So the last couple posts have been really rushed because of my internet time running out so this one will be really long and I'll try to catch up as much as I can remember (and on another note I have to say that as lame as this sounds, one food that can't seem to be replaced over here is Heinz ketchup.....Tomato Sauce just isn't the same...).
Ok so I skimmed quickly through the Whitsundays so here are a few highlights and lowlights from our sailing trip:
Highlights
-snorkelling in pursuit of a turtle
-lazing on the front deck of the boat in my new Australian bikini
-hot showers
-delicious food
-gorgeous sunsets
-amazing stars
-fun people from all over the world
-Whitehaven Beach...
Lowlights
-sharing a one-person bunk with Josie (not because I don't like her, but sailboat beds although larger than they look are not that big and kind of like cubby-holes)....although I think it was more of a lowlight for her because apparently I snore...
-sunburning my face
-30second showers
I also skimmed over the drive to Hervey Bay and Fraser Island.....so to get from Airlie Beach to Hervey Bay took about 9 hours maybe (not exactly sure, but it felt like forever!). We got off our sailboat at 8:30 am, snuck in a hot shower (longer than 30 seconds for the first time in 3 days) and booked a hostel for Hervey Bay before we left Airlie. Apparently the end of September is school holidays in Australia which means there are a lot of families out travelling so we didn't want to be stuck without accomodation. The highlight (?) of our drive....okay maybe just the most memorable moment....was when we drove through 2 towns around 8pm and realized there was nowhere to eat dinner for an hour and a half and we were starving. Luckily we had some groceries so I pulled over to the side of the road and Cafe Wombat was born (I nicknamed our car the Wombat). Mom served up cereal, nutella on bread and apples from the backseat to Josie and I while I filmed it....yup pretty tired at that point....I'm a little worried about what the video will look like if Josie posts it on Facebook......
The hostel in Hervey Bay is not one we would recommend to anyone (even enemies.....cus you're supposed to love your enemies and sending someone there would definitely not be love).....but we made it through. Another lowlight of Hervey Bay was learning that the lines on the screen of my camera which now appeared where the picture was supposed to meant that it was busted.....and even better was the fact that the warranty is only good in Canada....so yaay now I have to buy another camera here AND they are way more expensive. Let me tell you I am PSYCHED :p
Luckily Fraser Island was awesome so I am coping with the bitterness (although apparently it is just beneath the surface). Here are some highlights and lowlights of Fraser:
Highlights
-our guide Karl eating bush tucker (plants) on our forest walk (and basically any of the stories he told as well as his poems which he recited)
-hiking over sand dunes to get to Lake Wabby, then running down the steep dunes into the Lake
-floating down a creek
-sleeping in a bed of my own and having a bathroom all to ourselves
-Karl passing a broken-down bus on the side of the one lane sand road almost going into the bushes
-seeing a dead shark on the beach and Josie's face when I dared her to kiss it (she didn't do it)
-pippi racing
-when we got back to Hervey Bay our sketchy hostel had not booked us beds as they had promised so we ended up in a hotel unit for the same price which was actually decent
Lowlights
-a 4X4 self-guide getting bogged in the sand in front of us so that we only got 45min at Lake McKenzie instead of an hour and a half
-tourist trap photos at the Maheno Wreck
-sand sticking to everywhere that I put sunscreen (which to avoid burning I put on every piece of exposed skin...)
We then continued on to Noosa which apparently has more roundabouts than any other Aussie town....and Mom was not impressed.....Here are some highlights and lowlights:
Highlights
-staying in a hostel minutes from the beach
-watching kite boarders
-great beach
-trying surfing for the first time (ironic fact....I was convinced that I was probably not going to like surfing and that it would be too hard and I would be horrible at it and that I would love diving, turns out I had a blast surfing even though I wasn't that great and I didn't really love diving....go figure. I guess it just goes to show that you should try everything and not be afraid to stink at something because you just never know....)
-half price ice cream....3 times
-seeing Aboriginal art at the Eumundi market...if only I was rich!
-hiking one of the most beautiful easy coastal trails I've seen
-seeing a koala in the wild
-clean nice backpacker place
Lowlights
-only going surfing once
-ripping the seat of my new capri pants the first time I wore them
-saying goodbye to Josie
So after a little drama returning the rental car (Mom and I could not for the life of us find a gas station.....don't ask!) we waited at the airport for a while and flew over to Christchurch where we are now. Apparently it was daylight savings so instead of flipping our watches ahead 2 hours with the time change it was actually 3 hours which made getting up pretty brutal this morning.
It's quite a bit cooler here in New Zealand and I immediately realized that flip flops are not going to cut it and that I'm really glad I packed my jacket! The flowers are out and it's a beautiful spring plus the green grass is a nice change from the dryness of Queensland.
We've sorted out our details thanks to the local visitor info centre and have rented a car for tomorrow. We are stopping in at the base to take a look and then driving to the Hanmer Hotsprings for the night. Next day we drive to Nelson and spend a few days there before Mom hops on the ferry to Wellington on the North Island and I jump on the train back to Oxford. I'm pretty excited to be here in New Zealand....I've been waiting years for this and I'm really looking forward to exploring Nelson and meeting my YWAM leaders at the base tomorrow.
Ok....finally done here. This computer doesn't really let me add pictures (and I don't have any since before Hervey Bay anyway) so maybe later I can get some from Josie or Mom to make this super long post more interesting.....hope all is well back home. Thanks to all of you who have been messaging and commenting (it's nice to know someone is reading this!)
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