It's been a few weeks since my last entry so sorry if it's a long one!
My first stop in Australia was Sydney where I was staying with Ben and Eliza, a couple I met while travelling through Vietnam. The quarantine checks at the airport were ridiculously thorough due to the Swine Flu outbreak - they had sniffer dogs to check each bag and everything. Ben came to meet me at the airport at 5.30am then took me for a drive around Sydney to briefly show me the sights. When we got back to their flat I emptied my whole bag into the washing machine - clean clothes were such a luxury! That night Ben's friends were having a house party which was really fun with some really good live music. It's such a different experience visiting a city with locals, you can see and do things you wouldn't otherwise have known about.
The next day I didn't achieve much - a combination of no sleep on the plane followed by a late night at the party left me absolutely shattered. It was just nice being in a flat and having the homely comforts rather than moving hotel every couple of days in the heat of SE Asia - I hadn't realised just how much I needed a break!
Ben and Eliza took the following day off work to take me to the Blue Mountains which were beautiful, definitely worth a visit. We walked across to the Three Sisters, then took the railway down for a walk along the boardwalks before heading back up in the cable car. That night I took an 11 hour overnight bus up to Byron Bay. It was a strange feeling setting off on my own for the first time, I had no idea what to expect.
But I didn't need to worry because the moment I arrived at Holiday Village Hostel, I met two girls from my dorm room and ended up travelling with them and some people they'd met for the next 5 days. Byron Bay is a laid back seaside town with a really nice atmosphere. We spent a lot of time on the beach in the sunshine, and also did a 3 hour walk up to the lighthouse and back. The views along the coast were absolutely stunning and you could even see dolphins swimming in the sea. It did rain for a few hours on my second day there, and all of a sudden there was nothing to do! Byron Bay really relies on the sunshine! And anyone who has already been there will know that no one can visit Byron Bay without at least one night out in Cheeky Monkey's!
My next stop was Surfers Paradise, and luckily Emily, Aili, Mike, Helen and Paddy were all heading up there on the same day as me so we all booked in to the same dorm room at Backpackers in Paradise. Surfers is more built up than Byron Bay but still relies on the beach and good weather, which fortunately we had. We were there for a Friday and Saturday night so went clubbing but felt a bit too casual in flip flops while all the locals were in skimpy dresses and heels! The first night we went to a club called Bedroom which had beds around the dancefloor which you can sit on which was quite cool but it wasn't really my type of club.
I said goodbye to the others on Sunday and took an 8 hour bus ride up to Hervey Bay, which is the set off point for Fraser Island. On the way the bus driver started talking loads and giving us some random facts, only he then got distracted and forgot to drop someone at a stop so had to turn around and added 45 minutes to the journey... Anyway the next day we had a horribly early morning to have the briefing for Fraser Island and to get into our groups. I was in a group with two Canadian girls, a French couple and three people from Holland. It made a nice change as up until then I had only really met people from the UK in Australia.
Fraser Island is like nothing I've ever done before. Each group gets given a 4WD, 3 tents, 2 ice boxes and some cutlery and dishes, and also a ferry ticket and a map. Then you set off on your own for 3 days, stopping at the supermarket on the way. There were 4 groups from Palace Adventures which set off at the same time. Fraser Island is a large sand island and the only way to travel is by 4WD. And just our luck - it decided to rain on and off for the first 2 days! The tracks were extremely bumpy and quite scary at times. It was easiest to drive on the wet sand on the beach (which is more of a kind of highway) so on the second day I gave it a go, it was SO much fun! But the camping equipment was very basic (and not very waterproof!) and we were pitched behind the sand dunes on the beach with no facilities other than a shovel... Luckily our last day had beautiful weather and sunshine so we spent a few hours by Lake Mackenzie, where the water is crystal clear and the sand is so fine it acts as a kind of exfoliant.
I managed to bump into Sophie and Sian (two of my university friends) on the island so we agreed to meet on the bus and spend a night in Noosa together afterwards. Noosa is another quiet seaside town and was lovely, except for the wild turkeys that wander around and scared me! That evening, a group of guys that Sophs had met on Fraser Island all cooked us dinner, and then we relaxed in their hostel drinking goon and playing spoons - we were all still suffering the after-effects of Fraser Island and needed a quiet one!
The next afternoon I had a bus booked to Brisbane so while Sophie and Sian went to Australia Zoo, I spent the day on the beach with Andy and Paul. They were hoping to surf but the waves weren't good enough unfortunately.
I only had 24 hours in Brisbane before my 16 hour overnight bus to Sydney so I wanted to get an early night so I could get up early to explore the city. However as I was reading, a couple stumbled in drunk and started being a bit inappropriate! So, feeling very uncomfortable, I had to escape to the TV room for a while until I was sure they'd be asleep. It was my first bad experience of a dorm room. The next morning I woke up early and walked around Brisbane. I was shocked by how similar it is to London, just with nicer weather! Andy, Paul, Tom and Freddie arrived in Brisbane that afternoon so I went for a couple of drinks and dinner with them before getting on the LONG bus ride to Sydney.
Due to my complete failure to do any sightseeing the first time I was in Sydney, I was a complete tourist this time! Eliza and Nicole took me to Manly of the ferry that afternoon, and we met Ben and Dean for some fish and chips on the beach. Then later on we met Della and Jared for (one too many) cocktails in Darling Harbour.
For my last day in Sydney, Della took me around all the sights while the others were all at work. We started at Bondi Beach, then went for a walk through Hyde Park, then met Ben, Eliza and Dean for some Vietnamese food for lunch. Afterwards, Dean, Della and I went up Centre Point. Even though they live in Sydney, Dean and Della hadn't done all of the sights! Next we walked through the Botanic Gardens to Mrs Macquarie's Chair, then took the monorail around to Darling Harbour.
We all had a quiet dinner at the pub that night as I had an early start for the airport the following morning. I'm really going to miss Australia, it has been so much more fun than I'd expected. I'll particularly miss Sydney which is an amazing city. But I guess I can't complain as I am now in New Zealand about to start the next stage of my journey...
