Done the East coast

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My last night in Rainbow Beach was spent walking up to the sand dunes, about a 45 min walk from my hostel. Unfortunately it was overcast (and very hot and humid) so we didn't see much of a sunset, but we made up for it by having a go at sandboarding. Great fun. Our guide had taken a bodyboard along so we all took it in turns climbing up a very steep hill before surfing down. You're supposed to be able to see the coloured sands from there but because of the weather the view wasn't too great. It was still pretty cool though to see such a vast amount of sand, and some of it had swirls of white in so it looked just like coffee and vanilla icecream.

The next morning I went to Hervey Bay. Stuart was right it is a nice, although small, town. Went for a walk in the afternoon to get my bearings and as I was walking along the sand, I noticed the ground was moving. There were loads of tiny crabs all popping up out of holes and walking along in the same direction. I wish I'd taken a picture but my first reaction was to get out of there before I stood on one or they crawled on my feet. (It reminded of the scene from Pirates of the Carribean 2 where Jack is on the Island and the crabs all travel together moving the ship along the sand.)

On Thursday evening we had a briefing ready for our Fraser Island trip the next day. Once we were all put into groups for our cars we went shopping. (Never realised how difficult it is to shop for 7 people.) Luckily for me I was the only one in my car that could drive. The others were either not 21, didn't bring their licence or could only drive automatics. It meant I got to drive pretty much the entire time. (Just for a couple of hours on the second day another girl swapped into my car to try driving but didn't last long, so I got the keys back😊 We had a 'real' camping experience for 2 nights, no toilets on site so had to make do with squating until we left camp. We spent the 3 days driving along the beaches and sandy national park tracks, where on several occasions cars got stuck in the soft sand and we had to push them out, and swimming in crystal clear lakes with silicon sand that is so pure it apparently cleans silver jewellery. (Not sure about that but it does make a good body scrub. You can even clean your teeth and wash your hair with it.) On the second day we went to see the famous shipwreck (although now I can't remember when it happened.) That night while we were sleeping (we'd all gone to bed pretty early) a girl from the next camp, who was still up partying, fell into our tent. She finally disappeared when she realised we weren't going to get up and join her, but after continueing to disturb everyone she was yelled at by our tour guide to return to her own camp. We all found it pretty amusing in the morning. On the last day it rained, (we were lucky we'd had great weather so far) so most of us didn't want to go swimming that day and we chose to return to Hervey Bay early. I had the best fun driving through the tracks to the ferry port. The rain had made the tracks really muddy and slippery, so the car constantly skidded from side to side. At one point we had to get up a fairly steep hill and each car when it got to the top swerved to the side looking as though it would crash into the banks and overturn. It was a pretty scary, although fantastic, experience. The rest of the driving was like driving on ice, it was harder to control the car than I thought it'd be but as I loving driving I was in my element. There were a few screams though from my passengers as some of it was pretty rough and they were thrown around a bit. That night a few of us went out for dinner back in Hervey to celebrate someone's b'day and it was also a really nice way to end the trip. I'd made some good friends there and we were a bit sad to all go our separate ways. I'm sorted if I want to go to Canada though, and another girl is from Bristol so I'l definitely be seeing her when we're back. Fraser Island was a fantastic trip and I'd love to do it all over again, although I think we were all grateful for a shower once back in Hervey.

The next morning the girl from Bristol and I went for breakfast before I got the bus to Agnes Water &1770. (This is one of the places the 3 Brisbane girls had recommended to me back in Mooloolaba.) It rained all day and there wasn't much to do there so after a few hours I was bored. 4 of us decided to go for a walk along a very long, boring road before giving up and hitch hiking. We ended up in the back of a very hot truck with a bunch of fishing rods and petrol cans. The guys that picked us up offered to take us paddle boarding with them, but as none of us had our bikinis on we settled for a drink in the pub instead. Day 2 was much better, the sun was out. I spent that evening on a scooterroo (a mini Harley Davidson), on a 3 hour trip that ended at the marina watching the sunset. (It's one of the main attractions in 1770 so couldn't not do it really.) Then got the gruelling 10 hour bus ride to Airlie Beach (Whitsunday Islands). We arrived at 5:45am and the hostel didn't open until 7am so a bunch of us were sat on the kerb falling asleep while we waited, but I met another girl who I've met up with along the way since then so I guess it wasn't so bad.

North of Brisbane has been such a small world, I constantly bump into people I've met previously which is great, it's like seeing old friends. I was sat at a cafe with the girl I'd just met, and saw 4 people arriving back from their Whitsunday trips that I was on Fraser with. We all had drinks that night in the hostel bar to catch up. A couple of days later I went on my trip. There was only 10 of us so we were like a little family. (Funnily enough one of the girls was the same girl that fell in my tent back at Fraser Island.) Luckily for me there was a couple of beds spare, as the 1^st night it rained and above me was a big hatch that was left open. I got a bit wet that night before moving to another bed. Didn't get to do any snorkelling that day as didn't leave until late but the next day we went to a couple of different sites. (I didn't see Nemo but I did see Doreen). We also went to Whitehaven Beach (silicon sand again and beautifully clear water). It's now stinger season so we all looked very fashionable in our stinger suits, but I did see a few jellyfish so was glad I had it. Also saw some stingrays so kept well clear of those. We had fab weather for the 1^st day but it rained on the 2^nd, making waterfalls on the Islands which we got to sit under and enjoy the massage (they were pretty forceful). The trip was a little disapponting, I thought we'd have got to do a bit more snorkelling, and we didn't sail much as it was taking too long to get everywhere, but I enjoyed the bits we did get to do. Fraser was my favourite though.

I got another nightbus to Mission Beach that night, arriving at 4am at my hostel (Australia Day). Had a couple of hours sleep in the tv room before going out for a day of white water rafting on the Tully river. This was one of the best trips I've done here I absolutely loved it. We had grade 4 rapids, got to go swimming, rock jumping (although only 4 metres high) and had a bbq lunch. Was an action packed day. Carrying on with the adrenaline rush I went skydiving the following day. 14,000ft and landed on the beach. An amazing experience I was on such a high after that I just wanted to do it all again. My 'buddy' was laughing at me though 'coz apparently I was screaming pretty loud during the freefall. The view from the sky was just awesome, I could see the barrier reef and all the little islands. It was over so quickly though. I was the last one to jump in my group so the adrenaline was still going when we were making our way back to the pub to celebrate.

Arrived in Cairns that evening, and the following day went up to Kuranda on the scenic railway (a 2 hour trip winding up through the mountains with some great views of Cairns and the Barron Falls). Kuranda is only a small place with not too much to do, so spent most of the time on walks (a couple were 'jungle' walks which was cool. Still haven't seen any spiders or snakes yet though, maybe when I go to Cape Tribulation.) That morning I lost my phone so spent the afternoon sorting through all my stuff trying to find it. No luck. It was a good opportunity though to wash everything in my bag, as on my last move my bag got completely soaked and all my clothes were wet and beginning to smell. (The downside to being in the wet tropics. That, and also that it's so hot and humid here that you're constantly dripping with sweat.)

Today I went out to the great barrier reef and did my 1^st ever dive. It was harder than I thought it'd be and I struggled with the breathing. It took about 15 mins before I was relaxed, but even still I didn't want to let go of my instructors hand. I loved it though and went out for a 2^nd dive later on where I saw Nemo and a huge turtle. The coral was really beautiful and there were some funky fish too. The day was awesome I'd love to learn to scuba dive properly now and get certified, although I'm not sure I'd use it at home.

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