Been a while since I've posted I know. So much to do and so little time and all that. I'm currently in Townsville on the Queensland coast, slowly making my way up from Brisbane (otherwise known as Brisvegas) to Cairns. It's been a busy week with Fraser Island and a trip to the Whitsundays to cram in. Feeling pretty exhausted but all good. Lots to fill you in on so I may have to split it into two parts - as my internet allowance might run out halfway through...
I set off from Brisbane last Friday on the Greyhound bus near my aunt and uncle's. It was a long wait for it to arrive as the driver had already had problems with the first bus he was assigned. His (and my) luck didn't get any better as the day went on as a few hours later the bus had to have its bearings overhauled as we broke down just on from Maryborough (at least I think that's where we were). A two-hour wait later and we managed to get picked up by the next bus heading in our direction. The gap was filled by sitting in the service centre's lunch room drinking tea and playing Yahtzee with a really sweet Dutch couple and a kiwi. I won the game with beginner's luck, woo hoo!
The unexpected delay meant that the day was pretty much wiped out with not really any time to see Hervey Bay by the time I got there. It did mean that I got chatting to a guy from New Zealand who was luckily staying at the same hostel so we headed there together and grabbed a bite to eat and a drink later in the evening at a local cafe. A couple of XXXXs later and I was huddled round the roaring fire in the bar at the hostel. It might be warmer during the day as you head up the coast but the evenings can still be a bit on the chilly side.
In the morning I got chatting to my room mate (it's always a bit strange when you don't get to say hello before going to bed but we soon made up for that in the morning) after a well deserved lay in and we hung out over breakfast, deciding what to do as the rain poured down most of the day. The trouble with such an outdoorsy lifestyle is that when the weather ain't great there's not that much to do. It finally cleared up late afternoon so we headed down for a walk along the beach as the sun was setting on the horizon.
When we returned to Katy's car, she realised she'd left her lights on during the two-hour walk and had been left with a flat battery. Luckily she had RAC membership and the guy turned up pretty quickly. We then had to drive round for a while to charge it up and sat in the carpark back at the hostel to ensure it would still start in the morning when she headed off for her first day working at a spa on Fraser Island.
That night we had a new roomie join us, a German girl who happened to be going on the same trip as me to Fraser the next day. It was good to know someone from the start although conversation was a little difficult to glean from her at first. We ended up hanging out with an Aussie and an Italian girl over the two days as the rest of the group were mostly couples or friends already and not the most sociable bunch in the world. Which was a shame as it was such a beautiful place to spend some time but the evenings got a little bit dull without a livelier lot to hang out with. No one was drinking (not that it's essential to have a good time but it certainly helps when you don't know each other).
Despite this the scenery and what we saw during our time there more than made up for it. The second day was particularly fantastic as the weather perked up and we spent the day driving down the beach, catching sight of wild dingoes, manta rays in the sea and whales from the headland, beach and the flight in a little plane that I made a last minute decision to splash out on. So glad I did as it was definitely the highlight of the trip for me.
I braved swimming in Lake Mackenzie and Champagne pools, despite most people wimping out, deciding that it was too cold for their delicate constitutions. It wasn't too bad once you got stuck in. Our accommodation on the island was pretty basic but suited us just fine and the food was along the same lines but filled a hole when you needed it. Pretty much a backpackers trip rather than the lap of luxury but you get what you pay for after all.
I managed to catch up with Katy when I got back to the hostel on the mainland and we swapped tales of the previous couple of days. The following morning was spent speed washing what I could and praying it would dry in time to pack up and get the next bus up the coast.
This was a long one, a semi-overnighter to get me all the way to Airlie Beach in the middle of the night. However, my luck with the buses had not improved. This time we got stuck after Rockhampton for a couple of hours while controlled fires were burning in the fields alongside the road. Which meant that instead of arriving at 2.30am I didn't get to the bus station until 4am, not what I needed when I had to check out of the hostel at 10am and head off to the Whitsundays that very same day. But I managed to get a few hours sleep and check out a bit later than they would have liked!
I'll fill you in on the Whitsundays tomorrow, a very different trip from Fraser in many ways...
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