Fraser and more...

Hey guys,

And happy Mothers day,

So its been ages since the last blog, and a lots been happening...this is going to be a big one (thats what she said...yes, 'thats what she said' jokes have made it into the banter)

The last time, I was writing from Byron Bay and we were heading to Nimbin...

Nimbin, as described in lonely planet, is the result of an experimental festival in the 70's. By the looks of it, none of the people who live there left after the festival. This place is basically amsterdam but in the jungle. Everyone sits around smoking weed in cafe's, well half...the other half are selling the weed on the street - among other things such as mushies and acid. Within a minute of leaving the van, we were asked by several people if we wanted any drugs. Its actually quite a cool little place, with loads of cafes with good coffee and a load of herbal health places. We visited the museum which was an awesome little walk-through-time-line. It looked amazing and kooky, but it was really just going on about legalising hemp. After a lazy afternoon we headed back to Helen for some dinner...while were eating, a guy pulled up and told us the way to a place up the mountain that's really good to go and watch the sunset (and smoke a spliff, which he so nicely added on at the end.) So we drove up the mountain, and the few was incredible. You could see for miles, all jungle with only a couple of little buildings here and there. We wouldve stayed the night if it wasnt for the amount of insects buzzing around. Chris is the complete opposite of Bear Grylls...he hates any insects or any form of wildlife really. This is great for me as its an easy wind up.

Left Nimbin the following day to head for Tweed Heads, sunshine coast.

Tom, a friend of my Dads lives near Tweed heads and he kindly offered for us to shower and eat at his house. We met him by the beach and followed him to Hope Island. Our van wouldnt fit in the garage so they put up beds in their children's play room for us to sleep. They were such a nice family; Tom, his wife Sarah and their three youngsters...They also had relatives there, which meant that there were a total of 7 adults and 5 children staying in the same place.

They took us over the road to a place called boardwalk, which is a lovely bar right on the marina. A few beers and a pizza later, we went back to play cards and a few more Tooheys (beer). This was all well and good, til the morning when we were woken by 5 kids screaming, with the adults trying to get them ready for school. It was mental. But obviously we didnt mind, as they were putting us up...but it did make me think twice about having kids.

Hit Surfers Paradise for the day, it was only 33 degrees. Surfers doesnt deserve too much written about it to be honest...not much to do during the day, and at night its meant to be trashy. The beach was awesome though.

Had a more relaxed evening back at Hope Island; After a swim we raided the kids board games and found the most amazing game that I played all the time when I was young...Frustration. I used to cry my eyes out playing this game back at home, I was young though...like 19. I actually won the game, to my surprise, as I was sure Id be reduced to tears. Sarah cooked us up a lovely meal, adults only and we had an earlier night after a few card games.


Mooloolaba was the next stop (and I didnt make that place up, its actually real.) Quite a cool little place, with beaches and rivers to chill out on. We had a voucher for a free paddle-board lesson so we did that down the river for an hour or so. This is kind of like surfing, only on a bigger board and you have an oar to paddle with. The guy was obviously bored so he decided he'd make it his mission to ensure we all fell off into the river. Mission accomplished.


Last stop before Fraser Island was Noosa Heads; a popular beach town. We stayed in a backpacker carpark, but for a few dollars each they let us use the facilities. As it was a Friday, and as one the more popular bars in Noosa was three yards away, we thought we'd have a few. Noosa has the weirdest nightlife ever. It felt like we were in a school disco, surrounded by knob-heads. So we moved on...This place was worse...so bad we took to playing dance-floor golf to keep occupied. Got back feeling a little annoyed at how terrible a night it was. The next day was roasting so we hit the beach. Found a lovely little cove off the main beach called "Little Cove" believe it or not. There was a wedding going on, which had a live band playing Jack Johnson...I was loving it more than the groom. Played football with Betty (our ball) and what not til the sun came down. Had an early night, ready for the Drive to Rainbow beach; the starting point for Fraser Island.

We had a free nights stay at Dingoes backpackers, before the 3 day trip to Fraser Island. This is how the trip works: You are briefed in a big group, and split into smaller groups of around 8 people. You are given a 4WD, camping equipment, food etc for the three days. The following day, you load up the van with everything and set off to the barge for the crossing to Fraser Island. Fraser is a massive sand Island with beautiful lakes, worth a google.

Out group consisted of three Germans, two of which were guys, an English couple and the three of us. The Germans were very reserved and efficient...they didnt say much the night before we left so we talked with the English couple. Guess where they come from...Royston. Really nice couple, full of banter. We had to get up at 6.45 to start setting the car up...when we got to the 4WD, the Germans already had their towels down on the best seats.

After all the hassle of getting everything into Gertrude (the name for our 4WD) we set off to the barge.

The three days on Fraser Island were immense...We visited awesome lakes and view points each day before setting up camp and cooking our delicious meals (Im not being sarcastic either, steak the first night, and chicked stir-fry the second)...Of course, after the meal, the inevitable happened. Out came the goon (boxed wine). We linked ipods to the vans speakers, and lit by reverse lights, we had a little party with all the other groups. After a while, we noticed that a lot of people had gone to bed, one girl had been sick and put to bed, some were monged out in the vans...It was ten to ten.

This happened both nights, and when you wake up in a tent next to two blokes, sweating with the worst hangover ever...you dont feel so hot. Especially as there are no showers for three days, and no sinks to clean teeth in. But everyone was in good spirits throughout which made not-showering more bearable. The Germans came out of their shell more and more throughout the three days, and we ended up having a great laugh with them. In the end, we were sure our group was the best one.

Returning to Rainbow beach was a mixture of sadness from leaving the island, and excitement over having a hot shower. It was the best shower ive had. That night we had a party with our favourite people from the trip, obviously all the guys in Gertrude, plus a few from the other groups. So much banter flying about, especially to a guy on the trip who looked like Justin Bieber. He was from Holland or something and did not like being called Beebs, but he looked about 12 so we werent scared or anything. Actually, at one point on the island, during a goon session, he came into the van. All of us immediately started singing "BABY BABY BABY, OOOOOH" in ernest. He left.

Enough about Fraser, you get the jist, it was awesome.

The next big trip after Fraser is Whitsunday Islands which are situated just off Airlie Beach. Its a long drive so we stopped over in Rockhampton. There are loads of live music venues so we headed out for the night. Started off so well: a guy befriended us and bought us drinks, the band were good, managed to get free entry to a club by charming the girl on the door, then walked in past the bouncers to another club by showing our arms, as if we had stamps. Couldnt believe our luck. But it ran out, the clubs were awful again. Full of knob-heads, and the worst music imagineable. All the guys hated us, especially when we were chatting to girls. Theyd keep coming over and tapping the girls shoulder til they got their attention....like little kids. We got fed up and left, walked over a kilometre just to get a big mac meal. We got their and only the drive-thru was open...so we pretended to be in a car. I was the driver, Craig in the passenger seat and Chris in the back...we slowly pulled up the the speaker thing, making car noises...I wound down my window and tried to order. They ignored us...which is rude considering the effort we went to. Luckily a car pulled up behind us so we jumped in and ordered with them.

So that was Rockhampton.

We are now at Airlie beach, and its pissing down. Fingers crossed the weather picks up for a 2 day 2 night sailing trip around the Whitsundays tomorrow.

Ill blog again with how the trip went.

Cheers,

Jay x