Another night at the friendly hostel new people to talk to and a very lazy day at the hostel due to it being a Sunday and only a couple of the shops are open. ... read more

20th Jan Fraser Island Early start today pick up from the hostel was at 6:10am We visited a number of other hostels/hotels then went to the harbour and boarded the ferry which had a crossing time of 30 mins. On arrival we disembarked and was taken to the hotel resort where we were introduced to our guide and he boarded us onto our 4 wheel drive bus similar to the ones they use for the Africa overland trips. There were 32 of us on the bus. Fraser Island is the worlds largest sand island which is 123km long and 15km wide and is a listed world heritage site. The first place that we went to was Lake Mckenzie which is one of the many fresh water lakes, stopped for 45 mins and went swimming and had ... read more

Caught the 9:35 greyhound bus from Noosa to Hervey Bay arrived at 2:25 then rang the hostel for a courtesy pick up this done arrived at the hostel and was shown to the dorm which is more of a self contained flat with four people in the dorm. As I had planned to stop here 2 nights I extended to 3 nights. I booked a day trip to Fraser Island for Sat 20th Jan. This afternoon I went down to the esplanade and got my bearings then went to the Irish bar for food as I am sick of getting chips with everything, they seem to be the only place that offers a different type of potato’s ie mashed. ... read more

Checked out of Kola even though I had paid for 2 nights they do not refund but give you a credit for any o the other kola resorts, I had booked the Kola at Harvey Bay. Checked in at the YHA as the dorm was not ready went down to the beach until lunch time then back to the hostel and got into the dorm, Shared with two Italians one could not speak any English. During the afternoon took the laptop to the internet cafe and logged on so that all the anti virus was upto date and booked another hostel in Harvey Bay called the Friendly Hostel. During the evening sat around the hostel bar talking to a few other travellers one of the very few hostels where people actually meet other travellers. ... read more

Following the greyhound bus journey from Brisbane arrived in Noosa and was met by the courtesy coach for Kola Backpackers resort where I had booked for 2 nights. On arrival into the dorm the room was filthy and the shower had green algae going up the walls, I asked if they had another dorm but was told no. During the afternoon went down to Noosa heads then came across the YHA asked if they had space for the hostel and sat outside the room on the balcony for the evening. ... read more

Since the last update I have not been able to do anything much as I have been suffering with severe toothache which started on Sunday, I could not fine a dentist open on the sunday. On Monday I went to one that was recommended by the travel advice doctor and got an appointment for the afternoon. They ended up taking x rays then putting a temporay filling in to see if that sorts the problem as they could not really find a problem expect for a hairline crack in a tooth under a filling. The cost for the treatment was $161 which equates to 66 pound then I will need to have a full filling put in before I leave Aus if it sorts the problem. Whilst I have been suffering I applied for the visa ... read more

Today I walked into the city and got my bearings back to the hostel for 2 as it was really hot and humid. The hostel at least has a swimming pool. In the evening I walked into the city and went to the south bank of the river and walked along there found a craft market then opposite the man made beach there was an outdoor cinema so ended up stopping and watching the film then back to the hostel.... read more

Caught the free bus to the Byron Transit then joined the Greyhound bus to Brisbane. On the way we dropped off in surfers paradise which on the way through I was glad I had not bothered stopping there as it just looked like magluf with the buildings and the waterparks. On arrival In Brisbane we were informed we would be dropped off on level 3 of the tranist centre from there I walked 10 mins until I reached the Aussie hostel which is in a quiet street, checked in and showen to the dorm where there are 2 germans from Dulwich hill staying there. Have booked for 3 nights but may extend a bit longer to get a break from the travelling. Am going to look to see what there is on offer in Brisbane. Will ... read more

Following the late arrival I decided to take a day trip to Nimbin as I had been told in sydney that it is worth visiting. I booked the trip at 9:30 and the coach departed from the arts factory hostel at 10am. A full coach of 30. Nimbin is the hippy area of Aus. On the way up the bus driver Dougie played various types of music we stopped at a pub which was the only building in the village. We then went into Nimbin he advised us to take a look at the muesuem and if anyone was going to buy from the dealers if they heard a shout of taxi the deal would be stopped for a few minutes until the police drove by. A few of the dutch guys said they bought. It ... read more

Waited around the holiday park until it was time for the free shuttle bus to take me to the transit centre. Caught the Greyhound coach and left on time then we had to stop as the air conditioning broke down it only took the driver an hour to fix, arrived in Byron Bay 45 mins late. Still managed to get the free shuttle bus to the Arts Factory. checked in and dorm was full. Met someone that I was in Dulwich Hill and they said that Byron was just a beach again.... read more