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Published: January 28th 2006
Well hello there! Since I've last written, Kristen and I have ended our stay in Byron, moved onto Surfer's Paradise, then Brisbane, and are currently in Noosa.
Byron so far has been the most fun. Once the rain finally let up it was a good party. We ended up switching hostels to get out of the tippee and away from all the mosquitoes. But we ended up always going back to Arts Factory at night to meet up with friends that we had met there. Before going out to a bar/club a group of us including Katie from Texas (awesome girl!), Moritz from Germany, some Canadian gals, and some Aussie guys, would sit around a table and drink from a Goon! That's right a goon. It's what they call a box of wine. And it is the cheapest alcohol you can get your hands on. A 5 litre box costs just 8 bucks, and it's not bad stuff either! They have this saying, "Slap the Goon". Which means you take the Goon bag out of the box and everyone gives it a good slap. After drinking from the Goon, we'd hit the town. One night we went to this bar called "Cheeky Monkey's" which could be likened to Stages or even the Cocomo back in Kingston. Another night we went to a bar where Russel Crowe and his band were performing! We didn't actually get to see Russel, as it was 20 bucks to enter the concert area and tickets were sold out...but we did hear him. So I can say that I have heard Russel Crowe live.
For our last night in Byron Bay Kristen, Katie, myself, two American guys from Seattle, and two Irish guys, drank some goon and then went to the Beach Hotel. It was a really great last night. We just hung out at a table on the patio and the Irish guys kept us in stitches. One of them, Ross, was just hilarious, very witty with the jokes. The other, Graham, was funny in that you couldn't help but laugh at him. As terrible as that sounds, you just couldn't help it. He is 24 and obssessed with Tupac. That day he had gotten a $500 portrait of Tupac tattooed to his back. He also went on and on about his love for the deceased rapper and his two theories of who killed him.
After Byron Bay, Kristen and I stayed at Surfer's Paradise for 2 nights. It's not really a paradise though. More like a beach and a gazillion skyscrapers. We had fun none-the-less. The first night there we met up with two other Canadians, Heather and Lauren, who we had met at Byron. Kristen and I drank with them at their hostel and then a big group of us went to this bar called 'Down Under'. It was a retro theme night and many other backpackers were there too. A group of guys from one hostel were all dressed up as women, complete with wigs, dresses, and sock stuffed brassiers.
Our next stop was Brisbane for two nights. Brisbane is another big city like Sydney. Instead of spending time on the beach (because there really wasn't one except for a man-made lagoon) we went to the Lond Pine Koala Sanctuary. It was awesome. I finally got to hold a koala and hand feed kangaroos! The koala's were adorable and both Kristen and I got to hold one. Then we went to this field that was filled with literally 40 or so kangaroos and some wallabies too. They were all over the place, just lying down or hanging out. We fed quite a few and I got tons of pics. We also saw a couple of dingos, a fresh water crocodile, some snakes and wombats.
After the Koala Sanctuary we saw the tail end of a parade. We were lucky enough to be in a big city for Australia Day (Jan. 26th), equivalent to our Canada Day. It was really cool to be there for their national holiday. We treated ourselves to a nice dinner at a restaurant with a view of the Brisbane River and then saw an amazing fireworks show. We ended the night by going to a club called "Birdie Num Num's"....no joke. The night before was pretty cool too. The hostel we stayed at in Brisbane was pretty nice. They had their own bar and our first night we were treated to a night of Kareoke which was a lot of fun (although I didn't get up and sing). Our room was interesting. We were in a room with 30 other people....and we thought the tipee was bad. It was literally this big room with row on row of bunkbeds. It wasn't that bad, no snorers believe it or not, but it was very, very hot, and the fan didn't quite reach my bed.
The weather here has been gorgeous, about 28-30 every day. The culture is pretty similar to home. The music is exactly the same. I've heard tons of Britney, Kanye West, Nickle Back and the like. The bars and clubs are just like the ones at home.
As for some Aussie Slang, we're starting to pick up tons. Including, "How ya going?". Not "How's it Going?" or "How ya doin'?" but "How ya going"? Any time you walk into a shop this is the saying you are greeted with. There's also "Good on ya" when you do something worthy of congratulations, or when thanking someone you can say "you're a legend". A substitution for a word of profanity when something doesn't go your way is "Bugga". i.e if you spill your pot of beer you might say "oh Bugga". That's another thing, a half pint of beer is a pot and a pint is a scooner, and a pitcher is a Jug. Also, some what of a 'cheers' or 'Let's get Drunk' is: 'Fire Up!'
And I think that about sums everything up. We'll be in Noosa for 2 more nights and then go on to Hervey Bay where we've booked a tour for Fraser Island. We'll be in a group of 9, driving around in a 4X4 over the sands of Fraser Island and camping for 2 nights. I can't wait!
Hope everyone is doing great, I've been thinking of everyone tons!
Love Becca
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Jasmine Green
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Good on Ya!!
Beck, your updates are so awesome to read, I'm glad you're having such an amazing time!!! I miss you already, be good... haha!!!