Agnes Water/1770

Had a really good time at Agnes Water! It's a really small place but I managed to fill up my two days there!
I arrived at about 6pm on 15th October and checked into a hostel called Cool Bananas. And it was really cool! Very chilled out and the owner was really nice too, and maybe a little bit crazy!!
The first thing I did when I got there was book my Scooterroo tour for the next day, as its something that has been recommended to me by lots of people! So I booked to be picked up from the hostel at 1pm the next day! The hostel also had meal offers each night for $6, so because the supermarket was closed I took advantage of this offer and had a yummy beef stew for tea! One of the girls in my dorm joined me and we went out and got some cider from the bottleshop! Greg the crazy owner of Cool Bananas said that if we gave him our bottles of cider he'd replace them with cold ones from the fridge at the hostel bar! So that was pretty nice of him considering that if we'd bought the cider from the bar it would have been way more expensive!

The following morning I decided to get my washing done as my clothes from Fraser Island were all sandy! Then after lunch I went on the Scooterroo tour, which is where you get guided around Agnes Water and 1770 on 'Choppers', and have to wear leather jackets and fake tattoos so we look like proper bikers!!

It was really fun, took a little while to get the hang of it as my first instinct was to keep putting my right foot on the ground to stop, instead of pressing the brake! First we all had to drive round a practice track to get used to the bikes before we started the actual tour. After that we drove single file around the streets of Agnes Water and 1770, stopping occasionally to spot wild kangaroos and take photos! At the end of the tour we drove to 1770 to watch the sunset - it was beautiful! 

That evening me and a couple of girls from my dorm just sat round in the hostel, finished off our cider and chatted to some of the other people staying there. I also decided to book a surf lesson for the next day as Agnes Water is the last place on the East Coast you can go surfing because there are no waves further north because of the Great Barrier Reef. The surf lessons are also really cheap! I paid $17 for a 3 hour lesson, and in most places its about $60 for 2 hours!
It was actually a really good lesson! Wasn't sure what to expect because it was so cheap - the only difference between this and other lessons I've had was that there were more people in this group. But it didn't matter as we all still got plenty of 1 on 1 help from the instructors! I managed to stand up most times I caught a wave which I was happy about! It was definitely an improvement on my last attempt at surfing in Noosa!

After the surf lesson I went back to the hostel, had lunch, showered and got my stuff ready to leave the next morning as I was due to catch the 7am bus to Kroombit Cattle Station!

Fraser Island

Possibly one of the best trips I've done in Australia! Fraser Island was AMAZING!

Got up early and got my bag ready for the trip. We were only allowed to take a day pack with us, the rest of our stuff got put in storage while we were away.
First thing we had to do was sort out all our food for the trip into our groups esky (aussie word for cool box!). Our menu for the trip was:

Day 1: Lunch - Ham salad wraps, Tea - Chicken Stir Fry.
Day 2: Breakfast - Cereal and toast, Lunch - Cheese salad wraps, Tea - Spag bol.
Day 3: Breakfast - Cereal and toast, Lunch - any leftover food!

Once we'd sorted all the food we met our guide, Luke, and loaded up the 4x4 with all our gear and set off for Fraser Island!

We got a ferry over to the Island, which is the largest sand island in the world, and the only place where rainforest grows on sand! We'd only been on the island about 10 minutes when we spotted a dolphin in the sea - pretty amazing! Then after about 15 minutes on the island disaster struck.... we broke the car. Loads of smoke was coming from the bonnet and it turned out some pipe had burst or something (my knowledge of cars is not great!) so we all had an early lunch and waited for the company to bring us a new car!

Once we were all sorted again we set of for Lake Wabby and on the way we saw whales in the sea - amazing! The lake was gorgeous, and about a 45 minute walk through the rainforest. So we all had a sunbathe and a swim with the fish! 

By the time we got back to the beach, Luke was waiting for us to take us to our campsite. He'd set up a communal area for us all to sit and cook our food etc. So we had to set up our tents. I shared with Siobhan. Once the camp was set up Luke told us that we were lucky because it was a full moon, and if we went down to the beach we could watch a moon rise. So we did that which was pretty impressive! 

When we got back to the campsite the madness began as the goon boxes were opened! Me and Laura were in charge of cooking our groups tea that evening so we didn't drink much at first. After tea the drinking games began. We played a game where a goon box was put in the middle, and you had to pick it up with your mouth, without your knees, arms or hands touching the floor! Then after everyone had had a turn, about an inch was torn off the top and the game continued until there was just a scrap of cardboard in a hole in the ground! One guy in the group called David was stupidly bendy and won the game! It was fun though, lots of drinking games and dancing!

Next morning we were all up pretty early, a few of us a bit hungover! It was Uli's turn to drive and we went to a creek which we all swam through then the boys began a game of water rugby which was a bit mad! 

After that it started to rain, and didn't stop til the evening! It was still a good day though, we went to the Champagne Pools for a swim, and various lookouts on the Island, one of which is not normally part of the trip, but because of the weather Luke said he'd take us there as it was a fun drive.

After this it was my turn to drive! I was pretty nervous but it wasn't too bad, especially as the car was an automatic so I didn't have to worry about gears! I think I did pretty well, I didn't get stuck anyway! Though I did drive through a wave at one point which I shouldn't have done! The water went all over the car and I couldn't see a thing - was a bit scary!

Before heading back to camp we went to the Maheno shipwreck, which was cool. Took lots of photos, and luckily the rain had stopped by this point!

The drive back to camp was a bit dodgy as it was getting dark and the tide was coming in so there was a lot of driving through water, but I made it!
Tonight was Uli and Johannes' turn to cook, and the made a lovely spag bol for us all! After food the drinking started again, though not quite a heavy as the night before! Spent most of the evening on the beach!

Next day we had to get up and pack away all the tents as it was our last day on Fraser Island :(
Once everything was packed up we set off for Lake McKenzie! It was beautiful. Really clear water and soft fine sand. You could actually exfoliate using the sand! We had about 2 hours by the lake, swimming and sunbathing, and some of the boys were doing cool flip thingys in the water which was cool to watch!

After Lake McKenzie we drove back to the beach and had lunch, before heading to the ferry to leave Fraser Island. It was sad to leave as it had been such a fun few days. I definitely plan on going back at some point in the future!

That night we all had drinks in the hostel bar as a farewell before we all went our seperate ways. A lot of people in the group were heading south so I won't see them again as I'm going north. It was a good night with lots of singing as there were some guys playing guitar and bongo drums! But I went to bed quite early as I was tired from such a mad few days!

Next stop, Agnes Water and the town of 1770!

Rainbow Beach

Arrived at Rainbow Beach at around 3.45pm on 10th October and checked in to Frasers On Rainbow, the hostel I would be staying at for 2 nights before my Fraser Island trip, and 1 night after. It was a pretty cool hostel with a pool and a bar.

Had a bit of a lie in the next day before heading out to have a look round the town. It was just one main street with a few shops and restaurants. There were quite a few surf shops so was cool to have a look in those. Went to have a look at the beach too which was gorgeous - took quite a few photos.

It was then time to go back to the hostel for my Fraser Island briefing! We had to watch a really boring video made by the Aussie government about how to safely drive the 4x4, what to do if you see a dingo, and general safety stuff! The guy at the hostel who was telling us about our trip turned the dvd off when it was over and said "What a load of shit hey!" and went on to tell us the basics about Fraser Island. 
We were then put in our groups to get to know each other and sign a few forms. There were 5 of us in my group, me, an Irish girl called Siobhan, an English girl called Laura and two German brothers, Johannes and Uli.

After the briefing me and Siobhan went to buy our alcohol supplies for the trip - a box of goon each! Then a few of us went to the supermarket to get some treats, as although food was provided, stuff like sweets and fruit etc were not.

Later that afternoon I went on a free bushwalk from the hostel to Carlos Sandblow to watch the sunset, it was amazing, I'd never seen so much sand off the beach! Some of the boys went sandboarding which looked fun, but I didn't try as I was wearing a dress! Unfortunately a big cloud blocked the sun before it set, but it was still a pretty good view!

Went for a couple of drinks in the evening with a Welsh couple in my dorm who were also going on the Fraser Island trip, but then went to bed pretty early as we had to be ready to go at 8.30am the next morning!

Noosa

Had a really good few days in Noosa, stayed at Dolphins Beach house which was about a 2 minute walk to the sea! Arrived at about 3pm so didn't do much that day!

On Saturday me and Beatrice, a girl in my dorm went to the Eumundi Markets which were really good - even though it was pouring with rain! We only stayed for an hour because of the weather but I still managed to spend some money and bought myself a bracelet :)

In the afternoon the weather got a bit nicer so I went for a walk along the beach.

The next day me and Beatrice decided to hire a surfboard as it was free to hire them from the hostel. I choose a girly board with pink hearts on it! But it wasn't the kind of board I was used to surfing on, as I've only used the soft boards for beginners! When we got to the beach the waves weren't great but we headed out anyway and attempted to surf. It was a bit of a disaster! I didn't managed to stand up and spent most of the time doing massive nose dives and feeling like I was stuck in a washing machine!! It was still good fun though anyway! After about an hour in the water I gave up and spent the next few hours lying on the beach watching other people surf. 

That evening as it was still a bit cold me and the other people in my dorm decided to rent a film, so we all sat in our living room (each dorm has its own living room, kitchen and bathroom) and watched 'Yes Man'.

The next day I was leaving for Rainbow Beach but my bus wasn't until 1pm so I decided to do the coastal walk from Noosa Main Beach to Sunshine Beach - the beach near my hostel. It took about 2 hours and was very scenic with lots of gorgeous bays and beaches, and it was right along the edge of the National Park. 

Next stop Rainbow Beach to do Fraser Island!!

Brisbane - again!

So, after 4 months in Tropical North Queensland, I flew back down to Brisbane to continue my travels up the East Coast. It was sad leaving Cairns and the Atherton Tablelands as I really love it there. But it's nice to know I'll be back in a couple of weeks! And there are lots more exciting places to see on the way :)

I landed in Brisbane early in the morning on 5th October and checked in to Base Central, the hostel I stayed at last time. Didn't really do much as I was only there for 2 nights, and saw a lot of Brisbane last time I was there! One thing I did that I'd wanted to do last time was go to the Art Gallery. It was pretty good, lots of Aboriginal art which is cool as its not something you'd see at home. 

Also met up with 3 of the boys I did OzIntro with, Will, Jack and Tom. So it was good to see them, hadn't seen them since Byron Bay back in May. Had a bit of a drunken night then was up early the next morning to get the bus to Noosa!

Malanda part 2!

Had a lovely time at the Travellers Rest yet again! Me and Sarah went on a couple of nice days out as Mike and Tracy let us use their car.
We went to a place called Coffee Works in Mareeba which was ok, even though I don't like coffee! Luckily as well as the unlimited coffee tasting (which I forced myself to try... still don't like it!) there was unlimited chocolate tasting too which I definitely took advantage of! 
We also went to a place called Kuranda. I'd wanted to go for a while so was pleased to finally get to see the place! It was a really cool village, very hippy! There were a couple of markets and nice little shops to look in. Me and Sarah both decided to get braids in our hair! Haven't had one since I was about 7 years old!! We then went on a walk to a Barron Falls which was pretty impressive!

Another day we decided to go on a walk around Lake Eacham which was good - we needed the exercise after all the yummy food we were being given! It was a pretty walk round the lake and through the rainforest. Towards the end of the walk was a lookout point where you cold see turtles swimming in the lake!

Next we went to Millaa Millaa falls where the Herbal Essences advert and Peter Andre's Mysterious Girl video were filmed! I'd been here before when I was in Australia with my sister 2 years ago but wanted to go back anyway! Although the water was pretty cold I still decided to go for a swim :)

On the days we didn't venture out we spent most of the time just chilling out or helping out making beds or packing beef jerky! So we had a really good time yet again at the Travellers Rest! I'm sure I'll be back there again in the future.