The Rest of Australia: Fraser Island, Whitsunday Islands up to Cape Tribulation

When I left the Brisbane/Noosa area, I took a bus (the first and last one I had to take in Australia- I've been fortunate enough to have caught lifts up the entire east coast) from Noosa to Rainbow Beach. This is one of the two departure points to go to Fraser Island- the world's largest sand dune island. I stayed at a hostel called Dingo's and ended up working there for free accommodation and a discounted Fraser trip with some of the best people I could have possibly worked with. And by "work" I mean having fun doing things like serving dinner to about 60 hungry backpackers nightly, meeting buses and getting people to stay at Dingo's, stuffing envelopes, walking the manager's dog- whatever they needed, I did it. Although, deep down I think they were just being nice and wanted me to stick around so I got odd jobs. Whatever the reason, I wanted to stay and I wish I could have stayed longer.
I went to Fraser Island with a group of ten other random people. Basically, Dingo's gives you a 4x4, food and a tent and the 11 of you get on a car ferry and head to Fraser for 2 nights, 3 days. It is definitely the luck of the draw who you end up with in your group and unfortunately, I got stuck with some bad luck. There were five, young and rowdy UK boys vs. a couple Israelis and Germans. I literally fell in the middle as the 11th person and quickly took on the role of diplomat and mediator. Not very pleasant, but disaster was averted luckily the first night when we met up with other groups at the camp site and people could mingle with others outside our group. I met a great group of Irish and English that helped make the trip a great experience for me. As for jobs, I got out of putting up and taking down tents etc, because I was the cook for the group which is easier said than done. Cooking for 11 people when half of them are hovering over you as you try to cook a chicken stir fry and vegetarian options by the light of the jeep's headlights isn't the simplest of tasks. And, since it's a sand island, guess what gets into everything? One night, a guy gave us a few fish he had just caught and I tried my best to fillet it, but I was nearly gagging so the boys did it instead. It was a good trip despite the rough parts though: Fraser is beautiful, I saw dingos, an amazing lake (picture above) called Lake McKenzie, one of the most beautiful lookouts over the ocean called Indian Head where I saw whales, a couple rays and a shark. When we returned from Fraser, surprisingly with the 4x4 and ourselves still in one piece, I stayed at Dingo's a couple more nights and met a guy named Craig who was going up the coast. I caught a lift with him after a sad goodbye with the staff at Dingo's and we headed off to the town of 1770. Strange name I know, but I suppose that's when Captain Cook discovered it. It is a tiny town and Craig and I and a couple others went on a tour of the area via 'choppa'. There was a chopper with the American flag painted all over it so of course, I got that one. It was so much fun riding around that area with the ocean right there and passing groups of wallabies and kangaroos as we sped past. After 1770, we headed up to Townsville where I really wanted to dive the 1911 Yongala shipwreck. Although, due to the horrible and unusual rainy weather the northeast of Australia has been stuck in lately, I couldn't dive it. So instead, we headed up to Airlie Beach which is the launching point for the Whitsunday Islands. I went to the islands on a catamaran with about 25 other strangers for a 2 day/2 night tour on a boat called Wings. While the weather left much to be desired the whole time,I lucked out this time with my group- they were fantastic. I did one dive and snorkeled the rest of the time. The visibility was pretty good and coral and fish- amazing. The best beach I think I have possibly ever seen (and this was in the rain) was Whitehaven. It has the finest sand in the world and the whitest beaches I have ever seen (last photo). When I got back to Airlie, I luckily caught Craig as he was getting ready to head north again and so got back in the car for a lift. We arrived in Cairns and the weather was still bad. Every Aussie has been saying how strange it is for it to be raining, but, what can you do? Dive! I did a day trip out on the reef again from Cairns and on my second dive, I met my first turtles... What an experience! I literally massaged the back of this one turtle's neck and it would stop moving and tilt it's head back with each stroke and half close his eyes- if I stopped, it would turn to me and look right at me until I started again. Honestly, the whole time I was looking around to see if anyone else was witnessing this surreal experience with me, but when I realized the answer was no, it was even better. Later on in Cairns, I met up with a few people from the Whitsundays trip and others from Rainbow Beach and hung out with them while in town. Unfortunatelyely though, you can't swim in the ocean because its all mudflats with crocs, stingers (jellyfish) and sharks nearby. I went from Cairns up to Cape Tribulation and just got back today. What an amazing place AND it was completely sunny with not a cloud in the sky. It was the first time I had seen blue skies in weeks and everyone was in such high spirits. Cape Trib is one of the few places in the world where the rain forest meets the ocean and it is truly spectacular. I went on a croc cruise while I was up there and spotted two small crocs the guide hadn't seen and was promptly offered a job. Tempting, but in order to live in Cape Trib, you have to be a special 'Deliverance" breed, if you know what I mean. All the locals I met were really friendly, but it's a different way of life up there. They live in the jungle and are full of character and love their intoxicants at any hour of the day, typically 24 hours a day. I arrived back in Port Douglas and the next day, went on my final 10th and 11th dives in the Outer Ribbon Reefs. The weather was brilliant and the ribbon reefs were fantastic- they are the most untouched parts of the great barrier. I saw about 4 white-tipped reef sharks which was great, but a little unnerving... I just kept thinking 'I've made it 10 months with nothing bad happening and now watch me get eaten the day before I am meant to fly home'... It didn't help that one shark seemed to take a liking to me and kept eyeing me- gulp! But never fear, I made it out without contributing to a storyline for the sequel of 'Open Water' the movie. Also, there are Minke whales in the area and we watched them from the boat. Well, now I am in Cairns for one last night out with friends before I leave at 4am the next day to begin a long and rapidly approaching return to the States, to home:)
See you soon~

Half of Australia's East Coast: Melbourne to Brisbane

Upon arriving in Melbourne, I was fortunate enough to have a friend living there that I stayed with- Scottish Chris, who I travelled through Vietnam and Cambodia with a couple months back. There were also a slew of other friend living in Melbourne that I had met in Asia including Linda and Nick who I travelled with in northern Thailand, Pete who I got into my scooter accident with in Pai, Thailand; and finally Tuuli, who I met in Cambodia. I was in Melbourne for ANZAC Day which is a National Day of Remembrance in Australia and New Zealand in memory of those men who lost their lives on April 25th, 1915 during World War I. Chris, Tuuli and I went to the Dawn Service which was very moving and although it was a really early morning and a really long day, I'm glad I took part of such an important day.

Melbourne itself is an amazing city. It is a city where I really could see myself living- it's got a relaxed, friendly feel with an artistic vibe. There are also cultural events happening almost every weekend and great markets. When I left Melbourne, I got a lift up to Sydney with a German named Oliver. Getting lifts is a really popular way to get around Oz. Basically, people post offers and you give them a call and get a lift to where ever, just splitting the cost of petrol. So off I went to Sydney with Oliver and ended up staying in King's Cross which is by far the most, uh, colorful place I have ever been in my life... I think the number of junkies, dealers and prostitutes out number the amount of backpackers. Although, it is a really popular place for us to stay because of the nightlife and proximity to Sydney's sights. I was luck enough to find work at two different hostels there, cleaning for free accommodation. It saved me heaps of money although after cleaning about 20 toilets, I had to question my own principles! That said, Sydney or rather Australia in general is very expensive and saving money where ever I can is necessary. I saw all the sights including the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour, Bondi and Manly Beaches, etc. I also had friends in Sydney that I had met in Asia including Welsh Danny from Cambodia, Nathan from Bangkok and the strangest encounter had to be seeing a guy I met in the Czech Republic four years ago randomly playing pool one night. I also met some really nice people in the hostels I worked at and have great memories of my time there. Although I also received the worse news of my trip while I was there. The day I was leaving Sydney, I got an email from my mom telling me our dog, Duke, had to be put down the night before. I wasn't expecting that and needless to say, it was and continues to be a heartache that I am trying to cope with.

I got a lift up the coast with two girls, Nic and Kris. Nic was Scottish and Kris was English and they were some of the nicest people I have had the pleasure of meeting on this trip. They were partners up until 2 weeks prior and thought having an extra person in the car might ease any awkwardness that might arise between them. Well, I was well entertained by them for the next two weeks as we headed up the coast towards Brisbane. They constantly bantered back and forth, putting each others' country down and taking the piss out of each other (crude, but that just means kidding around). We camped a few times at various places and although we had a fair bit of rain, we managed to have a great time. I think Byron Bay was one of my favorite spots on the way to Brisbane, but Brisbane itself was not the highlight of my trip, that's for sure. There just wasn't much to do there and I mainly hung out at the hostel and played pool for hours on end.

I said goodbye to Kris and Nic and promised to visit them in Glasgow and headed to the small town of Pomona and I will tell you why: While travelling in Asia, I met a few people who had done this mysterious 10 meditation course and they all told me I had to do it. So, I did it. I could write about this experience for then next 5 pages but will save you from that and just tell you a little bit. The first 3.5 days were spent focusing on breathing and not allowing yourself to think about the past or future, just the present. Harder said than done. Close your eyes and try to focus on your breathing without you mind drifting off about ANYTHING for 20 seconds and see if you can do it... Once you mastered that technique, called Anapana, rest of the time was spent focusing on the sensations in your body (aka PAIN after sitting for 1 hour not moving) and viewing all sensations objectively, in a detached way- this is Vipassana. I highly recommend it because while it is very difficult (up at 4am everyday, meditate for 12 hours a day and you only could eat 2 pieces of fruit after llam until breakfast the next morning at 6:3oam the next day, it was a really good experience. One of the best things about the center was there were kangaroos and little joeys that lived on the property that were very entertaining- thank God for them because you couldn't talk for 9 days, read or write and they were my only entertainment. Enough about that! You can read more about it at http://www.dhamma.org/ if you'd like.

After the meditation course, I headed to Noosa, a little north of Brisbane where it rained for a couple days. I went to the Steve Irwin Zoo which was good, although rather sad with the memorials for him. The weather hasn't been too nice as of late and am at Rainbow Beach which is near Fraser Island at the moment, waiting for better weather before I go to the island. I'm working here at Dingo's Hostel for free accommodation by meeting the buses as they role up and trying to get people to come stay at Dingo's. Easiest job I have ever had:) The weather is beginning to clear and I think I will be heading to Fraser in a day or so. Well, that's about it from Down Under:)

See you in less than a month! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!