Rockhampton and Mackay

I arrived in Rockhampton around 7:30pm and got picked up by the shuttle service provided by the hostel.  I checked in and because it was dark, not much happened after that.  I settled into my room and kept on reading.  For how warm it's getting during the day, I'm surprised at how cold it is at night.  I was all bundled up as I went to sleep, but luckily it was enough to keep me comfortable (except for my toes for some unexplainable reason).

The next morning I set out to explore Rockhampton and discovered that there wasn't much to look at.  I don't really know what goes on in these small towns on a daily basis, but I've come to the conclusion that these sorts of spots are not where I see myself living later in life.  In any case, I found the library and took advantage of their free internet to book my bus, hostel, and plane ticket (again).  I found out that the buses running from Rockhampton to Mackay (pronounced "mack-eye") come and go at rather inconvenient times and I ended up having to book at 2:30am bus  :/  I went back to the hostel and spent the afternoon in the sun...something that seems to be becoming a routine for me.  I powered through both books that I bought the other day, but luckily the hostel had a book exchange, so I was able to trade them in for something else. 

After dinner I took my time but started getting myself ready for bed.  I packed up all my stuff because I was leaving so early that I didn't want to have to worry about it and climbed into bed.  The girl next to me had a nasty cough going on, so it took me some time to get to sleep and as soon as I closed my eyes I swear my alarm went off.  In fact 3.5 hours had gone by, but it definitely wasn't enough.  I grumpily climbed down from my top bunk, gathered my stuff (I slept in the clothes I was traveling in), and headed out the door, greeting the taxi that was taking me to the bus station.

For some reason I wasn't really able to sleep on the bus, even though it was pitch black outside.  I nodded off here and there, but spent most of my time gazing at the stars.  I arrived in Mackay at 7:15am this morning and because my bus to Airlie Beach was later in the day, I had to haul all of my stuff around town with me.  Being early on a Sunday morning, there wasn't anything going on when I got to the center of town, so I plopped myself down and...wait for it...started reading again.  However I was too tired to concentrate, so I started calling people to pass the time.  Finally around 11am people started coming out to sit in the cafes and enjoy brunch.  I got lunch and ended up going to see Cars 2 afterwards...because I'm cool like that.  After the movie I still had a couple of hours, so I took my stuff and walked around town.  I got to the bus station early and just waited for the bus.  The exhaustion had gotten to me at that point and I just wanted to keel over  and sleep on the sidewalk.  When the bus finally arrived I climbed on board and two hours later, here I am in Airlie Beach.  It's dark, but from what I can tell it is a more "happening" place, so there should be things I can do to occupy myself for the next couple of days.

Tiger Airways

Unfortunately there is a hitch in my plan.  I was notified last night that my flight from Cairns to Melbourne on July 21st has been cancelled.  I had heard somewhere in the news a little while back that Tiger Airways might be in some trouble, but didn't see any major stories or anything develop.  The email that I received last night said, "As you may be aware, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has instructed Tiger Airways to suspend all Australian domestic services until (and including) 31 July 2011.  We regret to advise that your flight has been cancelled as a result."  So now I am looking at my options and nothing seems very promising.  I'll be getting a refund from Tiger, but the flights now are more expensive.  My other option would be a 54 hour bus trip, but I found that it isn't any cheaper and would definitely be more painful, so I crossed that off the list.  It looks like I'm going to have to shell out some serious cash to get back to home base, which is frustrating but I guess can't be helped at this point.

Hervey Bay

After a couple of nights in Brisbane (nice enough hostel but someone in my room was a terrible snorer) I moved on to Hervey Bay.  The bus ride was five hours, so a little longer than I've become accustomed to, and I arrived around 5:30pm.  My current hostel is very quaint and homey; it has a cabin type feel to it with grounds covered by lots of pretty greenery.

My first morning here I got up and walked to the nearest Woolworths to get food for the next few days.  I ended up using what I got to cook up some turkey burgers with onions in them (Carter family favorite) and vegetables.  I had to go healthy because yesterday I definitely downed pizza and a milkshake for dinner...mmmm, yummy.

After finding the store and returning to the hostel, Sarah (a British girl staying in my room) and I decided to rent bikes so we could ride along the esplanade lining the water.  It was actually a great way to go and we were able to cover some real ground.  Of course the best part was wearing the helmet; the law here is that everyone regardless of age has to have one on.  On one end we found and went down the longest pier I've ever seen.  It was highly populated with fishermen and the water was a lovely shade of blue.  This end of the trail was also very commercial, with some nice places to stay and good looking restaurants.

After the pier we set off in the opposite direction and found it to be a bit quieter, containing more houses than businesses.  It was cool to see the pier from afar and realize how massive it really was.  We rode back before getting to the end of the trail because Sarah had a bus to catch.  I set out again a little later but didn't end up getting very far (mostly because my butt hurt too much from the bike seat).  I ended up at a park and just sat and enjoyed the sun.

Today I got up and went to the used bookstore that I saw on my way to the grocery store.  I've been powering through books (I've already read five) and needed some new material.  I like to take my time and find something good, but of course when I arrived there this morning I realized that I really had to use the restroom and so I had to hurry myself along before I peed my pants in the middle of the store.  A bit unfortunate as far as timing is concerned, but I still managed to come out with two books for $6.  After I got back I dove right into one of the books and then set off to the pier again, but this time on foot.  I ran all the way from the hostel and then about half of the time on the way back.  It was a good bit of exercise and afterwards I just enjoyed the sun again (I'm really trying to soak it in before I head back to the winter weather in Melbourne).

Tomorrow I'm off to Rockhampton for a couple of days.  My task while I'm there is to decide when/if I'm going to to the Great Barrier Reef.  There are so many options as far as where to leave from and what islands to go to, so I just have to pick one and run with it.  I doubt that anything out there will be bad, so I really can't lose.

And also I should mention, as it's July 7th here in Aussie-land, that it's my mom's birthday today/tomorrow!!  Happy Birthday Mom!  Have an absolutely AMAZING day.  I love you!  :)

Brisbane

I'm in Brisbane today and I have to say that I am very impressed with the city.  In fact, I might go out on a limb and say that it is one of my favorite stops so far, probably only behind Sydney.  It reminds me of Melbourne in a way, but less hectic.  The layout is really nice, the city is clean and also well organized.

I arrived yesterday to a humongous transportation terminal.  It was multi-level and very busy.  I got in around 3:30pm (after sleeping most of the way) and so it was nice and bright out as I made my way around and to the hostel, located in the heart of the city which is nice.  I think this might actually be the first time that I didn't get completely turned around which is definitely a feat for me.  After unpacking my stuff I ran to Woolworth's (grocery store) and got enough food for a couple of lunches and dinners.  I made dinner when I got back and the hostel was playing a movie, so I joined in.

I've been enjoying my sleep over the past couple of nights because I'm finally warm after almost a week of "cooler" weather.  I took my time getting up this morning but eventually I made it out of bed, got breakfast and then took off to see the Brisbane highlights.  As I said before, the city is well laid out so it was easy for me to find the things I was looking for.  I started off at Anzac Square, followed by Post Office Square, Riverside Centre and a boardwalk.  There are some very fancy dining establishments that line the river running through the city and if I had more money I would definitely want to experience them.  I went through the City Botanical Gardens and explored parts of Queensland University of Technology (I can see why people would enjoy studying here) before finding my way back to my room for lunch. 

I'm back in my room for now but will probably be heading out again soon; there are still some things that I'd like to see before I leave tomorrow afternoon.  I'll be skipping over the town of Noosa on my way to Hervey Bay.  It's a bit of a longer drive tomorrow but I have to keep going if I want to make it up to Cairns in time to spend a decent number of days there.

Surfers Paradise

The hostel and my room in Surfers Paradise weren't of the highest quality, but the perk of the place was the fact that they organized the "Big Night Out."  It was fun to gather with backpackers from seven other hostels across town and enjoy the scene of a few of the nightclubs in the center of the city.  It was really busy, but I think part of that was due to the fact that there was a big marathon running the next day, so there were many spectators and extra people around.

I went out with the two girls that I met from London and we eventually met up and stayed with two other guys who were traveling together.  The hostel gave us each a cowboy hat and a glow stick (color coded to your hostel) and so we donned those with pride as we entered the clubs.  There was lots of dancing and one of the clubs even had a live band, which was fun.  The two girls from London drank like fish and it didn't take them long to "start having a good time."

In the last club I got separated from the group.  A random guy came up to me and asked to buy me a drink.  At that point it was late, so I said no thank you and he got upset and said that out of common courtesy I should let him get me something because it took him a long time to work up the courage to come over to me.  The sob story got to me but I didn't let him buy me anything...I just got water.  He wanted to talk and so I said fine, but that was a bad decision because I got distracted and missed the cue to head back to the hostel.  So when I went out to look for familiar faces there were none and I had to get back on my own.  The guy told me not to worry, that I could just stay over at his place.  Um, no.  It took some convincing to get him to let me take the lead and I was adamant that I get back to my room.  He asked me why I needed to get back there and besides the fact that I just wanted to (which wasn't a good enough reason for him) I said that I had a bus to Brisbane to catch the next day (which was true, but I said early in the morning, which wasn't exactly truthful).  Unfortunately for me this reasoning didn't work out either because lucky enough, this guy was also from Brisbane and he was driving back the next morning and said that he could just take me.  Obviously he wasn't getting the picture but finally we arrived at my hostel and I started saying thanks/goodbye.  After an awkward silence he had the nerve to say, "So there's no chance I can come inside with you?"  Uhhh, no.  I said that there were other people in the room who were sleeping and he replied that it didn't matter.  Eventually I was able to turn around and walk away, but not without leaving the dude disappointed.  Oh well.

Byron Bay

My last stop in New South Wales was the city of Byron.  When I arrived, it was pouring rain.  Actually, it was nice until we got off the bus and had to haul our luggage a few hundred yards across a gravel path to the van that was there to take us to the hostel.  I stayed at the Arts Factory, and my accommodation ended up being a humongous teepee.  Inside there were 10 cots and a fireplace.  While the fire was lit with the intention of keeping us warm, overnight it would go out and didn't really end up doing much.  Unfortunately the weather didn't show any signs of clearing up, so most of the time was spent inside.  On my one journey out of the hostel, I went to Byron Bay and ended up watching an entire group of surfers for just about an hour.  I had intended to go to the lighthouse, but the path was closed due to construction.  I found a lookout point instead and as I said before, got distracted by the surfers.  At this point the sun was peaking out but as I started home again it began to rain.

The evening turned out to be nice.  I had gone to the store earlier because I decided I wanted to cook instead of buying dinner.  After a week of going out I was getting tired of it, not to mention that cooking is easier on my wallet.  I made pasta and vegetables, and it was fun to be in the kitchen with a bunch of other people from the hostel.  At 7pm they brought in some live music.  Pretty mellow stuff, but there were four different artists and the last one was an amazing guitar specialist.  It was nice to sit in the common area around the fire and just have something to listen to for a couple of hours.

Byron Bay and the other little towns I've been to don't really cater to the tourist, so besides the local attractions, there isn't too much to do.  I took the bus to Surfers Paradise today and as soon as I crossed the border between New South Wales and Queensland I was hit with the sun and I couldn't be happier.  I went for a run on the boardwalk and watched the sun set over the water.  This town is like the Vegas of Australia (or so I'm told) and tonight is the "Big Night Out" where a bunch of the local hostels get their residents together and for a flat fee you get entry into four clubs and a free drink at each, as well as transportation.  And oh yes, a free cowboy hat and glow stick.  The other girls in my room and I are excited to get outside without having to be watchful for rainclouds.  I'm currently out in a sundress and a sweater...quite a change from the past few days and even this morning.  I'm hoping that it stays like this for the duration of my trip.

Coffs Harbour

My time in Coffs Harbour was quiet, which was something I needed.  The weather wasn't great and I'd had a whirlwind of a week so it was nice to spend some time relaxing.  Most of the time I stayed inside and read; I managed to get through two books!!  I was really the only one in the hostel, but I sat in the restaurant/bar while reading and a bunch of people went in and out.  Apparently it's the place to be in Coffs Harbour.  And being observant while I was there, I realized how much people were really drinking...at all hours of the day.  It was amazing.

Another interesting observation I've managed to make is that the Greyhound buses have manual transmissions.  Crazy!  I couldn't even imagine trying to drive a huge bus, much less handle a clutch at the same time.

I also branched out and tried something new at dinner last night...beets on my sandwich.  The bus taking me to Byron Bay stopped for dinner and I ordered a steak sandwich.  I knew (well, I had read) that the Aussies liked to put beets on their burgers.  I didn't think I was going to be getting any, so I kind of surprised when I saw that.  But I tried it and it really wasn't bad.  I don't think I'll go out of my way to put them on myself, but if a sandwich or burger shows up with beets on it in the future, I won't turn up my nose.  Yay for new things  :)