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Around the World
  • Simon and Blake
abr. 2017 – ene. 2018

Around the World

Una aventura de 282 días de Simon Leer más
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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Port Douglas

    18 de septiembre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    After being on high alert due to the spider, I woke up pretty much every 20 minutes in a panic and scanning the room. I think it's going to take some time to get used to the noises of the rainforest.

    This afternoon we have booked onto the Kuku Yalanji Cultural Habitat Tour so in the morning we went for a look around Port Douglas. We parked next to the Sugar Wharf where we saw lots of people fishing, although nobody appeared to have caught anything. We then walked across Port Douglas beach, through Anzac Park and up Island Point Road (which was ridiculously steep) to Flagstaff Hill Lookout. Arriving at the top very hot and sweaty, we were rewarded with amazing views out over Four Mile Beach.

    We then jumped back in the car and headed to Cooya Beach which was the meeting point for our afternoon tour. We were a bit early so we sat on the beach and ate our packed lunch, before meeting our guide Brandon.

    So the Kuku Yalanji Cultural Tour involves spending the afternoon with Brandon learning about some of the traditional ways of the Aboroginal culture. Within the first 2 minutes of meeting Brandon we were given a spear and told to practice throwing it at a coconut whilst we waited for the rest of the group to arrive. Simon appeared to have been gifted with beginners luck and hit the coconut on his first 2 throws. Me on the other hand. Well you can imagine, with my excellent hand eye coordination, how well I did! Once the rest of the group arrived and they had had a go at spearing the coconut we headed off down the beach into the mangroves. On the way Brandon pointed out some of the flowers and their medicinal purposes including the Hibiscus plant which had yellow flowers that you could eat as a good source of water.

    Now for some reason (probably due to the plethora of Bear Grylls shows I watch) I always associate mangroves with crocodiles. Brandon however informed us that neither crocs or sharks (not that I was particularly concerned about them as the tide was out) will come into the mangroves as neither of them can move backwards. As a result, they would get stuck so the mangroves are a safe croc free zone. In the mangroves, Brandon pointed out perrywinkles, mussels and oysters, which we picked up and put into a bucket, as everything we found he would be cooking up for us later.

    Out of the mangroves, we walked along the beach to lots of shallow lagoons in search of mud crabs. The aim was to stab it with your spear through its shell and if it ran away, keep stabbing at it until you caught it. It felt like we had been searching for ever and I hadn't even seen a crab, let alone attempted to kill it! Eventually I caught up with Brandon and saw him carrying a big mud crab. At least he had caught one I thought, but he informed me that Simon had caught it! I didn't believe him at all but turns out it was Simon that caught it and was our star hunter as no one else, not even Brandon, had managed to catch one. The crab did only have legs on one side of his body though so he was severely disabled!

    With only one crab, we headed back into the mangroves to see if we could find some more mud crabs in there. Here the mud was super deep and squelched beneath our feet making all kinds of noises! The mangroves were also really close together here so we had to clamber over the roots which was a bit challenging in itself. There was therefore no way that we were going to be able to clamber over and catch anything so we gave up and retreated back to the beach.

    We had now been hunting for just over 2 hours so we gave up and started to make our way back down the beach. On the way back, Simon continued to poke around with his spear hoping to luck out with another crab. It wasn't long before I heard a squeal of joy behind me and there was Simon with another crab on the end of his spear! He had been poking around some leaves and when he pulled out the spear there was a crab attached. This time it was a soft shelled crab. It's called a soft shelled crab as when they get to big for their shells, they grow a new one and then shed the old one. There are then a few transitional days when their shells are soft whilst they wait for them to harden up. Simon sure was lucking out on the blue badge holder crabs.

    Back at Brandon's family home, just opposite the beach, he set about cooking up our bush tucker in coconut oil, 10 year old chilli in oil and some butter. We then tucked in to the bush tucker with a side of damper (a type of bread) with butter and golden syrup. I had a good go on all the snails and fishy delights and they were actually pretty good. Simon couldn't bring himself to eat them however he did have a go on the crab and really enjoyed it.    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Day 2 - Port Douglas

    19 de septiembre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    After another night of loud rainforest noises and jumping at every thing we thought sounded / looked like it would kill us, it was safe to say we didn't get a great nights sleep. We also had some serious rainforest rain over night which resulted in us waking up with soggy feet again. This time due to a hole in the shelter over the caravan and a leaky roof hatch. We were already pros at the leaky van scenario so we simply grabbed a saucepan and slid it underneath.

    We didn't let the rain dampen our spirits and headed out to Mossman Gorge. Unfortunately a few of the must do activities here included swimming in various spots but due to the heavy rainfall it was not advised (we soon saw why when we got there as the rivers were moving really fast). We bought our tickets and drove up to the gorge on the shuttle bus. There we had a short boardwalk to some lookouts over the various creeks and a suspension bridge to a nice gorge lookout. At the other side of the bridge there was also a 2.5km loop track. We had raincoats and have done plenty of walks in worse weather, so we plodded on. In less than an hour, having seen various flora and fauna including our first fig tree, (these fungal plants grow around and eventually kill their host tree) we were back at the suspension bridge. By the time we had made it back to the shuttle bus stop the rain had gone so we decided to have lunch on a picnic table before making our way back to the car park.

    In the afternoon we went back to Port Douglas for a walk around the shops. Afterwards we went for a stroll along Four Mile Beach. I'm not sure if it is really four miles long but we walked until we got bored and turned back around. Blake also took a lot of delight kicking the perfectly round balls of sand back into the bubble crab holes from which they'd been painstaking dug out, poor things. Once back to the car it was back to the caravan.

    When we walked back into the caravan Blake was sure she saw something big scuttle up the boiler so we spent 20 minutes with torches trying to find it. Nothing was found so I wasn't entirely convinced that she had seen anything at all and was just being paranoid. Later on in bed, just having turned the light off I realise I had left my phone in my shorts and needed to set an alarm. As I turned the light on we saw two things run in different directions on the wall but this time we could make out they were geckos. After one escaped and the other being too fast for me and my washing bowl and hiding behind the fridge, it was another few hours before either of us could finally get to sleep, as we could then hear them pitter patter around the caravan.    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Port Douglas - Cape Tribulation

    20 de septiembre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Today we continued our journey on to Cape Tribulation. It's not particularly far from Port Douglas however there were a few things we wanted to do on the way up so we were on the road by 9am. Fowler had warned us there was only one shop there so we stopped off at Woolworths in Mossman to stock up on some supplies for the next 3 days.

    To get to Cape Tribulation you have to get a ferry across the Daintree River so that was our first stop. This was closely followed by Cape Kimberley which came highly recommended by Rebecca, our Airbnb host. She wasn't wrong, it was a beautiful beach so we sat for a while taking in the scenery. We were also the only people on the beach for the most part.

    Back on the road we headed up to the Alexandra Lookout where we could see the rainforest meet the Great Barrier Reef. It was a pretty spectacular view. Shortly after we arrived at the Discovery Centre which has lots of boardwalks where you can view the rainforest from different levels. This included a 23m high tower where you could stand up in the canopy. Usually seeing the rainforest from the floor, it was really interesting to get a higher view. The birds and butterflies fly around the top as that's where the colourful flowers are which you would never usually see. We were also given an audio guide which gave us a lot of information about the flora and fauna, as well as an Aboriginal interpretation which was really interesting. There was so much to see that we spent a good couple of hours there.

    It was now around 3pm and we were all rainforested out so we headed to the Daintree Ice Cream Company for a refreshing afternoon treat. They make the ice cream out of fruits grown in Cape Tribulation and for $7.50 you get a bowl with a scoop of each of the 4 flavours they have that day. Today's flavours were banana, Davidson plum, wattleseed and passionfruit and they were all delicious! I'm still not entirely sure what a wattleseed is but it tasted a lot like coffee so was really good.

    Content from our sugar fix, we drove the last bit of the journey up to PK's Jungle Lodge where we will be staying for the next 3 nights. It's right next to Myall Beach, so after checking in to our 6 bed dorm we went for a wander down to the beach.

    Our roommates weren't particularly friendly so we cooked up some dinner and played cards before getting an early night as we were both completely shattered. Our cabin looks much more bug proof than the caravan so fingers crossed for a less stressful nights sleep.    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Cape Tribulation

    21 de septiembre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    The alarm went off super early alarm as we had our Great Barrier Reef Ocean Safari snorkelling trip booked for 8am. The early wake up wasn't too much of a problem though as we both had the best nights sleep ever! There were no creepy crawlies so it was a million times better than the caravan. The meeting place was directly opposite our hostel so after a quick bit of toast we walked on over.

    After a quick briefing and squeezing into our wetsuits we made our way to the beach to board the boat. On the way there we were told that a film crew would be onboard filming for Monday's 'Today Show'. Our 5 minutes of Aussie fame! Once we were all on the boat it took around 25 minutes to get to the reef. Unfortunately we soon realised we picked the worst seats when we got an earful of sea spray right in the ear hole!

    No sooner had we made it to the first mooring point, we saw our first turtle in the water. As if by magic he came up for air just as we were about to get in the water. Turtles are so relaxed in the water. This fella really wasn't phased by us all being there, diving down and taking selfies. This was the number one thing we had wanted to see in the water here along with the obvious Great Barrier Reef. We both felt we saw a lot more fish when we snorkelled in Fiji however on the reef all the fish were a lot bigger, especially the parrot fish of which there were loads. These colourful creatures swim with their side fins as opposed to their tails and are the reason for all the reef sand in the area. They nibble and feed on the reef all day and out the back comes a daily dose of reef sand.

    The second mooring point had slightly less fish but did have a lot of giant clams. These things were the size of a suitcase and close shut when anything went near them. We were also told this is where we could find Nemo but no such luck on that front. Just before we made our way back to the boat I caught one of the film crew about to land his drone on the boat. It looked good until the boat went over a wave and knocked it on its way down causing it to spin out of control, hit the side of the boat and then land straight into the water. Needless to say this thing did not float and sank like a lead balloon. Luckily the sound man was in a wetsuit so dived in after it. OOPS!

    For lunch we decided to eat at the Turtle Cafe next door to Ocean Safari, due to a good recommendation from Fowler. Although just swimming with them I went for fish and chips. Blake had a delicious looking chicken wrap. To walk it off, much to my dismay, we took the beach path to Cape Tribulation Beach. To me a beach is a beach but we had to see it apparently. We managed to catch the last bit of sun before strolling back along the road back to our hostel.    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Day 2 - Cape Tribulation

    22 de septiembre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    The main aim of today was to work on the tan. Before we commenced a day of laziness, snoozing on the beach, we thought we had better do something that involved movement. So, after breakfast we drove around 20 minutes down the road to the Marrdja Botanical Boardwalk which was a short walk through the mangroves. We were hoping to see some crocs but instead we had to settle for some fish. After the walk we headed north to Emmagen Creek, a local swimming spot. The water was freezing so we didn't brave it and instead just took a picture and headed back to the car. There has been very little rain over the last few months here so the creeks aren't as impressive as I imagine they would be during wet season.

    After lunch, we headed to the beach for a few hours and we definitely both fell asleep. I woke up sweating from the heat and because you can't get in the sea to cool off because of the crocs, it wasn't long before we headed back to the hostel for a shower.

    We have had new roommates every day but 2 of them arrived really late which is pretty unusual here as once the ferry stops and it gets dark you can't really go anywhere. Turns out they were planning on camping however they forgot one essential item for a camping trip, the tent! As a result they had been driving around for hours looking for somewhere to stay. They had given up hope and resolved themselves to sleeping in the car but then one of them went so OTT on the bug spray that the car was uninhabitable. Eventually they stumbled upon this place so they were extremely happy to have a bed.    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Cape Tribulation - Yungaburra

    23 de septiembre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We were originally going to head back to Cairns after Cape Tribulation however lots of people have recommended exploring the Atherton Tablelands so we tacked on a couple of extra days with the car. We have a hostel booked in Yungaburra for 2 nights so today we would be making our way slowly there, stopping off on the way to see the sights.

    The top half of the Atherton Tablelands is very dry and a direct contrast to the rainforest where we have spent the last week. It actually reminded me a lot of Peru with mountains of rainforest in the distance. There isn't much to see up here so the first part involved a lot of driving. We did stop at Coffee Works in Mareeba for a nose which is a coffee museum however it cost $19 each to look round, so we opted for an iced coffee instead. The coffee came with a large scoop of ice cream and lots of whipped cream so was incredibly naughty but delicious.

    We then continued on down through Atherton and on to Mt Hypipamee National Park to take a look at The Crater and Dinner Falls. The Crater is quite literally what it says on the tin, a giant volcanic hole filled with water which was pretty impressive to look at. Dinner Falls was also very nice.

    We then headed back up to Yungaburra with a quick stop off at the Curtain Fig Tree. We have seen a few fig trees now but this one was pretty spectacular and HUGE!

    Yungaburra is a very small place so there was only one choice of hostel, On the Wallaby Lodge. It is however lovely. It's clean, chilled out and the kitchen is well equipped (all important things in a hostel). We even have a 6 bed dorm to ourselves which is pretty nice. On check in, we were told about a place nearby where you could potentially see platypus in the wild so just before dusk we made our way down there. We hadn't even been there 5 minutes and we saw our first platypus swimming through the river. They are so cute and a lot smaller than I was expecting. We had to wait a long time before we saw our next one however after a lot of patience and a strategic change of location we saw 2 more swimming down the river.    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Yungaburra

    24 de septiembre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    The Tablelands are famous for the waterfalls and that's exactly what was on the agenda for today. Our first waterfall was Millaa Millaa Falls which many of you may recognise from the old Herbal Essences adverts. The water however was not as inviting as they made out in the advert. It was in fact bloomin freezing. We couldn't not get in so we braved the cold and went for a little swim. It did get better after a while so we attempted to recreate the advert. Again, that wasn't as glamorous as every time I flicked my hair back, the water slapped me in the face. After a few attempts and a very obliging photographer (thank you Simon) we got the money shot and then hastily got out to dry off in the sunshine.

    There are loads of waterfalls here but because there hasn't been a lot of rain some of them are pretty pathetic. We therefore decided to miss the majority of them and instead just head to the main ones. The next one on the list was Josephine Falls. This was a tiered waterfall where you could clamber over the rocks and swim in the yet again freezing water. It was certainly a popular spot as there were loads of people there.

    After Josephine Falls we headed to The Boulders near Babinda. This was another popular swimming spot but we didn't bother to get in this one. A couple of people had recommended we try the Devonshire Cream Teas by Lake Barrine so as it was already gone 3pm, we made our way there. It took a while for us to get there along a long and winding road which resulted in us arriving at 4:10pm, 10 minutes after they closed. Devastating! Lake Barrine however is gorgeous so we took a couple of pics and then headed back to our hostel.    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Yungaburra - Cairns

    25 de septiembre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    We are heading back to Cairns today as our Jucy adventure has come to an end. We didn't have to return the car until 12:30pm so after our failed attempt at a cream tea yesterday we decided to try again. Not sure whether it was socially acceptable to eat a scone before 10am (although I know my Granny would have approved) we decided to visit another fig tree first. This one was called the Cathedral Fig Tree. To give you an idea of the size, it's 72m around the outside, CRAZY!

    We then went back to Lake Barrine for our cream tea. As it was early we just wanted to share a cream tea between us. You'd think that this was a perfectly reasonable request but oh no the lady was having none of it so we ended up with one tea and 2 lots of scones. One portion was 3 halves so we both felt incredibly sick after eating those so soon after breakfast. When the lady bought the tea out we asked for an extra cup so we could share and she didn't want to give it to us as we would need to pay for 2 teas. It was all very ridiculous and ruined our little treat. To add to that, scones with whipped cream instead of clotted cream are just wrong!

    We arrived back in Cairns around midday and dropped the car off before heading to our hostel to check in. We checked into a different one than before as we didn't like the last place and this one is a lot nicer. You also get a free evening meal which is a bonus. We have 2 nights here before we spend the next few weeks travelling down the East Coast to Brisbane. We therefore spent the afternoon planning what we wanted to do on the way down, before heading to the tour agencies to play them off against each other for a good deal on tours. 3 travel companies later I was feeling mentally exhausted and incredibly guilty. I could never be a salesperson as I felt terrible for playing them off against each other and essentially wasting their time. The best offer we got was $1298 per person which included all of our accommodation, a 2 day, 2 night sailing trip around the Whitsundays, a 3 day 4 x 4 trip around Fraser Island, the ferry to Magnetic Island, snorkelling hire and a surf lesson. We have asked her to try and get it closer to $1000 and then we will book it with them. The look of shock on her face when I asked her to knock $300 off made me feel terrible. I'm certainly not cut out for this. She is going to see what she can do though and we are going to come back in the morning. Fingers crossed!    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Cairns

    26 de septiembre de 2017, Australia ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    I'm sure you're all excited to find out whether the tour company, Peterpans, has managed to get us a good deal so I will put you all out of your misery. After a few phone calls she has managed to get it down to $1054 per person which is around £620. A pretty good deal I reckon so we are really pleased with that result considering the amount of stuff that we are going to get for that. The majority of the hostels we are staying in look really nice too. There are a couple of dives thrown in there but we can suck it up for a night or 2.

    With that all sorted we could kick back and enjoy our last day chilling out in Cairns in the glorious sunshine. We headed back to the lagoon again and spent the majority of the afternoon sunbathing, reading and swimming. Not bad for a Tuesday. Now we just have to pack our bags for our early bus tomorrow morning. We have only been here for 2 days yet we have managed to distribute our stuff all over our room. Even at the age of 31, I am still incapable of keeping my bedroom tidy.    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Mission Beach

    27 de septiembre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    It seems like forever ago that we were travelling around on buses in South America but today we're back on them again. Our bus leaving Cairns was at 8:15am so it was an early start. The Greyhounds aren't bad to be fair however I'm not sure how I'm going to sleep on one when we have to do an overnight bus. It's only 2 hours to Mission Beach though so we're easing ourselves back in gently.

    We are staying at the Jackaroo Treehouse Hostel which is pretty cool. It's a fair way out from the beach and bus stop though so they put on a regular free shuttle bus to get you around. We are only here for 24 hours so in order to make the best of our time here, the guy on reception suggested we go for a walk in the rainforest and go to Mission Beach. We couldn't check in until 1pm anyway so we jumped on the next bus and got dropped off at Djiru National Park. Here we could do the Dreaming Trail which was a 3.2km walk through the rainforest and the shuttle would pick us on on the other side in 2 hours time. This has seemed like a great idea when he suggested it but around 30 minutes in we regretted not just going to the beach. We have spent the last week in the rainforest getting eaten alive by horse flys (those are the worst) and Mosquitos. It was also stupidly hot and sweaty. There was no turning back though so we powered through to the end. It took us around an hour to do the walk so we had another hour to kill until we were getting picked up. Fortunately I found a sign for a swimming spot so I didn't waste any time jumping in. It was so nice to be in the cool water. Simon didn't get in and instead just paddled whilst going on a horse fly murder spree. They don't even care if you wear insect repellent. They are savage!

    I think we actually whooped when the bus arrived to take us back to the hostel. We got back around 2:15pm and made some lunch as we hadn't eaten since breakfast. I feel like this significantly contributed to the lack of enthusiasm towards the rainforest walk also.

    After lunch we jumped on the bus again and got dropped down at Mission Beach where we chilled out for a couple of hours and watched the numerous skydivers land on the beach. A skydive has never appealed to me however watching them all float in looked kinda awesome so now I am a little tempted.

    Back at the hostel we cooked some dinner and had a lazy evening. It's a shame we don't have longer here as it really is a lovely hostel.    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake
    Tully beach
    Simon and his urine samplesOur hostel pool

    Townsville

    28 de septiembre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Now everyone we speak to says 'Why do you want to go to Townsville?", "it's a dive" and "it's full of drunk bogans". Despite this our research had concluded that this may actually be a place we would like. Townsville is a 4 hour coach journey from Mission Beach as we had a 45 minute lunch stop in Tully, so we arrived around 3pm. The coach driver enthusiastically told us about all the things Tully would have to offer whilst we stopped. The highlight of which was to get our cameras and phones ready for a selfie with the giant mud crab. We had to time to kill so we did just that. I'm pretty sure we were the only people on the bus that bothered though. We have far lower levels of street cred to maintain obviously.

    We are staying at Rambutan which is quite possibly the nicest looking hostel we have stayed in. This is definitely somewhere I could spend a few days relaxing in the rooftop pool and bar. Unfortunately we only have one night here as we are off to Magnetic Island tomorrow.

    On the way to Rambutan my phone rapidly deteriorated and by the time we arrived the screen was blurry and the touchscreen was no longer responding to touch. Simon found a place that could fix the screen for $80 so we headed there to get it sorted. To my surprise they said they could have it fixed in half an hour which was amazing. The guy was running a bit behind though so it was gone 5:30pm by the time it was done. He did chuck in a free tempered glass screen protector for me though to protect it against future accidents so i can't really complain. My phone is now good as new which is incredible. I feel like I have a new phone! Happy times!

    Fixing the phone did eat up into our Townsville exploring time though which is a bit of a shame. We did spot some awesome graffiti on the way back to the hostel though which was cool. We also found a really nice area called City Lane with a few nice eateries and wine bars which we went back to after dinner for a drink. I feel like Townsville bears a slight resemblance to Bedminster. Back in the day it was a complete dive however now it is slowly becoming gentrified and hipster. It would be interesting to come back to Townsville in a few years time to see how it has evolved.

    One thing I did really want to do here is watch the sunset from the top of Castle Hill but because we went to get the phone fixed, we missed it. Instead, I have somehow convinced Simon to watch the sunrise tomorrow instead. Apparently it rises around 6am and it takes an hour to walk there so it's going to be an early start.    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake
    Sunset at Geoffrey's Bay
    Chilling by the hostel poolOur uninvited dinner guest, Mr Possum

    Magnetic Island

    29 de septiembre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    The alarm went off at 4:50am and it took me a good few minutes to figure out what I was meant to get up for. The temptation to turn it off and go back to sleep was almost to hard to resist but I dragged myself out of bed and got dressed for our hike up Castle Hill (or Machu Picchu 2.0 as we called it) to see the sunrise. It was super steep and there were a LOT of steps. It wasn't the prettiest sunrise we have even seen as it was pretty cloudy however from the Hynes Lookout you get 360 degree views of Townsville and can see all the way across to Magnetic Island. You'd think that we would have been the only people crazy enough to hike up there at silly o'clock in the morning however we were joined by loads of other people. Apparently around 1,500 locals walk, run or cycle up it every day for fitness so the track was pretty busy. We walked up the Cudtheringa Track which was a total of 1,052m and 1,420 steps, however to give our knees (mainly mine) a bit of a rest, we walked back down along the road.

    We got back down to the bottom around 7am and having already been up for 2 hours and walked 7km, a coffee was definitely in order. We stopped at a little coffee shop called Fratello and had 2 lattes. I don't know whether it's because I haven't had a cup of coffee in a while or it was genuinely good quality coffee but it was super yummy.

    Back at the hostel we had some breakfast and then packed our bags as we are off to Magnetic Island for the weekend. Magnetic Island, or Maggie Island as it's known by the locals, is a 20 minute ferry ride from Townsville. When we arrived on the island, we jumped on the bus to our hostel, YHA Bungalow Bay. We had a nice and lazy afternoon hanging out by the pool and doing some laundry before heading over to Geoffrey Bay around sunset to see the rock wallabies. You can buy Wallaby food to feed them if you want to however we didn't get there before the shop closed. It didn't matter though, lots of other people had put down food and there were quite a few wallabies happily munching away. They are super cute and a couple of them are really friendly. One was sat there quite content while a little boy stroked him and tickled him under his chin. The highlight however was the mummy rock wallaby with a baby joey in her pouch, which as you can imagine was completely adorable!

    Once the sun went down we headed back to the hostel for dinner. Whilst we were eating we were joined by a cheeky possum. He was rummaging for scraps under the tables and later on another one shimmied down the side of kitchen and almost climbed on to Simons shoulder before he noticed!    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Day 2 - Magnetic Island

    30 de septiembre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Last night we had a possum join us for dinner and this morning we had a friendly rainbow lorikeet join us for breakfast.

    The best way to see Maggie Island is with a 4x4 as there are a couple of areas on the island that you can't reach without one, unless you want to walk miles in extreme heat, and that is just a recipe for disaster. We therefore decided to rent one for the day. It's a bit of a banger but that didn't bother us too much. At least we didn't have to be too precious with it for fear of not getting our deposit back.

    Our first stop was The Forts Walk. It's a 4km walk that takes you past ruins from the time Maggie Island was a defence outpost during World War II. At the top is a Lookout which gives you beautiful views across the island and out to the sea. The best bit about this walk though is the numerous koalas you can spot on the way chilling out in the trees. Simon and I have never seen a koala before so it was incredible to see them in the wild. They were sat pretty low in the trees too so we got to see them really close up. We even got to see a mum and baby.

    After The Forts Walk we headed down to Radical Bay. The drive down to the bay is pretty scary and they weren't lying when they said you would need a 4x4 as the potholes were enormous! Not wanting to be responsible for damaging the car, I left the driving to Simon. He did an excellent job of navigating the potholes though and we arrived at Radical Bay in one piece.

    Radical Bay is a gorgeous beach so we decided to stop here for lunch and have a swim in the sea to cool down. Apart from our snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef, we haven't actually been in the sea due to the various wildlife that is out to get you. The water wasn't cold at all so it was lush to float around in the waves for a bit. Another unique and funky thing about Radical Bay is the piano that is situated on the beach. It even works if you are talented in that area and fancy busting out a tune (I settled for chopsticks).

    After we had dried off in the sun we headed back to the car to drive to Florence Bay. When we got to the car though, Simon couldn't find the car key. Uh oh! We pulled everything out of our bag with no luck and then Simon ran back down to the beach in a panic to try and retrace our steps. Fortunately when he was searching around in the sand, a lady came up to him waving a key. That could have turned out a whole lot worse.

    Florence Bay was another lovely beach which apparently offers great snorkelling. We didn't have any gear though so we sat on the beach for a bit before heading back to the hostel for a shower.

    Something not to miss on Maggie Island is watching the sunset from West Point. The drive there was a million times better than the road to Radical Bay which was good. We did arrive at the car park to see another 4x4 stuck in the soft sand though. Fortunately they were stuck so I knew not to drive there otherwise that could have quite easily been us. Lucky for them someone offered them a tow otherwise that would have been an expensive mistake for them. The beach at West Point was absolutely stunning and we sat and watched the sun go down over the sea.

    Back at the hostel it was trivia night, so Simon and I decided to join in. As a team of 2 we had very little hope of getting many answers right however we underestimated ourselves as we came joint 3rd. Much better than our efforts in the trivia we did in Melbourne.    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Magnetic Island - Airlie Beach

    1 de octubre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    We both had a terrible nights sleep due to a guy and a girl talking and generally being 'noisy' until the very early hours, until I lost my rag and asked them to be quiet. Despite this it was hard to be miserable as this morning we were having breakfast with the koalas. Before breakfast we were introduced to Kevin the Bearded Dragon and Bob, the blue tongued skink. Kevin and Bob were pretty cute and passed around for a cuddle. Breakfast was a huge spread of bacon, sausages, pancakes, French toast, hash browns, Bircher muesli and cake. We have been eating peanut butter on toast for the last God knows how many weeks so we pilled up our plates and tucked in.

    Feeling very full we went to go meet a sleepy koala called Hagrid. We were allowed to go into his enclosure and stroke his back. He was adorable and super fluffy and soft! The keeper also brought out a giant carpet python which Simon put round his neck for a photo. There was no way I was putting it round my neck though! Instead I waited for the next animal encounter which was a cuddle with a 3 year old koala called Claudia. I felt like a kid at Christmas. She was super cute and cuddly, I didn't want to let her go. Unfortunately you only get to hold her for less than a minute as she is only allowed to work for 30 minutes a day and they have 4 separate photo sessions.

    There were a few other koalas there which you could walk around and see as well as a few small crocs, a black cockatoo and a wombat. The cockatoo was hilarious. When you went up to take a photo of him he would show off and start shaking his head around. The wombat was also adorable and completely passed out on his back with his legs sprawled out like a starfish. He was also considerably bigger than I thought a wombat would be and apparently he's a small one!

    After we tore ourselves away from the koalas, we checked out and returned the car. Our ferry wasn't until 3pm so we headed down to the markets on Horseshoe Bay for a nose and then chilled out back at the hostel.

    Back in Townsville we jumped on the 4pm bus to our next destination, Airlie Beach. We are staying at the Nomads Hostel and OMG what a dive! We tried to go into the kitchen to cook some dinner and I have never seen anything like it. It was absolutely disgusting. The sinks were overflowing with water and full of dirty pots and pans. Clearly no one here knows how to clean up after themselves and the hostel doesn't bother either. It was so bad that we decided not to cook and went out to grab something to eat instead. The only good thing about the hostel is that the dorm is clean.    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Airlie Beach

    2 de octubre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    As there was house music blaring from the bar about 20 meters away from our room last night we both went to bed in our trusty ear plugs. They worked a treat as I was out cold for about 10 hours. It probably helped only having 3 people in our room too with me and Blake making up two of those.

    Having no peanut butter for our toast we got dressed and made our way to woolies. It also made sense to visit Peterpans for our free zipless boat bags (a lot of boats worry about bed bugs hiding in zips) and Wings, our boat company to check in. After learning what we could and couldn't take on board we then looked around the bottle shops eyeing up the beers and goon (cheap box wine).

    During breakfast it started to rain which was not what we needed. Luckily it seemed to pass pretty quickly. For the afternoon we decided to head to the lagoon (similar to the one in Cairns) for a spot of sunbathing and little swim.

    Unfortunately for our stir fry dinner the veg had gone a bit funny so after eating as much as we could stomach we decided to walk to Cold Rock for some ice cream. Naturally it made sense to share a large rather than two smalls so we ended up with about a Ben and Jerry sized tub of ice cream mixed with Toblerone, Oreo and Malteasers.    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Whitsundays

    3 de octubre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We have booked a 2 day, 2 night sailing adventure around the Whitsundays. Expecting rain, we woke up to glorious sunshine which was perfect for our catamaran adventure. We weren't boarding the boat until 1pm so after checking out we dropped off our luggage at the office and headed to Maccy D's for some breakfast. It's BYO (the boat not Maccas) so after brekkie we headed to the bottle shop to stock up on supplies.

    Our home for the next couple of nights is called Wings 3 which accommodates 31 people. Shortly after boarding the boat we were shown to our rooms which are certainly cosy! Si and I didn't luck out with a double and instead are in bunks that are fitted into one of the hulls. After being shown to our rooms it didn't take everyone long to slip into their bikinis and make their way out to the front of the boat for some sunbathing. Our first stop was a couple of hours away for some snorkelling. Stinger (jellyfish) season is nearly upon us so we all had to wear wetsuits whilst we snorkelled. The water was really murky though so the snorkelling was a bit pants. Apparently Cyclone Debbie damaged quite a bit of the Reef. We also had a little accident with the go pro when Simon jumped in to the sea only to realise that the door on the side was open. It is now sitting in a pot of rice in an attempt to dry it out.

    After the snorkelling, we were back on the boat for some tea, cake and some more sunbathing. Not long later we were given some steak pies and sausage rolls, and then before we knew it it was dinner time. I don't think we are going to go hungry on this trip.

    After dinner, the crew gave us a bit of an overview on where we had been and what we would be doing over the next couple of days, as well as the kind of animals / fish that we may see. We then spent the rest of the evening having a couple of beers and chatting to other people on the boat.    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Day 2 - Whitsundays

    4 de octubre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Having never slept on a boat before it was a strange nights sleep. It took me a while to doze off as the rocking of the boat made me feel a bit like I was drunk. Our 7am wake up call was the Lion King's Circle of Life on full blast which was a bit different. I quite liked it though. Breakfast consisted of fruit, cereal and toast which we ate out on the front of the boat.

    Our first stop was Whitehaven Beach where our skipper Steve took us over in groups. It wasn't even 9am yet and we were stepping onto the softest sand I have ever stood on. It's the purest sand in the world at around 98% silica. It's so pure that you can get fined an extortionate amount of money if you take any from the beach as NASA use it to clean their telescopes. Crazy! It also squeaked beneath your feet which was funny. We had until around 11:30am to enjoy the beach so we took some pics, swam in the sea and played with a frisbee. The sand is supposed to be great for your skin and hair so some of us ladies set up a little spa, exfoliating ourselves with the sand. Apparently if you wash your hair in it as well it goes really shiny. I gave this a go and it's certainly soft but not so sure about shiny (but that may be more to do with the 1 minute boat showers),

    After beach time we headed up to a lookout to get a view out over the sea. It was nearly noon by this point and it was stinking hot so for a short walk, it took us all a while to get up there. The majority of the group were various shades of pink by this point as well. They warned us beforehand that you had to apply suncream more often than usual because the sand is so white, the sun reflects off it, in the same way it does in the snow. At the top we were rewarded with spectacular views. When the tide goes out it leaves pretty swirls in the sand which is amazing to look at. Apparently with every tide, the patterns change so you will never get the same 2 photographs which is pretty cool.

    Hot, bothered and exceptionally hungry, we all headed back to the boat for a Subway style baguette lunch, whilst Steve drove us to our next stop, Mackerel Bay for some more snorkelling. The snorkelling here was really good and a million times better than yesterday. The water was much clearer and my mask didn't keep steaming up so I got to see lots of beautiful coral and fish. We even spotted some really big Nemo's and a turtle!

    Back on the boat, we headed round to Manta Ray Bay to feed some fish with some pellets that Steve had brought with him. The fish here were huge! One in particular was a local fish called George. I have no idea what type of fish he was but he was massive!

    Our final stop for the evening was Stonehaven where we anchored up for the night. Throughout they day, our hosts Bex and Kate had been taking pictures of us so in the evening after dinner we went through the pictures. There were some good ones as well as a very unglamorous one of me looking like I'm drowning whilst snorkelling on the first day!

    Everyone was pretty pooped after a long day in the sun so pretty much everyone tucked in early including me.    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Airlie Beach

    5 de octubre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Someone was a little bit hungover this morning as he may have stayed up a bit later than everyone else. Despite this, our morning wake up call had us out of bed by 7am. Before breakfast, we had to pack our things and strip the beds as we were heading back to Airlie Beach. Before we started the long journey back however, we had one more chance to do some snorkelling. The conditions weren't the best as the water was yet again a bit murky. There were a few fish but they weren't the easiest to see but when we were just about to give up and get in the boat someone spotted a turtle. Apparently this particular turtle, named Terry, is quite often hanging around here. She was super chilled and she happily swam close to the surface whilst we swam along next to her. It was the closest we had gotten to a turtle and it was absolutely incredible. I love how calm and tranquil they are. We could have followed her for ages however 2 people had already been stung by a jellyfish so we decided enough was enough and got out.

    Everyone got in a final couple of hours of sunbathing on the boat whilst we headed back to shore. It was an amazing couple of days and there were some lovely people on the boat which was great. Bex, Kate and Steve were also fantastic. It really was an unforgettable trip. Unfortunately the go pro didn't make it.

    Back on dry land, we headed to a bar which did $10 steak and chips for some lunch with a few of our boat fwends! We then had an exceptionally long amount of time to kill until our bus at 9pm. I had also come up in severe heat rash so sitting out in the sun was no longer an option. Instead, we went to the pharmacy where they gave me some really strong antihistamines and then spent the afternoon sitting in the shade.

    For dinner, we treated ourselves to a nice meal out followed by some Cold Rock Ice Cream. I opted for a courgette pasta with vegetables in a tomato sauce and Si had butter chicken curry. Both were delicious and exactly what we needed before our bus journey.

    Around 8pm, we wandered down to the bus stop and waited for the Greyhound. Our next stop is Agnes Water which is 9 hours away. Here's hoping we manage to get some sleep on the bus otherwise it's going to be a long night.    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake
    1

    Agnes Water

    6 de octubre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    After a terrible nights sleep in the bus being woken up with lights and an announcement every time the bus stopped, we finally made it to Agnes water around 6.15am. We hopped on the hostel minibus and made our way with a few others to the 1770 Southern Cross hostel.

    We had a short wait for reception to open but when it did we were able to eat breakfast and check in which was good. After some toast and a shower we began to feel slightly human again. I don't think I had more than the clean clothes on my back left (and they weren't particularly clean) so we headed straight to town to find the laundromat and supermarket. By the time the next bus came to pick us up it was lunchtime so we fixed up some food before the tiredness hit us and hit us it did. We booked a super exciting activity for the afternoon called Scooter Roo but before we went anywhere we decided to have a nap.

    The alarm went off and it took us both a little while to shake off the grogginess but it was Scooter Roo time! Scooter Roo was a 3 hour motorbike ride on 50cc motorbikes that looked like American style choppers. We were kitted out with our flame leather jackets and helmets before making our way over to the practice track. It was quite a tight circular track with a chopper style bike but after a few laps we both gained our confidence. Blake had to do quite a few extra practice laps as never having ridden a bike before, it took a little longer to sink in. With only one crash into the barrier under her belt and someone getting on the back of her bike to demonstrate leaning, we were ready to ride!

    There were around 20 of us in total and we all headed out of the gate in single file. I felt like I was in an episode of Sons of Anarchy. After negotiating some turns and a couple of hills where we had to hit it full throttle to reach the top we eventually made it to a road where we saw our first kangaroo and there were LOADS! We even saw one effortlessly jump over a fence to avoid us. After around two hours of riding we stopped at the harbour of 1770 for some preordered potato wedges which by that time were well needed. We let the food go down, had a quick team photo and then made our way back to the hostel passing some more kangaroos en route. Blake even saw a snake in the road which she had to swerve so that she didn't run over it. It was an awesome tour and we both felt very badass in our leather jackets. Blake even enjoyed herself, after she got over her initial fear that she was going to die.    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake
    1

    Day 2 - Agnes Water

    7 de octubre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Yesterday we became bikers and today we are going to attempt to become pro surfers. Our surf instructor Huggie (great surfer name) picked us up from the hostel at 9:30am and took us down to the beach. After a quick safety briefing (protect your head at all times) he went through some of the things we need to think about and how to get up on the board. We then grabbed our boards and headed into the waves to put it all into practice. Needless to say I am not a pro surfer. I managed to get up onto my knees and even one foot at one point but that's as good as it got. It's really exhausting and my severe lack of upper body strength didn't help. After swallowing a considerable amount of the ocean I gave up and chilled out on the beach. Simon on the other hand it turns out as a knack for surfing and got up loads of times.

    One of the guys, Seffe, we met on our Whitsundays trip happened to be in the class so we went for lunch with him and his wife Zara after our lesson. We got a family portion of fish and chips to share between the 4 of us which came with fish, crab sticks, potato scallops and the biggest portion of chips!

    After lunch we headed back to our hostel and chilled by the pool for the rest of the afternoon. We then tucked in early as we have a 6:30am bus tomorrow morning.    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Rainbow Beach

    8 de octubre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Another early start and a 6 hour bus journey to Rainbow Beach. There really isn't much in Rainbow Beach at all but from here we can head out to Fraser Island. We are doing a 3 day, 2 night 4x4 tag a long tour. Basically what this is, is a bunch of 4x4's that follow each other with 8 people to a car and we all take it in turns driving. Fraser Island or K'gari, is a sand island 75 miles long and 15 miles wide. Driving on sand should make it interesting.

    Our tour is with Dingos and we are staying in the hostel of the same name. The bus dropped us right outside so we checked in and mooched around until our safety briefing at 5pm. During our safety briefing they told us how to stay safe on the island if you see a Dingo or snake and a little bit about what we can expect. We also met 4 of the other people that are going to be in our car (2 weren't there). We are an all English team so very cultural. Everyone seems really nice so I think it's going to be a good crack. We have Jess and Meg and Sam and Fraser (we also have incredibly English names).

    It's going to be another early start tomorrow as we have to be packed and ready to go by 7am.    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Fraser Island

    9 de octubre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    We had to be at breakfast at 7am to get our ration of 2 small pancakes. They were pretty yummy though. After breakfast we checked out, had a drivers briefing and then headed out to the cars. Here we were joined by the final 2 members of our group, Daisy and Ellie. Daisy has made the team slightly more cultural as she is from Wales. Before we headed out we picked up our food supplies for the next few days and put the goon on ice.

    Our lead driver Brendo will be looking after us on Fraser Island. He is an Aussie with a very dry sense of humour so it's going to be an entertaining few days. Brendo took the lead in car one and then the rest of us followed. We were in car 4 so were last in the convoy. Each car has a radio so we can all talk / heckle each other. Simon took the first driving shift over the ferry and across the island to our first stop for lunch. There was some tough driving in deep sand so fair play for going first, I wasn't brave enough for that. Frazer and Sam were hungover or maybe even still drunk so there was no way they were driving anytime soon. For lunch we had ham salad wraps which we made together as a car. They don't cook for you on this trip and instead just give you the ingredients and then you cook together as a car (not that a lot of cooking goes into ham salad wraps).

    After lunch we headed up to Lake McKenzie. This was around a 45 minute drive inland where Jess took the wheel. Lake McKenzie is a stunning fresh water lake with a white sandy beach not too dissimilar to Whitehaven. Supposedly you can even drink the water although I didn't really fancy that. We had a good hour and a half here to swim and chill before we headed out.

    Back in the cars it was my turn to take the wheel. I was pretty nervous and everyone had done a really good job so far so I didn't want to be the first one to make a mistake. Once I got the hang of it though and figured out where the wheels were it was fine and really fun. With a quick toilet break and driver swap we headed to the campsite for the evening where we will be staying for the next 2 nights. The camp is quite large with lots of 2 man tents, kitchen, showers and toilets. It's also got a fence around the outside of it with an electrified grate to stop the dingoes from getting in. Fraser Island is home to the purest dingoes in Australia at around 98% as unlike everywhere else they haven't cross bred with domestic dogs. We did spot our first dingo on our drive today chilling on the beach. They are really cute and look a bit like a cross between a dog and a fox. When leaving the campground we have to take a dingo buddy and a stick with us just in case we run into them.

    On the menu this evening we have Asian chicken stir fry with rice noodles. We even had fresh vegetables with peppers, courgette, onion, mushrooms (we picked those out) and carrot. Sam took on the role of head chef and served us up a treat. They give you loads of food so there is no chance of us going hungry.

    After dinner we wandered down to the beach and hung out there with some music. The stars are meant to be amazing from here but it was a bit of a cloudy night so not the best for stargazing. There was however a gorgeous burnt orange moon.    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Day 2 - Fraser Island

    10 de octubre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    There were a lot of sore heads this morning so Brendo lined up the perfect hangover cure, Eli Creek. It's another pure freshwater creek which flows into the sea but also doubles up as a lazy river. It sits at around 18 degrees so it's very refreshing and helps wake you up. Brendo even had a few rubber rings for us to float on.

    After Eli Creek we pulled up next to the SS Maheno, a cruise liner that was washed ashore by a cyclone in 1935. In it's prime the ship would have rivalled the Titanic however all that remains now is a disintegrating wreck. When the owners of the ship realised that there was no getting the ship off the island they sold everything on it, including a grand piano. There are a few permanent residents on the island and many of them have art and other pieces that they purchased from the wreckage.

    After some picture time, we stopped at a picnic spot for some beef wraps before heading up the beach to the Champagne Pools. To allow for everyone to get an opportunity to drive if they want to, the people in with Brendo swap out with the other cars. This afternoon it was our cars turn to hop in the lead car.

    The Champagne Pools are 2 giant rock pools that get their name from when the waves crash over the rocks and resemble the bubbles in a Champagne glass. They were a little chilly though so I didn't last long in there before I decided to lounge on the beach instead.

    After the pools, we went for a little walk up to a lookout where you could see down along the island and out to sea. From the Lookout we spotted quite a few turtles and some humpback whales which was pretty amazing.

    It was then back to camp for dinner and goon. On the menu this evening was steak, potatoes and salad which was delicious. Brendo also made a camp fire and we all had a bit of a sing song before toasting some marshmallows. The camp comes complete with its own nightclub, Winky's. It's the only nightclub where there isn't a dress code, you don't need ID and there is no entry fee. It was pretty much a gazebo / village hall with some speakers and a mirror ball in the middle. After the camp fire we headed there for a quick boogie before I sneaked off to bed.    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Day 3 - Fraser Island

    11 de octubre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    We woke after another pretty late night filled with the remains of the goon but with less of a sore head. The same can't be said for the rest of our car as we had to wake them up after we'd finished our breakfast.

    Once the camp was tidied and the cars packed we were back on the road (aka the beach) to our last spot before the trip was over. Nobody wanted / was legal to drive but because Blake did a sneaky pass out earlier on she took the first driving shift. Unfortunately due to the tide times we were limited on lakes to visit so today's Lake Wabby would be a 40 minute walk inland from where we parked up. After a long walk which seemed to never end and bumping into Sefi and Sara again walking the other way we made it to the top of the sand dune which was about 100 meters down to the edge of the lake. Lake Wabby is home to over 12 different species of animal including giant cat fish which people often mistake for sharks.

    We spent around 45 minutes swimming around and watching the various fish swim past. This also included the pedicure fish which eat all the dead skin from your feet. We then had to face the long journey back up the sand dune and back to the cars for beef and salad wraps on the beach. Once lunch was demolished we hopped back in the cars to catch the ferry back to Rainbow Beach. On the way back there were a few little creeks that we had to drive through which were meant to be taken slowly. The car behind us however decided to ignore that rule and drive through them at speed in attempt to get his fellow passengers wet. Brendo doesn't miss a trick though and gave them a stern talking too over the radio as that's how you flood the radiator. Approximately 5 minutes later, they were on the radio telling everyone that their car was overheating. OOOPS!

    We all pulled over for some beach time whilst Brendo looked over the car. With an expected busted radiator we weren't going anywhere fast. They decided to let it cool down and give it another blast. It wasn't long until it over heated again though so we stopped again, popped the bonnet and tried again. About 5 stops later we managed to get to the ferry around 15 minutes late. Luckily they waited for us and it was back to the mainland.

    Once back at the hostel we all started to feel pretty broken again. We checked in, took all of our washing to the laundry, attempted to shower all the sand off finally and then had some down time. For dinner we had a final supper with the team in the form of 2-4-1 pizzas at a local pub. We then waved the boys off before heading for free beers for completing the trip. All in all the Fraser Island tour has been by far our favourite and the group was the icing on the cake!    Leer más

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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Noosa

    12 de octubre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    After sleeping on the ground for 2 nights, the hostel beds were like sleeping on a fluffy cloud and that's not something you say about hostel beds. Feeling a bit more refreshed, we bid our farewells to the rest of the gang and jumped on the bus to Noosa. We had a little pit stop for some lunch at a service station that had Matilda, a GIANT kangaroo from the 2008 Commonwealth games before arriving in Noosa.

    We have 3 nights here for some much needed R and R. We are both completely pooped from Fraser Island so after we checked in we went to the supermarket to grab some bits for the next few days and then chilled.

    Our hostel was hosting the worlds best student paint party this evening and not being able to think of anything worse, we opted out of that, much to the disgust of our roommates.    Leer más

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