Byron Bay 13th - 19th December

View from coastal walk

Aw Byron Bay 'heart' - I'd heard a lot about this place before I went there and it did not disappoint. Its hard to say what it is exactly about Byron that makes its quite so appealing, but the best way I could describe it is probably that it is the perfect bubble. The beach-stunning as per, from what I'm told good waves for surfing, there is a real mixture of nightlife options and restaurants, the shops have a lot of very pretty things, its sunny, everyone is young and friendly and above all it just screams fun. I didn't want to leave here and I will definitely be heading back at some point, whether for a weekend or to stay for longer and try and work.

So I arrived a few days earlier than expected and couldn't extend my stay and stay in the hostel I had originally booked as they were fully booked, so I ended up at Aquarius for a few nights. For those of you that know me, you know that I believe everything happens for a reason and well quite frankly I am so glad I couldn't get my original hostel because I met some of the best people on my trip in Aquarius, that I'm still in contact with now. I also re-bumped into Holly, another girl I had met in Noosa and Ailsa, a Maggie Island girl I had met!

Ailsa, Jane and I at Cheeky Monkeys

In all honesty I didn't particularly do a lot in Byron, I just got sucked in by its awesomeness and resisted leaving until I had to. I spent a few afternoons on the beach, did the coastal walk to the lighthouse which wasn't meant to take 4 hours but did with me and the friend I did it with!! Whoops! Partied a fair bit and soaked up the atmosphere. I did a day trip to Nimbin which is basically this hippy druggy town where everyone is high or selling weed or cookies. If you're into drugs you'd probably love it but I'd rather have spent my time on the beach, still I was with Ailsa so we had a giggle if nothing else! We also stopped off at a waterfall on the way, which due to the lack of rain has ceased to be a waterfall and was basically just rocks! On my last night I saw the most immense electrical storm out at sea, beat the Bondi electrical storm hands down, I have never seen colours like it, really makes you realise how small you are in comparison to what else is out there in the rest of the world! Got to love Mother Nature...ut oh maybe Nimbin did affect me more than I thought?!

p.s. Stay at Aquarius if you go to Byron hot barmen and awesome people!

Coolangatta 11th - 13th

Not a bad photo if I do say so myself ;) how could you ever get bored of views like this?

My next stop was to Coolangatta, to stay with a good friend of mines (Alexis) friend. James and his flat mates were so lovely and hospitable and they had such a gorgeous apartment with the most amazing view, it was pure luxury in comparison to some of the places I had been staying! Being Doctor's, there experience of living in Australia was invariably different to mine, as they had the luxury of a disposable income, whereas I had the luxury of having no ties or commitments - swings and roundabouts really.

Had a few fairly chilled out days here, James very kindly was a tour guide for me on the 11th and 12th and we drove around to some of the sights of Kirra and Coolangatta and to a few different beaches. I attempted to go surfing with the boys, but bottled it, the waves were A LOT stronger than the ones I had learnt on, and it was packed with pro / semi-pro surfers and I could just see it would all end in tears so instead I sat on my surf board and watched everyone else. There is something quite therapeutic about watching surfers. This is also where the final of the ASP Surf Competition will take place which also shows you that the waves must be quite immense to surf on if all the pro's come here to compete....good shout I think of not embarrassing myself!

On my last day I just had a wander around, went to a few photography galleries and also visited the border, where not only are you crossing over from Queensland to New South Wales - there is also an hours time difference, which can get very confusing!!!

Border line

View of a rainbow from the surf club - yep thats right drinking at a surf club - so Australian!

Later that evening we all headed down to Byron Bay for a house party and night out, and this is where I said goodbye to James and co and stayed in Byron for a week, which was quite possibly my favourite place so far.

Fraser Island 9th & 10th December "Have a cup of concrete and harden the fuck up"

We departed Noosa early morning on 9th December and headed off to Rainbow Beach to catch our ferry to the infamous Fraser Island. Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world, which makes it the perfect place for bombing along down the beach or sand tracks in a 4x4!

I booked my trip with Nomads, and went on the same trip as Danny and Amy, from the Ultimate Oz office (which is the company I came across here with) but funnily enough another friend of mine Hannah who I meet in Sydney, who was also on my Whitsunday's trip, was also on this trip too!

Hannah and I at Lake MacKenzie

It took a while to get to Rainbow Beach, and most other Fraser Island trips depart either from Rainbow Beach or Hervey Bay directly, so for ease to some extent I would recommend going on one of these, although to be fair it didn't make that much difference.

Raymond and the Sandsuckers!

We were put in groups the night before, which were the groups we would be in the 4x4's with. Patrick, we nominated as the first person to drive on the Island, as he had been doing all of the driving to Rainbow Beach initially and the rest of us were a little nervous about driving on sand or getting stuck in it! We had an awesome group, we named ourselves Raymond (thats the 4x4) and the Sandsuckers!! I have not laughed so much in 2 days as I did this whole time, the radio in our 4x4 didn't work either so we also would sing, the main song being Carly Rae Jepson 'Call Me Maybe'.

On Fraser Island the beach is basically the highway, so you have to drive as you would on a normal road. First stop was our base camp, thankfully the tour I had booked on meant we were staying in hostel like accommodation and not camping, so we had the luxury of actually having toilets and not having to worry about dingos. If you want to read a horror story about dingo's click on the link below, it doesn't have too much information and it was the guys own fault for walking off on his own but they can be very vicious, apparently his calf muscle on one leg was exposed and he had to have his cheek or eye reconstructed... 

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/german-tourist-suffers-serious-injuries-in-dingo-attack-on-fraser-island/story-e6frg6nf-1226437501882

After a spot of lunch and dumping all of our gear at the camp, we headed off for more driving to Lake Mackenzie, stopping along the way at.......can't remember the name, some part of the forest for a scenic walk. This is where we first encountered getting stuck in the sand! For those of you who have done Fraser you'll know the technique needed for driving along sand paths. The paths in the forest are basically denser and more clumpy than that on the beach, for obvious reasons. So you need to hit the tracks at the right speed, in the right gear (2nd) whilst ensuring you have enough control not to crash!! Its sooooooo much fun!! I drove on the way back from Lake Mackenzie and loved it!!!!!!!!! The 4x4's are surprisingly easy to drive too, I was expecting them to feel completely oversized in comparison to my old Peugeot but no, and thankfully I could still remember how to drive!

Merry Christmas at Lake MacKenzie

Lake MacKenzie is picturesque, a large perched lake, with white beaches and calm, clear waters, we got there at the end of the day, which thankfully meant it was fairly secluded. So perfectly peaceful. After swimming and lazing around in the lake, we headed back to camp for a BBQ dinner, and drinks on the beach.

The next day we headed off to Eli Creek a freshwater creek midway along the main beach where you, can either float or walk down with the slow current, perfect to get rid of those early morning cobwebs, not inflicted by any means by consumption of goon, no. After this we drove to Indian Heads, the rocky outlook at the northern end of the main beach. Here we climbed to the top, for a stunning view looking down into the ocean and across the beaches, here we spotted rays and turtles. After successfully climbing back down and not killing myself we drove along to visit Maheno shipwreck, which was a retired steamer that was being towed to Japan when a storm forced it ashore in 1935, there are conspiracy theories that it was left there by the Japanese to be used as a marker during the war but either way it was pretty immense.

Eli Creek

Indian Heads

Maheno Shipwreck

On the way driving back, the other 4x4 broke down, this caused a fair amount of issues on the whole journey home, having to be towed until we could swap it over and when getting the ferry back, resulted in both the towed 4x4 and the 4x4 towing it getting stuck and taking a good few hours to get going again. Christine drove us home from the ferry - she had never driven on this side of the road before and quite frankly we all were on the edge of our seats with her driving, everyone kept saying to me "Lauren can you take over the driving?", but none of us wanted to insult her and tell her she couldn't drive anymore so we all gritted our teeth, prayed she wouldn't kill us and kept shouting at her when we felt our lives were in danger (about every 4 minutes) however we made it back, even if my heart was racing like a 90 year old who had just ran a marathon...I think I would have rather contended with the dingos!!

That evening, all shattered we all had a few drinks at the bar back at Nomad's Noosa before saying our goodbyes as we all went our separate ways the next day.

Fraser was by far one of my favourite trips so far! and if you are wondering what the quote is at the top, thats basically what the tour guide said to us before we left, lol, if you don't like something well then have a cup of concrete and harden the fuck up! I plan to bring this quote back to England with me - you've been warned!!

Noosa 6th - 8th December

So after surviving my 17 hour bus journey on a Greyhound bus I arrive in Noosa, slightly tired and with a sore neck from the odd positions I was 'sleeping' in. But in all honest it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Apart from the girl next to me trying to take up as much space as possible, for those of you that know territorial Lauren - this was obviously not going to happen. Two can play that game!

Next stop - Nomads hostel. We had to wait a few hours to check in but the few of us that were on the bus all bonded over a game of pool and these were the guys we ended up hanging around with throughout our time in Noosa.

That afternoon I spent having a nose around Noosa, nothing too exciting and over a few drinks at dinner a few of us decided that we would go to the Australia Zoo the next day.

We weren't planning on it raining the next day, which it did, a lot, but it was rainy season so to be expected really. Although none of us were dressed in anyway shape or form for rain, so were thankful when it stopped and decided to stay away!

Now Australia Zoo - I'm afraid to say I was very disappointed with. Costing me just under $50 with my student discount card I definitely didn't think it was worth the money and neither did any of the guys I went with. But still we were there and so made the most of it, we feed Elephants and Kangaroo's, patted Koala's watched a Crocodile and Tiger show, checked out all of the poisonous snakes...and re-realised that most of them are in the same country I am currently in....eeeek....and basically tried to kill time until the coach came to pick us up. If Steve Irwin's name wasn't associated with this Zoo I don't think it would be deemed anywhere near as popular as it is or held in such high esteem, as to be honest I've been to ones as good, if not better in London and Madrid. So unless you are a massive animal or Steve Irwin lover or have a spare $50 I wouldn't recommend wasting the day going here. It's also really odd that in the gift shop Steve's oldest child - Bindi is like a Hannah Montana kind of celebrity! She has her own range of books, handbags, CD's, DVD's, photo's...you name it and Bindi's face is on it!


That evening we all just partied at the hostel again, and the next day we went on one of the coastal walks, before heading back to the hostel to chill for a few hours, before I had to have my Fraser Island meeting in the evening.

I liked Noosa but I wasn't massively taken with it, the beach as with most beaches in Oz was beautiful and very near the hostel and when it wasn't raining it was baking hot! And the Hostel itself had a nice cosy feel, but needed air con in the rooms! Sweating much!!

30th Nov - 5th Dec Airlie Beach and The Whitsundays

Airlie Beach! The place of departure for my Whitsundays trip. I arrive early evening and check into the Nomads Hostel. A really nice, clean hostel with a good vibe. After travelling all day I feel like I need a drink though, its hot and all I really want to do is relax but I have to unpack and repack my bag so that I have a small bag for the Whitsundays. In my dorm room I meet Sophia who is a Swedish girl and so we decide to head to the bar for one quick drink before I finish up my packing.

Me, Sophia, Dan, Heidi and Aaron

At Shed bar, which is a little bar in the hostel its already relatively busy so we find a bench on a table opposite these two Australia guys...now this is where my plan falls apart....we get talking to these guys, who are literally the loveliest Australians in the world, they are miners in Mackay and are just in Airlie for a long weekend. Because we are all getting on so well they decide to start including us in the rounds and you can guess what happens, one round leads to another round which leads to another round and yep, my packing kind of goes out the window...a few hours later I head back to sort out my bag slightly tipsy before heading back out where we all meet up again. We end up in this Irish bar near to the hostel, where there are bands playing and we are all dancing and acting stupid...I stumble home in the very wee hours of the morning, thankful that I did head back to pack my bag earlier but waking up wishing I hadn't stayed out so late! Oh well you only live once!!!
Feeling sorry for myself sat at a cafe having breakfast I bump into Aaron and Dan again - yep all of us are severely hungover, all good, nice to know I'm not the only one! And then its time for me to head to the Marina to board my boat for my Whitsunday's trip.

Paddle boarding and snorkelling

My bedroom!

My Whitsunday's trip is on a Catamaran Powerplay Boat, there are 21 of us including 3 crew members. And its small and cosy but nice and bearable. I sleep for most of the first afternoon because I am so tired from last nights antics but when I wake up, I head out to the front of the boat to take in the scenery. Later that afternoon we have our first stop off, where I decide the best way to clear off the rest of the cobwebs is to go snorkelling. The visibility isn't amazing but the water is lovely and cool and you can see some coral and fish. After snorkelling, its dinner time, we meet Donnie the dolphin who hangs around our boat for an hour or so and then by 9pm I am in bed crashed out! I wake up the next day revived and ready to go! the 6 single back packers all sleep in the Lounge area, the tables where we eat our food basically collapse and form 4 beds and there are 4 cushioned seating area's around the top which also turn into beds.

Day 2 consists of 2 more snorkel or dive stops, and a lot of taking in the stunning scenery, in the afternoon we head to Whitehaven Beach. This is the most beautiful beach I have ever seen, the sand is the whitest and finest of grains, apparently you can use it to clean your jewellery and use it to exfoilate your skin, me, being me, have a go at using it for both! There are loads of sting rays in the water that you have to be careful of, as well as the fact there is no shade, but it is stunning, the views from the walk up to it, are literally like something from a postcard. Immense. That evening some of the divers do a night dive, whilst the rest of us eat and get a little merry. The next morning we start to head back to Airlie Beach but not before one final stop for a last snorkel. The visibility here is much better and this was probably my favourite snorkel site. I wasn't actually going to get in to do this one as I was being lazy but I'm so glad I did, it woke me up and was a lovely way to end the trip.

Is this not one of the most beautiful beaches/views you have ever seen?

Back in Airlie Beach I stayed for a few more days sorting out when and where I was going to next and when and just enjoying the heat and sunshine, and lounging around by the lagoon before leaving on an overnight bus for my 17 hour bus journey to Noosa.....the joy.