“It’s too hot and humid to do anything physical”

“I wouldn’t think of going anywhere north of Brisbane over summer”

Well let me tell you something ladies and gentleman, I’ve been in Tropical North Queensland for the past two days and had one of the best, most enjoyable and trips since arriving in this fair state back in 2009.

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This visit is all about a taste of adventure. Being the Adventurous by Nature capital of Australia, Cairns and the region hold a few events around the calendar to appeal to those people who love the great outdoors, keeping fit and enjoying life to the full. I think I fit into all three of those brackets.

First stop was Port Douglas, the gloriously beautiful town 75kms north of Cairns where I met up with Pat Kinsella (who also fits into all three categories), an adventure writer for a number of publications based out of Melbourne. He’s here to cover a few of the key events taking part in 2012 and it’ my job to escort him and have some fun.

Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) – something I’d tried once on the Brisbane River a few weeks ago with Riverlife….which was good. But take the boards and head out to Low Isles, a stunning coral cay, 30 minutes boat ride from Port Douglas marina and you’re talking about a different experience all together.

Brett from Wind Swell runs courses in SUP and kite surfing and is a wealth of knowledge on life on the water and the reef. Once we’d got our balance and found our sea legs he took us on a tour of the island, the mangroves and then together we all made the crossing to Woody Island in the distance.

I won’t lie to you here, the rain started….and intensified and came down in bucket loads but we were all having such a good time no one even cared. We were all armed with snorkels and masks and it’s something I never, ever get tired of – jumping in the water and snorkelling to my hearts content.

The corals around Low Isles are renowned for their colour and beauty and were fantastic. After spending an hour underwater clicking away with my camera I’d seen stingrays, turtles, sharks and so many fish it was like rush-hour on the reef!

All too soon we headed back to the shore smiling and laughing about how good the day had been and how little the rain had effected us. Pah it’s only a bit of water!

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When the Solar Eclipse takes place on November 14th this year, a thin strip of land in the north of Queensland is plunged from day into night for around three minutes, a rather exciting event will be kicking off in Port Douglas, the Solar Eclipse Marathon (SEM).

Having participated in the 2011 Great Barrier Reef half marathon, I can vouch that it will be huge. The location rocks, the course is challenging and undulating and the climate at that time of year will be as close to perfect as you can get.

It was our job to head off and try some of the course out. At the 15km mark of this year’s full marathon the route arrives at the base of a 300 metre climb up through the rainforest….and definitely the hardest part of it is the Bump Track. It was originally an Aboriginal trail between the coastal and mountain regions, but became a crucial link between Port Douglas and the hinterland for settlers and miners.

After 40 minutes of slogging our way up the incline, we arrived at the clearing with views of the Coral Sea to one side and dramatic waterfalls to the other. It’s a hard grind but so rewarding when you hit the top! Just remember that during the event you have to then run all the way back down AND another 21kms to the finish line!

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There is definitely no rest for the wicked on this adventure, so Pat and I jumped into the car and drove two hours south to the cane fields of Babinda. On the banks of the creek, Garry and his wife Linda run a very unique company called Babinda Kayak Hire offering kayak trips along the river. The local press from Channel 7 were there to meet us and filmed our departure as we floated off downstream enjoying the very tropical weather – again!

The creek winds through cane fields, past bamboo plantations, under bridges and eventually to the sandy beach of Babinda. Can I tell you this was fantastic! Four guys, a river to take on, some torrential rain and smiles all the way I guarantee. Sometimes the simplest things in life bring the greatest pleasure and this is one of them for sure.

So tomorrow….I really need to get some sleep now so that’s all I have time for today. Be sure to visit again in a couple of days time when we’ll have run Dunk Island, raced the Magnetic Island ferry and mountain biked some very exciting trails.

Needing sleep, but having a total blast in Tropical North Queensland – Adventurous by Nature!

Ben

The destination was Dreamworld on a quiet afternoon to watch the opening of the new Holiday Shrektacular. The show runs until the end of January and I headed down to see the giant green ogre open the show of dancing, singing and good times.

Shrek is joined on stage by a gaggle of other Dreamwork characters including Kung Foo Panda and Puss in Boots. They all have one goal – to keep everyone entertained! Being the first show of the holidays I have to say the audience was HUGE, kids and parents everywhere waiting for it to begin. It really was great fun with sing-along classics and a Christmas summer holiday vibe to the show.

We sneaked out before the end though to take full advantage of queue-less rides and some more adult fun – rollercoasters!

The classic rides are still there to scare the crap out of you…..Tower of Terror 2 (which now sends you backwards at warp-factor 10) and Giant Drop – which is still one of the scariest for me.

Then there’s the dramatically beautiful Tiger Island which is a must-see. These huge, gracious animals are superb performers and if you’re heading there is definitely worth a visit!

The new Buzzsaw which terrified me to the core. You step into the car expecting a shoulder harness to come down over your head, but no. Nothing more than a simple lap-strap to hold you in as your twist and turn upside down! I thought I was going to fall out…but no, seriously it’s safe as houses, really it is.

As I walked away from the ride after three (yes twice as many as normal – thanks guys!) complete turns and revolutions my legs felt like jelly and the photo below shows you exactly why – this is one seriously fun ride:

If the kids are still screaming and you’re pulling your hair out then pack the car up, cram them into it and head down to what is definitely one of the best days out on the south coast of Queensland.

Now I think I need to sit down….

Ben

With over 2,900 individual coral reefs covering more than 2,000kms you’d think organising an event of this scale would have logistical problems….but nature’s got it right every single time for the past 20,000 years.

This year was no different. On the nights of November 16/17th the spawning of the coral that makes up the Great Barrier Reef hit a crescendo with a blizzard of activity occurring beneath the waves all the way from Lady Elliot island in the south to Port Douglas in the north.

Synchronised spawning happens with almost all the types of coral species spawning on the same night. It happens so the male and female gametes can effectively meet. Imagine trying to match up eggs and sperm in an ocean of moving salt water!

The corals rely on environmental cues to determine the exact time to release their gametes into the water. The cues involve lunar changes, sunset time, day length, water temperature, and/or rate of temperature change. The short-term cue is most often the lunar cycle, with sunset cuing the mass release.

In some places, the spawn can be visually dramatic, clouding the usually clear water with gametes, typically at night.

Coral polyps (the name for each piece of coral) are clever little things. The coral found in the Coral Exhibit at REEF HQ in Townsville (in the middle of the town) spawns on exactly the same night as that found out in the middle of the ocean.

The ocean becomes one of the most fertile soups too with worms, fish and crustaceans all taking advantage of the protein-charged water. Chantelle from here at Tourism Queensland was out on the dive boat Wings III in Whitsundays during the event and managed to photograph some of the worms feasting on the mist of life

With all the diving I’ve done on the GBR I’ve not yet been in the right place at the right time to wittnes this activity. Being sat in the TQ office here in Brisbane doesn’t make it any easier!

But dive operations around the reef acknowledge it’s one of the most incredible events on the calendar with scientists, divers and photographers around the world flocking to Queensland to witness the event for themselves. Next year I intend to head out onto the reef with dive kit, cameras and lights ready to capture the action, but for now here’s some footage of the event:

As I strive to find challenges and adventures within the mass of people, buildings and noise, life is very different to that I was experiencing two months ago as I paddled around islands, dived with sharks and home was a 12m catamaran called Sunshine.

But fear not there are adrenaline pumping adventures to be had anywhere you live. You just have to go out and find them. Brisbane is a city teeming with opportunities. It has a river running through it, an ocean to the east and the hinterland to the west – all locations to get off the beaten track, try and new activities and loose yourself in them.

But take the dead centre of Brisbane, I mean right in the heart of it….what can you find here to satisfy the appetite of adventurous sorts such as me?!

Next month a new option opens up and this week I was lucky enough to be the first person to test it out.

The Story Bridge Adventure Abseil

As with many other iconic bridges around the world you’ve been able to walk to the top of it securly fastened to a guide rail. But Brisbane’s Story Bridge will become the first you’ll be able to climb AND abseil down from.

The roadway and top of the support piers are 30m from the ground and it’s from here you can drop down into the park below. The team at SBAC have been trained to the highest national level and are proud of their new venture….I mean who gets to throw people off bridges every day!

For me with a ‘slight’ fear of heights it’s a sure-fire way to get the adrenaline pumping and a welcome return to the Land of Adventure.

If you’re interested in trying it for for yourself, visit their website here and book yourself, your mum or your enemy in for a guaranteed heart-thumper.

On November 11th public voting closes to decide the New 7 Wonders of the World from 28 finalists. Australia has two of them, Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef.

There are some incredible places that we’re up against including Table Mountain, The Amazon and the Maldives. All of which are pretty special places to visit and will get masses of support from voters…but we need your help to keep the Great Barrier Reef in the top rank.

To show how important every vote is, this week I headed out to Vlasoff Cay on the Great Barrier Reef with a polling booth, seven snorkellers, Tourism Australia and a film crew…to set up what could be the most remote polling station in the world!

Andrew Ridley, the co-founder of Earth Hour was there too. His work literally plunges the planet into darkness for one hour every March as companies and individuals turn off all their lights to to take a stand against climate change. As one of the Reef’s Ambassador’s his vote is well and truly behind the reef.

We got great coverage from the Australian media with channel 7,9 and 10 all running news pieces about the stunt. This morning I had to don my indigenously-painted wetsuit for a live cross to the Channel Ten news room in Sydney…all in the name of promotion of course!

So how can you help?

In order to cast your vote visit the New 7 Wonders of the World website by clicking here, choose your top seven (making sure the GBR is one of them) or alternatively you can visit their Facebook page and cast your vote here

The Best Expedition in the World was a roaring success.

Not just from a personal point of view as I completed the 1600km challenge without breaking or busting anything on my body (all toes, fingers, arms and legs are still connected).

My Hobie Adventure Island has been donated to the very worthwhile charity, Sailability who encourage and facilitate sailing and boating throughout Australia for people with disabilities. The perfect place for my yellow machine!

Yacht Sunshine was returned to its berth back with Sunsail back on Hamilton Island after covering 2000 nautical miles on the stunning Coral Sea.

Mum & Dad managed to drive around 15,000kms in their Apollo Motorhome without so much as even a scratch to them or the vehicle, blogging about and photographing their adventure as they went. Read more here.

And the media coverage the adventure gained throughout the journey was excellent with regular stories featuring on Channel 7, 9 and 10 here in Australia, ABC Radio and the newspapers across the country picking it up very well. We wrote regular features in the Courier Mail, filmed for Channel Ten’s Totally Wild Show and blogged for The Ecologist online.

I entertained journalists from around the world, giving them all the chance to come and have their own Queensland adventure out on the Great Barrier Reef; bloggers from Korea, a group from Hong Kong, travel agents from around Europe and journalists from throughout Australia.

A big thank you has to go out to Jessica Watson who came and camped with me for a night on Whitehaven Beach (tough hey!) and then raced back Hamilton Island on-board my Hobie kayak, taking on serious lung-fulls of water along the way! Best of luck to her and the team for their latest adventure, Another Challenge, the very awesome Sydney to Hobart Race which departs on Boxing Day.

I’ll be back very soon with another movie from the incredible dives we had with Pro Dive when we visited Cairns back in August.

So here for your viewing pleasure is a short movie that hopefully summarises the expedition and the adventures we had. It’s been recorded and uploaded in full HD, so maximise your screens, sit back and enjoy

Captain Cook sailed into the same river mouth in 1770 with a whacking great hole in the side of his ship, the HMB Endeavour. I however was much better off apart from the 25 knot winds that swept me along.

From that moment on the location became known as Cooktown and the stretch of water, the Endeavour River. It’s significance to me as an Englishman was huge, and to any Australian a famous part of the country’s history.

With yacht Sunshine following closely behind I landed at the boat ramp to a welcoming committee including the town’s mayor Peter Scott, Steve McRoberts (the man from TQ who believed in the project from day one), and two film crews from Channel 7 and 10.

It’s been a truly epic project to have conceived and achieved and the last eighteen months have been damn busy for all concerned.

I have to thank an entire list of people but for now a huge slap on the back must go out to Kayleen Allen (Project Manager), Sophee McPhee (Best Girlfriend in the World and epic Media Editor), Mum & Dad (Silver Surfers extraordinaire) and the entire chain of sponsors who made this adventure possible.

For now I have to take the support boat, yacht Sunshine, back down the coast to the Whitsundays where she lives and then head back to Brisbane. There are lots of jobs still do do before I can put this adventure to bed – at least a couple of huge movies from the expedition still to edit and post. As soon as they’re completed I will post them up here.

The are many more adventures still to have here in Queensland and my brain is already plotting the next one.

Watch this space dear friends,

But for now, yours expeditionally,

Ben & Crew