Blogs from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, Oceania - page 10

Day one - about to fly to Istanbul Having booked and paid for this trip 9 months ago, This day is finally here! It doesn't quite feel real yet! Looking forward to meeting some of my fellow travellors from the Gallipoli forum I have been actively following on Facebook for about 6 months now. A nice sleep in and time to pack today 14kg main luggage and just on 4kg hand luggage yah 16kg for shopping!!! Late breakfast at home at 12 and a movie before we head to the airport. The beauty I guess, (as I just found out) by flying with the same airline (Etihad) the whole way through is the need to only check in for a Domestic flight in Brisbane - all the way through to Istanbul with only needing to clear ... read more

Brisbane est vraiment une chouette ville. On est parfois étonné des commentaires peu enthousiastes de certaines personnes sur la ville. A commencer par le fait que le climat y est tropical ce qui lui donne une végétation très luxuriante. En deuxième lieu, on a aimé le fait que la ville garde une taille humaine. Certes elle est déjà grande mais tu peux te débrouiller à pied sans problèmes. Une histoire plus importante aussi, ce qui lui donne une architecture plus riche. Enfin, le super lagon de South Bank Parklands avec vue sur la ville gratuit. Le moins qu'on puisse dire c'est que la ville met les moyens pour se développer. Une grande ville à l'esprit décontracté; en somme, on a aimé! Pour se garer par contre grosse galère ! Un panneau est apposé à plusieurs endroits ... read more

Hello Family, Friends and blog readers, We woke up before everyone in our room, as we had to be on the Premier bus at 7.40am. We had free pancakes at the hostel, gave back our plates and bed sheets and then waited in the rain for the bus. Neil lost his camel back and cap in one of the cars and they didn’t have anything in the lost property L. The bus journey was quick, when we got to Noosa three hours later we asked the driver if anyone had not turned up and if we can stay on until Brisbane (as we had left it too late to book up accommodation in Noosa, and everything was full because it was Easter Friday). The driver said yes, so we got off the bus at 1pm in ... read more

5/3 Despite going out last night I managed to get up early, pack my bags and get my bus to Brisbane. I got to my hostel about midday where Kennedy was already there waiting for me. We got the bus into town so that Kennedy could book her east Coast trip up to cairns, hopefully at the same time as me. We managed to get all the same hostels and we're going to be travelling to all the same places at the same times, the only thing is the Fraser Island and Whitsundays trips I'm booked into were full so Kennedy is doing it at the same time just with different companies. I'm happy with that though because we both get to travel together but also spend some time apart to make other friends which is ... read more

After staying in the wine region, then stretches of very quiet coastline and the family resort of Coffs Harbour, our next stop took us to Byron Bay. This is quite a small town but totally devoted to surfing. The place was full of bronzed cool dudes with bleached dreadlocks and too many tats, all living out of camper vans. The beaches are long and the sea shallow but the waves are relentless, obviously perfect for surfing but not for swimming. Our accommodation on this part of the trip came as a package so we didn't really know what to expect and it has been hit and miss - all quite comfortable with the basics covered but also all have seen better days. As we're only in them one night if doesn't really matter - I just ... read more