The Journey Continues...

Well, since my last entry we've travelled 1287km, spent approximately 25hrs on 6 different Greyhounds (the buses that is, not the dogs) and spent, mmm well lets just say a good few hours on the many beaches of the East coast.

Our first stop after Fraser Island was Noosa. A favourite spot for the wealthy folk of Brisbane, it had some rather lovely holiday homes and condos...but sadly once again it was the ever trusty hostel for us. We did't spend too long here so aside from a day on the beach (how could we not) and a really nice walk in the National Park where we spent more time watching the surfers than we did walking (at their skill I should add!), are main attraction was Australia Zoo. Best known for being Steve Irwins zoo, they definately dont let you forget it. His face and well known slogans are plastered everywhere and you can buy anything and everything with his face on it..literally...I found that you can even buy a little bit of plastic for squeezing toothpaste out of its tube..?!

We'd already seen a lot of the animals in the zoo either in the wild or in wildlife sanctuarys but we did get upclose with the kangaroos and give them a wee pat which was cool.

From Noosa we had a short stop in Brisbane, our first taste of city life since coming to Australia. I felt lost being surrounded by skyscrapers and traffic instead of the ocean! We had just one day in the city so we headed for some much needed culture in the lovely riverside area os Southbank where we hit the Gallery of Modern Art, Queensland Museum of Culture and Art Gallery. It was all very civilised. Oh and for those Neighbours fans out there, we walked right past Paul Robinson!!

For a lot of you, you will be aware of my love for surfing, even before trying it for myself, I dreamt of the surf life. So imagine my excitment when the next stop on our journey down the coast was a place called Surfers Paradise! Yes, it really is a real place!! So of course, while there I had another surf lesson...how could I not. Still not quite pro standard yet, but I am getting better! We also spent Easter Sunday here and we were very lucky to spend the day with the parents of my sister's friend and their friends. We went to church in the morning with them and then back to their house for a yummy Easter lunch. It was so lovely to be back in a house and eating proper home cooked food...I don't think I've ever enjoyed vegetables so much! In the afternoon we were invited to some friends house for some drinks and nibbles. They lived in a gorgeous house in quite a fancy area so this was a real treat. Their house backs on to a river so before we tucked into that, we were taken out in their little boat. It was all going well, the 3 of us and the person's whose house we were at, Bob, enjoying a lovely cruise down the river as the sun was shining and it was just great. That is, until the engine hit a rock and Bob stopped to check out everything was ok. It was. The only problem was the engine wouldn't start again. Slight problem. He tried and tried but it just wouldn't start again. After many failed attempts, we went ashore onto the bank, us girls having to pull the boat up onto the muddy bank...still in my Sunday best I should add! So sadly that was the end of our cruise on the river, which meant a 15min walk home in bare feet. Poor Bob was highly embarrassed and felt awful, but we just found it funny and a wee story to remember! The good news after our long walk home, was that the champagne had been opened and waiting for us on the patio. I do love the backpacker life.

The next day, Bob and his wife Glenda invited us to join them for their weekly 14km walk along the beach which was great. I would happily walk for miles if it was along a beautiful beach! They also took us to 'The Spit', a point where a strip of water called the broad water meets the ocean. It was absolutely beautiful with amazing views of Surfers Paradise.


From Surfers, we hit Byron Bay, a lovely little town, largely populated with hippies. A highlight was a walk up to the lighthouse which was gorgeous. You could see for miles in all directions out to the ocean and it was just beautiful.Susan and I walked up in the afternoon but it was so beautiful we decided to stay up and watch the sunset over the town below, wow!

This is also at the lighthouse...pretty self-explanatory.