Australia Pt. 5 - Noosa & Fraser Island

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We travelled up to Noosa during the day and got there late afternoon. Our hostel - 'Flashpackers' looked like the Big Brother House - leather sofas, bean bags, huge TV, outdoor sofas, a pool, reading room ('the Snug'😉. We still only paid 32 dollars a night which was about the same as everywhere else we stayed too. It was a little out of town but they had a shuttle bus. I well recommend staying there. Warwick, the owner, is lovely! We booked up to go to Fraser Island the next day on a tour. We wanted to go for a few days camping but just didn't have the time... or money! The day trip was 100 quid - but so worth it.

We got up at 5.30 and got picked up from the hostel. Fraser Island is about two hours from Noosa so we drove up there in the huge truck - you can see in the photos. It is a 4 wheel drive and can go on pretty much any terrain. It was bumpy...but so funny! We got a ferry across to Fraser Island which is only just an island, it takes just 10 minutes to get to across the water. As soon as we got there we saw a dingo! They are pure breed on the island and pretty notorius. You get taught how to move away if one approaches you as they are really ferral and have eaten children (!!). We drove down the beach, in and out of the waves and sand, and then stopped for tea and cakes on the beach. We then went further in land in to the forest and and did a walk. It was really humid so Zippo the clown was back! Note to self - I need to get a hat.

We drove down to Lake McKenzie which was gorgeous. The water was so clear and blue and it had sand banks so it looked like a beach. We stayed there for an hour while the tour guide (whose idol must have been Steve Irwin) cooked a barbie. No shrimps! But fish & steak and loads of salad & bread. Filled up on that with the intention of not having dinner. (Obviously that did not go to plan). A couple of friendly lizards joined us for lunch!

We then drove out to Rainbow beach, so named due to the various different colours of sand there. As you can see, it varies from light to dark to black. Great pictures. There is just so much stunning scenery here, especially the coast, and you come to see that each beach varies quite a lot from the next - whether it be the current or sand or rip, they all vary and are stunning in their own way. We saw a car which must have rolled or hit some quick sand as it had sunk. You have to be really careful driving on the beaches here, there have been a few fatalaties. Surprisingly you can still rent out a 4 wheel drive yourself, however I'd prefer to leave it to the pros I am not particularly good navigating roads, never mind the tide and quick sand! On the way back the tide was coming in so we had to be careful about when to drive to avoid the waves so there was a fair bit of stop...wait... go go go!

We got back about 4pm and watched Hairspray - I love John Travolta!

The next day the weather was abysmal so we had to abort our beach plans. George went to an internet cafe and I took myself off to the cinema to see the King's Speech - which blew me away. Colin Firth is a genius! You cannot beat a good English film. I wiki'd it after, and although there was some dramatisation for effect, I think it was pretty true to life, which makes it even more interesting. They may have romanticised the relationship between the King & his therapist somewhat, but still, I thought it was brilliant. Old Col totally deserves his Bafta. Met George for a coffee and the sun had come out so we went to Main Beach for a few hours.

Stayed in at the hostel that night as the weather was not very good... and we had pretty much ran out of money! Met a two girls and a guy from Manchester who have moved here for a year and sat up with them chatting and playing cards. I would consider coming out here for a year; Oz is so big I felt we only touched the tip in the four weeks we've been here.

After the hostel putting on an 'all you can eat pizza night' I felt pretty disgusting to booked in to go to yoga in the park the next morning. Set my alarm and was up and ready by 6 am - but it was cancelled due to the rain! Thought I'd use my early morning to give Dad a call so had a nice chat for an hour or so - we're 11 hours ahead here. George and I went down to the beach for a few hours then began the long old journey back to Sydney & out of Oz.

We got a Greyhound to Brisbane, stopped for a few hours, then got an over night coach to Sydney. We arrived in the morning and paid to leave our bags in a hostel and went to a swimming pool to a - kill time b - finally get some exercise and c - have a shower!! It was the day before my Birthday, and our flight to Auckland was that night, landing at 11.55pm, meaning I turned the ripe old age of 24 standing in passport control in Auckland airport, explaining why I had a jar of pasta sauce in my bag...

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