had a chance to meet everyone from Ambassadors to celebrity chefs.

I’ve had a chance to serve many different roles during my past year as TQ’s Tourism Ambassador, but the one that has left the biggest footprint is my role as “babysitter extraordinaire” (second word in the title is self proclaimed) during the The Best Global Leader Campaign that Tourism Queensland sponsored along with DAKS Kids. I’ve always loved kids, but after being in charge of an 8 year old and a 6 year old boy for a week, I have MUCH LOVE and RESPECT for all the parents out there!

As you can see, there are many things that I’ve gained from my relationship with Tourism Queensland over the past year, but I value my new found friends from all over the globe the most. I still remember the awkward “hellos” and attempts at putting the online identities to the real life faces and handshakes when the 16 final candidates first met at the hotel in Brisbane. The 16 “smurfs”, all dressed in our bright blue shirts, shared a certain bond during that week in May 2009 and now, seeing an email from one of my fellow candidates in my inbox never fails to bring a smile to my face. I’m happy to report that all of us still keep in contact with each other with these great, long and entertaining emails that provide a snippet of our current lives to our fellow “best jobbers”, as we like to call ourselves. It’s always exciting to hear updates with stories about new additions to candidates’ families, the new “Best Job Couple”, or the latest trip to Queensland… but we have become close enough where we confide in each other during our tough times and tragedies as well. When I see this kind of camaraderie among the group, I realize that I was really part of something special and all of my efforts for TBJITW wasn’t for naught and it actually produced something tangible, something real, something worthwhile, even though I technically “lost.”

I mentioned earlier my position of Tourism Queensland’s Tourism Ambassador here in Korea. What exactly is a Tourism Ambassador? Well, my job: selling the wonderful tourist destinations that Queensland has to offer to Koreans and the rest of the world. Sounds simple enough. I always thought that sales people who believe in the product that they are selling are always the best ones. And through my wonderful trips to Queensland during TBJITW and in subsequent trips as a part of my Tourism Ambassadorship, I definitely believe in the product that I’m selling. I’m also very glad that I can work alongside TQ’s Global Tourism Ambassador, and my friend, Ben Southall. Thanks for this opportunity to have my say Ben!

Best to all the readers in the world!

Juweon Kim
TQ’s Tourism Ambassador in Korea