Guest Andy Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 G'day all :wubclub: So Thursday as you know we went to Seaworld and then Friday we had a day at Wet n Wild about 15k inland from Surfers Paradise, it was fantastic fun and their are some great rides, like Micky said though because it is early in the season some of the rides were not open but like Seaworld their was plenty to keep us busy for the day, we all had a ball and if you are in the area check it out. By the way Surfers Paradise is amazing as is the gold coast and we absolutly loved it. We left the gold coast on Saturday morning and headed into Brisbane, on the way as planned we drove to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary just outside the city, this place is fantastic, it has hundreds of Koala's as well as loads of other native animals to see. The cost for the 5 of us was $80 which we thought was great value, you can cuddle a Koala as well but if you want a piccie you have to pay a further $16 for each person and then you can also take your own pictures so we had a picture with the Koala and each of the kids and with the wife, a bit extravagent but when you see the set up and the passion for the animals from the people that work there then it is a small price in my opinion, and also the photo's are fabulous. You can also go into the Kangaroo enclosure where their must be 100 roos and you can stroke and feed them which was brilliant and yet another highlight of our trip, this place in my opinion is an absolute must if you are in Brisbane :yes: We stayed in a big4 park in the city again Saturday evening which was not great but like i said in an earlier post that seems to be the case with the city sites. This morning we moved on early and had a slight detour where we went to Tin Can Bay for brekkie and to try and spot some dolphins which are regular visitors to the bay, however we were out of luck this time, but it was worth a visit anyway as it is a lovely place, a bit out of the way but nice. We arrived at our big4 park in Hervey Bay at about 1;00 oclock this afternoon and this site like many of the others is fantastic, its got a beautiful pool and is set in a fabulous quiet location. Tomorrow is the big day as we are getting a liitle plane from Hervey Bay airport out to Lady Elliot Island on the southern most tip of the Great Barrier Reef where we are staying for 2 days and 1 night, if you google this island you will see why we are so excited about being there and i will let you know how we get on. :wubclub: By the way Pablo this is me writing and not my wife you cheeky monkey:mad::laugh::wubclub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andy Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Thank you for sharing Andy.............Brilliant read! Thanks very much thats very kind of you to say, i decided from the first post that i wanted to be as honest as possible and i hope that is how it has come across, to be honest we have found very little to be negative about as we have enjoyed every minute of our trip so far, i realise also that taking a holiday and actually moving are two very different things and we may not have seen the bad points of oz as i am sure their are plenty, but we have seen many good points and some incredible scenery and i absolutly love it and the best part of it has been the warmth and generosity of the Australians. The thing that does worry me slightly is that i will see Britain in an even worse light than i already did, but maybe i will feel different when we get back but i doubt it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pablo Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Good posts then mate! very informative,Judith Chalmers has got nothing on yer!:notworthy: Trip to the island sounds top andy,have a goodjun mate:wubclub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Andy when you go back how long before you make the permanent move? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritChickx Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Wow sounds like you're having an adventure! Sooo jealous you're getting to see the GBR can't wait to see the pictures from that!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andy Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Hello everyone :hug: well we are back from our month in oz having returned early this morning and have to say that was the best month of my life as it was the wife and children, so much to say and to tell and over time will probably get round to it, i will update the last few days of our trip including our 2 days on lady elliot island which is an incredible place later on today. Also a big thanks to all those that gave us some fantastic advice before the trip which was so helpful, if anyone is going to be doing the same thing and needs any help or advice please dont hesitate to ask because imo it is invaluable. Hope everyone is well :wubclub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pablo Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Hello everyone :hug: well we are back from our month in oz having returned early this morning and have to say that was the best month of my life as it was the wife and children, so much to say and to tell and over time will probably get round to it, i will update the last few days of our trip including our 2 days on lady elliot island which is an incredible place later on today. Also a big thanks to all those that gave us some fantastic advice before the trip which was so helpful, if anyone is going to be doing the same thing and needs any help or advice please dont hesitate to ask because imo it is invaluable. Hope everyone is well :wubclub: Welcome back mallet ead:hug:,good thread,good,informative posts,made up you all enjoyed it:wubclub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest 47403 Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Welcome back Andy, glad you enjoyed it mate hopefully it's answered a few questions for you on where to settle etc. Now get some bloody work done to replenish the savings account :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Fabricator Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Wow , Fantastic post Andy and sounds like you and the family have the time of your lives . Lots of travel and in a short space of time u must be exhausted and buzzin at the same time . Im looking to do travel myself when i arive in the latter part of 2012 , but i,m doing the full 360 and got upto a year :-) Ill be printing your updates off and putting it in my folder , hoipefully get to see and do a lot of what you did . Thanks again for the posts , top man lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Great posts Andy. We stayed at Surfers paradise for a month last year, we had a fantastic apartment overlooking the sea, we did all the parks which were brilliant, the atmosphere and buzz of surfers was incredible and the amazing beach and warm sea were .................. paradise. It has the right name and for us it was nearly as good as Florida and it is a huge draw for us, in us thinking where we would emigrate to, South Brisbane has it all on its doorstep and i don't believe anywhere else in Australia can compare, although i have only been to perth as well. Brisbane to me is the most fantastic place there is and if anyone on here is living there, then your jammy beggars indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andy Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 So for the final installment of our trip :cry: We left Hervey Bay airport on Monday morning on the 9:00 o'clock flight to Lady Elliot Island, it is a 35 minute flight on a tiddly plane in fact me the wife and kids and 1 other guy were the only passengers :shocked:. The island is 80k off of the mainland and the southern most point of the Great Barrier Reef, you get some amazing views of Fraser island on the flight as well as great views of lei as you approach. The island itself is tiny i would say no more than about 30 acres with a grass runway right through the middle. Once we had landed and the children had had a quick 10 minute snorkel lesson in the pool we were straight out in the reef swimming with all of the amazing sealife as well as swimming with the turtles who let you touch them, this was an amazing experience for us all, their were also reef sharks and massive manta and sting rays. The accomodation on the island seems to vary in quality depending obviously on how much you spend, i think we were in the cheapest accomodation which was a bunk room which was pretty basic but absolutly fine especially as it has its own shower room. The food was great, the price included breakfast and dinner but not lunch which was either a buffet for $22 for adults and $10 for kids or you could select off of a menu if you wanted a burger or steak etc. We paid $1700 for the 2 day 1 night trip including flights for the 5 of us. I would highly recommend this island if you get the chance, it is especially good for children as the access for snorkelling is outstanding. On the flight off the island we spotted 5 huge manta rays swimming around the island which is an amazing sight from a couple of thousand feet :shocked: We drove straight from Hervey Bay airport Tuesday evening down to Noosa ( about 130k ) to stay with friends for a couple of days. Our friends live about 10k outside of Noosa on a 10 acre plot which is made up mostly of gum trees, it was a new experience for us staying there as it was as much in the wild as we had been as the house is quite isolated and the wildlife is more obvious with plenty of snakes about. The couple who we stayed with have 3 young children he is a concreter and drives to Brisbane each day and earns $400 a day which seems good money but they still struggle to survive on this, but they do run 3 cars and have various animals to feed. During our stay with them we visited Noosa which is a very expensive cosmipolitan area but very nice, and it also has a beautiful beach area. The last morning of our stay we went deep sea fishing out of the harbour, the trip was a half day going at 6:00 am and returning at 11:30, i took my 2 lads and my mate took his son at a cost of $130 each, the fishing was ok and we caught quite a few fish most of which went back though as they were under size, my 2 lads also suffered from sea sickness as did some of the other passengers so that put a bit of a dampner on it but it was still fun. So we left Noosa on Friday lunch time and headed back to Brisbane and said goodbye to the camper, we then stayed in a hotel in Toowong for the night, a short 5 minute walk from the hotel took us to the river where we caught the ferry Friday evening into Brisbane city, the trip was about half an hour right into the centre and had some wonderful views of the city, we then had dinner in the Pig and Whistle with another friend of mine who happened to be working in oz for the last couple of weeks. So sadly we then headed off Saturday morning for the long trip back to blighty. I cannot beleive how much we have managed to fit in in the last 4 weeks :swoon:, it has been an incredible journey and i dont think any of us will ever forget a moment of it. As i have said on this thread before i absolutly loved Australia as did the wife and the children, i can find very little to be negative about and so much to be positive about but i guess the question we have been asked already by some is could or would we live there and the answer to that is yes without a doubt, so watch this space :yes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pablo Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Amazing journey mate,hats off to yer!:notworthy: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackboots Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Its been wonderfull reading your travels , safe trip home ! good luck for any future plans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andy Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 Well it has taken me an age to get around to posting some piccies of our trip to oz which was the best 5 weeks of my life so here are a few of me and the kids on the first couple of days after landing in Adelaide :cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andy Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 A lucky shot from me of a hump back whale, the wife with a koala, the kids with roos and me and the kids on a coral island on the great barrier reef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest 47403 Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 I remember reading this at the time Andy sounded absolutely brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andy Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 I remember reading this at the time Andy sounded absolutely brilliant. It was mate, it cost me a small fortune but it would have been worth 100 times that for the memories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest 47403 Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 It was mate, it cost me a small fortune but it would have been worth 100 times that for the memories. I was going to say must have cost a bit but I'm sure worth it for the memories, have you decided on where you intend to settle? Did the trip help you come to any decisions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the bottler Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 Always nice to put a face to a name ... lovely family ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andy Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 I was going to say must have cost a bit but I'm sure worth it for the memories, have you decided on where you intend to settle? Did the trip help you come to any decisions? I reckon it cost me about 17k baz all in all but likt i say money well spent and if i could afford it i would do it all again every year :cool:, i think it would be the Gold Coast for us mate, lovely area with loads going on and of course cracking weather most of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andy Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 Surfing lesson on Bondi, a spot of fishing, sunset on Lady Elliot Island, and a view of the island when coming in to land Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest 47403 Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 I reckon it cost me about 17k baz all in all but likt i say money well spent and if i could afford it i would do it all again every year :cool:, i think it would be the Gold Coast for us mate, lovely area with loads going on and of course cracking weather most of the time. What are your plans regarding work set up on your own again or start off working for someone else and see where it takes you? 17k wow! And I'm whinging about 3k for Majorca we've paid this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest 47403 Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 (edited) [ATTACH=CONFIG]18718[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]18719[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]18720[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]18721[/ATTACH] Surfing lesson on Bondi, a spot of fishing, sunset on Lady Elliot Island, and a view of the island when coming in to land Had owt mate lol? Was talking with a lad at work yesterday and he was on about Lady Elliot island showed me his pics, was just him and his daughter on the plane. Edited March 23, 2013 by Guest 47403 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andy Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 The Apostles, Broken Bridge, the awesome New South Wales countryside :notworthy:, and a crappy beach i would not be seen dead on:cute: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andy Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 What are your plans regarding work set up on your own again or start off working for someone else and see where it takes you? 17k wow! And I'm whinging about 3k for Majorca we've paid this year. Well it kind of broke down as 4.5k for flights, 4k for camper and fuel, 2k for the coral island and the rest was spending as to be honest baz we did do loads of stuff and ate out quite a lot. I suppose i would start working for someone else but to be honest mate that would not last as i am the sort of person who likes to be my own boss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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