Queensland Archives - Wander Wonder Wonton

Fraser Island Day One

January 24, 2017

I saw some pics of a friend at Fraser Island over Christmas and decided then and there I would visit and ASAP!

After some googling I decided on a two day, one night tour at the island and ensured it was visiting Lake McKenzie, the location of the pic I originally saw.

The tour (Sunrover Tours) started out from Brisbane at 6.45am (not a morning person but it wasn’t terrible) and we hit the road straight away in our older Land Cruisers.

A truly authentic experience, there’s no aircon, there’s bugs and the tour guide was a real Aussie bloke. Charlie was his name and he chose me (okay, I nominated myself) as the front seat driver with him.

A few stops later we arrived at Rainbow Beach and the fun started! We couldn’t even make it through the entrance to the point where you catch the barge to Fraser Island, we got stuck immediately. Thankfully some lovely young guys pitched in and pulled us out. Good fun!

Fast forward a ten min ride on the barge and we arrived on the island. We screamed down (80kms is the legal and policed limit) the beach along the shoreline to Dilli camp where we were spending the evening.

We ditched our stuff, had some fresh ham salad buns and fruit for lunch and were back on the road again.

We stopped at Central Station which used to be the main location for logging many years ago. Got a bit of a history lesson before a little rain-forest walk. I loved the strangling tree – a tree that wraps around another tree and steals its nutrients until it eventually dies. I really disliked seeing where the Fraser Island Funnel Web spiders lived as I got the heeby jeebys.

Next up, the highlight of my trip, Lake McKenzie. Unfortunately for us, the sun wasn’t out, however the lake was still sparkling, clear and inviting. Tours can only have 1.5 hours at the lake and we made the most of it. The water is 25 degrees and we were straight in there. I swam across to a secluded point and walked around the corner – I wish I could have taken a picture – the serenity! A vast, deserted and picturesque space. The water is crystal clear, the sand glowing white and you got the feeling of being really alone – I loved it.

The trip back to camp took longer than I remembered, as it turned out I had been asleep half the trip out there! Couldn’t keep my eyes open. The roads are stunning. Fraser is the largest sand island in the world, so low and behold, the roads are all sand! Incredibly, a rain-forest thrives in that environment. The trees created a beautiful canopy above us as we cruised through. There’s bumps and it’s fun – I enjoyed the city kid’s reactions.

At camp, we had a BBQ dinner – burgers and sausages – beaut. There are two other Sunrover tours here making the campsite busy and fun. Huge variety of people on the tour, lots of different nationalities. The guides are knowledgeable, likable and funny. I enjoyed watching them bond over a beer at the end of the day.

We retired to bed in our tents and slept soundly all night… That’s a total lie – I woke up with a full bladder at midnight and didn’t want to make a dash to the bathroom as it was raining hard, which sounded great in the tent but wasn’t great for my needing to run to the bathroom!

Noosa Madness

June 6, 2015

Last time the four of us (Ka Lei, Kieran, Jacinta & I) got together was in Whistler for my last weekend in BC and it was madness. Last weekend in Noosa was no different.

Let me recount the highlights…

Costco stop on the way down. This place excites me exponentially. 3 dozen oysters, beautifully thick cut steak, a ready made salad and we were on the way!

-Side note, Ka Lei & I both finished work early only to manage to only leave by nearly 7??

We booked an apartment through AirBnB (contact me if you’d like details) which turned out to be in the Outrigger Resort on Hastings Street (main street of Noosa) which was fantastic. The lovely lady had left us champagne, chocolate, nuts and lots of other great touches. We settled in, had our amazing steak cooked by Chef Kieran, 2 dozen of the well shucked oysters and a lot of champagne and vodka. Somehow we ended up watching the spelling bee finals and while the others were riveted, I fell asleep on the couch.

Saturday morning was glorious and I was straight to the pool. I had a refreshing swim, worked on my underwater handstands and lazed about. Soon after hopping out of the pool an attendant told us not to go back in. Upon asking why, his answer was simple. Faeces. Right. So now I have shit in my hair. Well everywhere actually. I was straight to the bar to negotiate free drinks (at 11.58am) to get over the situation. Or as Jay aptly named it – the shituation.

We were able to negotiate a decent package, we started with a double shot, followed by mimosas and caprioskas. Two hours later at the pool bar and we were best mates with the bar staff, attendant staff and the people lounging (but definitely not swimming) in the pool area. Jay managed to face plant off her stool before 2pm. We were doing well. We even managed access to the VIP infinity pool.

Back upstairs we raced to get Ka Lei wedding ready and then subsequently crashed for a few hours. Upon waking I moved my phone charger only to accidentally smash two large vases to pieces. It was like slo-mo. Felt terrible so I popped a new bottle of champers and started on that with a dozen oysters. Tough life, I tell ya!

Jay and I went for dinner and drinks in town then met Ka Lei & Kieran when the wedding had finished to party into the wee hours.

Sunday was spent recovering. A lovely brunch at 10 Hastings followed by a nap on the beach and poolside lounging.

Kieran drove us home where we stopped for dumplings. Best idea ever! Hope to get back to Noosa again soon.

Cafe Le Monde, Noosa

May 30, 2015

Lovely service, decidedly average food.

Probably should have checked the rating on this one before I ate there – it would have swayed my mind.

Matt, our waitor was fantastic. Very chilled and attentive. He even negotiated that I could order off the lunch menu with the kitchen.

The food came out super fast. I had ordered a fish burger and being in Noosa expected a decent one. Wrong. Two pieces of bun, two leaves of lettuce, one slice of tomato, some Mayo and (an assumably frozen) deep fried fish patty.

Jay ordered a GF pizza which she quite enjoyed.

The cashier was again lovely and when I explained the burger was average when she enquirered how the food was, she gave us a 5% discount.

Wouldn’t eat there again but go say hello to the lovely employees.

Oh! And to the guy I caught lurking out in the car park on Tinder in the floral shirt, you were definitely too young for me. But very cute all the same!

Tangalooma Tale

April 26, 2015

A colleague told me about a special to get over to Tangalooma so I went about getting a bunch of people together to head over for some sunshine!

Eight of us headed over on ANZAC Day, taking the ferry from the Port of Brisbane at 8.30am. The trip takes an hour twenty but they have decent coffees so we were happy!

After a cold week it was lucky to have a warm, sunny break. Coming into Moreton island was gorgeous. The water was crystal clear, the sand gleaming and we couldn’t wait to get over to the wrecks. Moreton Island has 15 wrecks sunk not far offshore which makes for lovely snorkelling.

We chose a spot on the beach and made a bee line for the water to cool off. Taking it in turns, we ventured out snorkelling around the wrecks. It was just gorgeous. I love seeing that world. Fish were everywhere, we even saw a giant turtle! The others saw reef sharks and a woobegong.

I’d packed a picnic lunch which was wolfed down after a action packed morning.

Renee and I went for a walk along the surf to the resort where she had a corona (I’m on an alcohol free weekend) and I admired the.. Scenery.

There were heaps of jet skis and boats parked out the front of the resort, I think they had all come over from Brisbane. I would love to have a boat of jet ski – makes for an awesome lifestyle.

By 3.30pm we were exhausted and happy to get back on the boat. Four Dolphins came up and said goodbye to the delight of all the passengers. The eight of us looked like we had had a massive night out! Trying to get as horizontal as possible, messy hair and coffees in hand.

Great crew and awesome day – I can’t wait to get back out there!

Thanks to Simon for the first and last two pics!.

QT Gold Coast

April 5, 2013

Spent a lazy Easter Friday at QT Hotel Gold Coast with Alescha.

What a fantastic hotel. It feels almost like a boutique hotel, with all of it’s little quirks but it is a decent size, with two restaurants and a bar.

Cute idea – lemonade in the foyer. Refreshing and super cute in different sized jars with paper twisted yellow & white straws. Just help yourself while you wait to check in or lounge in the retro foyer.

I have to say – the beds are AMAZING. Divine even. We checked in and went straight for a nap. You lie on them and it’s like they suck you into them. I could have happily just slept the weekend away! We even came home early from the bar as we were so looking forward to hopping into them!

Rooms are huge, funky, unique furnishings and you can purchase anything in there. Great idea by them. Even the bathrobes and lamp are for purchase!

Lucky for me, working at Rydges, I received staff discount and REALLY reasonable rates. HUGE thanks to Natalie who helped us out with an upgrade and complimentary bubbly & macaroons too!

We dined at Yamagen for Teppenyaki, Stingray lounge for drinks and a snack and then at Bazaar for buffet breakfast.

Definitely worth a look to eat, play and stay!

Best on Hamilton Island – CoCa Chu

February 4, 2013

I can not even describe to you how amazing the food at CoCa Chu is.
My mouth is watering just thinking about it. If you’re on Hamilton Island you MUST visit.

Coca Chu is an Asian infused restaurant, fine dining in a casual area, right on the waterfront.

While it can be a little difficult to find the place (maybe it was the two mojito’s I had earlier and my obvious lack of geographical knowledge) but is worth a little wander in some beautiful tropical gardens to find.

We were lucky enough to be friends with a great guy who had been invited by the Chef to check CoCa Chu out, he in turn invited us and next thing I know there is a table of 16 of us making our delectable way through an 8 course tasting.I had no idea about this restaurant, what food it served, what style or what to expect and due to dinner the night before being less than average I suppose I didn’t have high hopes. If I had had high hopes, even these would have been exceeded. The food is superb and the service outstanding.As we had a tasting menu, I have no idea what half the things we ate were, however I will try to explain. All dishes were served in the middle to share.

Dish 1: lobster with herbs & spices. You took the lobster and spooned some into a leaf which you wrapped up and ate. I’m a huge seafood lover and they were off to a fab start!

Dish 2: Soft boiled Duck? eggs, crumbed and with a barbeque like sauce. As you can tell I have no idea really what this was. I wouldn’t have even tried it I it weren’t for the Swashbuckling Pirate egging (get it?) me on. She thought it was great. So I put the half serving in my mouth, and was pleasantly surprised. Not only did I like it, I wanted more. I ave now learnt that these are called Son in Law Eggs.

Dish 3: Next up, steamed pork gyoza. I’m a huge gyoza fan and have become a little picky. These were amazing. I had Swashbuckling pirates share too.

Dish 4: Corn fritters with a. Sweet chili sauce. Not sure I’m doing these justice by calling them corn fritters.

Dish 5: Rabbit curry with rice and pickled cucumber & mushrooms. Must admit this was my least favorite dish but only because I’m not a huge rabbit fan. I wasn’t concerned though as there was more than enough of the other plates to go around!

Dish 6: This was up there with one of my favorites. I’d never tried it before and I loved it so much that I am going to attempt to make it! Pumpkin curry with vegetables. Oh my wow. I’m in awe of this dish. Dish 7: Whole deep fried snapper in Chinese herbs and spices with a tropical salad. Chef’s specialty – and I know why. Yumm!!!!Dish 8: Fresh lychees, raspberry & mango sorbet and green tea ice cream. Perfect finish to a scrumptious mealComplements to the Chef!!

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