March - The month I brought a hairdryer...and did a few other awesome things

So after 4 months, I brought a hairdryer, this was a momentous occasion for me living out of a 55L backpack, it signifies that luxury has entered my life!! But what else has happened in March, a few more exciting things other than buying a hairdryer, dying my hair and getting my hair cut I promise - I got a job for a few weeks at RMIT in the Alumni Department doing Events Co-ordination. Really enjoy working here, the work is interesting and eveyone is lovely!

Future Music Festival  Sunday 10th March! 

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohoooooooooooooooo FMF 2013 - tooo much fun!!!!!!!! The day started with a few pre drinkys at the flat. Unfortunately one of the girls who was meant to come was ill and so had to pull out but thankfully her ticket didn't go to waste and we managed to find another taker! Held at Flemington Racecourse Future Music is a day festival that gets around Australia, over a few weekends playing at Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

We spent most of the day jumping between the 3 main stages/tents (although there were 6 or 8 in total).Headlining this time was Avchii. The weather was soo hot, it was actually a little ridiculous - 35degrees or there about, but thankfully most people seemed to be sensible in relation to drinking in the heat/ burning etc (sorry Mum hat on here!) I'm really paranoid about ageing loads whilst I'm over here so I am doing my best not to tan!! Haha I know, how ridiculous you may think, but when you lot all look like old leather, with sun spots and discolouration and my face and skin is still as plump  and as smooth as a peach you shan't be laughing then!

My favourite band there was The Temper Trap - I've actually only just discovered these and I love them! Off to see them in Concert at the end of April too, can't wait! They were great live, vocally they sounded exactly the same as on their recordings - which is how you know you have a good band because they don't need lots of over producing to help them sound good - they just are! So apart from The Temper Trap I also saw (in no particular order)...Ellie Goulding, Rita Ora, FUN, Rudimental, Madeon, Zeds Dead, The Stone Roses, Bloc Party and Avchii...was that it?...I think so.

The following weekend was the Grand Prix on Sunday 17th March.

Well prepared for rain and having to sit
on the floor with my waterproof table
cloth and portable travel cushion

The weather has started to 'turn' and and I use that term lightly because its still between 14 - 29 degrees depending on the day. But on the day of the Grand Prix, it was quite chilly so I wrapped up in 7 layers in total! It had been raining non stop on the Saturday but thankfully, brightened up on the Sunday in the afternoon. Held at Albert Park, I went with Jenny and Eddie and randomly bumped into my 2 friends whom I sold Reindeer ears with back in Sydney at Christmas. There was lots to do entertainment wise, some exhibitions of racing cars and a kind of museum detailing the history, various other races prior to the Grand Prix, so we had a wander and a watch and then when the race started positioned ourselves on the straight between the 1st and 2nd corner. Which was a good view but obviously with the cars speeding past you don't really get to see them for more than 2 seconds!


In the week I went to see Passenger on Wednesday 20th March at the Athenaeum  Theatre, I was so chuffed that I finally got to see him play!! I have my friend Chris to thank for getting me into him, and he is amazing live, such a quirky, cool and funny fellow who is a lyrical genius and talented musician. His support acts were also amazing - Stu Larsen and Sam Brittain. Brilliant night, I could listen to him play all day, I really could!





On a different note I'm not quite sure how I missed this 4 months ago but I want to promote one of my best pals Neil's blog (also because I'm featured in it and we all know how I really can't stand attention...) http://www.backpacksandbunkbeds.co.uk/australia/coogee-to-bondi-coastal-walk/
If you are interested in travelling or interested in only travelling from the luxury of your couch then either way have a read. Neil has a really good style of writing and you can also follow him on twitter at @packsandbunks and while you're at it why not follow me too @LaurenWigmore I must admit I'm a bit rubbish at the moment with my tweets but for me Twitter is more for my acting in terms of networking.

Oh speaking of acting I did a 3 days short Meisner Intensive with the Ward Studio, which made me very happy to get back into something creative. I truly love Meisner, even though I am still a beginner learning and understanding his techniques - they are and he is still the practitioner that I feel most akin to. I'm really looking forward to doing more training with either the Ward Studio or The Actors Temple in the future. I'm also really missing working with SYS too (the theatre company I worked with in London) who you can follow @systheatre. They have just finished another fringe production which received impressive reviews! Go team!!

During my Easter I didn't do loads, as I've been ill with a cold for a few days, but I caught up with Shireen and her fiance James who have just moved over here for work, was nice to see a familiar face, we went sight seeing which was basically a pub crawl but we discovered some very quirky places, lots of secret back alleys and crazy graffiti, just discovering more of Melbourne really.

And that's basically my March! Will still be in Melbourne in April, where I think I may have to give in and buy a coat and some waterproof shoes! Winter is a coming.....lets see what its like down under!!

Melbourne - February Fun Times

So I'm in Melbourne and I LOVE IT!!!!! It has such a good vibe here, really quirky and edgy, a bit like London I guess, there are some beaches, which aren't anywhere near as nice as the ones in Sydney or the East Coast but that doesn't matter! I've even been for a swim in the sea! I need to try and make that more of a regular occurrence, sort out some regular exercise because I have put on weight!! Too many carbs before Marbs!

On my first night out in Melbourne, I met up with Linzi.We were going to head to see the penguins but unfortunately the weather put a stop to that, because it decided it was going to rain torrentially!! That's probably one of the only bad things about Melbourne is how crazy and hit and miss the weather can be. So we ended up going for some drinks, as Linzi works for one of the pub companies in Melbourne it meant we got quite a few free and discounted drinks (get in) we both ended up far more tipsy than planned, so when I decided to take myself off home I suddenly realised I didn't have the foggiest of where I was going, I got on a couple of trams (they use trams here a lot) and thankfully ended up on a road that I had walked down before, just at the very very far end, it took me 45minutes to walk home, without my flipflops on because the ground was so wet and slippery I kept sliding over!!

I was also Linzi's date to see Warhorse (for free) was so nice to go to the theatre again. This was on at the Arts Center Melbourne and is fantastic!! I would highly recommend it, the hype is all worth it! Linzi's now headed to Perth, so we'll hopefully meet up in a few months when I head that way.

Nick, Will & Matt

I head to St Kilda a lot its about a 20minute walk from where I am living - with my friend Matt from home and his flat mates Nick and Will, we all have such a good laugh. But St Kilda is such a cool area, reminds me or a friendlier Shoreditch or Stoke Newington type area. At the end of the pier you can see Penguins, so one evening a few of us went and waited down there at sunset to see if we could spy any, and we did - three of them! Was too dark for any photos though and you aren't allowed to use your flash, they are cute though!!

St Kilda Fest being harassed!

Sunday 10th February, was St Kilda Festival, a free music festival, well the festival goes on all week but the main day is the final Sunday, St Kilda is buzzing and so busy, I didn't actually see hardly any music...opps...but it was still a good day with a few too many drinks along the way!

Drunk, me? at St Kilda fest..no absolutely not....ok maybe a smidge...

At the QV Market

Melbourne CBD - I explored some of the art galleries, walked along the Southbank, had a wander down the laneways (reminds me of Brighton!) went to the NGV (National Gallery Victoria), ACMI and saw a few exhibitions, St Kilda Botanical Gardens, Queen Victoria Wednesday Night Market (best buzz)....and various other cheap/free things. Still need to do quite a lot of touristy things which I think I'll keep for March and April seeing as I've decided to base myself in Melbourne for a few more months, such a Lauren place - LOVE IT!!!

At the end of February there was another free night of art and music, called White Night Melbourne, which was awesome, the whole CBD turned into this massive arena filled with stages and exhibitions, galleries, stages, shops, you name it were open 7pm - 7am on Saturday 21st February filled with overflowing cultural quirkiness, they also lit up the city with loads of light displays on buildings...I was in my drunken hippy happy element!

A friend from Sydney, Heather, was starting her travels with her boyfriend and she started these in Melbourne, so we caught up which was nice to see an 'old' face. A lot of the guys that started out in my Ultimate Oz group are slowly dropping off....it seems such a shame and a waste of a years working holiday visa to head home only a few months in, still I'm deffo making the most of it!! Looking forward to more adventures and exploring in a few months when I take off again!

Me and Jenny at White Night

One of my friends from England, also put me in touch with a few of hers friends in Melbourne and Jenny and I have spent a fair bit of time together, eating far too much calamari, cake and coffee, but all good fun!

I have a fabulously manic March coming up which I cannot wait for! But I'll update all those plans in another post, don't want to make you all too jealous in one hit! Oh and btw, the weather for most of February has been beyond beautiful, hot and sunny, thank you very much Melbs. Knew I'd like it here.... x x x

26th - 28th Jan Sydney - Melbourne 'Safari'

So I leave Sydney on Australia Day and head off on my 2 night/3 day 'Safari' to Melbourne.
Before anyone thinks aw cool a safari, its not, and I have no idea why they call it that either!

So first stop is Canberra the ACT - Australia's Capital Territory. We stop off at the Australian War Museum, a look out point over the whole city where you can take in the cities architectural design and Parliament House and have a drive around the city center. Its such a quiet Capital city, you can understand why people assume Sydney is the Capital. Nice to stop in for a few hours but in all honesty not much to really see or do there. Next we headed to the Snowy Mountains, where we stayed in Ski Lodge accommodation. We all had dinner together and then did a 'shot ski' basically shots are put in a ski and there are 4 shots, so 4 of you do the shots at the same time - slightly problematic! My shot glass fell from the ski has I tried to shallow the shot and ended up breaking on the floor! 2nd time round was much better!

The next day we get up early ready to head off to walk to Mt Kosciuszko, the highest peak on the snowy mountains. We get a ski lift up - omg scary!!! Never been on a ski lift before, did not like it!! So after being ridiculously scared doing the sand boarding and being a wimp on a ski lift I have realised that adrenaline fueled activities are probably not best suited to me, no ski diving for moi in that case! We get to the start of the walk and the weather is a bit dismal and cold! About 20mins in it starts to get cloudy and misty, so we walk to the first look out point and then all decide that its best to head back, as we won't get to see anything anyway. Blue Mountains all over again!! Oh btw, going down on the ski lift was much better than going up on it...

Lakes Entrance

So back in the bus we head off for coffee and then on to Lakes Entrance in Victoria, we stop off on the way at a Platypus enclosure where we stand silently and quietly for about half an hour and are lucky enough to spot a couple in the water. Onwards we head to the Lakes Entrance, which is beautiful and the largest navigable lakes in Australia. Apparently Lakes Entrance is like the Bournemouth of Australia, its where everyone goes to retire or on holiday! We check into the RSL club (thats like a workings man club) and the accommodation is like a cheap hotel (staying in luxury on this trip, no hostels!) and head for some dinner. After dinner the group heads off to 90 mile beach - the longest beach in Oz to watch the sunset.

The next day we continue on to Wilson's Promontory, which is a National Park in Victoria. Here we take a hike through the mountains, explore Squeaky Beach (yep it squeaks when you walk on it), and spot some Kangaroo's and Emu's in the wild, before heading off to Melbourne, arriving early evening on the Monday.

I get dropped in St Kilda and picked up by my good friend Matt, who whisks me away so I can crash at his for a few days and attempt to figure out my life! :0)

Sydney - 19th Dec - 26th January

So back in Sydney I land just before Christmas, I spend a few days staying at a friends before I check in to my hostel over the Christmas period. I end up working for a children's cancer charity for a few days selling reindeer ears and asking for donations, its quite funny to me all dressed up in my reindeer get up!

On Christmas eve I head to a house party, it is such a lovely hot sunny summers day, everyone gets very merry (it is Christmas after all!), the boys wrestle in the paddling pool, we play beer pong and generally have a good fun time! I don't leave too late as I have to be up early to help cook the Christmas dinner, but I stupidly on the way home leave my bag with my bikini, cardigan, sunglasses and some other bits on the train! NIGHTMARE!! Merry Christmas me eh!! Funnily enough though I head to the lost property office a week later and my bag with all of the items is there!!! So thankfully I got everything back! Not sure that would ever happen in England....

The chefs!

Christmas day I head to the girls flat (which is where I will move into) and I help Sharlene prepare the food for Christmas dinner, we did a traditional dinner with a twist! Turkey, chicken, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, pasta, rice, and salad! There are 15 of us all celebrating together. Although it doesn't feel very Christmassy and it rained!!! So none of us could head to the beach, which we were all a bit gutted about.

On Boxing day I got invited by my friend Siobhan to go on a boat to watch the start of the Sydney - Hobart boat race. What a lovely day it was, free food and drink - I was topping up nicely on the champagne! And the buffet was immense, probably the best food I've eaten since I've been travelling! I really miss nice good healthy good and decent wine/champagne!


The next few days I don't really do that much just job searching, although everything is closed over the Christmas period so not a lot gets done, not through lack of trying. I start to realise that maybe I have come back to Sydney at the wrong time....

NYE fun! Me and Sharlene

Rosa,  me and Josh

A few others :0)

My view

New Years eve - well, where to start with this, we all decide that we are going to watch the fireworks at Mrs Macquaries Point because we suspect it might be busy, we decide that we are going to camp out from about 3am to ensure we get in. This is quite fun and we all have a good giggle and a massive snuggly spoon as we try and get some sleep (and warmth) before the sun comes up. The gates open at 10am and this is when the fun starts. So for some stupid reason the security team, seem to overlook policing the queue and basically trying to get in becomes a free for all. So all the people who had arrived after us are all in front of us, around us or already in the venue, whilst we are still 'queueing', its ridiculous, we are all rather fed up to put it mildly. However, the main thing is that we made it into the venue, got our spot and then waited for 12 hours for the fireworks! It was soooo unbelievably hot, a got quite a nice tan from being out in it all day. By the time the fireworks came around we were all knackered, the view wasn't the best in all honesty, which was a little gutting but at least I can say I saw New Years Eve Fireworks in Sydney!



A few days later I move in the flat with the girls, Liv, Sharlene and Holly. I'm replacing Sarah who is off on a trip from Perth to Adelaide. The flat is in Kingsford, which is about a 20min bus ride out of town. Its a really nice flat and I'm sharing a room with Liv. I had such a good time staying here with the girls, cooking together, watching DVDs, going for runs, nights out together and generally just being a bit silly. I was really sad when the time came to leave them.

Slightly soggy!

Sharlene kindly treated me to a day trip to the Blue Mountains. I have not laughed so hard in a long time. So we forget to check the weather before we leave - error number one, as basically if the weather is bad, you can't actually see much.... second error assuming that it would be warm; after we got off the train it was freezing! So cold in fact I had to buy another top from a factory outlet store, but the only top that looked warm enough and wasn't expensive was a mans long sleeved top - so I brought that!!! We headed off walking trying to navigate our own self guided tour, but before we even leave the town we decide we should stock up on sweets, crisps and chocolate!! Is it any wonder I've got fat since I've been in Oz!! We eventually find a starting point only to see a sign that the walk ways are closed! We decide to take a few of the easier / short / not dangerous walks anyway as we've come all this way. We aren't the only ones there are other people doing the same thing, so off we head. The heavens decide that its now time to pour down on us, so we are literally soaked through to the bone, the visibility is also questionable in the sense that there isn't any from the look out points, just mist...this mist then decides to descend inland to the point where you can't see whats in front of you! So we decide its time to head home, but hold on - which direction do we need to walk in? We take an educated guess and head off, thankfully finding the way back easier than we thought. Although we didn't actually get to see anything, we did smell the eucalyptus and we both swear that the mist had a slight blue tinge!

Randomly, 2 of my friends from Rose Bruford were performing at the Sydney Festival on in January. Not having seen them for about 2 years (maybe more) I not only got to catch up with them but also got to see their show 'As the flames rose we danced to the sirens, the sirens' which was awesome! (Their company is Sleepwalk Collective- check them out they are doing so well!) we met up after their show in the Festival Gardens in Hyde Park - such a cool little pop up venue, with some food and drink tents, a DJ, a Spiegeltent and loads of outdoors seating. I also got to see a 2nd show complimentary of Iara and Sammy as well, as they were guest starring in it 'The Blind Date Project'! Was so nice to get back into seeing some theatre! Would have been too expensive for me otherwise on a no job/backpacker 'salary'!

I also went to see Hot Dub Time Machine by Tom Loud at the Spiegeltent another night, great fun dancing away to one song from each year all mashed up and mixed together from the 1950's all the way through to 2013!

Sydney during the festival also had an open air cinema in the Darling Quarter, so a few of us went there one evening to watch Finding Nemo, sometimes its the simple things that are so much fun! We then went to see the giant rubber duck in the Harbour and for some drinks. Funtimes!

One of our good friends from the group, James, decided that it was his time to leave and head back to England to propose to his girlfriend! So we threw him a few leaving do's! Also had a few random nights out in Bondi and Coogee (for all my English friends they are beach towns) and too much fun! I seriously had the best group of friends in Sydney it was so hard and sad to say goodbye. But as I struggled to get a job in Sydney I decided it was time to look to leaving, I'd thankfully managed to get about 6/7 days worth of odd work here and there which kept me going but it wasn't ideal, so whilst I still had a few pennies left in my pocket I decided to head off to Melbourne! All a bit last minute I didn't actually get to see everyone to say goodbye which was such a shame but I'm hopefully we'll meet up again, I do still have 9 months left here!

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!!