On previous trips, we fell in love with one of North Australia’s fishy icons, the elusive Barramundi (Lates calcarifer). Barramundi are closely related to the Nile perch and are not only great table fare, but grow up to 100lb and are renowned for their strength and aerial displays. They can live in fresh and in saltwater, but need the sea for their reproduction. And the males change sex when they are around 4 to 5 years old and turn into females. So whenever one catches a big, strong and clever Barra, it’s a she. Barramundi can be readily caught on lures and on fly; the fish in the dams being most active when the water temperature reaches the high twenties.

Many dams in Queensland have been stocked with Barramundi. Thanks to an abundance of food they thrive in many of these manmade lakes and grow fast and big. The entire East coast of Queensland is dotted with dams, many of them being well known for the sheer size and number of fish caught every year. One of the standouts is Lake Awoonga, home not only to one of the piscatorial icons of Australia, but also to one of its great fishing legends, Rod ‘Harro’ Harrison. We had been looking forward to meeting him in person one day, so it was no question: our next stop had to be Lake Awoonga and nearby Gladstone.

Finding a little cabin on a camp ground near Gladstone proved to be a very difficult task indeed. When the first people we ask told us, that they are fully booked for the next two years, we thought they were pulling our legs. But then they explained to us, that the area is busy with thousands of contract workers from all over Australia, working for the mining and gas industries. In the next 10 years, an estimated 30’000 new jobs will be created in Queensland.

So every camp ground and caravan park was full with workers and it took us ages to finally find a cabin. We got lucky though and found a great place just minutes from the lake. Lake Awoonga Gateway Lodge was our home from home for several weeks and we were even treated to 2 days of fishing with our very friendly and knowledgeable host Marc. The weather was still on the cooler side for Barra fishing and the water temperature just scratching 20°C. The fish did not what we wanted them to do and our lures couldn’t tempt a single Barra.

Meeting Harro was a pleasure and spending an afternoon on the lake with him was a great experience and we learned a lot. But even his knowledge and skills couldn’t change the conditions and we did not get a Barramundi. To have a bit of action, we started fishing for catfish with shrimps and got one fish after the other until we ran out of bait. The slow fishing left plenty of room for talking and a humble Rod Harrison told us many funny and fantastic stories out of his very colorful life. We hope to see him again and spend some more time together. Harro is also a master fly caster and teacher and we would love to throw a line with him.

There is more to Gladstone than Lake Awoonga and we spent many days exploring the area. Construction work is going on everywhere and not everyone is happy about it. The installation of mining and gas exploiting sites and the necessary infrastructure like roads, railway tracks and port facilities have a great impact on the environment. Many people we came across and some of the political parties are concerned. Labour and the Greens want to investigate the issue properly, while the National party – without knowing what’s going on either- assures everyone, that it is save any way and that none of these activities have any negative impact what so ever. Once more their policy is to look the other way and not to ask any questions regarding environmental issues, whenever money is to be made and votes can be won.

In Gladstone harbour, dredging on a big scale is already going on. Recent sightings of unusually high numbers of dead dugongs and turtles have raised questions about the cause of these deaths and the role the dredging may play. We can only hope, that despite the fact that jobs and a thriving economy are vital for Queensland and Australia, sustainability and the need for a healthy environment are not just meaningless words.

Gladstone, nearby Curtis Island and several rivers are part of a very diverse mosaic of waterways, mudflats and mangrove rich estuaries, providing habitats for an amazing number of mammals, birds, fish and other marine life. We spent hours walking the beaches and fishing from the shore and from a pontoon on Boyne Island. And we had the pleasure to see dozens of pretty-faced wallabies, and, in the water, the odd dugong and many turtles.

One of the world largest alumina refineries, Queensland Alumina Ltd (QAL), is based in Gladstone and is a major employer, providing work for more than 1’000 people. The plant itself covers an area of 80 hectares and started working in 1967, currently producing more than 4 million tonnes of alumina per year. Alumina, a fine aluminium oxide powder, is produced by refining bauxite; the process being very energy and water intensive and requiring the use of 800’000 tonnes of caustic soda annually as well. The bauxite for QAL is mined in Weipa on Cape York and shipped 2’000km around the Cape to Gladstone. Alumina is delivered to smelters in Australia and overseas and smelted into aluminium. 4 tonnes of bauxite produce 2 tonnes of alumina which result in 1 tonne of aluminium.

QAL runs free visitor tours and the tour by bus through a maze of pipes, buildings and conveyors was very impressive indeed.

On the way further north the crops change and sugar cane and pineapple dominate the scenery; in the paddocks heat and drought resistant Brahman cattle replace Angus or Hereford.

When we arrive at River Heads in Hervey Bay, the car park at the barge ramp is empty and there is plenty of time to get ready for the island, for Fraser Island that is. We have already stocked up our supplies and should not have to restock for at least 2 weeks. The gauge shows 46 Psi when we check the tyre pressure and we deflate to 20; this should get us through the sand without problems.

The ride on the barge across Great Sandy Strait takes just 40 minutes. Dolphins, turtles and a white-breasted sea eagle join us for a while and then the landing at Kingfisher Bay appears in the distance. What a great feeling to set foot to the island again after 10 years. And it seems to be every bit as beautiful and magic as we remembered it. After a quick look around at Kingfisher we get serious and head inland. The massive fence just behind the resort hasn’t been there last time; the electric cattle grid looks like out of “Jurassic Park” and we wonder what dangerous beast may roam the peaceful island.

The vehicle tracks on Fraser consist entirely of the same material than the island itself, sand, sand and more sand. Around Kingfisher and Central Station the tracks are pretty rough in places and the sand very soft and deep. Getting around without a four wheel drive with a decent ground clearance is impossible. We feel a bit uneasy at first, the single lane inland sand tracks with a 30km speed limit are not always easy going and oncoming cars can only be passed at certain points. Reversing is difficult at times and at the designated passing points the sand is quite often even deeper.

Our Landcruiser behaves well though and thanks to the wide, deflated tyres we make it to the other side without getting stuck. After slightly more than an hour the forest opens up and we drive onto the eastern beach. We enjoy the ride north along the surf, at the same time feeling guilty that our driving is spoiling the peace and quiet of this beautiful stretch of coastline. All the vehicles share the beach with small planes, which use the firm sand as a convenient air strip.

At Happy Valley we leave the beach and pull up in front of our little cottage minutes later. What a beautiful little paradise and our home for the next 10 days! Native plants and coconut palms create a tropical atmosphere and the resident goannas seem to have gathered to welcome us. Bree, our host, comes around for a chat and her passion and love for the island is obvious. Her knowledge is going to be a great source of information and making our stay even more enjoyable. Bree also tells us about the fences and the electric grids that have been put up in the last 8 years.

Fraser Island is home to one of the purest populations of Dingoes remaining in Australia. Stupid and irresponsible behavior of visitors caused several attacks and despite the fact that most of Fraser is declared a National Park and belongs to a World Heritage area, supposedly to protect its natural values, problem Dingoes have been destroyed (official term!!) and fences have been erected.

The next ten days see us exploring the island and reading the books about the area given to us by Bree. It is great to gain an insight into the history of Fraser Island, its human inhabitants and its flora and fauna and visit some of the places described. There is a unique range of habitats from rainforest to dry heathlands, from wetlands teaming with life to seemingly lifeless barren sand dunes, from miles and miles of golden beaches on the island’s eastern side to its western mangrove fringes. Despite the fact that the island consist mainly of sand, it features many freshwater lakes. The usually permeable sand is made impermeable in places by layers of decomposed organic matter, which prevents the water from draining. Other lakes are simply a depression in the sand reaching into the underlying water table.

On our walks and drives we come across an abundance of wildlife. In the pristine freshwater lakes and streams we spot turtles, rainbow fish, eels and even jungle perch. At dusk Dingoes appear regularly and patrol the beaches in search of a morsel or two. We love our beach walks and always collect bits and pieces the sea has left behind. One day we come across some beautifully marked jelly fish and even a more than 2 meters long sunfish, thrown onto the sand like all the other flotsam by relentless waves. The weird and wonderful fish impresses us even in its death and we try to imagine how beautiful it looked when gliding effortlessly through the water.

The annual Tailor run on the island’s east coast attracts thousands of anglers, keen to catch their share of the tasty fish. At high tide, countless groups of fishos in yellow oilskins are dotting the beach, casting their offerings into the surf. Bait and chrome lures work a treat at times and the bag limit may be reached quickly.

A very friendly bunch of fishermen from the Lockyer Valley near Brisbane are staying next door and we enjoy our little chats at night. One late afternoon the sky gets covered in thick black clouds within minutes and moments later a reasonable subtropical thunderstorm breaks loose. The coconut palms
bend like jelly sticks and we fear that they are going to break. Suddenly we realize that our absent neighbors have placed all their gear and cloth outside to have everything dried by the sun. Quickly we rescue their stuff and place it on the large covered veranda. Later we get generously rewarded for our little effort and get invited for a delicious feast of fresh fish for dinner. The storm doesn’t last very long and after about an hour the rain eases and the wind drops without having caused any serious damage.

Some of the more touristy attractions like the Maheno wreck and Eli Creek are bustling with people and we enjoy chatting with fellow travelers. Eli Creek can be a very peaceful little place, in the tourist season though it gets hammered by commercial operators and the crystal clear creek gets flooded with screaming and splashing visitors most of the day. The resident jungle perch don’t seem to mind and only head for cover when too many human beings seek relief from the heat in the cool freshwater.

Time goes by far too quick once more and we have to say good bye. Hope to be back one day! All the very best to you, Bree. May all your good work and efforts bear fruits!

Fraser Island facts
Area 184’000 hectares
Length 123km, average width 14km
Fraser Island and neighboring Cooloola represent the world’s largest vegetated dune
systems and are part of the Great Sandy Region. Fraser Island became World Heritage listed in 1992 and is home to many rare and endangered plants and animals.
The area is of great cultural significance with at least 40’000 years of Aboriginal occupation. The island was taken from the last native occupants about 100 years ago, when they were killed or deported to make room for progress and profit.
Fraser Island and Cooloola attract a massive number of visitors, over 500’000 a year. After
logging and sand mining have been stopped, there are still a lot of issues to be addressed and solved to secure the unique natural value of the area for the future. Many of the island’s unique ecosystems are fragile and cannot cope with thousands and thousands of people who regard Fraser as a giant adventure playground.

Back on the mainland and in Hervey Bay, we decide to stay a little longer. The place
is busy with visitors, many of them wanting to see the Humpback Whales Hervey Bay is famous for. The whale watching season has just started and the whales are already here in numbers.

With fond memories of Bundaberg, we just have to do a day trip to the home of a true Australian icon, the legendary Bundy Rum. The distillery runs tours and we enjoy our visit a lot – not just because of the drink at the end of the guided tour. Pretty simple actually to make rum out of molasses, a byproduct of the sugar milling process, but surprisingly delicious.  And, according to the manufacturer, enjoyed in moderate quantities, it’s good for your health as well. Not so sure about that!

Every night hundreds and hundreds of flying foxes leave their roosting site and for
several minutes the sky over parts of Hervey Bay is full of the noisy mammals. People watch them with mixed feelings these days, because many of the bats carry the potentially deadly Hendra virus. In Queensland several deaths have been recorded this year. So far, no direct transfer of the virus from bat to human has been established, with horses needed as a second carrier.

Fond memories of our last stay 10 years ago made us choose Tenterfield as our next destination. This charming little town lies on the New England plateau – about 900m above sea level – just south of the Queensland border, surrounded by mountains, deep gorges and numerous rivers, which are home to the elusive Murray cod. Being hard core cod country, Tenterfield was and still is home to well known lure makers like the late Peter Newell and Trevor McFeeter. They both played an important part in the amazingly rich and creative Australian lure maker scene.

During our stay, Jack Frost had the region in his grip and the nights were frosty and the  days cold. But even in winter one has to appreciate the beauty of the area and we enjoyed several of the countless walks in some of the National Parks nearby. We saw a lot of kangaroos, wallabies and many different birds. The Tawny Frogmouth, probably one of the less well known birds, surprised us with its outstanding mimicry. During the day the nocturnal Frogmouth was resting in trees adjacent to the caravan park and was very difficult to spot. With its mottled feathers and its head turned up it resembled a branch perfectly.

Bald Rock, 750m long, 500m wide and 260m high, is the largest exposed granite dome in the southern hemisphere and sits in the dense, surrounding forest like a giant whale floating in the sea. Several walks to the top lead through very different types of vegetation and the diverse plant life includes magnificent orchids. Despite its steep sides, it is possible to almost vertically walk up the rock due to a rough surface. On a clear day the view from the summit across a boulder strewn sea of trees is spectacular. Thick cloud cover and the occasional shower on the day of our visit could not spoil the fun; the wet rock became pretty slippery though and made our climb a bit tricky. On the summit the wind got up the gale force and we had to seek shelter between boulders for a while.

Boonoo Boonoo National Park with Boonoo Boonoo Falls proofed to be a great experience
as well. The weather kept being very wet and taking a decent picture was impossible, continuing rain made the rivers run high on the other hand and the waterfalls looked
spectacular.

Looking forward to fishing some of the many Queensland dams, famous for their big fish from Murray Cod and Australian Bass in the south to Barramundi and Sooty Grunter further north, we got ourselves a book about the topic. In southern Queensland already, a mere hour’s drive from Tenterfield, the book showed many dams with promising fishing. The fact that it was still pretty cold and the fish not very active, could not stop us and we left New South Wales with high hopes.

Lake Leslie Tourist Park, just 10 Minutes west of Warwick, was our base for the next 3 weeks. Lake Leslie and several lakes and rivers nearby provide great opportunities for fishing, especially for Yellow Belly, Australian Bass and Murray Cod. But despite our best efforts out on Lake Leslie and along other lakes and rivers, we did not manage to get one single fish to take our lures. Not even the very friendly and generous advice of the local tackle shop cracks made a difference and we started to feel slightly embarrassed. Many thanks again to John and Wayne and to Jason for your help and tight lines! We hope to be back when the water is warmer. There are some magic places waiting out there!

While out on the lake, we noticed that our Mercury outboarder was still not going well; it would run very rough with strong vibrations and every now and then the engine would stall completely. Our previous Mercurys had always been a pleasure to operate, but this 40hp 2-stroke didn’t make us happy at all. We were lucky though and Shane, the engine wizard in town, got the thing finally going. After adjusting everything properly – something the factory was obviously not able to do – and removing a tiny particle of dirt from one of the carburetors, our still brand new Mercury behaved and has been going strong ever since.

We remembered that there is more to life than fishing and explored some of the other highlights Warwick has to offer. And there is no shortage of natural beauty and interesting places indeed. Subtropical and tropical rainforests have always fascinated us and we enjoyed the walks at Cunningham’s Gap east of town very much. The vegetation changed remarkably on the way up the mountains and after walking through dense and lush green rain forest with many different species of trees, some of them true forest giants, the plants got smaller and the forests became more open. The views from the summits were breathtaking and, thanks to the great weather, we were able to see the skyline of Brisbane out east.

Another day saw us heading to Killarney, 40 minutes to the south east. The area features many scenic waterfalls and we spotted Echidnas, skinks and frogs.

Warwick is a charming small country town with very friendly people. During our stay the “Jumpers & Jazz” festival was on with Jazz being played in the streets and the leaf less trees being decorated with jumpers made by creative souls.

Out at Lake Leslie our cottage was home away from home. Sometimes “Colour”, our
hosts cute pet Galah, a native parrot, would pay us a visit and get his cuddles. We loved the place and the sunsets over the lake will be remembered for a very long time.

When we left Rylstone, the sun was shining and the trip north into New England and down to Coffs Harbour on the coast was magnificent. Coming across some of the country’s large coal mines reminded us of the ongoing carbon tax debate in Australia and we wondered, what’s going to happen. Every single one of us should do whatever possible to avoid CO2 emissions, that’s for sure.

Harbour City Caravan Park in Coffs Harbour proved to be a great place to stay and we were looking forward to a couple of beautiful days in this subtropical paradise. But the bad weather seemed to follow us like a curse. When we got up the next morning, it was raining cats and dogs and it didn’t stop for days on end. Coffs and the surrounding mid north coast of NSW got up to 400mm of rain within the following 3 to 4 days and at some stage several towns got cut off by the floods, Coffs Harbour included. Eventually, after almost a week, heaven closed its gates and the waters receded.

On the first weekend of our stay, a fishing competition, the Snapper Classics, took place and we went out to the Deep Sea Fishing Club to see what was going on. Sadly the horrible weather made it close to impossible for the almost 200 contestants to go out fishing on both days of the comp and in the end most of the prices had to be drawn. Almost everyone got a price though and was in a good mood and some of the best known fishermen and fishing writers in the country supported the event. Steve Starling, Kaj Bush and Scott Amon shared their knowledge with the crowd and their passion was highly contagious.

Having read and very much enjoyed some of his books and many of his profound articles in various fishing magazines, we were thrilled to meet Steve and his partner Jo. Steve and his mate, shipwright Tyson Dethridge from CrossXCountry Boats, created our great little boat and to top it all, Jo designed the stunning vinyl wrap. Jo and Starlo kindly signed our book and we greatly enjoyed the short chat with these two very friendly and welcoming people and are looking forward to keeping in contact and seeing them again sometime.

The next weekend, the weather was sunny and nice and we went down to the market near the beach. Fruit and vegetable stalls, arts and crafts people, the ice cream man and lots more made for a colorful atmosphere and everyone was enjoying the sun after all the miserable weather. One man was displaying beautiful didgeridoos and playing them with amazing skill.

After talking to Kristian, the didge maker and player, we left with his leaflet in our pocket. In the evening we had a closer look at the leaflet and discovered that one can make one’s own instrument with Kristian’s help. www.yidakivibes.com We called him the next morning to ask how it works and decided to give it a go. The following day saw us heading to Kristian’s workshop in the morning. First we had to find the tree trunk for our instrument. There was a large amount of dried wood to choose from and Kristian answered our endless questions with great patience.

His knowledge is vast and he is putting a lot of effort into the musical quality of his instruments. He selects the trees, cuts and stores them until they are ready to become an instrument. He then spends a lot of time opening up the already hollow trunk with chisels to make sure the walls have a thickness as even as possible, all in the search for the perfect sound.

After we had chosen our piece of box wood, we had to work with the chisels as well and after several hours and quite a bit of sweat the inside of our didge started to look good. The next step was getting most of the bark off with a special knife and as a feature a bit of bark was left at the lower end of the didge. At the upper end of the instrument the thickness of the walls was then further reduced from the outside and after that we had to sand it with power tools and by hand, starting with coarse and finishing with very fine sandpaper to achieve a smooth, silky surface.

We had seen a beautiful mouthpiece made out of silky oak on one of Kristian’s instruments and with his help a piece of silky oak with an amazing grain was glued to our didgeridoo and a mouthpiece formed. To protect the instrument a first coat of varnish was applied and, 24 hours later, sanded and the second and last coat applied. When played, moisture accumulates in the instrument and may cause cracking. Kristian pours hot bees wax trough his instruments to seal them from the inside in addition to the outside varnishing. Apart from providing excellent protection, the wax smells very good indeed and makes playing the instrument even more enjoyable.

Time went by far too fast and three days after we had started we were able to pick up our finished didgeridoo. Kristian was a great tutor and we learnt heaps. To top a unique and wonderful experience, he gave us a lesson and showed us different techniques to play. Oh, and yes, our didge looks great and sounds amazing, at least when played by the master. No excuses for not practicing anymore!

Coffs Harbour definitely has a subtropical feel to it with banana crops along the coast and a lush, rich flora. We spent many hours walking along the golden sandy beaches, watching big schools of dolphins playing in the waves. During our stay, Humpback whales started to make their appearance on their annual migration north and we saw several of these giants leaping clear out of the water or waving their huge dorsal fins in the air.

While in Coffs, we had to visit Fishing Tackle Australia, the largest tackle store we’ve ever seen by far and conveniently situated across the road from where we stayed. For a complete tackle nut, suffering from a severe case of NAD (necessary acquisition disorder; compliments to Russell Rowse in Weipa), the temptations were almost too great and we had to pull ourselves together. The range of gear is unbelievable, but the store is not only huge, the guys working there are also friendly, helpful and know their stuff. A real tackle shopper’s paradise and easily the undoing of one’s travel budget.

The Blue Mountains have always been special to us. Steep cliffs, countless waterfalls, hidden valleys and the charming mountain villages are a world of their own, a mere 90km from Sydney CBD. Especially in winter, the villages have a resort like atmosphere to them and walking through the windswept streets, ten years after our last visit, made us feel at home. The weather was very cold – at some stage, nearby Lithgow got a bit of snow – with frosty nights and cold, windy days with lots of sunshine; the perfect weather to go hiking.

There is an abundance of well marked tracks available to suit everyone. Many of the tracks lead into the surrounding valleys with some hair-raising descents down the cliff faces. One of the longest and steepest of the many staircases is the aptly named Giant Stairway with its more than 900 steps.

The bird life in the Blue Mountains National Park is prolific and we saw many different species. Lorikeets, Rosellas, Cockatoos and other parrots are the clowns of the eucalypt forests and what they lack in singing ability, they make up for with their colorful feathers. One of the very skillful singers though is the Lyrebird and we listened to its melodies for hours. Lyrebirds are masters in imitating any other bird, in fact any sound, even a car alarm or a screeching door.

The clean mountain streams are home to the bright orange freshwater crayfish and we were looking forward to seeing them again. But despite our efforts we couldn’t manage to find one this time. Whether the water was too cold or whether we looked in all the wrong places, we don’t know.

What a pleasure to come home after a long day out, light a fire and have a hearty cheese fondue. To our great surprise we found cheese fondue mixture in one of the shops in town. One morning we had to stock up our groceries and left early. The car started beautifully with the first turn of the starter motor despite the frosty temperature. We found everything we needed up in Leura and – having it safely stowed – wanted to drive off. The starter motor turned as it is supposed to, but the engine wouldn’t run. After many attempts we called the NRMA and just 10 minutes later a technician arrived. Not having a car of our own back home at all, we were pretty nervous and wondering what might happen next and having to get the Troopy out of an inclined parking space on a busy car park without the engine running didn’t help either. It took our friendly helper half an hour to find out that the injection pump did not get power and therefore the engine didn’t get any fuel. He organized a tow truck and another half an hour later our Troopy was sitting in the back off the truck and we were on our way to the local car electrician. It was close to 5pm now and getting dark. We had to leave the car at the workshop and organize a ride back for the 20 kilometers to our cottage. The guys at the workshop did their best and eventually found a broken wire causing all the trouble. They did a very good job fixing the problem and we picked up our car two days later. Troopy was running again and purring like a big cat. Time went by all too quick and we had to move on to Lake Windamere and Dunn’s Swamp, an easy two hours drive to the north.

Breakaway Farm, east of Rylstone and adjacent to Wollemi National Park, was our next base and Jenny Franks’ rock cottage a very charming and comfortable place indeed. Our intention was to get serious with the boat, to give it a proper workout and to catch the first yellowbelly of the trip. But sometimes things don’t go according to plan. The weather was not only cold and windy day after day, but also very wet. We made the most out of it and did a lot of reading. One of the great books we read was Reg Franks’ – Jenny’s late husband – book “Out of my tucker box”. Reg and Jenny lived in the area for most of their lives and being given an insight into local history and local stories was great. We found many places described in the book and the knowledge we had from reading Reg’s stories made us feel like locals. On our walks along the Cudgegong River and up to Kandos Weir/Dunn’s Swamp we saw Platypus’ and turtles and the songs of Lyrebirds were always surrounding us. The area is very scenic with many rocky outcrops and caves. The going is tough and many years ago the rugged land around Nullo Mountain provided the perfect hideout for Elizabeth Hickman, known as the Lady bushranger, and Captain Thunderbolt, a well known bushranger lived here as well. The book about Elizabeth’s life made fantastic reading during our stay and being right in the middle of where it all happened made the book become very much alive indeed.

One of the highlights of our stay one Jenny’s farm was the guided tour she gave us up the mountain right at our back door; her knowledge and her love for the land made it a wonderful experience.

Mudgee, a good half an hour by car from Rylstone, has become the center of a grape growing region with many family owned wineries producing great wines and we enjoyed the hospitality of this country side town several times.

After weeks of cold and often wet weather, it was time to head further north and back to the coast in search of sunshine and warmth.