Tuesday, December 15^th (Aussie time)

I truly can’t believe it’s our last day in Australia.  There have been days Jessica and I thought we wanted to stay in Australia forever (especially a certain one of us)…and days we actually looked forward to plodding through customs at LAX to be back where life at least makes some sort of twisted, entertainment-reality sense.

We all know the U.S. economy is in the toilet, which is a large part why we decided to embark on this backpacking journey.  At the end of the day we’re artists…and travel at the very least can expand one’s way of seeing things and inspire (the latter of which I couldn’t find in LA for the last few months…maybe even year).  What I wasn’t expecting was how many other people from around the world have also lost (or left) their desk jobs and decided travel was the next, best step.  People in their early 20’s to 40’s, 50’s, and even way beyond.  From Italians, to Irish, Brits, and Canadians.  Travel = elixir.

One of our favorite new friends we met at our Airlie Beach hostel, a gorgeous redhead from northern England who is in her early 40’s though looks not a day over 30, quit her engineering job and is traveling all over the southwest of the globe for four months.

At one of the hostels in Melbourne a motley crew of elderly Aussie gents totally checked out my boxer-clad legs in an elevator on the way to the rooftop deck.  After the obviously awkward moment passed I decided to chat them up a bit.  Turns out they were super sweet and about to head to Thailand and then maybe Morocco.  How many American senior citizens do you know that travel like that?  Granted, they did have those nice pully suitcases…

A lovely British woman we met during one of our forced, ridiculous middle-of-the-night bus stops has been backpacking for 54 years.  Her kids now do it with their kids.  It was nice to see backpacking wasn’t just for the 18-24 year-old set…though of course it’s easier-suited for those young’ins.

Anyway, before I go overboard on the looking back and gross sentimentalities, here is a quick summary of our last week here on our Gold Coast Tour…

LAST (RAINY) DAY IN CAIRNS (Monday, December 7^th Aussie time)

Ok, so I lied.  THIS was our last night in Cairns.  Not sure if I truly forgot or if I blocked it out of my mind because all we pretty much did all day besides laundry and mooch off of McDonald’s internet is watch the film…dear God…TWILIGHT: NEW MOON!  I know, I know, I know…all my film friends are snickering and judging me.  It’s cool; I probably would judge them, too.  You see, U.S. films are released here much later than we get.  From the six choices we had, aside from Paranormal Activity (too scary for us girls when we’re staying in strange places every night), one of us had seen every other choice.  I mean, they are still showing Couples Retreat!  Poor Jess hadn’t even seen the first Twilight, so I had to try and explain what happened, though I barely remembered from that long-ago unfortunate Netflix-rental event.  The things we do to keep from staring at walls and going into existential crisis mode.

So yeah, not much to do in a beachy tourist town when it rains, especially when you’re staying at a hostel (a.k.a. no TV to cozy up to) and can’t afford a spa day.  We did make a hilarious attempt at playing slots in the one casino for all of a few Aussie dollars.  It was confusing.  I swear we’re not retarded.  And we lost.

TRAVEL DAY to AIRLIE (Tuesday, December 8^th Aussie time)

The one time we were hoping for sprinkles was this morning since we had to trek with our backpacks to the bus station.  So of course it was super hot, humid, and sunny.  Our freshly-cleaned tank tops were soaked by the time we finally got there…so bad that we sat in the tiny, air-conditioned Greyhound Australia office for an hour and a half (we had to check-out before 10 a.m. so we were left with a weird block of time to waste with our tons of luggage).  When we finally ventured out across a park to where our bus was to pick us up we found that it was at least an hour behind schedule.  Grrrrrrreat.

Patience is another thing that is tried and torture-tested while traveling.

I took some time to stretch for the first time since our Vegan Life Sanctuary yoga.  Ouch.  It finally came and we were off to Airlie.  Some of the coastal landscape was STUNNING.

We finally arrived around 11:30 p.m. and the bus stop was jam packed with other travelers taking our place.  That’s when we knew the overnight bus rides were certainly going to be interesting.

Until this point we stayed at YHA hostels (a great, clean, usually affordable brand of hostels all over Oz).  Airlie’s YHA was for some reason super expensive so we ended up at Bush Village Boutique Backpackers Hostel, which looked more like a campground than a student hotel and it was definitely more off the beaten path than we were used to.

Our hostel cabin in daylight…

The lighting was crap, especially since our cabin suddenly went dark as we approached.  As Jess opened the sliding door it fell off entirely in her hands.  Oops.

Jess peeked inside to find a light switch to find a bitchy brunette half-lying in bed.  She quipped, “Um.  The door is over there.”  Turns out there was indeed a regular door that used the key.  If we could’ve seen it we would’ve used it.  She didn’t try to help…with the lights, the door, nothing.

This is one of the fun things about backpacking.  You often arrive at your room in the middle of the night and you have no idea who you’re sharing a room with.  Sometimes you make friends…and other times…well, you just count the days until you’re onto the next place…

AIRLIE BEACH (Wednesday, December 9^th – Thursday, December 10^th)

The one perk at Bush was that we got free breakfast.  Granted, by the time we got there they were out of most things, but at least we got cereal and toast.  Plus I finally found an Aussie crush.  Or…a Scottish crush, actually.  Picture a gorgeous, vibey-haired 25-ish year-old on a working holiday…who also happened to be SUPER NICE.  I mean, sure, I guess he had to be friendly working for the hostel and all, but still.  His name is Andrew and he handed me my bowl of half plain Rice Krispies/half Cocoa Krispies.  Yummy…

Since we couldn’t afford a sailing trip to the Whitsunday Islands we spent a lot of time at the lagoon (still had the whole stingers in the ocean water issue).

This couple just stood in the water and stared into each others’ eyes for like an hour.  I’m not kidding.

On Wednesday we took the beach walk path down to town and sweated and died of heat exhaustion at least twenty times.  We unfortunately didn’t see any of the saltwater crocodiles that inhabit the sea/swampy area by our hostel.

The way back we took the hostel’s shuttle.  Nice bus stop view, eh?

And guys…the driver was Andrew!  Swoon…

Back at the room we met our other two roommates, as the bitchy brunette left (thank GOD).  One was the awesome redheaded Brit I mentioned earlier and the other was a, um…”quirky” Australian lady probably in her 50’s.  I’m pretty sure she was cross-eyed and had some kind of social disorder.  We later found out that after we left she kept the gas on (this particular hostel had tiny kitchenettes in the cabins), almost poisoning our new friend!

That night Jessica, the red head (if you’re reading this I’m not using your name since I forgot to ask if it’s ok!), and I went out for a chill seafood dinner and drinks after lounging on our porch (which included a hammock).  It was so brilliant to have a new gal in our group since Jessica and I often ran out of things to talk about at this point.

I so look like Rudolph in this pic…

A guy with a guitar sang cover songs, most of them of U2, which in a weird way was a lovely, little taste of home.  I went back on the early side due to one of my classic headaches and Jessica and the red head continued on.  Apparently they ran into a 21 year-old’s birthday party and Jessica was asked to spank the birthday girl.  She did.  I wish I had a photo.  She swears she did it because she was trying to help the girl out so she didn’t have to ask a drunk guy…but then minutes later the girl had to imitate, um…an intimate position…and she did that with no qualms whatsoever with a dude.  Ahh, well, Jess.  You still get a gold star in my book.

On the second day we got way too much sun trying to waste time until our evening bus came.  That ride to the bus was our last interaction with sexy Andrew.  I found out from another girl who works there that all the 20-somethings that work at the local hostels party together and often end up hooking up.  The clubs in Airlie are opened until 5 a.m. and the morning 6:30 a.m. shuttle is the “gossip” shuttle.  Oh, to be so young again…

TRAVEL NIGHT to HERVEY (Thursday, December 10^th)

Boarding the night bus was a complete and total nightmare.  We didn’t get assigned seats and those backpackers who had done this before snuck on and “reserved” all the seats before they checked-in and stored their bags.  By the time Jess and I got on we couldn’t sit anywhere near each other.  I was in the second row and Jessica was towards the back.  It was a full bus.

The driver warned us this wasn’t a party bus, though a good handful of the 20-somethings definitely boarded drunk and had some booze stashed.  The Coach Captain, as they like to be called, said he had a special device that alerts him if there is even a sniff of alcohol in the air and that if anyone is caught with it they will be fined a huge sum and taken to jail.  I’m pretty sure Greyhound Australia wouldn’t put up the money for such a high-tech and highly implausible gadget, though I think some of the idiots believed him.

The driver also half-joked that we will be driving through a lot of kangaroo country and that he doesn’t stop for them.  Now this could get interesting.

He started the film Eagle Eye…and then it shut off half way into it because Greyhound doesn’t allow films past 10 p.m. so people can sleep.  That sucked.

Soon after most people passed out…but of course I could not.  I had no pillow, I was in an aisle seat, and the girls in the row across me kept giggle-chatting.  Finally I wrapped my USC sweatshirt around my neck in a mock travel pillow fashion and got a tiny bit of in-and-out shut-eye…until…

I woke around 1 a.m. to the sound of our bus driver honking his horn like a maniac.  Moments later the bus jerked to the right almost knocking me out of my seat.  WTF???  We were traveling over 80 kilometers per hour.  The driver picked up his radio and relayed a message that he just barely missed a family of 4 kangaroos.

Only one other guy was awake in the front and as soon as we heard that we stretched to see.  Seconds later he did it again—honked like he was about to drive into a shopping mall and swerved the tank of a bus almost off the road.

And I saw it.  A huge gray kangaroo crossing the road!  There should be a joke in there somewhere.

A typical sign in AU…

Anyway, this insanity continued for the next thirty minutes or so.  It was terrifying, really…like you were stuck in a racecar videogame that involved kangaroo dodging amongst other obstacles and you had absolutely no control whatsoever.

I could see the blog headline: Tricia and Jessica Inadvertently Kill a Kangaroo.

Or news headline: A Bus Full of Backpackers Die in Unfortunate Kangaroo-Induced Crash.

I’m happy to report, however, that no kangaroos were hurt in the making of this blog.

Jess slept well.  I hate her.  (for that).

HERVEY BEACH (Friday, December 11^th)

When we arrived at Hervey we were exhausted.  We checked-in to our 2^nd non-YHA hostel called NEXT Backpackers which we found from Lonely Planet.  It was nice indeed and even had our own, private bathroom since we had to get a double room due to availability.  Such luxury!!!

We had heard the town of Hervey left much to be desired, as it was just a stop over point along the tourist trail and often used as the gateway to Frasier Island.  Thank goodness we only had one night there because it was a kind of a hick beach town…you know when trailer parks instead of hotels line the oceanfront.  The actual beach was fine…

…and we could actually get in the water since we were finally south enough of the tropical stingers.

This is the tree I slept under…

As we window-shopped to kill time we came across a group of disheveled townies yelling “Faggots!” to a hippy couple with a baby.  Real nice.

When it came time for dinner we were starving and ended up having the most horrible Chinese food buffet ever.  Just thinking about it makes me sick.  We called it an early night not only because we had an early bus ride and are old and lame, but also because we figured the nightlife there was probably not our scene.

TRAVEL DAY to BYRON BAY (Saturday, December 12^th)

We had a rather uneventful bus ride to Byron Bay (YAY!!!) and arrived before 6 p.m. so we actually had some time to explore before dark.  From Byron on we were back to the YHA hostels.  We were lucky to get a room at all in Byron since everything was sold out and the only way we got our double room was because someone canceled last minute.

As my friend Sarah mentioned, Byron Bay is the Santa Cruz of Australia.  It’s a hippy or boho-chic lover’s paradise.

We loved it right away because one of the main streets right by our hostel is “Lawson Street”!  Holla!

And how fab is this painting?  Love the beautiful curves, ladies!

We stumbled upon a quaint market where lots of beautiful people in dreads sold their handmade wares…

Aura photos, anyone?

BYRON BAY & TRAVEL NIGHT to Sydney (Sunday, December 13^th)

The next morning we decided to do the famous walk to the Byron Bay lighthouse.  We weren’t thinking about how hot and humid it was, mainly because that was really the only time we had to do the walk and we figured it wasn’t too far.

Well…as usual, we were wrong.  Did I mention we were schlepping our heavy backpacks with our laptops since we were desperate to find wifi (and never did)?  After about an hour of sweating Jessica bounced and headed for the beach.

I continued on and it was definitely a challenge at points…especially in flip-flops.  SO many stairs…so little arch support.  I’m so glad I did it though…

I even saw some wildlife…

Saw the eastern most point of the Australian mainland…notice the HOTTTTTT guy to the right!

And FINALLY made it to the top!

I met up with Jess and enjoyed the perfect water and surroundings.  Entire Aussie families carried surfboards and BBQ’d.  This was my favorite beach of the entire trip.

That evening we sat along the shore and people-watched…

The birds people-watched, too…

Look at this gorgeous beach wedding…

Then we prepped for our second night bus ride.  We were soooo not looking forward to it.  Someone was looking out for us because we befriended these two hilarious guys from our hostel who were also on the overnight ride…

Two Brits from the Manchester area, they kept us cracking up the entire hour our bus was late and then some.  They actually did a Whitsundays sailing tour, though as backpackers they opted for a moderately priced one.  Turned out the sleeping arrangements were a complete nightmare, they almost capsized, and superhero-sized horseflies bit them the entire time!  Jess and I joked that we were so happy we didn’t do that, though what a great blog entry that would’ve been.  To anyone who travels to Australia do please know that the Whitsundays are spectacular (one of the top beaches on the planet is Whitehaven) and all you need to remember is that you get what you pay for…the sailing trips are something you want to spend money on.

Oh!  AND THEY SAW SHARKS!!  Honest to good ones in the water off of Frasier Island.  We saw the video.  SO JEALOUS.

We wish we could’ve sat next to them, but as usual the boarding was utter chaos…but this time we were the jerks.  If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!  I snuck on and saved Jess and I two seats together while she kept my bag in line.  The guys sat in the back.  By the toilet.  Because that’s all that was left.  I should’ve snuck on a bigger bag…!

This bus ride was horrendous as well, mostly because the drivers smoked so we had to stop every few hours throughout the entire night.  Even with my newly purchased travel pillow I didn’t get much sleep and neither did Jess.  We knew that day wasn’t going to be pretty.  Our new friends got off a couple of hours before us.  It was an “emotional”. 

LAST DAYS OF SYDNEY (Monday, December 14^th – 15^th Aussie time)

As I mentioned at the top of the blog Jess and I were useless human beings yesterday morning.  After a long nap we walked around downtown Sydney and attempted some Christmas shopping at this famous mall inside the historical Queen Victoria building…

We gave up after about a half hour.

The bar by the hostel was offering $10 all-you-can-eat pizza night and so we decided to give it a go.  Boy was that a mistake!  Do not try and be “California” and order the grilled eggplant and zucchini pizza at a pub.  I don’t know what I was thinking.  Thank goodness we were starving or else we would’ve just thrown those dollars away.  The place got packed quick and while it was kind of nice to be in a crowded pub for once it also got to be a bit much.  We didn’t stay for the crab races…which we later found out were hermit crabs.

Today we explored Royal Botanical Gardens and got a better look up close of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

Mrs. Macquaire’s Chair…

A random highlight for the coffee-obsessive in me?  So Starbucks in Oz has different holiday drinks than at home.  Instead of mint mochas they have dark chocolate cherry ones.  I tried a frappaccino version and…SO GOOD!  I also enjoyed the fact that they placed Christmas music there just like at home.  You don’t hear Christmas music anywhere here…not in cafes, not in malls.  So strange…

And now I’m about to go to bed and we’ll be on a jet plane in less than 11 hours.

I’ll probably do one more blog Wednesday or Thursday about our trip home…but I want to say thanks for reading now in case you’re already way over it!  It’s been a great trip…even though we had no run-ins with sexy, foreign artists.

Next time…

Hope to see you all soon!  xx

Sydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydney siders, and Sydney is often called “the Harbour City”. It is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, reflecting its role as a major destination for immigrants to Australia.

The city is home to many prominent parks, such as Hyde Park, Royal Botanical Gardens and national parks. This is a major factor, along with Sydney Harbour that has led to the city’s reputation as one of the most beautiful in the world

Bronte beach

Bronte is a beach side suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bronte is located 8 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the Waverley Council local government area of the Eastern Suburbs.

Bronte Beach Sydney

Bronte Beach is a small but popular recreational beach on Nelson Bay in Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Bronte beach is 2 KM  south of Bondi Beach and north of the much larger Coogee Beach. A long distance ocean swimming event is held every December between Bondi Beach and Bronte. The three beaches are linked by a paved coastal footpath along the rocky clifftops, much frequented by tourists and local runners and walkers. The beach is popular with surfers and despite the often rough surf, less abled swimmers can avail themselves of the bogey hole or rock pool towards the southern end of the beach. At the south end of the beach is a 30 metre ocean pool. Directly opposite the beach are popular cafes.

Manly Beach

Manly Beach Sydney

Manly Beach is probably the most famous and popular north Sydney urban beach, on the same level as Copacabana Beach in south Rio de Janeiro. A Manly Beach vacation is enjoyed by more tourists than any other beach in the country, except perhaps Bondi Beach, which is just across Watsons Bay and located right in the city. Because of its proximity to the city, things to do at Manly Beach include kayaking and sailing excursions that begin or end under the graceful Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. If you are not up for this kind of exertion, it’s possible to simply lie on the long stretch of sand and view these iconic landmarks without lifting a finger.

Manly Beach Sydney

Manly Beach is one of the finest beaches in the Sydney area. It’s considered to be the jewel of the north shore beaches by many people, locals as well as tourists. Manly is located on a narrow peninsula, surrounded on three sides by water, it offers both harbour and ocean beaches. Few cities in the world can boast the pristine waterfronts and paradisiacal climate that Sydney offers.

Coogee Beach

Coogee is a beachside suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Coogee is located 8 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Randwick. It is also a part of the Eastern Suburbs region.

Coogee Beach Sydney

The Tasman Sea and Coogee Bay along with Coogee Beach lie towards the eastern side of the suburb. The beach is popular for swimming. The boundaries of Coogee are formed mainly by Clovelly Road, Carrington Road and Rainbow Street, with arbitrary lines drawn to join these thoroughfares to the coast in the north-east and south-east corners.

Cable Beach

Cable Beach Australia is one of the most popular beaches in Western Australia. Nonetheless, at almost fourteen miles long, it is rarely crowded like the urban beaches in Sydney.

Cable Beach Broome Australia

This is an extraordinary unspoiled stretch of sand that benefits from is remote location. But it can be quite crowded at certain times, especially in the southern hemisphere’s winter, mid-June to mid-August. If you want to come at this time, you should make your arrangements in advance.

Additionally, when to go if you want to spend a lot of time in the water is not during the wet season of November to March when your Cable Beach vacation can be marred by the stinging box jellyfish that are present in the coastal waters during this period.

Hyams Beach

Hyams Beach Sydney

Hyams Beach is part of what may be the top attraction on the coast between Sydney and Canberra—beautiful Jervis Bay. The tiny village, with a population hovering around 100 people, is on the coast about 70 miles south of Sydney. The beaches in Hyams Beach include Chinaman’s Beach to the north and Seaman’s Beach to the south, as well as the eponymous Hyams Beach.

Hyams Beach Sydney

Trying to decide which is the best New South Wales beach is a bit difficult, as there are several other beaches lining Jervis Bay. These include Nelsons Beach, Murrays Beach, Collingwood Beach, Honeymoon Bay, and Green Patch Beach. All are known for small crowds, pure white sands, and wildlife (both marine and terrestrial).

Palm Beach Australia

Palm Beach Australia is known as the jewel of the beaches north of Sydney. For a city almost as well known for its urban beaches as Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, that’s saying something.

Palm Beach Australia

The city is a sprawling metropolis, and Palm Beach in Sydney is within an hour’s drive of the famed Opera House and Harbour Bridge that are its central attractions. It is set at the tip of a dual peninsula in the northernmost suburb of the city, across Pittwater from Currawong Beach and the vast Kurungai Chase bush, one of the country’s many national parks. It’s about twenty miles north of Manly Beach, another of the city’s best northern beaches.

Palm Beach Australia is a very trendy suburb, with many spectacular multimillion dollar homes. Its beautiful beach is surrounded by public gardens and parks and two golf courses. This popular beach can be crowded on holidays and weekends, and parking can be problematic. But it is well worth a visit.

Airlie Beach

Airlie Beach Lagoon Australia

Airlie Beach is a small but cosmopolitan resort town located in the northern state of Queensland. Set in Pioneer Bay on lovely palm fringed beaches, it is one of the main gateways to the beautiful Whitsunday Islands and to the Great Barrier Reef. It is on the mainland coast, nestled between Dryander and Conway National Parks and only a few sailing miles from Whitsunday Islands National Park. Airlie Beach holidays provide a great many things to do and attractions that most people think of as synonymous with this island nation.

Hieperdepiep Hoera! Patrick is vandaag jarig en als bonus hebben we de nacht op onze white-trash camping overleefd. Hier en daar wat sirenes en wat geschreeuw  maar geen geweersschoten of inbrekers.

We staan op en maken direct dat we hier wegkomen. Ondanks dat de receptioniste meldde dat er op zondagochtend geen supermarkten open zijn vinden we al er al een, dit na 5 minuten rijden. We slaan de benodigdheden voor een feestje in (feestbordjes, bekers, slingers, kaarsjes, cola en gebak) zodat straks het feest kan beginnen.

Het plan luidt om naar Eungella National Park te rijden, een tropisch regenwoud in de bergen. Hier kan de platypys oftewel het vogelbekdier gespot worden. Het eerste stukje rijden we door suikerrietvelden. Die zijn we trouwens al veel vaker tegen gekomen.

Als we aan de voet van de berg arriveren waarschuwt een groot bord ons voor een steigingsprecentage van 12%. Nu staan er in Australie overal waarschuwingsborden (men wil niet aansprakelijk gesteld worden voor iets) dus onze camper moet dit wel aankunnen, vinden we. Het is echter een vochtige dag en het motregent een beetje (welcome to wet-tropics) en bij de eerste de beste scherpe bocht beginnen de banden direct te slippen. Toch maar wat rustiger rijden…

Onderweg naar boven worden we nog meer gewaarschuwd voor vallende rotsblokken, langzame vrachtwagens, scherpe bochten, dieren hinder-rails in de weg etcetera. Een gedeelte rijden we in de wolken en we zien geen hand voor ogen meer. Eenmaal boven is het gelukkig weer beter.

Wanneer we de auto hebben geparkeerd bij het wandelgebied moet Patrick ‘wegwezen’ en Myra begint de camper te versieren. Daarna maken we een wandeling door een riviergebied waar de platypus leeft. Er is een mooie uitkijkpost geplaatst bij het water waar we rustig afwachten op iets bewegends in het water. De informatiebordjes vertellen ons dat normaliter de beste observatietijden vroeg in de ochtend of begin van de avond zijn maar bij bewolkte dagen maak je ook kans gedurende de gehele dag.

Dan zien we de eerste kringen in het water verschijnen, maar als we goed kijken wat naar boven komt blijken het waterschildpadden te zijn. Ook bijzonder zullen we maar denken!

Helaas. Ondanks ons geduld spotten we geen vogelbekdier. We besluiten om een wandeling te maken in het gebied langs het water, door een mooi regenwoud. Als we weer terugkomen bij de parkeerplaats pakken we de feestspullen elkaar en nemen we plaats aan een picknicktafel. Wanneer alle kaarsjes in brand staan mag Patrick zijn wens doen en de kaarsjes uitblazen. We genieten van de sugar-rush die we van de chocoladegebakjes en de cola krijgen.

Omdat het ons niet zinvol lijkt op een halve dag hier te wachten om weer kans te krijgen om zo’n vogelbekdier te zien rijden we terug naar beneden. We willen naar Airlie Beach rijden, zo’n 150km verderop. Onderweg bellen we alvast een camping voor een boeking (we vertrouwen ons niet meer op raad van de informatiecentra). Als we vertellen dat we een jarige aan boord hebben worden we beloofd dat we de beste plek aangewezen zullen krijgen.

Rond 2 uur arriveren we in het zonnige Airlie Beach. De inkomst van het stadje is super, we komen van hoog over een heuvel waardoor we mooi uitzicht hebben over het stadje, de turqouise oceaan, de Whitsunday eilanden, alle bootjes en de bergen er rondomheen.

De camping ligt iets buiten het centrum. We mogen er zelf een plek kiezen. Het toeristenseizoen is nog niet echt begonnen dus er is volop keuze. Zodra we een plek hebben gekozen word Patrick’s stoel versierd en gaan we onder het genot van een koud biertje door de folders van activiteiten die we hier kunnen ondernemen.

Voor de camping is een bushalte en een pendelbus komt ieder kwartier voorbij. Airlie Beach lijkt, in tegenstelling tot Byron Bay of Noosa Beach meer een stad voor scholieren te zijn. Veel jeugd dus, disco’s, internetcafeetjes en winkeltjes. Bij een ‘open’ bar (overdekt, in de buitenlucht) bestellen we bier en gaan nog eens door de opties voor morgen.

De krant zegt dat morgen niet zo’n zonnige dag wordt, meer bewolkt maar wel warm. We willen natuurlijk snorkelen in het Great Barrier Reef. De mogelijkheid bestaat om te overnachten op zo’n plateau op de oceaan maar het is de vraag of dit de moeite waard is op een bewolkte dag. Uiteindelijk valt de keuze op een eendaagse tocht, s’ochtens vroeg weg en s’avonds laat weer terug. Het reef ligt immers maar op zo’n 2 uurtjes varen hier vandaan.

Als het snorkelavontuur geboekt en betaald is doen we nog wat inkopen voor een BBQ op de camping. Bij de BBQ treffen we diverse mede-toeristen en eten & drinken we gezamenlijk en wisselen ervaringen en tips uit van onze tochten. Oftwel een geslaagde verjaardag!

Zoekt en gij zult vinden. Niet dus.

Myra bij een grote kamerplant.

De jarige Job geniet van een blowjob.

Myra wordt vrolijk van Airlie Beach.

Patrick en zijn grootste verjaardagswens: BBQ-en =)

Was haben eine Dekorateurin, zwei Ärzte, zwei Studenten, ein Umwelttechniker, eine Versicherungsangestellte, eine Museumswärterin, eine Fotografin, zwei Engländer und eine Journalistin gemeinsam? Richtig – alle haben den gleichen Segeltörn durch die Whitsundays gebucht! Zwei Tage, zwei Nächte auf der ehemaligen Racing-Yacht „Silent Night“ mit nur zwölf Leuten standen auf dem Programm. Die Ausstattung des Rennboots war entsprechend einfach, aber wer denkt angesichts des türkisschillernden Wassers und der schneeweißen Strände auch an Duschen oder Körperpflege? Ok, ok – meine Zähne habe ich trotzdem zweimal am Tag geputzt!

Los ging’s erst einmal mit Segeln, wobei ich da nicht so eine große Hilfe war (ein Großteil der anderen aber auch nicht!!). Auf der Seite des Boots sitzend haben wir deshalb das Wasser und die Sonne genossen. Am Abend haben wir schließlich an der so genannten Hook-Passage Halt gemacht und den Sonnenuntergang angeschaut (amazing!). Den Abend verbringt man dann mit Bier trinken, quatschen und Sterne schauen (richtig cool, weil richtig viele!)! Hab so viele Sternschnuppen gesehen, dass ich nach der ersten Stunde nicht mehr wusste, was ich mir noch wünschen soll!

Am zweiten Tag waren wir ab etwa 7 Uhr wieder unterwegs: Auf zu einem Spaziergang nach Whitehaven Beach! Fast wolkenloser Himmel, glasklares Wasser und schneeweißer Sand – mehr brauch ich wohl nicht zusagen. Getrübt wurde die Freude lediglich, dass wir nur mit so ultrahübschen Taucheranzügen ins Wasser durften – Quallengefahr und andere böse Meerestiere! Aber nachdem jeder die „Stingersuits“ anhatte, war das nicht mehr so tragisch. Am Nachmittag ging’s dann weiter zum Schnorcheln . Hab das früher ja wirklich oft gemacht, aber das letzte Mal wohl in Ägypten… Naja, jedenfalls hat’s ein bisserl gedauert, bis ich mich mit Taucherbrille und Schnorchel wohlgefühlt habe. Die Aussicht auf Korallen und sonstigen Schönheiten des Great Barrier Reefs waren dann aber überwältigend. Hatte nur leider keine Unterwasserkamera dabei. Der dritte Stopp des Tages wurde uns dann angekündigt mit: „Ihr werdet euch fühlen wie im Aquarium.“ Und tatsächlich, es war echt krass. Wir sind zwischen richtig vielen kleinen und großen Fischen (ich schätz mal, die größten waren so einen Meter lang) rumgeschnorchelt. Die sind zwar nicht von alleine zu uns gekommen, aber unser Decki Wilson – also der Hiwi vom Skipper – hat sie bisserl angefüttert… Da habe ich dann entdeckt, dass ich wohl so eine kleine Fischphobie habe, es war faszinierend den Fischlein so nah zu sein, aber richtig entspannt war ich nicht. Nach dem Schnorcheln war’s dann auch schon wieder Zeit für Sonnenuntergang, Abendessen, Biertrinken und Sternegucken.

Super waren auch die Gespräche mit den Leuten: Alle waren nett und locker drauf, hätte ich bei der anfänglichen Konstellation echt nicht gedacht. Am nächsten Tag ging’s dann „nur“ noch zurück. Aber das war gar nicht so schlimm, zwei Tage auf einem Boot können echt anstrengend sein, wenn man es nicht gewohnt ist. Leider oder Gott sei Dank hatten wir echt ruhiges, schönes Wetter mit wenig Wind und Wellen: Also kein Geschaukel und damit keine See-krank-werden, aber auch nur wenig Segelmöglichkeiten.

Ja, das waren meine Whitsundays-Erlebnisse: Echt empfehlenswert!

Iles Whitsunday - Hamilton island

Après Sydney, Uluru et Alice Springs, place à la côte est de l’Australie, son sable blanc et sa barrière de corail. Le mythe paradisiaque de la Great Barrier Reef et des plages australiennes va-t-il résister, et qu’allons nous trouver derrière les images de carte postale ?

Réponse après une dizaine de jours : même si les plages brûlées par le soleil ne sont décidément pas notre tasse de thé, les décors naturels au large de la côte tiennent incontestablement leurs promesses. C’est notamment le cas des îles Whitsunday, notre première étape après un passage express (deux heures, le temps de changer de bus !) à Cairns. Partis tôt le matin, nous profitons bientôt de notre première expérience de nage avec palmes et tuba pour découvrir de jolis massifs coralliens. La marée est basse, on nage tout près des coraux aux formes étranges et aux couleurs superbes. Une espèce bleue violette me tient notamment captivé, de même qu’une sorte de gros champignon à l’étrange couleur marron et aux formes psychédéliques…

Whitehaven beach

Iles Whitsunday - Hamilton island

Puis on remonte dans le bateau pour aller marcher sur l’île de Whitehaven, au sable parfaitement blanc et à l’eau turquoise transparente. Le soleil tape fort, mais on se retranche dans un sous-bois pour profiter d’un excellent barbecue avant de nager un peu puis de prendre le chemin du retour. Une très belle journée dans un endroit décidément pas comme les autres, voir photos ci-dessous :

Lady Musgrave island

Pour le reste, si les paysages au large de la côte sont effectivement somptueux, la fête s’arrête dès qu’on met un pied sur la terre ferme. Les villes de la côte sont sans intérêt et le bord de mer a été massacré pour faire place à des résidences touristiques sans charme et des chaînes de fast food sans saveur. Plus bas sur la côte, on atteint le comble du mauvais goût à Surfers Paradise, qui (vu du bus, nous ne nous sommes pas arrêtés !) offre un mélange architectural intéressant à mi-chemin entre l’Alexanderplatz de Berlin -pour les tours bétonnées- et Las Vegas -pour le clinquant. Apparemment, beaucoup de succès auprès des touristes locaux

Great Barrief Reef

Mais le béton n’est pas le pire fléau du Queensland, l’Etat qui couvre la côte australienne entre Cairns et Brisbane. Non, le pire désagrément d’un séjour dans la région est le kéké des plages ! Dans sa version générique, le kéké est une espèce très répandue qu’on retrouve sur toutes les plages du monde : frimeur, vain, satisfait de lui-même, pas très malin et rigoureusement ignorant du monde qui l’entoure. Le personnage de Popeye dans Les Bronzés en quelque sorte, irritant mais inoffensif et finalement amusant à force d’être niais. Au Queensland malheureusement, le kéké a muté en intégrant des caractéristiques très australiennes. Sa tendance à l’auto-glorification dépasse l’entendement (l’un deux nous a demandé à la fin d’une conversation « si ça nous avait plu »), son coté nationaliste et donneur de leçons nous a collé des pulsions meurtrières difficiles à réfréner et son absence totale d’empathie plombe définitivement l’ambiance déjà peu enthousiasmante de la côte queenslandaise.

Nymphe whitsundienne

Comme les nombreux amis australiens que nous avions rencontrés à Londres étaient bien différents et très sympathiques, nous avons tenté de comprendre l’origine de cette particularité. Cause ou conséquence de cette « particularité locale », le Queensland était jusqu’à la fin des années 80 une république bananière dirigée par un Premier Ministre corrompu régnant d’une main de fer sur un régime étonnamment totalitaire – presse bâillonnée, opposition politique inexistante, mépris des fonctions parlementaires, discrimination contre les aborigènes et interdiction du droit de manifester. Tout ceci perfidement expliqué par des habitants de l’Etat voisin de Nouvelle-Galles du Sud et malheureusement corroboré -en pire- par de plus amples recherches… Si les exemples de tels maux sont malheureusement nombreux dans des régimes en principe démocratiques, une telle accumulation laisse tout de même rêveur, surtout il y a moins de vingt-cinq ans. Plus grave, lorsque le Premier Ministre Joh Bjelke-Petersen a enfin été poussé à la porte après la découverte d’un schéma de corruption à grande échelle au sein de la police et du gouvernement, cela faisait vingt ans que la population de l’Etat le maintenait au pouvoir. Peut-être le Queensland est-il effectivement un état à part en Australie…

Enfin, et pour revenir à nos moutons, si vous décidez malgré tout d’aller au Queensland, munissez-vous de lunettes pour vous protéger du soleil, et de boules Quies pour vous prévenir des kékés !

PS : et pour me faire pardonner de cet article grognon, une dernière photo bien touristique :

Rions un peu - apprenti plongeur sur la barrière de corail

© Anne and David Placet and http://anneetdavid.wordpress.com, 2009. Unauthorized use and duplication of this material (texts, pictures and videos) without express and written permission from this blog’s authors is strictly prohibited.

Above are a few of the many Australian terms that my sister and I love to hear. Although we both agree that there are far less differences between Australians and say, Londoners (we both studied abroad in London), we also both agree that the terminology that we frequently hear down under always cracks us up everyday. We want to return home and say things like “Where are my sunnies?” when asking for our sun glasses, and “What’s for brekky?” when it’s breakfast time. Wouldn’t that be wicked?

This lingo keeps me happy…as I am very sad to admit that I still can’t get the Australian accent down when trying to mimic the locals. (I’ll have to study their dialect when I get home. How ironic is that?)

A day at the CHEEKY Australia Zoo

In the past three weeks, my sister and I have been very busy traveling down the east coast of Australia. We are moving so fast you would think traveling is going out of style! But that is what we Meriwether girls do when we travel together. The same was true in South America. We like to see as much as we can because we know that traveling opportunities can be few and far between.

The Sydney Opera House

So please take a deep breathe with me, for I am about to spout off the many places we have visited and things we have done since entering the land down under…

*BIG INHALE*

We have traveled to Cairns, Cape Tribulation, and enjoyed the Great Barrier Reef. We bussed to Airlie Beach, sailed the Whitsunday Islands, landed in Rainbow Beach, and 4×4′d our way through Fraser Island. Next was Brisbane for the Australia Zoo (we saw Bindi and Bob Irwin…Crikey!), Byron Bay for the surfing, Sydney for the sights, the Blue Mountains for the eucalyptus tree views, and now Melbourne for the good food and friends. Next up is Alice Springs to hike our way to Ayers Rock and then New Zealand, where we may or may not do some extreme sports. (We’ll see…)

White Haven Beach

We have gone on two, two night boat trips: one for snorkeling, one for sailing. Then there was one, two night camping trip, three overnight bus trips, two daytime bus trips, one plane ride, and there is so much more to come!

Two sisters without their third at the Three Sisters rock formation in the Blue Mountains

McDonalds has become our home away from home as they are the only establishment we can find in each city that has free wifi. And, well, McDonalds is very cheap. So it’s been pretty perfect.

Scary view for the top of the Indian Head cliffs on Fraser Island

We eat Big Macs (so sad), chips (fries), loads of ice cream, fish (‘n chips), banana bread, but no Kangaroo burgers (yet). We buy fruit, cereal and whole milk (yuck), and love to make peanut butter and banana sandwiches when on the road. We drink little alcohol (we‘re always too tired to go out and drink! I know, so sad), diet soda, coffee, tea, biscuits, and carry massive bottles of water wherever we go.

Crocodile spotting on the road to Cape Tribulation

Hostel kitchens always sounds like a good idea for cooking dinner, but we tend to get lazy or want to get out. So we spend loads of $$$ on food in this insanely expensive country. (Note to self: from now on, stick to the cheap, developing countries when you decide to go backpacking for three and a half months!)

Finally made it to the famous Bondi Beach

We take the subways, the buses, and the local trains. We walk, I run (trying to in every city), and we love hop-on-hop-off buses, but have only been on one. We like day tours, except when it rains, we are sick of boats, but know we will miss them in a week. We aren’t done with camping (even though I wish we were) and we stay in twin rooms at hostels because that is the one thing I need to keep from feeling completely uncomfortable amidst the shared bathrooms and public toilets.

Night view of Harbor Bridge from the Sydney Opera House

Kangaroos and koalas have been pet and held, crocodiles have been spotted and captured on camera, and colorful fish galore have given us great decorating ideas for our future homes. No snakes or spiders (thank God), one whale sighting, a few stingrays, but no sharks (double thank God). Jellyfish, attacked us. Didgeridoos, not played yet. Cute surfers…well…that’s us! (Since our “REALLY SICK” session in Byron Bay, that is. Surfing in Australia is all that I have heard it to be: beautiful long waves, easy to ride.

Attempting to pet a Kangaroo -who would rather be eating

Although we consider ourselves friendly girls who like to be social, we are having a bit of trouble making new friends at the hostels. By “trouble” I really mean, we aren’t even trying! (Too tired!) BUT, we have met many like-minded travelers (and a few other sister-sister traveling teams) on our boats and bus tours. We met up with some in Sydney, some now in Melbourne, and one couple seems to be following us wherever we go! (If only they were two eligible bachelors… A single girl can dream, can‘t she?)

Camping crew on Fraser Island - post our 4x4 driving on sand dunes and visits to mirror lakes

Today is our “day off.” By that I mean, we are not on a tour or out tourist-ing the local sights. Instead, we are spending the day doing our laundry on hostel machines that don’t work. We are hunting down free wifi spots to write our blogs. We want to go to the movies because it is raining, but need to plan our tours for the next few days first. We have to find a market, a city information center, a post office, and a drug store. Luckily, there is free brekky in the morning…one less thing to worry about on our day off!

White Haven Beach

There has been some expected, normal sister fights. But many more expected, normal sister laughing sessions. At times, we agree to disagree, but we always agree on what matters. I think I speak for us both when I say we love to travel together. Despite the bickering and the screaming matches in the middle of the street (shameful, I know), we are good travel companions. I know I am very thankful to no longer be alone, to be with family, and to always have great memories of our sister trip to Australia together.

*AND, EXHALE*

Trying to jump with the same enthusiasm as the late Steve Irwin

Yes, the reality is as tiring as it sounds written out. But it’s worth it! Exhausting, but worth it. Worth the early stages of crows feet around my eyes. Worth the scabbed knees from tripping in every city. Worth the belly fat I am collecting to bring home with me. And even worth the homesick pains I feel gnawing at the pit of my stomach. Yes, I do miss home. …A lot. I hate admitting it, but it’s true.

Since being back in a western culture, I am reminded of home a lot and therefore I miss home even more because of the familiarity I encounter daily. I am also starting to get rather drained as I enter my final month of travel. I have been on the road and living out of a backpack for two and half months now! (Who’d have ever thought I could do it?! Not me.) And I definitely miss the creature comforts of home. Like my bed. Oh how I miss my big, wonderful bed!

Our beachside campsite on Fraser Island -NOT as comfortable as my bed at home

One day, a few months down the road, I know I will be sitting in traffic and wondering why I was ever homesick at all! I guess you can’t always have the best of both worlds…

For now, I will continue to remind myself to appreciate and enjoy every moment, everyday.

Because really, Australia is HEAPS of fun…it’s “TOPS!”

Cheers!

Jumping for joy over the beauty of White Haven Beach

***I am still having trouble finding enough free internet time to upload my pictures. Check back in a day or two. For now, click here and you can view the pictures I already have up.

beim Segeltörn...

Jetzt kommen wir endlich mal wieder dazu etwas zu schreiben. Inzwischen sind wir in Brisbane – also ca. 2.000 km gereist. Nach unseren Stops in Townsville und Misson Beach, hatten wir weitere Stops in Airlie Beach und Hervey Bay. Wie ihr auf den neuen Fotos erkennen könnt, hatten wir in Airlie Beach unseren ersten richtigen Ausflug auf einem geilen Segelboot. Der Segeltörn ging auf die sog. Whidsunday Islands mit einer kleinen Gruppe von 4 weiteren Gästen + 2 Skipper. Es war echt geil! Der Stop in Hervey Bay war leider nicht so erfolgreich. Geplant war von dort auf die bekannte Insel “Fraser Island” überzusetzen. Fraser Island steht unter Naturschutz und ist nur mit einem 4WD befahrbar. Die Kosten für die Genehmigung dort überzusetzen, Gebühren für die Fähre und die Übernachtungen überstiegen leider unser aktuelles Limit. Daher entschlossen wir uns, zunächst nach Brisbane weiterzureisen, um über Jobs wieder an Geld zu kommen. Geplant ist die Tour aber weiterhin – sobald wir flüssig genug sind.

Ja, wie steht’s denn nun um Brisbane und die Jobs?
Am Samstagabend angekommen, mussten wir uns erstmal wieder eine Übernachtungsmöglichkeit organisieren. Bisher hatten wir damit ja wenig Probleme – nicht so in Brisbane. Natürlich sind wir, schlau wie wir sind, ohne Straßenkarte etc. in die Millionenstadt Brisbane eingefallen. Gott sei Dank hatten wir recht schnell die Straße mit den Hostels gefunden. 4 Stück in einer Straße – Volltreffer?! Nix da… die ersten 3 waren gleich mal komplett ausgebucht. Aber wieder Glück gehabt…das Dritte hatte noch ein Zimmer frei. Für nicht weniger als 98,- Dollar pro Nacht. Ja, ist wohl alles etwas teurer in einer Großstadt wie Brisbane. Das war Samstag auf Sonntag…

Seit Sonntag wohnen wir wieder als Couchsurfer bei Michael und Nicole. Ein supernettes Pärchen, was uns glücklicherweise kurzfristig aufnehmen konnte. Wir versuchen natürlich wieder ein Shared House zu finden, um langfristig unter zu kommen. Bis dahin können wir aber auf jeden Fall für eine Woche hier bleiben. Das spart eine Menge Kosten und gibt uns Zeit für die Suche nach dem passenden Shared House. Die letzten beiden Tage haben wir eigentlich auch fast nichts anderes gemacht. Leider bisher erfolglos. Es ist schwer in der großen Stadt an die ganzen Infos zu kommen. Nicht so wie in Cairns und Co, wo wir einfach die 4-5 schwarzen Bretter abklappern konnten. Heute haben wir noch zwei Besichtigungen und werden möglicherweise die Jobsuche mal angehen können.

Wie ist Brisbane?
Leider konnten wir noch nichts in der Stadt unternehmen. Aber beeindruckend ist die Skyline auf jeden Fall und zu Erleben wird es hier auch noch einiges geben. Ach ja, kalt ist es hier. Wir sind ja eine Strecke gefahren, die in Europa etwas der Distanz von Ludwigshafen nach Mittelspanien gleicht. Natürlich sind hier auch Temperaturunterschiede zu spüren. In Zahlen: Von Cairns mit ca. 30-35 Grad tagsüber und 28 Grad nachts, nach Brisbane mit ca. 25 Grad bei Tag und 15 Grad bei Nacht.

Die 98% NICHTS

Wie war die Strecke nach Brisbane?
Also die Highways von Australien seht ihr ja auf den Bildern. Eigentlich nicht mehr als eine einspurige Straße, ähnlich wie eine deutsche Landstraße. Der große Unterschied – hier liegen ca. alle 500m tote Kangaroos am Straßenrand. Meist auch nicht mehr so doll anzusehen, nachdem sie gegen einen 3-Tonner 4WD oder einen Truck gerannt sind. Lebend haben wir bisher nur eins gesehen, dass ca. 20m vor uns über die Straße gesprungen ist. Des Weiteren verstehen wir jetzt auch was die Leute meinten, wenn sie sagen “da ist Nichts auf der Strecke zwischen den Städten”. Australien besteht wirklich nur aus ein paar kleinen und ein paar sehr großen Städten. Dazwischen ist definitiv NICHTS. Maximal eine Tankstelle alle 300 km und vielleicht 3-4 Farmen. Ihr seht ja auf den Bilder wie es aussieht. So sieht ca. 98% der Strecke aus. Dabei waren wir bisher nur an der “stark belebten” Ostküste und nicht im Outback!

Short facts:
- Australier können definitiv kein Auto fahren!!! (hängt wohl mit Punkt 2 zusammen…)
- Führerschein kostet nur ca. 40 Dollar
- Queensland hat keine Sommer- / Winterzeitumstellung (Sydney NSW dagegen schon)
- Hab schon wieder vergessen den Schnitzelblog von Townville zu schreiben
- Parken in der Innenstadt für 2h kostet bis zu 30 Dollar
- Wir wohnen ca. 30 min vom Zentrum entfernt

Ort: Airlie Beach, Whitsunday Inseln (AUS)
Zeitunterschied: +8 Std. MEZ
Wetter: Ausflugswetter

Die Whitsundays waren nach Fraser Island das zweite Sahnestück im bereits umschwärmten Wicked Travel bzw. Koala Paket. Doch wenn jemand, wie Dina, an Seekrankheit leidet und nicht auf einem Boot nächtigen kann, dann hat man leider keine andere Option als mit der “Pride of Airlie”, welches in Koala-Besitz ist, in See zu stechen. Dieses ist nämlich das einzige Boot, das über Nacht anlegt und die Passagiere sich einen Nachtschlaf auf Land gönnen können. Wir hatten also drei Tage Segeltörn auf besagtem Boot gebucht. Bekommen haben wir dann weniger als 48 Stunden auf einem motorbetriebenen Katamaran namens “Kora”. Wir hoffen nun inständig, dass es wenigstens die Whistunday Inseln waren und nicht ein schäbiges Archipel aus dem China, die kopieren ja heutzutage alles.

Klingt erst mal wieder ziemlich ernüchternd, doch es war alles gar nicht so übel. Die “Pride of Airlie” ist nämlich als Partyboot berüchtigt, wo sich bis zu 60 Passagiere gern mal drei ganze Tage glatt machen, anstatt mal von Bord zu gehen und mit Maske und Schnorchel die Unterwasserwelt zu erkunden. Wir hatten es mit dem kleineren Katamaran “Kora” also nicht so schlecht getroffen und auch die etwa 25 anderen Gäste waren nicht auf 100% Vollgas gepolt, sondern recht entspannt. Es gab aber trotzdem Kühlboxen mit viel Eis, wo das mitgebrachte Bier und der Bundy-Rum-Cola kalt gehalten wurden.

Tagsüber war also schnorcheln an verschiedenen Riffkanten des Great Barrier Reefs angesagt. Unterwegs wedelten uns vorbeiziehende Buckelwale mit ihren mächtigen Flossen zu, nur Delphine machten sich rar. Dafür gab’s dann unter Wasser eine Menge bunter Fische, Meeresschildkröten und sogar ein Rochen schwamm gemächlich an dämlich aussehenden Touristen vorbei. Denn wir wurden dazu verdonnert ein wunderschönes Ganzkörperkondom zu tragen, den sogenannten Stinger Suit. Eigentlich ist erst ab November Würfelquallensaison, doch angeblich wurde vor kurzem jemand gestochen und dann gibt’s ein schönes Nervengift mit muskellähmender Wirkung. Die Aussicht auf einen hässlichen Tod (auch nicht auf schönen Tod) fällt dann sicher nicht in die Kategorie “Mein schönstes Ferienerlebnis”. Alle zusammen sahen wir aus wie bei einem Casting für den neuen Star-Trek-Film oder einen 70er Jahre Porno. Aber hilft ja nicht und es sahen ja wenigstens alle Scheiße aus.

Das Koala Ressort auf der Koala Adventure Insel, die eigentlich South Molle Island heißt, war auch nicht so schlecht und dreckig wie erwartet. Naja aber wenigstens das Essen erfüllte die Erwartungen. Das war schlecht aber dafür wenigstens zu wenig. Vielleicht hätte man mal einen der etwas größeren Fledermausfische, die sich an der Mole tummelten, in die Pfanne hauen können. Naja. Auf der Insel gab es dann noch im Licht, der im Wasser ertrinkenden Sonne, einen kleinen Ausflug zu einem Aussichtspunkt, der die Fülle der Inselwelt der Whitsundays erahnen ließ und einen herrlichen Blick auf die Bucht eröffnete.

Ja und wo Inseln sind, da gibt es in der Regel Strand. Und wo Strand, da auch meistens Sand. Der schneeweiße Sand am Whitehaven Beach besteht zu 97% aus Silikat und ist damit so fein, dass man daraus sogar Teleskope herstellt. Die Kulisse des wohl berühmtesten Strandes der Whitsundays geht natürlich gern auch ordinär als Photohintergrund. Das war optisch schon ganz nett, sowohl über als auch unter der Wasseroberfläche. Und wenn man denkt, dass dort alles schön piano auf See war, der sieht sich getäuscht, denn es gab auch wieder gut Seegang und Dina was not amused.

Ja und nach drei Tagen, also eigentlich ja weniger als 48 Stunden, war es dann auch schon wieder vorbei mit Katamaran fahren, schnorcheln und am Strand herumlungern. Für seetüchtigere Leute bleibt zu empfehlen, als Crewmitglied auf einem der zahlreichen Ausflugsschiffe anzuheuern und so ein paar Tage auf einem richtigen Segelboot zu verweilen. Dann schwankt es in den Beinen auch viel mehr, wenn man wieder an Land ist und man wird vielleicht für einen Betrunkenen gehalten. Oder für einen Australier, denn hier werden schöne T-Shirts verkauft mit Sprüchen wie “I’m not drunk, I’m Australian!”.

Na dann, Prost! Ähem, cheers mate!

Another great few days have just gone by, but the story starts with a day of driving.  I left Agnes Water early in the morning and headed north towards Airlie Beach.  I was making good progress and taking breaks every couple of hours.  By two o’clock I was near the last free camp spot before Airlie Beach that was fairly close to the Bruce Highway so I turned off towards Carmila Beach.  The description in Camps 5 said the last 300 metres to the camp were on a sandy track but everything was fine…until I tried parking up.  This was the moment I learnt a valuable lesson about sand and two-wheel-drive cars – they really don’t mix.  Embarrassingly I drove on to some deeper sand next to the main track and so proceeded the wheel spinning that just digs you in deeper.  Thankfully there were a few Aussie campers with their caravans and 4×4s at the spot and they came over to laugh at the Pom help me out of my tough spot.  After a little bit of digging and a push out of the sand I was free again, although my clutch is probably a tad slippy now.  A quick scout around failed to produce a good place to park a car so I drove off, my tail between my legs.

Having filled up just before my abortive camping stop I just carried on driving north wondering where I was going to stop.  First up came Mackay, but no VIP hostels with space there, so with time ticking on I called up Backpackers By The Bay in Airlie Beach and booked a bed for the night before continuing my long day of driving.  This was at five o’clock, so dusk was coming soon.  I spent the next two hours of driving with the setting sun dazzling me as I kept looking for kangaroos ready to bounce straight infront of me.  Luckily no wildlife was headed for the front of my car so I made it all the way to Airlie Beach in the one day.

After dumping my stuff at the hostel I headed to the main strip at Airlie Beach to meet Marie and her couchsurfer.  They were eating at a lovely little Italian place just off the main street called Casa Mia.  The person Marie is staying with owns and lives on a boat so she had been out sailing round the Whitsundays having a fun time.  Her description of the trip had me convinced to take a boat out round the islands and a couple of days later I was booked onto the boat her host recommended I take.

On Monday afternoon after checking-in and packing a small bag for the voyage I was on Silent Night for a two-day-two-night sail around the Whitsundays.  Silent Night is an ex racing boat and can go pretty quick in a fast wind.  The wind for the days of the trip were a reasonable Northeasterly of nine to thirteen knots.  The deck-hand Wilson greeted me and the other nine passengers at the marina and took us on board to meet Brendan the skipper.  While we motored out of the marina Wilson took us through the boat rules and instructions for how to use the marine toilet on the boat.  He was very keen we got the procedure right so he didn’t end up having to unblock it – you can’t say fairer than that!

Once we were clear of the marina it was time to raise the sails and let the wind blow us along.  Three volunteers from the passengers helped by pulling the various ropes for this process and then we were all sat on the side of the boat, our feet dangling over the edge.  Brendan took us over to False Nara on the west side of Hook Island where we had our first snorkel.  The Northeasterly wind made the water fairly murky but it was a good taster of what to see here.  There were a number of different types of coral of various shapes and sizes: finger coral, boulder coral, blue stag coral.  I wore a floatation jacket for peace of mind and I was so happy I did.  With the jacket doing all the work of keeping me bouyant I could just let the current push me over the reef.

With everyone back on the boat and dried off we headed further round Hook Island to shelter for the night.  Wilson cooked up a tasty dinner and we all spent the evening chatting with each other and gazing at the stars.

The next two days were more of the same, although the visibility for snorkelling was better and you could make out the colours of the coral a lot better.  On the Tuesday we were headed into the wind which involved zig-zagging to keep the wind in the sail.  The boat tilts at quite an angle when sailing so each time the boat levelled I and two others had to crawl from one side of the deck to the other.  The rest of the passengers could sit in the area around the wheel.

After two days on the water I am now back in Airlie Beach ready to look for work.

We arrived at Airlie  Beach, the mainland access point to the 74 Whitsunday isles, last Saturday.  The sea forecast was not too great and were advised to wait a couple of days if we could before heading out on a boat – there’s no point paying to be made sick for the day!

So before we voyaged out through the isles we took a day to look around the lovely Airlie Beach, play a little tennis, sunbath and consider our options for going to see the isles.  Airlie Beach has a lovely marina and public pool/lagoon area along with a host of cafes, restaurants and backpacker hangouts lining its main street.  The sun was out and the sea looked very calm where we were, so we booked a trip to Daydream Island for the following day.

The next day our little ferry headed out toward Daydream Island – the whole island is a resort, however they let day guests in too!  The sea wasn’t too choppy and things were looking up for our real adventure round the islands the next day.  Whilst at Daydream, we lazed around, went in the pool, did a very small rainforest walk, saw the odd snake and had a few cocktails.  This backpacking lark isn’t all trips, sightseeing and living like a homeless person!  After our strenuous day at the resort we also went out to dinner in Airlie Beach, and I had my first taste of kangaroo – delicious!

The main event was a cruise round the isles on a catamaran.  The ‘Camira’ was a lovely purple colour, but quite big with plenty of space for everyone and best of all for most of the time she sailed purely on wind power.  We past many islands on the Whitsunday passage, most of them are national park and are covered with trees.  We stopped for people to go snorkeling (we decided it was too cold, as at that time there was a slight drizzle), before sailing off to Whitehaven Beach.  This beach is what most of the postcards are of – beautiful white sand with calm waters lapping the shore.  We all disembarked and had a bit of swim as the sun was out and making it a lovely afternoon.

After our longest stop from driving, about 4 nights we headed off again upward to Mission Beach…. more on this to follow – although who knows when we’ll get Internet connection again as we’re off to Cape Tribulation tomorrow (apparently they might not even have 24hr electricity!)

Venue: Shingley Drive, Airlie Beach, Queensland, 4802
A multi-million dollar boost for the community is expected when sailors and partygoers from all over Australia descend on Airlie Beach for what promises to be an entertainment extravaganza. Abel Point Marina will once again be hosting Airlie Beach Race Week. This year’s race will be the best yet with changes to the racing course, improved facilities at Abel Point marina and exciting social events. One of the highlights of the week-long party will be the AUD30,000 Fantasea Cracker Night fireworks display on the Friday night. The Abel Point Marina will be the center of activities for the regatta with the marina buzzing with activity as the fleet takes over. Meridien Marinas are proud to be sponsoring this event again and they look forward to the event growing from strength to strength over the coming years. More information @ www.airliebeachraceweek.com.au

There are a number of campgrounds and caravan parks in Airlie for your campervan hire australia. Two of the campgrounds below might be your interest.

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort Caravan Park
25-29 Shute Harbour Road
Airlie Beach QLD 4802
Australia

With accommodation ranging from private shady campsites & powered sites to Luxury 2 and 3 bedroom Apartments, they’ve built their reputation on providing a truly memorable experience.The park is set on 26 acres with beautifully landscaped surrounds… you’ll find Airlie Beach’s largest resort pool, two waterslides, enormous adventure playground, jumping pillow, mini golf, tennis, outdoor movies, basketball, volleyball and Kermit’s Kids Club.

Island Gateway Holiday Park
Shute Harbour Road
Airlie Beach QLD 4802
Australia

Set within over 10 acres of tropical gardens, Island Getaway Holiday Park is the closest park to Airlie Beach in the magnificent Whitsunday’s. With a variety of accommodation, shops and a range of services nearby, all of your holiday needs are taken care of.

Heute gibts einen kurzen Bericht, denn die Internetzeit ist extrem begrenzt.

Mittlerweile sind wir in Airlie Beach angekommen und haben eine wunderschöne Tour auf Fraser Island hinter uns… Lake Mc Kenzie sieht genau so aus, wie auf Fotos, kristallklar! Dingos haben wir keine gesehen, dafür gabs ein richtig leckeres Buffet =)
Die Tour ging einen Tag lang und war sehr schnell vorbei. Abends war Ebbe, sodass die Fähre schier nicht an der Insel anlegen konnte. Doch trotz 1 Stunde Verspätung hat es dann geklappt und wir konnten den Sonnenuntergang auf Fraser Island genießen.

Die letzten zwei Tag haben wir Kilometer geschrubbt und sind jetzt in Airlie Beach, bei den Whitsunday Islands. Heute haben wir dann noch ein echt geniales Schnäppchen gemacht: zwei Tage Tour im Preis von einem.
Morgen gehen wir zum Whiteheaven Beach, segeln dort hin und sehen noch mehr von den Whitsundays… Wird sicher genial!
Am Montag gehen wir dann Schnorcheln und fahren mal wieder ein bisschen auf dem Wasser… Und das alles für 195 Dollar… zum Vergleich: unsere Tagestour auf Fraser Island hat schon 159 Dollar gekostet =)
Wir freuen uns schon riesig, ansonsten gibts von den letzten Tagen nicht viel: wir saßen im Auto, sind gefahren, haben leckere Sachen gegessen und geschlafen!

Liebe Grüße

25 day east coast trip

Since I have almost a month off til I start my new job (AHHH YESSS I GOT A NEW JOB!), I have about a week to plan this ‘backpacker’ trip. I talked to some of my friends and asked them what places I had to visit. Backpacker student travel agencies are a huge industry over here: Tribal Travel, Peterpans, Travelbugs, Adventure Travel are some of the big ones that offer basically all the same travel package deal. A basic popular one is $299. Each travel package offers nights of accom in hostels and tours all up the East Coast. I got one tailormade to what I initially planned on doing in 25 days with WANDERERS TRAVEL. All the packages are open dated. After you figure out when you’ll be there, then you call ahead to the place and book it then. That way you can spend more or less time in a location you like. These travel packages are not guided tours, they are just rooms and activities with specific companies. Each individual backpacker trips and plans vary.

First stop: Byron Bay Wed- Sat April 29 – May 1

Instead of taking a bus trip for 12 straight hours from Sydney, I took a cheap $70 flight to Ballina Airport.  A shuttle van to Byron Bay, 30 min away and with my package I got 3 free nights at Cape Byron Lodge. A lot of travelers and Austalians love Byron, I wasn’t too impressed. It’s a cute little surfer town, yes, but didn’t have a super special flair to it. The weather so far has truly sucked. It’s been rainy and cold. I expected to come up north to get a tan. Not happening yet. I don’t even want to take off my jacket anywhere.

The next day I took the HAPPY COACH to Nimbin, this cracked out hippie village, 2 hours away. First place we stopped at was Minyon Waterfalls. We did a 15 min stop to take pictures of this gorgeous view. Then off to Nimbin. Umm, wow… This one street town reminded me of the old stereotypical Western movies, with the post, grocery, newsagent, library all located within a 3 min walking distance. The store fronts were all rainbow colored. The biggest difference is the people and their viewpoints. The locals roam around aimlessly barefoot, in tattered clothing, looking homeless and definitely not in their right mind. I heard the F bomb spoken commonly as if it was the word, the. These people lived, breathed and promoted weed. They recently produced an 8 page newspaper spread, with ‘creative articles’ all the positives of using weed. Lucky for me, I just missed their biggest event, MardiGRASS. Your eyes did not deceive you: That says MardiGRASS, not MardiGRAS. It’s a celebration for what else, ohhh glorious weed. It was that upcoming weekend. They had events such as hemp Olympics, guess how many ounces in a bag, roll a joint the fastest, and a huge parade with a gigantic blown up weed replica that said LET IT BLOW. For those that really know me, can understand me being in this town is quite funny. I felt so naïve, uncomfortable and out of place. I walked into the Nimbin ‘historical museuem’. Very psychedelic. When I was walking out, I was asked by a local, “How many ounces do you wanna buy?” I basically ran away. I guess It’s a great town for people who ‘deeply appreciate’ that shit. I’m just not one of them. Before leaving the town, our bus driver intensely warned us the van would probably be stopped and searched by the cops. She was required to give us a 15 min lecture on ‘how drugs are illegal’. She asked who bought any drugs, about 5 of 12 hands went up. She gave out tips to not getting caught such as leave it on the bus and not on your body. Then they can’t prove its yours. Obviously, these tips were all very new and helpful to me. On the way out, the cops stopped the bus, confiscated the goods and no one fessed up to it so no one was charged. Quite an interesting day trip.

I met some really cool people in the hostel: another Australian who recently moved up for a job from Coffs Harbour, 3 American girls on holidays from Sydney Uni, 2 really sweet german girls and 2 locals. I love meeting new people but let me tell you, it’s very, very repetitive. For my sisters, imagine formal recruitment intros times 25. Same, boring questions: “Hi, whats your name? Where are you from? How long have you been travelling? Where are you going next? What brought you to Australia? What’s your favorite part?” Seriously I answer those questions AT LEAST 3 times a day. As much as I love meeting new people, you just don’t want to talk after awhile. And I’ve only been travelling a week! So I know I could never just come here and backpack through for months at a time. After a long bus ride, arriving in a new place and new hostel, I really just want to sleep. Of course I’m social and nice, but going out drinking is not on my agenda (o-m-g, I think that means I’m officially old and boring).  I’m considered one of the ‘older backpackers’. Most backpackers are right out of school—ages 18-20 so this is their first experience away from home. It’s like our first semester of college, so you can guess what they’re like. These kids are going out and drinking hardcore every night with meaningless sex with strangers. I have no desire to go out and get drunk with people I don’t know or trust. Then imagine trying to figure out your way home in a brand new area. Plusss drinks are effin expensive. A bottle of Bacardi is normally $40! I’d much rather spend my money on good food (which I do). I think I just like drinking you guys instead. You must be hard to replace—You are way more fun. J

Anyway, the next day—I borrowed one of the hostel’s bikes and took a 2 mile bike ride to the Cape Byron Lighthouse, the most eastern point in Australia. I parked the bike as far as I could, then had to walked about 45 more min up and down some intense hills to get close to the Lighthouse. After getting close, it started to drizzle and then a rainbow appeared! It was soo cool! The views up top were amazing, looking over at the whole beach on the left or seeing the jagged rocks with waves crashing on the right.

 I walked down the cliff and onto another section on top of rocks. In the distance, I saw dolphins swimming! It’s time like these: taking an invigorating walk up to view spectacular scenery, seeing a rainbow and watching dolphins play, that I realize, ‘Wow, I’m really in Australia.’ Can’t help but smile. I always remember when I’m walking alone on beaches. I just love thinking and saying that.

That night, very very late, I got my first Greyhound bus trip at 315am. I had to get a taxi at 3am. To get the rest of my 8 locations, I’d be taking the Greyhound up. It’s the cheaper bus option compared to the OZ experience (a huge backpacker filled bus). The greyhound runs more frequently and stops more often. I’ve never done a bus trip and so far it’s been interesting. I already noticed I’m not a big sleeper on buses so I’m always anxious to sleep at the next hostel. Instead of spending money to stay at a hostel, the greyhound will take me up to my destination instead. At the end of this trip, I’m either gonna love or loathe bus trips.

2^nd stop–  Noosa—What a beaut!! Sat –Sun 3-4

 (((During my VERY sleepless 7 hour bus ride, I realized I left my mobile at my previous hostel—shitttttttttttt! Or as the English say, BOLLOCKS! Not only is it my phone, but it’s my alarm clock. I called the hostel frantically and they’re going to send it to Hervey Bay since I’ll be spending a couple days there. Seriously, Thank God.))) I arrived looking like absolute hell in the small beach town of Noosa. It’s populated with rich residents and rich houses. All I wanted to do the first day was sleep. But I feel like I’m wasting time exploring the town since I’m only there for a short time. The hostel, Dolphin Beach House, picked me up from the bus stop, a 15 min drive away. It’s out of the ‘town’ but its better than the young backpacker drinking hostels. The bright pink colored dorm walls had a mini apt style set up: 2 rooms, 9 people total with their own bathroom, tv, couches, frig and stove. You definitely got to know people better, but only those 8 people. It’s a rarity for dorms to be like that. A common area with a big tv is the place to meet everyone in the dorm. I meet people everywhere I go, but you never talk longer than a day before they move on to somewhere new. Germans and UK are the most popular countries I’ve encountered. Most anybody but Americans. The first day I was there I walked along their main street, just filled with small beachy shops. I liked it at first, but it’s pretty much the same everywhere.  Before sunset, I strolled on the beach for an hour, taking in the beautiful beaches, green mountains and people playing with their dogs. Even after seeing so many beaches, I never get sick of them.

Day 2– I went to bed early since I’m going to AUSTRALIA ZOO—home of Steve Irwin. It’s a hyped up, expensive zoo, but I made sure it was included with my package. Queensland is the only place in AU where you can actually hold a koala. In New South Wales, I went to another small zoo, where you can ‘pose with one’. I don’t want a posing pic, I want to actually hold me like a baby. AU Zoo has a free double decker bus that picks up with 1.5 hour of the zoo. I went with one of the British girls from the hostel. We hung out together all day, taking fun pics and yes, I held a koala!!!!!!! J Seriously, cutest animals. Probably weighed about 10-15 pounds and felt like a live teddy bear. It made my day! I left early on the Greyhound at 2pm, arrived at 4pm. I wanted to walk around the Noosa National Park. I’ve come to really enjoy national parks. It’s great exercise, right in the middle of nature. There were no signs directing people what path to take. I’m getting a lot better, figuring my way out myself. I use my instinct and ‘internal compass’ to end up in the right place. Pretty crazy. It was another 1.5 hour walk that led from the steep green forest to the sandy beaches. Ahead of me, was a newly married couple taking wedding beach pictures. Owners were chasing their dogs around (I really miss my dog) and kids (Thank God Felix wasn’t here to ruin it) were playing in the sand. Finished just as sunset was hitting (around 520-530pm). How much more ideal does it get than that?

Originally I planned on doing a 3 day/2 night Canoe trip and a ½ day of kayaking. In Byron, I thoroughly planned out my trip and realized that I didn’t have as much time as I hoped for. So even though I paid for the canoe trip, my priority trips were camping safari on Fraser Island and overnight sailing trip. Back on the bus….

3^rd stop—Hervey Bay/Fraser Island May 4 – 7

Bus ride to Hervey Bay. Kookaburra Resort picked us up from the bus station. Met my first camping companions, and they were Americans! A disgustingly cute young couple from NY/NJ area, Lia and Jamie. Dropped off the girls (my oversized luggage) and went for a jog/walk along Hervey Bay for an hour. When you don’t exercise for a long period of time, you can feel the sluggish effects. It was so serene on the Bay. Not many people out and the water was so calm. Run/Walking is a good way to get exercise and see other parts of the town. Hervey Bay is a veryyyyyyy small rundown town. There are 2 towns with access to Fraser Island: HB and Rainbow Beach. HB is the closer town which means less driving time and more time to enjoy the island. Came back for the Fraser Island prep/warning meeting at 6pm. There are 2 options for seeing Fraser: self drive camping with a huge LandCruiser or guided tours with hotel stays. I chose self drive, cuz its cheaper and its more fun to figure your own way. Besides I haven’t camped in a long time. Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world, so you need a 4WD to get around to roads are basically nonexistent. The meeting lasted 1.5 hours, with a video about carefully driving on the island. Some students a month ago died from overturning the 4WD (which is so easy to do since all of our equipment, food and personal stuff goes up top). The guy running the meeting, Richard, aka Dick, is a complete and utter asshole. We had to pay all kinds of extra insurances and food prices on top. Back home in the US, when you hear something is optional, you disregard it and assume its just another unnecessary way to make money. I was the first one out of 11 called up to pay the extras. I said no the extra insurance since we already had 3 other kinds of it. He flat out called me an idiot. I was soooo livid pissed.  Everyone else in our group did not plan on paying it either, until he insulted me in front of everyone. He gave everyone attitude about it all. He works in customer service every day and that’s how he treats people?? We all hated him already. 

Day 1 of camping—got up at 6am to leave the hostel at 7am. The hostel prepares food for us for $35 and we have to cook it at the camp site. The hostel also has a suggested itinerary list, based on the high tide schedule, with places to stop at and beach areas to sleep at.

Had an interesting group going: 3 Americans, 2 Germans, 3 Brazilians, 1 Irish, 1 French and 1 British. 11 people total, 2 sets of couples, 1 mother/daughter pair, 4 guys and 7 girls all crammed into this LandCruiser. Quite the diverse crew. 3 guys alternated between manually driving Jaws (our nickname for the great white beast). Took an hour to get to the ferry, drove Jaws onto the ferry, along with 10 other student groups, doing the same thing as us. The drive plus 2 more fit up front, with 8 people facing each other, ambulance style. Actually it wasn’t too bad. On the first day, we drove to Meheno shipwreck site. It’s was a huge cruise liner that wrecked in 1935. Made me excited since I’ll be diving to a real shipwreck site underwater next week! Driving on the beach is not as carefree here as it is in the Outer Banks. It’s actually considered a ‘highway’ with speed limits. You avoid driving near the water at all possible costs since salt will ruin the car and you’ll be paying a hefty fine. We were supposed to camp on the beach, but we found a fenced in campsite with showers, grills and toilets. Normally you have to pay to stay, but we were allowed for free. I shared a tent with the German girls. (Turns out they were au pairs in Sydney too! Small world!) We’re the first ones that have our tent up! That night, we drink beer and GOON. Goon is a generic term for boxed wine. You can’t have glass so goon is a very common backpacker drink. In Byron Bay, a popular shirt says, SLAP THE GOON (meaning to shake up the bag). We played some fun drinking games, Shoulders and a version of Fuck of the Dealer. When it’s dark out and you’re out in the wild, your body tries to tell you to go to bed. I passed out by 930pm—yes that’s lame.

Day 2 of camping—I’m the first one up at 6am. I guess when you go to bed that early (which you know I never do), your body wakes you up early. I start getting breakfast stuff out: sausages, eggs and toast. Not too bad huh? We take down the tents, pack it all back onto of Jaws then drove to INDIAN HEAD and hiked up to the top. It’s a huge (150 -200 feet high) with my favorite jagged rocks below. The view is just incredible. We walked 45 min along the white sandy beach to Champagne Pools, naturally made pools from the ocean. It was a long walk with a disappointing ending. Don’t get me wrong, it was interesting, but the pools were very small. The waves crashed over them and created some cool pictures, but it wasn’t worth the time spent there. Luckily, everything happens for a reason. We met 18 Australian fisherman, who drove us back to our car, saving us a 45 minute walk. As if that wasn’t good enough for us, we ended up hanging out with them for 3 hours!!  They gave us free unlimited beer (too bad I don’t like beer huh?), a BBQ sausage cookout with corn fritters on the beach and just socializing with these extremely friendly middle aged guys. The guys sincerely wanted to know about our travels, where we’re all going, the typical 20 questions. They have an annual week long trip of fishing, drinking and eating. They have a gigantic frig and freezer full of food. 2 of the guys were former chefs so they’re not eating pizza and wings all week. The weather was perfect, sunny and hot until 3pm (my first nice day since I started travelling 10 days ago!). Everything about the afternoon was just so ‘Australian’- Barbie on the beach, beer, warm hospitality, music, the sun and having a good time. It was probably one of my favorite days since I’ve arrived.

After our happy hours were over, we had to book it 2 hours back to our campsite. A dark storm was coming and so was high tide. The water kept rising higher and higher to our 4WD. A bright rainbow did greet us though!! It was getting hard to avoid hitting the ocean and the sand dunes were to the right of us. We were narrowly stuck between the ocean and sand dunes. We debated a couple times pulling over and parking there for the night. We kept going and bypassed our suggested camping area. We vetoed sand in favor of facilities, BBQ grills and hot showers.  Dinner was lamb stew with rice. Bed early again at 9pm. God I’m so old! I never even went to bed that early in college or high school!

Day 3 of camping—Breakfast:  Weetbix and toast. I LOVEEEE weetbix. It’s big rectangle wheat squares you drown with milk. I normally put honey and bananas on top of mine. I seriously will miss that food when I go back home. Anyway, I finally showered. Everyone joked with me that it was about time and it probably was. You had to pay for the showers so I held out as long as I could. 3 days is my max, haha. We drive out to Lake McKenzie, one of the most beautiful places on earth. The first 30 feet of the water is crystal aqua clear, then it drops deeper and the water turns a navy blue. Not exactly warm, but not super cold either. We were the first ones who arrive since our campsite was closer than the rest of the other backpacker vans. It was breathtaking. Pictures attempt to do some justice. We layed around until noon and then made lunch. We have been warned intensely about dingoes—which looks like skinny dogs, but have the ferocious mentality of wolves. The funny saying, “Dingo ate my baby!” is based on a true story. They notice babies/young kids because they have sudden movements. As dangerous as we knew they could be, we all desperately wanted to see one. During lunch on our last day at Fraser, we saw 3!!! They don’t look scary so mostly everyone to call one over. They smelled our food and eventually ran away. But our trip was complete!

The whole 3 days it was expected to rain with thunderstorms. It only rained one night. Now it wasn’t as hot as I wanted, but viewing Indian Head and Lake McKenzie with sunny weather made it a spectacular trip. For the most part, the people were great! We had too many dominating personalities in our group. Everyone wanted to be leader. For me, I didn’t want to be leader. I was more of the silent lead by example team member who always helped set up, clean up or made food. We got pretty close in 3 days, had some good laughs and were sad to see each other leave. The funny thing about travelling the east coast is you meet the same people over again. I see the same people on the Greyhound. My next trip on the sailing boat trip, the German girls will be with me. Eh, they’re nice but loud. Grr, loud Germans.

4^th stop—Airlie Beach/Whitsunday Island – May 8-13

Overnight bus trip from Hervey Bay to Airlie, yuck. Left at 800am—arrival 9am, 12 hours, every seat filled, sweetness. But I went with the American Couple and had Brazilian Roger to sleep on. I slept so much better cuz he was my huge pillow, haha. Besides the 2 nice days at Fraser, the weather has been pure crap, rainy, cloudy or colder than expected. The rainy season was supposed to end in April. BTW, in case I didn’t explain, there are 6 states: South Australia, Western Australia, Queensland (my whole east coast trip, North of Sydney), New South Wales (Sydney), Victoria (Melbourne) and Northern Territory. Queensland is notorious for being known as having sunny weather 300 days a year. I expected it to be sunny and hot like it normally is. But as my luck goes for me, I’m still pretty white and a tan might not happen. I booked more days at Airlie since I heard it’s perfect lay out weather. Ahh not so much. After getting off the bus and walking to my free hostel nights at MAGNUMS, it rained on and off all day. Again like Noosa and Byron Bay, it’s a small one street town with beach shops, cafes and travel agencies. Found a Macca’s (Mcdonalds) which has free wireless! See, that’s the only benefit of lugging around this laptop! Magnum’s is a huge hostel/mini resort with cabins. Directly attached to it are 2 bars. I really should go out. There are 3 big backpacker bars: Magnums, Beaches and Momma Africa. I have nothing to do tomorrow (Sat) so I should go out. However, I don’t like going out by myself anymore. The same thing always happens: make the effort of getting dressed, stand around the bar awkwardly by yourself and wait for someone normal to talk to you. Of course fun normal straight girls aren’t going to approach another girl, it’s weird. So it’s always the sexually driven guys that talk to you first.  I really don’t feel like having to fend off hormonal guys (And do you realize how easy it would be to shag a guy? They basically throw themselves at you.) I know I’m probably missing out on some fun by not going out, but then again, maybe not. Besides, if I’ve gotta cut things out to save money, going out would be the first. I started reading The Firm by John Grisham and I can’t put it down! So yes I just said I’d rather stay in and read a book, than go out, drink and dance with strangers. I’d rather dance and go out with you guys, seriously.  In the end, I passed out from reading at 9pm. So yes I turned 23 and I turned old.

Sat—up early from going to bed early. I decide to see more of Airlie and go for a jog/walk. The sun came out briefly for my 4.5 mile jog/walk. The rest of the day was pretty boring. Did a little shopping, booked a hostel for Cairns. Then sadly and pathetically, read more John Grisham and was in bed by 9:30pm. On a saturday night= I. am. lame.

Sunday—Checked out of MAGNUMS, put my big pink suitcase in 3 day storage and had to check into the sailing shop. (See how much checking in and out I have to do on a daily basis?). We had to check in between 1030 and noon. After I checked in, I could do whatever I wanted until 345pm. Blah what a waste of time, especially when its an overcast day.

I sat down on the bench and looked around at who I’d be spending the next 2 days in confined spaces around the Whitsunday Islands (there are 74 tiny islands).. 20 something very young party animals were standing around each holding their own box of Goon, including me (Ahhh we hate it, but we can’t seem to stop buying it. 4.4 liters is about $11-14).  Definitely some cute foreign boys as well! The German girls from my Fraser trip were on the boat too. A blonde short haired confident girl began talking to me and of course, asked the same 20 questions. Claire, from England, had quite an interesting story. Although it’s frustrating and repetitive asking and answering the same questions, it’s really intriguing to see how people live, where they’ve travelled and what they’ve done. This 27 year old have backpacked (on and off during a couple years) to about every country in the world for a total of 15 months (All of South America, Europe, Asia and now Australia–  do you realize how many countries are in each of those continents?).  If you guys think I’m brave, I’m nothing compared to her. It’s inspiring to listen to. We have similar personalities and got on really well. We all walked to our home on the ocean. Pegasus our small white sailboat, in which I found out was the oldest and one of the smallest boats in Airlie Beach  (since the 70’s). According to the crew at the ‘orientation’, we have a ‘more chilled out boat, compared to the other backpacker party boats’. Ha, well,  ummm, read on. There were 11 small bunk bed style rooms and luckily, Claire was my roommate! Boat left at 4pm and our cute all male crew, Pat, Danny and Johnnie, and we had no idea what to expect. We mingled with everyone and began some fun convos with Sophie (1/2 German, ½ French), Natalie (Swiss), Jarno (adorable blonde male—pronounced Yarno- full german), Claire (English) and me (again the only American). Steak, potatoes and salad for dinner in our very small dining table/kitchen area/bedroom of 4, followed by apple pie with custard for dessert. Pretty impressive for a tiny boat like ours! Then the Goon came out. We played drinking games with the crew. Learned a new game called Think Before you Drink. I dominated at it!! I was helping people with their answers. We’re definitely going to play it at home! Goon was hitting me good. Yess!

Now the sleeping arrangements…. On our Fraser trip, one of the guy just got off Pegusus and was COVERED in bed bug bites all over his body. They’re caused from sleeping on the boats’ mattresses. I was terrified of getting disgusting red bumps so I bought the cheapest sleeping bag I could find ($40 ouchhh). The first night I actually slept on the dock with Sophie. Stopped drinking at 11pm since I had to dive the next day. Quite the sleepless night, rolling around on the top of the boat. But I did wake up before everyone and saw the beautiful sun rise. The next night I (illegally) took my sleeping bag to my mattress and got a full nights sleep.

On Monday, we sailed to the notorious Whitehaven Beach, known for its 98% pure white pristine sand. It’s a historical landmark now so resorts can’t build on it. I’m so glad for that. I love staying at beach hotels like anyone else, but there’s something so special and rare about an untouched, natural beach. Within Whitehaven, another highly photographed area is Betty’s Beach. Not much of an actual curved shaped beach area, but more of a triangle shape. Claire and I took pictures of the beach, naked boys running around, and layed around on the white sand. The weather was pretty overcast the whole trip. None of us were getting tan.

Back on the boat, had another great lunch, rested for an hour and then certified divers got a free dive, while they taught beginnings the basics. Honestly, it might’ve been one of the crappiest warm water dives I’ve done. Visibility was shit, meaning you couldn’t see more than 5 ft in front of your face. Sometimes, you just have crappy water days though so I’m not implying the diving the Whitsunday is always crap. Obviously you want great vis so you can see the great fishes swimming around you and to prevent getting lost by losing your dive group. For the first time, I can say the snorkeling was better than the diving. The coral reef was shallow enough, you could see plenty of fish in great visibility since it’s much closer.

Dinner was sausage, pasta and salad. I’ve never had so much sausage in my life (that would be about 5 whole times) and I’m getting sick of it now. Monday night is when the craziness begins. We started drinking our own individual boxes of Goon; mine of course was Fruity White. Thennn the Goon Olympics started… but ironically none of it involved us drinking Goon. Sunset around 530pm. Around 8, we headed up to the front of the boat. We had 2 team captains and split into 2 teams of 12 each. Normal line games,  then, da da da, the clothes came flying off. For our last 2 games, we took any clothing we had on and put all of our clothing the fastest on our team captain. The team that took off the most clothes and therefore, put the most clothes on their team captain, won. Then the classic Greek Week game, take a rope and thread it up and down, through each member’s clothing. But the less clothing you had on, the faster your team went. We dominated, because we were basically naked in front of 24 people.  Initially I had on jeans and a hoodie. I’m not that confident with my body so I’m not one to show it all off. Eventually I stripped down to nude colored bra and underwear (gasp!).  Mom you would’ve been so proud. Yes that was still ‘covered up’ compared to others. But there were some people who completely hanging out, girls and guys, including our crew members. So much for this ‘not being one of the party boats.’ After the Olympics ended, we kept drinking (with our clothes on) and from the sexual tension going on during the games, people definitely hooked up. The next morning reminded me of Sunday morning brunches at WC—talking about who hooked up with who, what happened after some people went ot sleep. Basically it was just awesome. After that night, we all were closer.

Tuesday – we went snorkeling in the morning. I went with Nat and disappointedly, it was worst than the first day. Eating lunch was interesting, the waves were very choppy. The boat was on an angle for the 3 hour ride home. Food was literally sliding around the table and people flew into other people. I turned white and started to get a little nauseous then. That night we all went out. The crew was supposed to meet us out; they never showed. The 4 blondes hung out together: Sophie, Claire, Nat and Me. We pregamed with the rest of our Goon. It worked pretty well since I don’t think any of us bought a single drink. We danced like drunken idiots, had some great girl conversations, and kissed some boys.

 Overall, this was a truly awesome trip, better than Fraser because of the awesome people. Since I don’t party that often, it was so nice to meet some friends, where the convo went beyond just partying (although it may not sound like it). The pictures from the whole trip involve lots of body parts, which unfortunately you won’t be seeing. I felt like me with these girls and that was a great feeling to have friends. I’ll see Claire again in Cairns next week & Sophie is coming back to Sydney for a bit before she goes home. I can’t wait to see them again!

5^th stop—Ayr—Wreck Dive May 13-15

Bright and early, 745 am to catch a 930am bus to the ridiculously small town of Ayr. Travelling on the bus with friends, Claire and Jarno, felt much more like home. The 3 ½ hour ride(my shortest bus ride!) flew sitting next to friends, instead of sitting next to strangers (that means no 20 questions!). In Ayr, I wasn’t there to sight see the town, but sightsee underwater. One of the top 5 dive sites in the world is near Ayr, in Alva Beach, called SS Yongala Dive. I really enjoy diving, especially since this was a shipwreck site and one of the best in the world. I specifically altered all my plans on the trip to see this site.

With a packed bus of 48 people, I was the only one getting off. There was a reason there wasn’t a huge tourist destination. I know I’ve said the other beach town are small, but I take those comments back. Nothing here, kinda like Nimbin without the weed.  There are 2 dive companies that go out: Adrenaline Dive and YONGALA DIVE. Yongala picked me up from the bus station and it took 20 minutes to get back to the company. The actual lodge is located in the middle of nowhere. No supermarket, no internet, no phone service, barely even paved streets.  In this lodge, underneath was the dive equipment and reception and on top was a clean, brand new hostel lodge, sleeping up to 10 people. Clean hardwood floors with a kitchen area, and tv room. The first day I went out to the beach, read my book and went for a looooong run. This beach is different, it has many water pools and sandbars before the waves broke 300 yds away. Not a single soul on this beach, a hidden beach. I took my ipod and I danced/jogged/walked on the beach until sunset. If anyone was watching, they would’ve been peeing their pants. Back at the lodge, I met Jamie, a cute older dive instructor from Sydney. Jamie has been diving there all week. Started reading a new John Grisham, The Client and passed out by 930pm.

Early start 630am with a great yummy breakfast of Weetbix and honey. Got the wetsuit, vest, mask, fins and hopped into the LandCruiser. It was the same style car from Fraser Island with 3 people up front and 8 crammed in the back. We drove on the beach until we find the boat. We weren’t getting into the water normally from a pier. The small boat, a max of 12 people, was tugged along the beach by a huge John Deere tractor. The tractor reversed and slowly lowered the boat into the water, no pier, no ramp, just picked a spot. 6 guys and 3 girls (each from different nations) all anxious to see the site, braced for a bumpy 45 min ride out to the site. Because it’s a small boat, it’s easily tossed around on the wicked waves. Jamie said this was the calmest day yet, I just laughed. It was almost as bad as the Whitsunday. Thank goodness I took 3 seasickness pills this morning. It’s very common to get sick on this boat, like 3 people did today. I was getting nervous, closer we got, worried how challenging this dive would be. It’s 27 meters down (88 ft), which I think is pretty shallow for a wreck dive. The max depth with a basic OPEN WATER DIVER card is 60 ft, but I know in some of my previous dives I’ve gone to 80 ft. Beyond that, you need to get more study more, and pass a test to be certified to dive that deep.  I read 20 pages and answered the test before the boat went out. Everyone had varied experience on the boat from instructors to newbies to intermediates like me (I’ve done about 30 dives in 5 years).  

Suiting up, air on, fins on, regulator in mouth, backwards roll off the side of the boat, splash into the water. 5 minutes later, I’m clearing my ears and descending down 90 feet. You always dive with a buddy so we’re all buddied up with someone. We land on the sand and have to do some exercises to pass the Deep Dive test. Then we get to explore.  This is a massive liner, sank in 1911 by a cyclone which carried freight, 1^st and 2^nd class passengers, 1 horse and 1 bull (random I know). Not only is this a gigantic ship, but it’s now the hang out for THOUSANDS of wildlife, completely covered in coral. In the first 5 minutes of being down, there was a sting ray close to me, devil ray swimming above. Kobe kingfish (looks like baby sharks), clownfish (finding nemo fish!), thousands of colorful fish, and my absolute favorite a big turtle! It was breathtakingly BEAUTIFUL. I told the crew how I’m slightly scared to see the ‘friendly, non poisonous’ sea snakes. Just my luck, the snakes smelled my fear. 3 or 4 long 2 foot snakes swam too close within my comfort zone. My face turned white and my eyes bugged out while the instructors were laughing underwater. I lost so much air trying to swim away from them.

I couldn’t get over how incredibly beautiful it is. Everywhere I swam, schools of big and tiny fish were swimming around me. Was down for 35 minutes and time goes so fast. There’s always something fascinating to stare at.

We came up for an hour break, then back down for another 40 minutes underwater. This time, the instructor pointed out the 2 coral covered toilets, glass windows, a claw footed bathtub and the insides of the wreck. It’s illegal to swim through (or penetrate) the wreck, but looking through it, you can envision how large it was back in 1911. It’s remarkable for a boat to be that pristine and every part still intact. It seriously was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. On most dives you see a couple colorful fish and a little coral. But I was swimming with the THOUSANDS of species of fish in one area. Diving from now on will have high expectations and would surely disappoint me.

6^th stop—Cairns May 15-16

Last bus ride 930am—530pm = 8 hours! Wahoo! It’s been pretty crowded but I was determined to have 2 seats to myself (call me selfish, but you’d fight for them too!). Jamie and I sat together, he’s getting off at the next stop to catch a plane back to Sydney. After he got off, luckily no one attempted to sit with me. I must smell, but hell that is just fine with me for today. I’m writing while on the bus and is it sad to say I haven’t talked to a single soul the whole time? Truly, I don’t mind at all, actually relieved. I don’t feel like starting up convo. I know it’s the same questions and answers, all while trying to look enthused  about repeating the same stuff for the past 20 days.

Arrived in Cairns and checked into my hostel, JJ’s Backpackers. Nice enough place. The owners are so accommodating. They made us a huge sausage BBQ (I’m so sick of sausages!) with tons of side foods. Apparently, they do that every Saturday night, which is so extremely appreciated for backpackers who live off of pasta. That night, I met up with Flo from the Whitsunday trip. Met the people at his hostel, drank some quality Goon and we went off to WOOLSHED, the notorious backpacker party pub. Lonely Planet quoted it as, ‘if you can’t get laid at Woolshed, you can’t get laid anywhere.’ We had an awesome night. Then the next morning, he was leaving to go to Bali. One of the cons of traveling: you find someone you actually enjoy being with, but you both have different travel plans and more than likely will never see then again in your life. Today I hung out at the Lagoon—this free pool in the heart of Cairns. There’s not much of a beach so everyone recovers from their hangovers here. The weather sunny and wonderfully hot—about time! I’d be waiting for this. At the Lagoon, they had Saturday markets of little booths of clothing, jewellery, etc. I met an older American man (50ish) and we talked for awhile about young travelers in Australia. The Gap Year concept (travelling around the world after high school or uni) is so common, its actually encouraged in European countries. The concept is so unheard of in the States. He was just amazed listening to how young travellers do it, the idea of hostel rooms, how we travel around, where we go. He went on a day boat trip and met tons of young foreigners. He was surprised at how much they knew about our country and (for the most part), how intrigued they were with America. You don’t realize until you leave the country, but we are a huge powerhouse country. Whatever happens to our country effects the world. They knew more about us, because their economy is likely determined by our economy. Our pop culture is widely known. Travellers from all countries know the major movie stars, actors and singers. The only con to them being so interested in us is: we know nothing about them.

7^th stop—Cape Tribulation May 17-18

Wanderers booked a Cape Trib tour with Tropics Explorer. This company will pick me up from my hostel, drop me off at my Cape Trib hostel, pick me up again, drop me off at Port Douglas hostel, then finally pick me up from Port Douglas to go back to Cairns. Pretty sweet deal! Otherwise it costs $75 for a shuttle to pick and drop you off.  They picked me up at 8am, and drove the most magnificent, windy, spiral highway Capt Cook Highway which borders the ocean. It was one of the drives where car companies use for commercials. We went an hour crocodile boat cruise, where we saw 5 crocs. We went to a couple amazing lookout points, learned that one of their biggest crops is sugar cane, and after 2 hours of driving, made it into the rainforest Daintree. This is the 2^nd biggest rainforest in the world, next to the Amazon (aka Holly would’ve loved it). Did some bushwalking (aka normal walking) through the rainforest and marveled at the trees. Stayed at PK’s Village, ‘supposedly’ the party resort, set in the jungle with not another business for a mile. Before coming out to the large breathtaking beach of Cape Trib, you pass through the rainforest. Back home, its just straight to the beach, or coming out from your hotel on the beach. Here its so secluded, lying on the beach in front and the green rainforest and high mountains behind you. Really so beautiful. Met a really sweet, fun girl, Charlotte from England. That night we played a couple rounds of some fun card game. Absolutely no party at night and barely anyone was there. It was the most boring hostel I’ve ever stayed in. They had a nice bar/ restaurant, but meals costs between $9- $20. Char and I decided to go to the local convenience store and buy some cheap food. We bought tuna, wheat rolls, eggs, baked beans. Out of the ordinary combos huh? After splitting  the price, it costs us a whopping $4 for 1 dinner, 1 breakfast and 1 lunch, quite the deal. We went to bed at 10pm; that’s super early at a hostel! They also charged you for everything! You had to pay for plastic plates, cups, utensils, etc. The kitchen facility was crap so we ate straight out of the pan/bowl. The tin openers were secured to the metal sink with a metal wire. There was no microwave. It was just crap. We had the most interesting meals though: tuna with sweet chili sauce and couscous out of the Tupperware container for lunch. Repeat with eggs on top for dinner. It was so ghetto and looking disgusting, but seriously so good.  

8^th stop—Port Douglas May 18-20

2 weeks into traveling, my very last week and I’m finally having fantastically warm sunny weather. The company picked me up from the PK’s and dropped me off an hour south in Port Douglas, a rich resort seaside town.  When you drive into the main part of town, the road is lined with palm trees, as if you’re entering a resort. Again there is one major street with shops and pubs. There’s also a beautiful marina at the end of the road. On the other end of the road, is 4 Mile Beach, a smooth flat endless beach. I went for a run on it and it was better than running on the road. I stayed at Parrotfish Lodge, one of the nicest hostels I’ve ever stayed at. Has a great bar with cheap food, colorful large rainbow colored rooms and a pool lounge area, not to mention extremely helpful staff! On my first day there, I walked around the town and down to the marina. There’s not much to do at Port. I really wanted to do a horse ride. Wagga Beach Ride picked me up for a 3.5 hour horse ride on the beach. We had a small group: the cute young guide, me, and 2 italians on their honeymoon who’d never ridden before. I live on a farm and obviously have some experience on a horse. Just my luck, they give me the slowest horse out of 32! I was sooo pissed off I would never recommend it again. What really made me love the trip was the bus driver, Tom. For an hour, Tom told me all about his life, living on a ranch and working as a sheep shearer for 25 years in the middle of nowhere towns of Australia. These weren’t the touristy, they were places where getting to use a phone was a big deal.  He told me you get really close to the people you’re working with all the time, but then you’re sent to different locations every 2-3 weeks for a new job. He still keeps in touch with many of his old shearing friends. They all slept in the same hotel/hostel. Showers weren’t showers. They were cold water pumped from a well and dumped on your body. Every night they would go out to the local bars and start bar fights and pick up girls. It was absolutely fascinating listening to him talk about ‘the real Australia’. That was the best part of the whole trip in Port Douglas. It’s meeting open, friendly people that make each travelling experience so unique.

9^th stop—Back to Cairns May 20-22

I arrived back to Cairns with just a couple days left on my big tropical adventure. I stayed at Bohemia Resort (where I stayed with my mom) only because it came with the travel package. It’s a nice hostel, a great pool and a yummy free weat bix breakfast, but its entirely too far into the main heart of the city where the action and fun happen. They have shuttles that only go until 11pm, while other hostels run theirs until 4am (which is obviously much needed!). I walked home one night and it took 25 minutes! Normally I wouldn’t mind it, but at 3 in the morning I did!

The best part about Cairns, is its very backpacker friendly. Most hostels will have vouchers for free meals at 3-4 local pubs. Free food includes: some type of pasta, bangers and mash, chicken schnitzel (fried chicken), fish and chips. Or you can upgrade for $5-7 to a healthier option: grilled chicken with honey mustard, salmon, salad, etc. The bars and hostels all fight for backpacker money so they’re always advertising free food. They usually the backpackers will stay at the pub they ate dinner at. The notorious WOOLSHED gives you free meal, drink and dessert for under $10. It’s not dainty portion sizes either, they’re pretty massive. Definitely enough to fill you up.

The night I got back I did a pub crawl around 5 bars. It was alright—met loads of people. They played very sexual games which made it a surefire way for people to drink and hook up. See the pictures! Funny pictures but when horny people got drunk and obnoxious fast, I was rather annoyed. Since I’m generally sober with strangers, the guys were hitting on the very young immature easy girls.

The next morning I got super early and did a boat trip out to the Reef again, because it was included as free with my package. It was with Reef Daytripper. The actual ride out was 2 hours so the 25 passengers laid on the catamaran. It was a fairly quiet group, didn’t meet many people. Most of them all came together so they didn’t venture out to meet new people. The snorkeling at Upolu Cay was pretty great. On each boat trip, there’s always the option of doing a dive or 2. I never pass them up since I’ll never get to dive in warm water back home. We went through a bunch of caves and tunnels but after doing the Yongala, it was absolutely nothing in comparison. I think every dive after that will just disappoint me immensely. The weather was warm and beautiful so that made up for any lack of repeated conversation. The boat trip (Passions of Paradise) I did with mom in March was much better, more interesting people to talk to. The staff wasn’t that friendly, they seemed bored and didn’t interact with anyone.

Summary of travelling

When I first started this trip, I knew this month would fly the fastest out of the 4 I’ve been here. It definitely has. I’m packing up now, hoping my pink suitcase is under the weight limit of 23 kilos (50 pounds). This was my first ‘backpacker’ experience, of constantly being on the move, living with other people and always rearranging your suitcase. It’s always so nice to return home though. Living out of a suitcase and sleeping on buses sounds like the rockstar life. I was just missing my screaming fans, haha. I’m so glad that I did this trip, first one of many more to come. I proved to myself that I can live out of a suitcase, make decisions, make trips on time (you know, just barely) and befriend people I just met. I’m supposed to be flying home on June 29, but I feel like I’m just getting a taste of OZ. Ahhh what do the next few months hold?

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