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The road up to Brissy was an emotional one - we had just said our goodbyes to our travel buddys for the last time. So long Tina and Paul - enjoy the next 7 months!! Anyway once the tears had dried, and there was no way we could blame it on the rain around these parts, it was time to hit Queensland's capital.
We checked in to Brisbane City Backpackers and, after somehow squeezing into the tightest parking space in town (even I had a go getting us in!) we went for a wonder into town. The centre of the action was around Queen Street - there was a smashing market selling all sorts of local produce so we went around munching as many freebies as we could!! We also discovered Brisbane has a massive public lagoon in the downtown - which goes like a fayre when the sun comes out. The next day we explored the city a little more, I was in my element in the museum!! It had a natural history section the size of a small town with endless bones, stuffed animals and creepy crawlies! There were even cockroaches bigger than the palm of my hand!
Apparently Queensland is home to the biggest roach in the world. We left praying none of these critters had set up camp in our van over the last month! We took part in a pub quiz that night with probably the thickest Irishman to ever grace the land of Oz. Lets just say dinosaurs wern't his strong point - apparently all dinsoaurs were purple, T-rex had teeth the size of a campervan and that the smallest dinosaur of all time was...a T-rex!!
The next day it was time to leave "Bris-vegas" - the locals random nickname for this seemingly pretty laid back city. We swung by the pretty seaside town of Noosa - known for its snazzy resorts and snobby clientele. However we comforted ourselves when we heard there was a free BBQ in the hostel that night. Queue 200 hungry skint backpackers lining up for free grub that evening - gutted we got 1 sausage each and a slice of bread!!
Next stop was Agnes Water and 1770, two tiny towns further up the coast. This was more our scene - the beaches were once more stunning and there was ample room for a nice big Ozzy
barby! But the highlight was taking part in a surf lesson! Oh yes people - it had only taken us 6 weeks but we had finally decided to splash the cash and do an activity! Sure it only cost 17 bucks and there was 50 of us doing it but it was still an activity! It was really fun getting out on the surf although surfing was surprisingly alot more difficult than it looked. However by the end we were both getting the hang of it and were managing stand up and ride the odd wave - well almost...
On the road North we passed by Bundaberg, home of the famous rum and the city of Mackay. Both had so little to do that there really isn't much to write home about! Although we did enjoy a little easter egg hunt around Mackay to celebrate the festive season!Townsville, our next stop up the coast, fared alot better. The boardwalk by the beach was stunning - everything from free gym equipment, parks, beaches, BBQ's and even a kids waterpark! All totally free of charge to keep the locals and visitors well entertained. Much to my disappointment there is no swimming
3 Dollar Mojitos in Noosa!
Cheap Drinks in Oz - Miracle!!around these parts - the deadly box jellyfish are out in force this time of year! We spent the next few days enjoying the sunshine and munching endless sticks of corn n the cob for dinner - this is becoming a staple for us along with the $1 pot noodles on sale at the mo! The real highlight of Townsville though, at least for Claire, was the royal wedding on our last night! We hunted around for hours for somehwere showing it and finally succeeded when we made ourselves comfy in the lobby of the nearby Holiday Inn! Think we got a lot of funny looks that night - the national anthem blaring out of the reception TV as we sat back and enjoyed the biggest society event of the year!
We are heading yet further north tomorrow - with Cairns and the finishing line of our Ozzy adventure in sight! We will keep you posted!
James and Claire x
ps. don't be fooled by the new layout to these blogs - there are more photos below!!
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