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Published: February 15th 2009
So we left off last when Krista's parents took off back to the states and The Trio went on hiatus. Jeff and Krista made there way to Airlie Beach and I decided to stop off at a few other places along the way. First stop, a place called Scotty's. Hmmm comforting name...should be good. It was indeed! Upon arrival to my first destination, i noticed a sign that read...Theme Party..."P" party. Come dressed as anything with the letter "P". Now i wasn't feeling too creative at the time and was limited on time and resources to get together a good costume. So i was thinking "ehh...i will shine it and catch up on some rest." Then i noticed some of the poor attempts that a few back packers had made at there outfits. So i said what the hell...i might as well go mix and mingle with the "P" party go-ers and at minimum will get a few drinks with dinner.
I decided i would strap my small backpack to my front and throw a T-shirt over it. There you go...no money spent and no effort made...i am pregnant. Pregnant..."p"...that works...done. So i caught the bus to the bar and we
started in on dinner mixing in with a few people i had met at the pool back at the hostel. As the night progressed small prizes for contest were given out. Then at the end of the night the Grand Prize was to be given away to the winner of the Dance Off. Well Well Well, it turns out that a break dancing pregnant man is worthy of a grand prize! You guessed it...i started in with my standard back spins and took the cake! The crowed erupted as i danced my way into the winning prize...a free, $150 white water rafting trip! Nice! Not a bad way to start a small break from the others.
After the big night out it was fairly easy to get mixed in with the others around Scotty's. I was noticed as the pregnant break dancer and it made for a good ice breaker..."hey ladies, did you see my moves last night?".
So after a few days at Scotty's i was due to move on down the coast via the greyhound bus. But i met some really cool people that talked me into staying a few more nights and i still was yet to
use my rafting trip. See... the catch was it was actually a buy one get on free pass...but everybody that came through Scotty's had the trip booked ahead so i had to wait until somebody booked on so i could double off of there pass. Finally it happened and the trip was a blast! i jumped on with a few Welsh guys. We had a blast trying to knock each other out of the raft.
After the raft trip, i decided i had to leave in order to save enough time to see a few more places. So i said my goodbyes and made my way to Magnetic Island. I was expecting to have a good time on this island doing some sight seeing and going to a Koala reserve but when the power goes out and the rain wont stop...it tends to put a damper on the fun. On the 2nd night of a 2 night stay the same Welsh kids arrived at the new place. One of the English guys they were with was to be celebrating his birthday as well as the national holiday Oz day. So instead of putting myself through the pain of waking up
at the crack of dawn to pack, check out and make my way to the bus station after a big night, i decided to stay one more night. We had a blast getting William, English kid, wasted. Also, for the Australia Day celebration the hostel put on a few games and give aways. This time i kept on my best behavior and didn't bust out the trusty break dancing.
After the next day of rain i made my way back to the bus station to reach the ferry that would take me to a 20 hour bus journey to meet back up with Jeff and Krista down the coast. Fun! The Greyhound here is not like the Greyhound at home. Here they are full of kids traveling up and down the coast and they are pretty comfortable. it is the cheapest way to get for A to B with a decent amount of comfort.
After a 10 break The Trio was back at full strength and ready to take on the next adventure...Frasier Island. A sandy island off the coast of Rainbow Beach. A perfect haven for 4 wheel driving, camping, and sand dune rolling. In the morning we met
our group to go over the rules and instructions and to pack up the gear for our 11 person, 3 day, 2 night, camping outing. We were lucky enough to mix in with a great group of people that we had quickly become friends with. The Dunes and Goons! Clever name...sand dunes and boxes of Goon! The Cheapest, most vile drink one the face of the earth...boxed wine. Hence, Dunes and Goons. All 11 of us packed into a 4x4 truck and made our way to the first camp sight. It was a blast charging over the beaches and bouncing around in the back seats of the beast. We spent the next few days covered in sand 4 wheeling during the day and sitting around camp at night. It was a blast! We had many laughs and bonded closely with the whole group. So well in fact, the it made the other groups jealous. We would get comments about how we all worked together so well, or we all had so much fun together. While the other groups fought over who was driving and how fast they were going. Or even, who was cooking and what to cook. We didn't
have a problem at all. We all knew the potential danger of eleven people in a off road vehicle and we all knew the issue with only having a set amount of food to ration for the few days. Everybody was awesome, pitching in, doing there part. It was unforgettable.
After the Frasier Island trip Dunes and Goons got together for one last night for drinks and laughs. We met up for breakfast and to say goodbyes. The Trio left Dunes and Goons to be on our way down the coast to Noosa Beach. Noosa is a sweet little surf town with a beautiful beach. We spent a few day lounging and chillin out before we went out to the Australia Zoo. Which is the Zoo that Steve Irwin and his family own. It is an amazing place full of crocs and other wildlife. They have done a great job keeping up his legacy and dream of awareness and conservation. We were lucky enough to have been there on the day they feed the largest of the crocs. That was a pretty cool thing to see. I never really respected the sheer size and strength of the massive creatures
until i watched it first hand. Pretty amazing!
After spending a day or 2 lounging in on the beautiful beach of Noosa we made our way to Surfers Paradise. It was busy city with a ton of shops and bars to keep you busy. Unfortunately our place was about a 45 min. walk outside of the busy part of town. We still managed to get ourselves mixed into a pub crawl and had some fun despite the long distance trek home. The beach in Surfers was cool...huge and covered with people. However the surf wasn't good enough to hire a board and paddle out so we just soaked in the rays.
After surfer's and another bus journey we landed in Byron Bay. A cool little surf town with a great scenic surf spot and a small mix of surf shops and night life. This place had more of a hippie feel, not enough to piss me off but just enough to relax more than you can in a busy place like Surfer's. I hired a body board for 2 days because mine was sitting back in Wollongong collecting dust. I only had the stamina to surf for an
Breakin'
backspins...my signature move!hour each day. And i only caught a few worth while waves in each session. I like the break but it had a nasty long shore current that pulled you off the spot in no time and it was a long hike back to the break. So i got sick of it and just did what i do best...sit on a beach doing absolutely nothing.
Byron to Wollongong was a journey...it was a long bus ride to Sydney then a train to Wollongong to meet up with Lisa and Benny to re-unite. We stayed with Benny and Steph one of the nights and then invaded Lisa's parents house for a few days. Both places, i love. Benny and Steph's...i wake up an check the surf without even getting out of bed. Lisa's Parents, i wake up to a nice breakfast and don't stop eating until i go to bed. Once again we were spoiled by the hospitality of great people. We are now off to New Zealand where we will indulge in more extreme sports and death defying activities. Stay tuned!
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