Australia..."didnt you know it was wet season"

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So finally arrived in australia on the 7th jan into cairns. Within the first hour of being here, realised 2 things it is very hot and very expensive. After a few mishaps at the airport of not being able to withdraw money and not being able to get a shuttle to the hostel we arrived at 'the asylum' our first nights stop in aus. A very basic hostel but had aircon and a bed which is what we needed for our first night even though it was full of 40 year old acoholic men who have been staying there for 4 months, so i think you can get the picture of the asylum. Didnt really do much in cairns just a stop over to sort out our bus ticket, the greyhound to get down to brisbane, so only stayed for 2 days just to recooperate over the flight over. Cant wait to finally to get to a beach as travelling can become rather stressful in the heat and constantly on the move. Was an early start to get to mission beach on our first greyhound and after an excrusiating walk for 20 mins in literally 40 degree heat we arrived at the bus station dripping with sweat and in rather a bad mood.

In mission beach next which is a really tiny village which is locacted about 2 seconds from the beach. The hostel, 'scottys beach house' was lovely, all the rooms overlooked the pool and bar area and exactly what we were picturing for australia. The beach was gorgeous, sparkling gold sand, however soon found out it was stinger season so couldnt actually get in for a swim and therefore spent most of our time on a sun lounger by the pool with a glass of goon in our hand. On our first night we went for dinner and a walk along the beach and on the horizon we saw what we thought was the sun setting but soon realised it was actually the moon glowing this amazing red colour and was rising over the sea, it was such a surreal moment. The next few days we literally didnt move from the pool and just relaxed in the australian heat, also took a walk along the beach in search for coconuts and hoping to catch the moon rise again, after waiting for an hour in the pitch black we gave up and went back to the hostel where we were told it was a one-off, which made the first night even more special. While in mission beach we went on a day trip to the great barrier reef, another one of those amazing days. Set off around 9am and sailed for around an hour and a half to the reef, Lauren was abit apprehensive about snorkelling again after thailand but the guide was extremely helpful and made Lauren feel at ease. Rach was loving it however and just jumped staraight in. We firstly did a guided tour of the reef to see the most amazing coral and fish including alot of different sea cucumbers and learnt alot about the environment. After we had lunch we were let out on our own to explore which was amazing as we had the whole reef to ourselves as we were the only boat out there, we saw clams the size of cars and bright green and purple corals which nothing could really top. We went on the hunt for turtles, and although we found none were named the turtle hunters by the crew on the boat. We took an underwater camera but the pictures probably wont show the true beauty of the reef and we could of spent days exploring and definatley something we will have to do again.

Next day we spent the day travelling to townsville to get a ferry over to magnetic island, however the greyhound was running late so we missed our connecting ferry by literally a mintue, so had to wait another hour and a half for the next boat, but waiting seems to be what travelling is all about. Magnetic island was stunning even though there was not much to do it was beautiful to see all the wildlife and environment. The hostel was located near the beach and we stayed in this wooden bunglow which was boiling as there was no aircon, but we got to go and visit the animal sanctuary which was located in the grounds. Got to see barbie the baby croc and an amazing black bird which ate seeds from your mouth, harry the walabee and best of all matilda the kuala which we got to hold and have a picture taken with which wasnt the best as we were very hot and sweaty as we had been wondering around the park for about 2 hours. Also got to hold a snake and some lizards which was alot of fun. We were going to go for a trek after but it was far too hot so opted for a dip in the pool instead, it then started to rain though so took shelter in the bar with a cider instead...such hard work. Some of the girl we had met travelling rented a mini-mot, which is in between a car and a go-kart so went out for the evening with them and was a good way to end the trip to magnetic.

Our next stop was airlie beach ready for our whitsundays sailing trip, and this is where the weather turned on us. It did not stop raining so took advantage of this and caught up on our sleep and drinking, even though it was abit of a shame as you couldnt leave the room so couldnt explore the beach or town at all really. We were considering cancelling our boat trip as we didnt want to spend so much money to sit on a boat in the rain but we were told it was too late and that we would have just as much fun in the rain. When we woke up on the morning of the trip thankfully there was no rain, however it was still really cloudy but was a vast improvement on the weather we had the days before. There was 24 people plus the crew on 'siska' the sailing boat, didnt think we would all fit on but it was alot more spacious once you were beneath the deck, all the beds tightly slotted in the cabin. Sailed out for around 3 hours with decieving clouds and so we didnt think to put suntan cream on as we hadnt for the last week due to the rain and got SO sunburnt that we suffered for days after. Sailed to the whitsunday island where we got a dingy from the boat to the shore and walked for 30mins to a viewpoint which was beautiful and exactly like the pictures in the shining sun. We then went to the beach which was voted the best eco-beach in the world as it was 90% silica so the sand was so soft and bright white. We then got back on the boat and sailed for a few more hours to our overnight spot and we were the only boat there. During this time everyone was telling us how sunburnt we were...trust us...we were aware of this as our skin was on fire. We arrived in perfect time for the sunset over the sea and the islands which was unforgettable and the pictures do not do it justice. everyone just sat there in silence for 30 mins while it was setting and the colours of the sky were literally undescribable. Then we set up for the night with a lovely dinner made for us and got on the goon with the rest of the people on the boat and the crew which was a good laugh. The beds were extremely uncomfortable and as we were sleeing in the kitchen/lounge area it was a very early start with the music starting from 6am. We spent the next few hours snorkelling the reef right off the boat, it wasnt as beautiful as the great barrier reef as nothing could top it but was still amazing to see with some massive blue fish which we were feeding right off the boat so once you got in the water there were swimming around you. From there we sailed back to airlie beach which took a good 4 hours and docked around 4pm, in which we had to wait until midnight to catch our next greyhound to 1770. Lucily one of the hostels let us use there shower for free as we were covered in sand and salt and not smelling too great. This is when the sunburn really became an issue as half of the skin on laurens nose literally fell off and she was bright red and rather unhappy, but we had no one else to blame but ourselves. So filled our 8 hour wait drinking mojiotos and eating chocolate in an attempt to cheer ourselves up, this is the first time we wondered why we ever came travelling. our 10 hour bus journey was suprisingly fine, minus the sunburn we managed to sleep most of the way to 1770 but we as arrived laurens ankles started to swell and the peeling began...surely this was enough bad luck. The hostel was ok, apart from no aircon and no pool but could finally swim in the sea as we were much futher south where there were no stingers. Lauren had to stay at the hostel the whole time we were here due to the extreme sunburn and couldnt be out in the sun, so rach spent most of the time laying on the beach getting a tan and relaxing which is what we both needed after the sailing trip. There were around 30 shops which made up the town and a beach so as there was nothing but we went on a sea kayaking trip. Never thought kayaking would be so much work and after 20 mins we thought we might have to turn back as our arms were in agony but half way through the trip we went surf kayaking. This entailed catching the waves and surfing in the middle of the sea, which was great until we fell out and had no idea what was going on as it happened so suddenly. after this we decided to make our way back to the beach for a well deserved glass of goon and snacks where we passed a group of dolphins which was amazing, they were right next to the kayak and we just sat and watched them. definatley got the hang of kayaking on the way back and got to watch the sunset over the sea and was rather a relief once we arrived back at shore but was a great experience.

Everytime we move onto a new place there is so much travelling involved it feels like the whole day has been wasted especially when the sun decides to come out. so after 1770 we travelled to hervery bay ready for our fraser island trip which involved 2 nights camping. We had a brief the day we arrived in which we had to get everything ready for the trip that night including all the food we needed and met our 'lovely' group which were a range of screaming 18 year olds and the majority were annoying girls so we pretty much kept to ourselves as we would of gone insane. We set off early in the morning and had 4x4 jeeps for the trip, in which we decided to get in the jeep with ian the tour guide who was crazy but a very good laugh. We caught the ferry over to fraser where the weather got severely worse and we were greeted by the rain and thousands of biting marsh flies the size of our fists which throughout the trip drove us to insanity. It was really good being in the car with ian as we got to learn so much about the island. we drove around alot of the first day on sand tracks as it was raining so hard so decided to crack open the goon and have a party in the car, we managed to get through 5 and a half litres in an afternoon and we were pretty drunk and the rest of the group werent very amused with us especially when we made everyone stop for a loo break about 5 times in an hour. Initally we were able to stop at a normal flushing loo but this quickly turned into us squating in front of the cars in the middle of the track. We visited a beautiful lake which was surrounded by tee tree trees and the sand was crystal white. Ian sugguested we all washed our hair, skin and teeth with the sand, and after we felt like new people, with silky soft hair but that didnt last for long as the camping was yet to come. After we drove to another lake which made your skin glow orange and you werent allowed to touch the bottom as we were warned about thousands of snakes on the bottom but it was good fun. We arrived back to camp at dusk and by then the hangover was kicking in so went to bed around 7, in tiny tents which were boiling hot in the pouring rain and no toliets or showers and sooo sandy. So getting up in the middle of the night was interesting as there were dingos outside, and also alot of deadly creatures which was best not to think about. So for the next couple of days of fraser, we saw many beautiful lakes, different types of rainforest, alot more rain and a famous shipwreck and another night of terifying camping then got to head back to hervey bay...by this time we were so excited to be back at a hostel.

Forgot to write about the night before fraser island, lauren was in bed asleep when something started tickling her face and woke her up, she then heard sracthing on the sheets next to her, so she lept out of bed woke everyone up and there was nothing there....only to find in the morning a massive orange dead cockroach on the floor next to her bed, not good. but after camping for 2 nights going back to a cockraoch infested hostel seemed like luxury.

We then moved onto noosa which was meant to take 4 hours but infact turned into 8hours due to delays and waiting but you get used to it, the rain was falling hard and did not stop since we arrived. For australia day we decided to treat ourselves to a expensive meal out including steak, wine and cocktails as nothing was going on where we were staying we celebrated in our own way, which was very well deserved. Was a very quiet place and as the weather was still miserable we stayed in the hostel watching movies all day ready to head to brisbane the next day, where we get to see kim (our uni friend) WOOOOOO....... more to come soon xxxx

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