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So, it's probably about time we gave a bit of an update. Fraser Island seems ages ago now and we've certainly packed in a few stops since then! We've also been sharing a lot of it with some of our Fraser Island group. We got on so well and it turned out that all except a few of us were going to be travelling back down to Sydney, so we decided to keep in touch with each other along the way.
NOOSA
First stop after Rainbow beach was Noosa. The weather was shining while we were there and the place itself was beautiful. More of an upmarket holiday destination, plenty of places to spend your money, and certainly the busiest beach we've seen for a while. Despite all the bodies bronzing in the sun, it was a perfect place to relax after the exhausting Fraser Island experience. After a quiet first night, our new mates from Fraser turned up and with a birthday of theirs to celebrate we had a big bbq night in the park, with plenty of drinks, and unfortunately the hangovers returned again the next morning!
BRISBANE
After a few
days in Noosa the sun disappeared and we decided to continue our movements down the coast. Next stop was Brisbane. We've heard a few mixed stories about the place and weren't really sure what to expect. We only stayed a couple of nights. There didn't seem much to do or see. Plenty of shops for Caroline but other than that... we weren't sure. We had a cruise along the river and made a visit to the Art Gallery and Museum and the town hall. But the weather was SO cold we couldn't cope with the outdoors. Afterwards we found out that it was the coldest day EVER recorded in some parts of Queensland! Time to move on again.....
SURFERS PARADISE
Surfer's Paradise was a short 2 hour ride on the Greyhound from Brisbane. Again we've heard a lot of different opinions about the place but decided to take a look for ourselves. Well, the beach was nice, but yards from the sand begins the most ridiculous mountain of huge skyscraper apartments and hotels. Add to that bars, cafes, restaurants, and shops and a whole lot of people. The place was like package holiday central and as we
walked along the streets people jumped out on us and tried to get us to sign up for bar crawls all over the place. I suppose it's a good place to go for a very lively atmosphere and bucket loads of drink but given our last couple of weeks we really didn't feel like that. Not really the place for either of us.
However, whilst there we booked ourselves onto a whale watching boat trip. It is currently the right time of year to catch the humpback whales migrating their way along the east coast. We made our way out with eyes peeled, scanning the horizon for jets of water shooting from the sea. Once we'd spotted them we made our way over and found the whales happily swimming along. Even caught sight of them leaping from the waters. We drifted along in the boat with whales only metres away from us. It was an amazing experience and it seemed like they were just as interested in us as they came over to have a closer look at us. Needless to say we got very snap happy on the camera!
BYRON BAY
So, we finally left Queensland
and made our way back to New South Wales to begin the last leg of our Oz journey. Byron Bay is definitely a popular place amongst the backpackers and it was easy to see why. The town wasn't too big and plenty of cafes and bars to keep you occupied, but most importantly, it was really laid back. Only trouble was for the first two days of our time there it rained, and rained, and rained. With no break. So we couldn't enjoy the beach. Stuck inside pretty much the whole time. However, it didn't dampen our spirits and as we were reunited with our Fraser Islands we shared a few more drinks and laughs!
We also decided to spend a few days in a small town called NIMBIN. About an hour and a half inland from Byron, it's a hippy town in the hills. A very strange atmosphere and in the middle of some beautiful scenery it was a great experience! After that we returned for a couple more nights in Byron Bay and by that point the weather had improved. On our last day made a long walk out the the lighthouse on the cliffs which leads to
the most Easterly point of the Australian mainland. Very exciting I know! But whilst we were there we were able to see more whales swimming past, with one breaching every few minutes!
PORT MACQUARIE
From Byron Bay, the bus journey to Sydney is 13 hours. We decided to stop a night in Port Macquarie. A small holiday town which is convenient to us as it lies at the half way point of the journey. We didn't really plan to much here, and so not really a lot to tell. We took a stroll through the town and along the waters edge. We sat on the harbour wall and we lucky to spot a big group of dolphins swimming and leaping from the water just next to us. That was the highlight.
So next stop SYDNEY......
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MumF
non-member comment
A WHALE of a time!!!
Hello to you both - Good to hear from you at last, beginning to think you'd forgotten us!!!! Glad to hear things are still going well, your latest photographs seem fantastic and looks like you are having a whale of a time!!!!!(ha) Hope you enjoy your birthday treat Chris, be careful when you are climbing up the bridge and hold on tight.(Sorry a mum comment!) Hope to speak to you at the weekend. Enjoy Sydney and look sfter each other. Love Mumxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx