Otherwise known as part three...
Anyways, back to Cairns! (I wish I could go back, actually.)
The first night was kind of boring, honestly. The next morning, we were to get up pretty early in order to go to our activities (those of us going, that is... a few people didn't go). Most of us signed up for the Great Barrier Reef tour, but a couple signed up for white water rafting.
After a tired breakfast, we met up in the lobby and headed down to the Esplanade, aka: the harbour, in order to get our boarding passes and load the boat. Shortly afterwards, we were on the boat and ready to go.
Fast-forward a bit (including safety instructions with the guy telling us the emergency exits... EVERYWHERE! and the scuba diving and snorkelling information sessions) and we're getting ready to just ship as we've arrived at the first of the two locations. Since my new camcorder (which I bought specially for this trip, specifically for seeing the Great Barrier Reef) is water-resistant, I brought it with me and went snorkelling.
While I had been scared just before jumping off the boat, once I figured out how to do it properly, I really enjoyed the experience. Such a better experience than the first time! I turned my camera on just after entering the water and recorded most of the time I spent in the water, looking at the reef and the fish. I only stopped when I got excited about seeing a rainbow fish, which I had to get a picture of.
I didn't hear when they called for the other dive group to return to the boat, as I was underwater when they did. And then, everyone I had been swimming with was suddenly gone. But soon I made my way back to the boat and once the first group was out of the water, out of their gear, and signed back in, they got us ready to go in the water for our dive (after they showed us how to do everything properly).
Annoying, I had a lot of trouble getting my ears to pop, so I couldn't go very deep. But that was okay, the guy we were diving with didn't take us too deep (it was still pretty deep, since my ears were hurting a little most of the time...) around the reef. It was incredible! I was able to touch the ocean floor at one point. Ah, it was awesome. And he pointed out the clown fish coming out of the anemone! NEMO HAS BEEN FOUND! We saw a bunch of other fish, too, none of which I know the names of.
And then, when the dive was finished, it was lunch. I swear, by the time I come home, I'm going to have had so much curry and the like that I'm actually going to like it. haha, if you couldn't figure it out, lunch was curry.... Anyways, then we arrived at the next location. And I went snorkelling again. We had the option to go diving another time, but since I couldn't equalise my ears the first time, I didn't want to do it again. Plus, I really only wanted to do it the one time to begin with. (The whole thing really freaked me out the first time, it was incredible, and incredibly scary. haha.) A couple people went down a second time, but I was perfectly content with just snorkelling.
Which I did for more than thirty minutes. It was amazing. At first I had some troubles with my mask and snorkel, but then I got them adjusted properly and everything was smooth...snorkelling after that (I just had to remember not to do any more dolphin dives...like I had down at the first location...after getting a little excited and not thinking about the open end of the snorkel... haha). It was gorgeous, and I was sad when I realised I was supposed to be heading back to the boat. Occasionally, I would look down at how long I had been recording, and would think to myself, "okay, I'll head back in five more minutes." And then that five minutes would pass and I'd still be there in ten minutes, and I'd repeat it. At twenty-five minutes, I actually did head back, because we were supposed to be boarding the boat.
Anyways. That was a lot of fun! On the way back, the crew put the sails up and we went sailing on our return to Cairns.
The night that followed was our last night on the tour, so we were making the most of it. We started off by going to dinner at a restaurant called "Rattle 'n' Hum," which was really good! And then, we moved on to a bar called the "Whoolshed", where it was (surprise, surprise!) ladies night! haha, that entitled us to free glasses of champagne between ten and eleven (it was even served by good looking, shirt-less guys ;)). Anyways, that was followed by a 'Wet Jock' competition, in which two of our fellow travellers entered. And won first and second! haha, of course, there was only a prize for first, but he had no clue as to what he had won, hahahaha! Anyways, soon after that, we called it a night and headed back to the hotel...across the square (City Mall).
In the morning, after breakfast, we loaded Matilda (the bus, if you remember) and made our way to Port Douglas. We began our day trip by trekking through the water and mud barefooted and with spears, in order to catch our tea... erm, no thank you. It was really gross, but it was alright, I guess. hahah. Quite an adventure!
After that, a little over half of us headed to the Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas in order to hand feed kangaroos and wallabies and cuddle a koala! Lunch was first, and it was alright. Would have been better with a fork... Anyways, after that, we headed in to feed the kangaroos and wallabies. And you know what? They're incredibly cute and super soft. It's a weird feeling to have the kangaroos and wallabies licking the pellets out of your hand like that. I even had a random bird steal a few of the pellets out of my hand. Ungh, I do not like those beasts. (Which reminds me, we also saw Australia's second largest largest bird, the cassowary. Google it and you will see the beast-osity-ness of that thing. haha! Also, you could look in my pictures, too, haha.)
This one time, when I was feeding this cutie of a kangaroo, one of the geese was trying to get the pellets from me, and it got between the kangaroo and me, and the kangaroo kind of pounced on it, and it landed (the bird) on my foot, which completely freaked me out. haha, but it was alright, I just squawked and we moved on. Obviously, the kangaroo wasn't impressed by the goose trying to take its afternoon tea. :P
We saw a joey tree kangaroo. Which was cool. And we saw these huge kangaroos that I cannot remember the names of. But they were very slobbery. Haha. And we were kind of chased down by an emu. Which was just freaky. THOSE THINGS ARE HUGE. We saw a bunch of crocodiles, too.
And then we went and listened to the guy talk about Grizzly the cutie koala. He was showing us Grizzly's bum and how it was white, and that woke the cutie, so it was picture time again! Hahah, he was so cute when he woke and didn't know what was going on.
And then, we jumped in line, give our tickets, and got to hold Grizzly! He was so amazingly soft! And not very heavy. Ah, I just wanted to cuddle him all day.
It was a great day and it was sad to see it come to an end. After that, we headed back to Port Douglas and said our goodbyes. Didn't realise we'd be seeing so many people afterwards, though, as I think the only people we didn't see were the people that we flying out that day, haha.
Anyways, that night, a couple of us sat around after dinner and watched the movie that was playing "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Since we started watching it part-way through, I was a bit lost...so I'll have to watch all of them again. I'd been meaning to do that anyways, haha.
Anyways, after that, I talked with Mom on skype...but it was annoying as the hostel's internet was down and they were inconsiderate and couldn't tell me where I could find an internet cafe so I could use a computer. Idiots.
In the morning, I found the mall (the real thing) as I had a dress to find and purchase. Luckily, they had it, so I was very happy after that. And, rather than the $15 I had seen it for at the store in Surfers Paradise, and the $20 that was on the tag, it was a very pleasant $10! Woot! Anyways, that day in Cairns was dedicated to shopping. A lady at a souvenir shop decided that the price listed wasn't good enough and raised it when you went to make a purchase, so I told her to shove it and that she was an idiot and left, saving my pennies for someone who wasn't going to rip me off ($8.90 for one shirt, or $27 for three. you do the math, my friend, you do the math.). It was also my most expensive, as it was the only time I had actually really bought something. I got a lot of stuff, too, so all was good.
I had a really yummy meal of chips (fries) covered in cheese and bacon (more like ham..) for dinner. ah, it was yummy! I wish I had been able to finish the cheesiest of the bunch, but I was sososo full. After that, I headed back to the hostel, read some of one of the books I had bought in the Gold Coast (which turned out to have been Australian!), and called it a night, because I had to be up by four (FOUR!) in the morning to catch the shuttle to the airport to catch my flight back to Sydney so I could get back to Bathurst and school.
I did a bit of shopping while I waited to catch my train, and then we (Camilla and I) headed back to Bathurst, planning on ordering pizza once we arrived. hahah, when we got to Lithgow in order to change to the bus that would get us the rest of the way to Bathurst, we realised Ida and Allen were on a other part of the same train carriage as we had been on. haha, what are the odds? We knew Ida was on the same train, and I had seen Allen in Sydney boarding the train, but we had lost them.
Ah, it was an amazing trip. I was really sad for it to be over, as it meant having to go back to Bathurst and school and winter. Bathurst by itself isn't all that bad, as it's home for the next while, but it's winter here (well, spring has reared its head) and it's school! And who wants either of those?! I surely don't.
I can't believe it's been a week seen the end of my trip. It feels like longer and shorter all at once. I would still like to be in Queensland, soaking up that sun!
Well, that's everything. Talk soon! xxx
ps; I realised the other day just how close Aussies are to eating poutine... just change the cheese salt for cheese curds, and you've got our weird Canadian dish! haha, Aussies also have gravy on EVERYTHING, it seems. Not just the chips, but the main and all the veggies. How interesting...and kind of gross. haha, I'm getting the hang of telling them "just a little...ON THE CHIPS, ONLY!" haha, it's pretty...different. haha. well, bye again! xxx
Okay, where was I? Oh right, so the next day we headed up to Brisbane, were we took a river tour. And saw a big duck. It was awesome. (The duck, the tour was alright, too, but the duck was the best part. It was HUGE!)
Then we had free time, where we could shop and get lunch. That was good. Then we boarded the bus and headed to Noosa. Once we arrived in Noosa, we went on a walk along the beach, hoping to see koalas in the wild. Nope. But the view was incredible!
Afterwards, we went to for drinks and dinner at another hostel, I guess it was. A bar, but at the hostel. Whatever. After dinner, we started talking to a couple of the guys staying at the hostel, and found out they were at the beach, kayaking, and that they had been waving at us, but no one had been paying attention to them. Haha, we found them in a few of our pictures, too. (They're in a few of mine. Just look at the Noosa ones of the beach and you'll spot some kayakers in the distance. Also, I ended up with one of them talking. Just so they would really be in our pictures. xP)
The next morning was really early. And by early, I don't just mean seven or eight AM. I mean five AM, so we could get going by six AM. We were heading to Fraser Island, the world's largest sand island. And while most people just found it very, well, sandy and bumpy, I really enjoyed being there and getting to see it for all it's beauty. We went to Lake MacKenzie before lunch. Wow, was the sand ever white and the water ever clear! It was absolutely gorgeous. It was a shame we only were there for an hour.
Before we got to the lake, or ever to Fraser Island, we found an animal. A dingo! Awesome, and incredibly gorgeous animal. Actually, it looking like a larger version of Chloe, just a little more red. We discovered it was a male, as all the dingoes in the area are tagged in one ear or the other (to determine the gender) in order to keep track of their dwindling population. Ah! He just remained so still and posed for us so we could take pictures of him. Such a good model! :3 haha
At lunch, we ran into a kookaburra! haha, it stole the sausage of one of the girls, it was THAT aggressive. And then, we watched it while it ate. So weird. But kind of cool. You could get really close, as it wasn't paying attention to you, only the food.
We walked through the rain forest on the island next. Kind of cool, kind of boring. Just your average walk, to be honest. Nothing special. I mean, we did see lizards, but I really couldn't care less about those weirdos.
The next morning, we got to sleep in a bit later, six AM, as we had to get on the road to Kroombit Park, seven hours away. We had a bunch of stops along the way, I sent most of my post cards, got some food for lunch, and then we finished our trek to the farm! Ah, the farm was so much fun, you would not believe!
First, when we got there, we had the option to spend A$10 and buy both a ringer (cowboy) hat and bandanna, which would not only keep the sun off your face, etc, it would also get you cheaper drinks at the bar. I was just excited by the idea of having a new, cool hat, and not spending a fortune on it! (haha, I just realised I should have bought an extra bandanna for Chloe...she would have loved that! :3 Meh, I'll get her something Aussie, not that she's going to know or anything.... xP) Anyways, we found our rooms, changed into something we wouldn't care if it got dirty, then headed to do some lassoing and to have a goat rodeo! woo! So much fun! I actually got the lasso to go around the target about a half dozen times! yey, so exciting. And then, it was time for the rodeo! haha, everyone had to have a team of three, and a name for said team with a word related to 'goats'. It could be anything. I teamed up with the fellow Canadian, Dan, and one of the many Germans, Dori, and we were "The Goats Show"! haha, it was fun. I got to 'brand' the goat. The best part of the rodeo was when Dwaineo caught three goats and then got knocked to the ground by them (or so we thought... it later turned out that one of the other guys on his team, Chris, had accidentally pushed him down. But no one noticed until the video was shown, haha!). It was so funny and so much fun!
We headed back to our rooms or the pub after that. At the pub before dinner, we tried a mystery meat, which we were told by Deano (or Dino (depends on my mood...), the driver of our bus) that it was koala.... It was really goat. Anyways. We had dinner after that, then did some bush dancing, and we even learned how to crack a whip! Ah, that was sososososo much fun! I had a lot of trouble at first, and then the girl who was helping me called the main guy over and he tried a few things, and then gave me a different whip, and then, shortly after that, I was breaking the sound barrier! Woo! And then, I caught myself up the back, so that was the end of that. Hahah, but I loved it anyways!
In the morning, we did some activities. Some people didn't do anything, and just hung around the farm or whatever, some went and did horse riding and a goat muster, and the rest of us went quad biking! ah, that was a lot of work but oh so worth it! so much fun to be had on those beasts! haha!
After that, we headed to Emu Park for the night. Bleh, and then it was to Arlie Beach! Yeah! We boarded the British Defender and went sailing for 24hrs. A lot of fun to be had there! The Whitsundays are incredibly beautiful. Ah. In the morning, we went to Whitsunday Island and to Whitehaven beach, which is even WHITER than Lake MacKenzie's beach. ah, that was incredible! I didn't want to leave.
Then we went snorkelling after lunch. I figured it'd give it a go, even though it freaked me out. Eh, didn't like that though. Less than a minute after I was in the water, I hit my heel on the coral as the tide was so low and it was RIGHT UNDER THE WATER LEVEL. And then, less than a minute after that, as I was trying to fix my mask and snorkel so I could see and breathe without having salt water everywhere, I scraped the other foot across them. So, of course, now I'm all panicked and wanting to get away from the reef and everything that has to do with it. It turned out I cut both feet, just the one on the heel wasn't quite so noticeable...
Anyways, shortly after THAT, we went sailing. Kind of, sort of. If only the wind then was as strong as it is today...or was today. 40+kms/h! (Sydney's airport is apparently only opperating on one runway because of these winds. And, no wonder I was having such a hard time moving while I was outside...wow!) Anyways, then we arrived at South Molle Island!
We were able to sleep in a relax during our day on South Molle. There were activities that we could do if we wanted, but we didn't have to. Most of us went on the hike to the kop, where the view was so amazing that...that, I don't even know. I was just really glad I didn't miss out on that. haha, we spent the rest of the day around the pool (it was nicer than the beach, in all honesty) and just relaxed. The first night, we had a Plastic Fantastic party, where everyone was to dress up using coloured bags. haha, interesting... The next night, we had karaoke, which was fun! I sang "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen with Kata. And everyone sang Grease's "Summer Lovin'"!
The following morning, we caught a boat back to Arlie Beach, where we once again boarded the bus, Matilda, and headed on a 9-hour drive, this time to Cairns (pronounced, so you know, as 'cans')! Long drive, many stops, plenty of games (okay, two), and lots of napping. It was our last real trip on we would be spending on the bus, so we had to have a good time, haha. The first game we played, Alan (tour guide) asked us questions about Australia and things we'd learnt while on the tour. The second game consisted of Dino playing a song from a movie or TV show that kind of defined whichever. Dan and I played together as we were sitting together and it was just easier. It was a good thing, too, as I didn't know very many of them, and a bunch of the ones I DID know, Dan didn't, so I got to give those answers...the two three of them... Sorry, six! haah, I just counted. (Shrek, Cars, The Love Guru (had a small argument about this one, just about how I thought it was a bad movie, and how Dino thought it was alright, haha; but we were the only ones to get it! haha, go Mike Myers!), Slumdog Millionaire, The Wedding Singer (thanks, Heather!), the Lion King, and the Sound of Music. That was seven, I know...I forgot about the Sound of Music, and I think he knew the Lion King, haha.) It was fun.
I'll tell you about all the large objects we stopped at, and the few we simply drove by, later. We stopped at a couple on the way to Cairns. I can't remember the order of them right now, or I'd just tell you now. haha
Anyways, we arrived in Cairns a while later. And it was bound to be a good time, even though I had signed up for a Great Barrier Reef day trip and was having second thoughts about it, as I wasn't a fan of snorkelling after the last time I had been.... haha, anyways, I'll tell you about that tomorrow, as I've been writing this for a LONG time now.
ttyt! xx
Then we had free time, where we could shop and get lunch. That was good. Then we boarded the bus and headed to Noosa. Once we arrived in Noosa, we went on a walk along the beach, hoping to see koalas in the wild. Nope. But the view was incredible!
Afterwards, we went to for drinks and dinner at another hostel, I guess it was. A bar, but at the hostel. Whatever. After dinner, we started talking to a couple of the guys staying at the hostel, and found out they were at the beach, kayaking, and that they had been waving at us, but no one had been paying attention to them. Haha, we found them in a few of our pictures, too. (They're in a few of mine. Just look at the Noosa ones of the beach and you'll spot some kayakers in the distance. Also, I ended up with one of them talking. Just so they would really be in our pictures. xP)
The next morning was really early. And by early, I don't just mean seven or eight AM. I mean five AM, so we could get going by six AM. We were heading to Fraser Island, the world's largest sand island. And while most people just found it very, well, sandy and bumpy, I really enjoyed being there and getting to see it for all it's beauty. We went to Lake MacKenzie before lunch. Wow, was the sand ever white and the water ever clear! It was absolutely gorgeous. It was a shame we only were there for an hour.
Before we got to the lake, or ever to Fraser Island, we found an animal. A dingo! Awesome, and incredibly gorgeous animal. Actually, it looking like a larger version of Chloe, just a little more red. We discovered it was a male, as all the dingoes in the area are tagged in one ear or the other (to determine the gender) in order to keep track of their dwindling population. Ah! He just remained so still and posed for us so we could take pictures of him. Such a good model! :3 haha
At lunch, we ran into a kookaburra! haha, it stole the sausage of one of the girls, it was THAT aggressive. And then, we watched it while it ate. So weird. But kind of cool. You could get really close, as it wasn't paying attention to you, only the food.
We walked through the rain forest on the island next. Kind of cool, kind of boring. Just your average walk, to be honest. Nothing special. I mean, we did see lizards, but I really couldn't care less about those weirdos.
The next morning, we got to sleep in a bit later, six AM, as we had to get on the road to Kroombit Park, seven hours away. We had a bunch of stops along the way, I sent most of my post cards, got some food for lunch, and then we finished our trek to the farm! Ah, the farm was so much fun, you would not believe!
First, when we got there, we had the option to spend A$10 and buy both a ringer (cowboy) hat and bandanna, which would not only keep the sun off your face, etc, it would also get you cheaper drinks at the bar. I was just excited by the idea of having a new, cool hat, and not spending a fortune on it! (haha, I just realised I should have bought an extra bandanna for Chloe...she would have loved that! :3 Meh, I'll get her something Aussie, not that she's going to know or anything.... xP) Anyways, we found our rooms, changed into something we wouldn't care if it got dirty, then headed to do some lassoing and to have a goat rodeo! woo! So much fun! I actually got the lasso to go around the target about a half dozen times! yey, so exciting. And then, it was time for the rodeo! haha, everyone had to have a team of three, and a name for said team with a word related to 'goats'. It could be anything. I teamed up with the fellow Canadian, Dan, and one of the many Germans, Dori, and we were "The Goats Show"! haha, it was fun. I got to 'brand' the goat. The best part of the rodeo was when Dwaineo caught three goats and then got knocked to the ground by them (or so we thought... it later turned out that one of the other guys on his team, Chris, had accidentally pushed him down. But no one noticed until the video was shown, haha!). It was so funny and so much fun!
We headed back to our rooms or the pub after that. At the pub before dinner, we tried a mystery meat, which we were told by Deano (or Dino (depends on my mood...), the driver of our bus) that it was koala.... It was really goat. Anyways. We had dinner after that, then did some bush dancing, and we even learned how to crack a whip! Ah, that was sososososo much fun! I had a lot of trouble at first, and then the girl who was helping me called the main guy over and he tried a few things, and then gave me a different whip, and then, shortly after that, I was breaking the sound barrier! Woo! And then, I caught myself up the back, so that was the end of that. Hahah, but I loved it anyways!
In the morning, we did some activities. Some people didn't do anything, and just hung around the farm or whatever, some went and did horse riding and a goat muster, and the rest of us went quad biking! ah, that was a lot of work but oh so worth it! so much fun to be had on those beasts! haha!
After that, we headed to Emu Park for the night. Bleh, and then it was to Arlie Beach! Yeah! We boarded the British Defender and went sailing for 24hrs. A lot of fun to be had there! The Whitsundays are incredibly beautiful. Ah. In the morning, we went to Whitsunday Island and to Whitehaven beach, which is even WHITER than Lake MacKenzie's beach. ah, that was incredible! I didn't want to leave.
Then we went snorkelling after lunch. I figured it'd give it a go, even though it freaked me out. Eh, didn't like that though. Less than a minute after I was in the water, I hit my heel on the coral as the tide was so low and it was RIGHT UNDER THE WATER LEVEL. And then, less than a minute after that, as I was trying to fix my mask and snorkel so I could see and breathe without having salt water everywhere, I scraped the other foot across them. So, of course, now I'm all panicked and wanting to get away from the reef and everything that has to do with it. It turned out I cut both feet, just the one on the heel wasn't quite so noticeable...
Anyways, shortly after THAT, we went sailing. Kind of, sort of. If only the wind then was as strong as it is today...or was today. 40+kms/h! (Sydney's airport is apparently only opperating on one runway because of these winds. And, no wonder I was having such a hard time moving while I was outside...wow!) Anyways, then we arrived at South Molle Island!
We were able to sleep in a relax during our day on South Molle. There were activities that we could do if we wanted, but we didn't have to. Most of us went on the hike to the kop, where the view was so amazing that...that, I don't even know. I was just really glad I didn't miss out on that. haha, we spent the rest of the day around the pool (it was nicer than the beach, in all honesty) and just relaxed. The first night, we had a Plastic Fantastic party, where everyone was to dress up using coloured bags. haha, interesting... The next night, we had karaoke, which was fun! I sang "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen with Kata. And everyone sang Grease's "Summer Lovin'"!
The following morning, we caught a boat back to Arlie Beach, where we once again boarded the bus, Matilda, and headed on a 9-hour drive, this time to Cairns (pronounced, so you know, as 'cans')! Long drive, many stops, plenty of games (okay, two), and lots of napping. It was our last real trip on we would be spending on the bus, so we had to have a good time, haha. The first game we played, Alan (tour guide) asked us questions about Australia and things we'd learnt while on the tour. The second game consisted of Dino playing a song from a movie or TV show that kind of defined whichever. Dan and I played together as we were sitting together and it was just easier. It was a good thing, too, as I didn't know very many of them, and a bunch of the ones I DID know, Dan didn't, so I got to give those answers...the two three of them... Sorry, six! haah, I just counted. (Shrek, Cars, The Love Guru (had a small argument about this one, just about how I thought it was a bad movie, and how Dino thought it was alright, haha; but we were the only ones to get it! haha, go Mike Myers!), Slumdog Millionaire, The Wedding Singer (thanks, Heather!), the Lion King, and the Sound of Music. That was seven, I know...I forgot about the Sound of Music, and I think he knew the Lion King, haha.) It was fun.
I'll tell you about all the large objects we stopped at, and the few we simply drove by, later. We stopped at a couple on the way to Cairns. I can't remember the order of them right now, or I'd just tell you now. haha
Anyways, we arrived in Cairns a while later. And it was bound to be a good time, even though I had signed up for a Great Barrier Reef day trip and was having second thoughts about it, as I wasn't a fan of snorkelling after the last time I had been.... haha, anyways, I'll tell you about that tomorrow, as I've been writing this for a LONG time now.
ttyt! xx
I've been meaning to do this for almost a week now. I was sitting in my room Sunday night, thinking I should update, but then deciding that I was too tired to do it then. And every other day of this past week, the only times that I've thought about writing an update, I have about a half hour to an hour-ish until I have to be somewhere.
Anyways, enough of my ramplings. You're not here for them, you're here because you want to know about my adventures. Here goes:
I spent about 14 days in Queensland. I wasn't just in your typical destination places (capital: Brisbane) or Queensland places (the Great Barrier Reef). Yes, I visited those, too, but just for a couple of days each.
My trip started around 5AM on the Saturday, as I had to get up to get to catch my bus to Sydney just before 7AM and I had to repack a little and catch a taxi to get there. It was a pretty cold morning, and while I was on the bus, I wished I had of brought a blanket since it was so cold and there didn't seem to be any heat on the bus (air con, yes, heat, no. geez, and it's still winter!). (While I was waiting for the bus, which was late (I'll explain this in a moment), I wished I had my mittens, and my fingers were starting to go numb.) You know, it doesn't feel like winter, no matter how cold it is, until there's snow, on the ground or in the air, doesn't matter. This is why the bus was later. Aussies don't know what to do when they get about one to two centimetres of the fluffy white stuff. haha, of course, the main highway (The Great Western Highway) was covered in slush, but still! Anyways, that was quite a sight to see. (All of the area had snow in the forecast, and it actually came. Canberra had snow the day before, and Sydney got unexceptionally cold, too.)
Anyways, when I got to Sydney, I explored a bit, as my flight wasn't for a few hours (I would have taken something a little later, except there wasn't anything). Then, I caught my flight to Brisbane at 2PM. By the time I landed in Brisbane, collected my bag and got to the hostel, it was almost three hours later.
I explored Brisbane a bit that night. Had a random conversation with someone who was headed in the same direction as me about my choice of shirt (I was wearing my All Time Low one), and that moved on to Soundwave, which he was looking forward to. (All Time Low are going to be at Soundwave next year! yey! Can't wait!) I ended up finding out where everything was, but couldn't find anywhere I wanted to eat (and there were a lot of options, too), so I just headed back to where I was staying to look for something around there. I settled on a place called "Pie Face" (Letterman had them on his show once, when they were opening a location in New York City, if the name rings a bell?), and was rather satisfied with my choice.
Anyways, that night I kind of planned out my next day. And then, when it came around, I went to Fortitude Valley and Chinatown, where a market was to be starting around 9AM. I bought some earrings. (One of the pairs I'm planning on using for Cindy Ball at the end of the month.) And then I headed to South Bank, planning on going to the beach. Except, the beach was closed when I got there. Which was just so pleasant, as it was the perfect day for the beach and a dip in the water. Anyways, I checked out the market there, too, as it was another reason for my going. I also got lunch, got scared by the big freaky birds (damn kids wouldn't stop scaring them even though their parents told them not to, goes to show you just how much the parents were paying attention. <_<), and had an all around good day. I also crossed the Story Bridge (not knowing you could climb it like you can climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge) and walked back to South Bank and then back to the hostel (nice long walk... but was beautiful!).
I also planned on going on a walking tour of the city, but that didn't work out. I was thinking of doing it the next day, but I just explored the area a bit by myself. I also got myself lost, too, but I found where I was going and how to get out of the gardens I had wandered into.
I did a bit of shopping at Queen St. Mall, too. Mostly browsing, actually, but I did get Mom a nice birthday present (a key ring). And then, when I was bored of Brisbane, I boarded a train southbound and arrived in the Gold Coast, Surfer's Paradise to be exact. All I can say about that place is that it's really pretty, beach-wise, and it's definitely a tourist trap. It's also a party place. I enjoyed spending some time on the beach, and shopping, where I found my Cindy Ball dress (but didn't buy it out of fear I wouldn't have space for it in my bags while I travelled, telling myself that if it was meant to be, then it would be in Cairns or Sydney), and some postcards.
The next day, I took a tour where the bus can go into the water, too. A Ducks tour. I don't know. It was kind of boring, and would have been better if 1) they had of actually talked about what was around us as we passed more than the cost of it, and 2) it hadn't been so kid-oriented. Sure it's something for parents to take their kids on, but the kids aren't the only ones on the tour, guys.
Anyways, I also met up with my tour while I was in the GC, and we went bowling and for dinner before going to a bar and then to a nightclub. The bowling was pretty fun, and I got to meet a whole bunch of people whose names baffled me at the time. haha, dinner was good and I met even more of the people there. We played a game at the bar, in which you had to drink the drink and if you finished it, the person before you had to buy the next drink. We were drinking beer, which I really don't like, so that was just pleasant. haha, besides the beer, it was pretty fun.
We then headed down the street to the nightclub, Sin City, where it was ladies night, so we got our first cocktail free and all the others after it for $2.50, as long as we brought our glass back with us when we went. And that was nice, trying a few of the drinks.
It was a nice night, too. And the view from our room was just incredible! I love balconies. Only thing that could have made the hotel any better was if it was on the ocean and not just the river. But it was awesome either way!
And I'm going to continue this tomorrow. It's fourteen days, so it'll take me a while. And I'm really getting tired...and I've already been writing for a hour. >.< Anyways, good night (for now)! xx
Anyways, enough of my ramplings. You're not here for them, you're here because you want to know about my adventures. Here goes:
I spent about 14 days in Queensland. I wasn't just in your typical destination places (capital: Brisbane) or Queensland places (the Great Barrier Reef). Yes, I visited those, too, but just for a couple of days each.
My trip started around 5AM on the Saturday, as I had to get up to get to catch my bus to Sydney just before 7AM and I had to repack a little and catch a taxi to get there. It was a pretty cold morning, and while I was on the bus, I wished I had of brought a blanket since it was so cold and there didn't seem to be any heat on the bus (air con, yes, heat, no. geez, and it's still winter!). (While I was waiting for the bus, which was late (I'll explain this in a moment), I wished I had my mittens, and my fingers were starting to go numb.) You know, it doesn't feel like winter, no matter how cold it is, until there's snow, on the ground or in the air, doesn't matter. This is why the bus was later. Aussies don't know what to do when they get about one to two centimetres of the fluffy white stuff. haha, of course, the main highway (The Great Western Highway) was covered in slush, but still! Anyways, that was quite a sight to see. (All of the area had snow in the forecast, and it actually came. Canberra had snow the day before, and Sydney got unexceptionally cold, too.)
Anyways, when I got to Sydney, I explored a bit, as my flight wasn't for a few hours (I would have taken something a little later, except there wasn't anything). Then, I caught my flight to Brisbane at 2PM. By the time I landed in Brisbane, collected my bag and got to the hostel, it was almost three hours later.
I explored Brisbane a bit that night. Had a random conversation with someone who was headed in the same direction as me about my choice of shirt (I was wearing my All Time Low one), and that moved on to Soundwave, which he was looking forward to. (All Time Low are going to be at Soundwave next year! yey! Can't wait!) I ended up finding out where everything was, but couldn't find anywhere I wanted to eat (and there were a lot of options, too), so I just headed back to where I was staying to look for something around there. I settled on a place called "Pie Face" (Letterman had them on his show once, when they were opening a location in New York City, if the name rings a bell?), and was rather satisfied with my choice.
Anyways, that night I kind of planned out my next day. And then, when it came around, I went to Fortitude Valley and Chinatown, where a market was to be starting around 9AM. I bought some earrings. (One of the pairs I'm planning on using for Cindy Ball at the end of the month.) And then I headed to South Bank, planning on going to the beach. Except, the beach was closed when I got there. Which was just so pleasant, as it was the perfect day for the beach and a dip in the water. Anyways, I checked out the market there, too, as it was another reason for my going. I also got lunch, got scared by the big freaky birds (damn kids wouldn't stop scaring them even though their parents told them not to, goes to show you just how much the parents were paying attention. <_<), and had an all around good day. I also crossed the Story Bridge (not knowing you could climb it like you can climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge) and walked back to South Bank and then back to the hostel (nice long walk... but was beautiful!).
I also planned on going on a walking tour of the city, but that didn't work out. I was thinking of doing it the next day, but I just explored the area a bit by myself. I also got myself lost, too, but I found where I was going and how to get out of the gardens I had wandered into.
I did a bit of shopping at Queen St. Mall, too. Mostly browsing, actually, but I did get Mom a nice birthday present (a key ring). And then, when I was bored of Brisbane, I boarded a train southbound and arrived in the Gold Coast, Surfer's Paradise to be exact. All I can say about that place is that it's really pretty, beach-wise, and it's definitely a tourist trap. It's also a party place. I enjoyed spending some time on the beach, and shopping, where I found my Cindy Ball dress (but didn't buy it out of fear I wouldn't have space for it in my bags while I travelled, telling myself that if it was meant to be, then it would be in Cairns or Sydney), and some postcards.
The next day, I took a tour where the bus can go into the water, too. A Ducks tour. I don't know. It was kind of boring, and would have been better if 1) they had of actually talked about what was around us as we passed more than the cost of it, and 2) it hadn't been so kid-oriented. Sure it's something for parents to take their kids on, but the kids aren't the only ones on the tour, guys.
Anyways, I also met up with my tour while I was in the GC, and we went bowling and for dinner before going to a bar and then to a nightclub. The bowling was pretty fun, and I got to meet a whole bunch of people whose names baffled me at the time. haha, dinner was good and I met even more of the people there. We played a game at the bar, in which you had to drink the drink and if you finished it, the person before you had to buy the next drink. We were drinking beer, which I really don't like, so that was just pleasant. haha, besides the beer, it was pretty fun.
We then headed down the street to the nightclub, Sin City, where it was ladies night, so we got our first cocktail free and all the others after it for $2.50, as long as we brought our glass back with us when we went. And that was nice, trying a few of the drinks.
It was a nice night, too. And the view from our room was just incredible! I love balconies. Only thing that could have made the hotel any better was if it was on the ocean and not just the river. But it was awesome either way!
And I'm going to continue this tomorrow. It's fourteen days, so it'll take me a while. And I'm really getting tired...and I've already been writing for a hour. >.< Anyways, good night (for now)! xx
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