The East Coast

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Welcome to my blog, where i will keep you enthralled with all the exciting things i am doing!!

I arrived in Australia a couple of weeks ago after a long but fairly uneventful flight. I stayed at Tom's brothers flat for the first couple of days which is Cronulla, just outside of Sydney. The flat is right next to the beach and i was given a room with views out across the sea, which made getting used to being here a whole lot easier. The first day I was here we went and did the tourist thing in Sydney, taking in the Opera House, Botanic Gardens, Darling Harbour and a couple of museums. Then spent the next couple of days recovering and sleeping although reviving enough for lunch with my aunt and uncle in China town and a drive to Bondi Beach and around the Sydney suburbs afterwards.

That night we got a lift to Newcastle with a friend of Toms. Newcastle is an old industrial town and as we were only there one night we didnt get to see a lot of it. I did manage to get to the local museum where they had interesting exhibits on local history, industry, australian wildlife and enemas.

After Newcastle we went up to Port Stephens and stayed at one of the nicest hostels so far. It was in the middle of nowhere, with wooden cabbins surrounded by trees. Although the downside was that it was freezing cold at night and we were woken up at dawn by the birds. The next day we went whale watching but without success, seeing only the head of a penguin (well Tom told me it was a penguin, but he may have just been trying to ease the disappointment of the lack of whales. I thought it was a duck) and some dolphins. We then wandered through town and sampled some of the towns famous pies, lobster and barramundi, an interesting combination that works suprisingly well.

The next day we had a long 8 hour Greyhound ride to Byron Bay, where we stayed for a coupld of nights for a rest. The town is really popular with backpackers and is full of cool shops and bars. One evening we walked up to the lighthouse that looks over the bay to watch the sunset and while we were up there about three pods of whales swam past.

After Byron, we got the bus to Brisbane. That night we walked into the city and on the way, while crossing the road, we randomly met one of Toms friends who he had been fruit picking with. That night we went for out $5 meals in a nearby hostel and met up with him and his sister, who introduced me to Bunderburg and coke. Its very popular over here and is served from taps at the bar, and it does go down fairly easily. The next morning we got up and dutifully did the tourist thing - the Queensland Museum, the man made beach and the main shopping streets.

Next to Noosa, a really nice town further up the coast. Its quite touristy with lots of cafes, amazing bakeries and a very pretty beach. We were there for Toms birthday so decided to spoil ourselves with danish pastries and smoothies on the beach for breakfast, a wander around town and sunbathing on the beach for the rest of the day. In the evening we went out for a proper meal in a proper restaurant, with some of the most delicious pizzas i have eaten. I then left Tom in Noosa while I got the bus to Hervey Bay to spend the weekend camping in Fraser Island.

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