Australia East Coast beauty

Hi Everyone, Sara and I have been keeping very busy exploring Australia. I'm writing the blog from my sick bed (nothing serious- don't worry) while Sara is sunning herself at Noosa (Queensland) beach. Very unfair!

Sara's' last entry left you at the end of our Adelaide trip, and what a relief it was to leave. The city as a whole has very little to offer unless you aim becoming obese and bankrupt, though it's possible to live cheaply if you take the time to cook your own food. Which is exactly what we have in abundance- time that is.

We flew from Adelaide to Brisbane landing just before midnight and being the organised pair, we didn't bothered to book a hostel in advance. Bad idea. The hostels were either fully booked or asking for double the normal rate, due to the unsightly hour, leaving us with one option - sleeping at the airport. Our slumber was sporadic as the terminal announcer was set every fifteen minutes to warn travelers of the various dangers of flying with liquids etc. Thanks for the Advice!

Once dawn broke we packed up our camp and took the first sky train into Brisbane central, eventually finding a converted 5 tier town house directly opposite the station and only a few minutes walk from all the city attractions. The room was so basic it was boarding on jail house - but you know what they say - location, location, location. Barely spending anytime in our room we ventured out to one of Brisbane's main attraction the Australian National Zoo which is an hours train journey north of Brisbane. At the Zoo's entrance you were met with banners and posters of the late, great Steve Irwin proclaiming phrases such as "Crikey" and "Crocs Rule!". Riveting stuff. Once inside it became apparent just what a tremendous job the guy had done whilst he was alive, with wildlife ranging from massive Crocs (one named Acco is exactly 1 ton) to tiny, but deadly, snakes. There was a South East Asia wing housing Elephants and eight baby tigers. Free shows are available all day and you can happily hop along side Kangaroos and Wallabies without them batting an eyelid. Fantastic day out and highly recommended. I think Sara has uploaded the photos both on facebook and flickr so you can have a look at that too!

Our second and last day in Brisbane was spent at the city beach. Yep, city beach. A wonderful invention that only the barmy Aussies could conjure up. It's situated on the bank of the river running through the city, with cafes and cultural centres dotted on the outskirts it was apparently the epicentre for all the 'young things'. At night adjacent to the beach was an open air jazz concert performed by the University's band...... does it get much better?

from Brisbane we headed north by Greyhound (bus not mammal) to Fraser Island along the way passing some interesting town names. Whilst on the subject here are our top 3:
- Wollongong (Musical Instrument made from Cotton?)
- Mallacoota (Harmless Wildcat?)
- Wagga Wagga (Mamma, Mamma)

Anyway, far too easily distracted...

We arrived in Hervey Bay and we were quickly placed in groups to do the 'self drive tour' of Fraser Island. Groups are usually between seven or eight people, however our dyslexic organiser managed to make our group eleven people, making the 4x4 an extremely tight fit! Not to worry, they said, and gave us three tents that should accommodate eleven people. But the tents seemed to have been made during the second world war and used as bomb shelters. One of them wouldn't even stand and our group was now down to two tents. Joy. So two very cramped nights were spent camping on Fraser Island beaches - but that didn't matter - nor did the rain - or dingos eating all our steaks. bacon and muesli bars - nope, none of it mattered because its one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Once you throw in a good group of people, a little wine and some off roading 4x4 style you have a brilliant three days. Both Sara and I had a go driving the 4x4 and Sara managed to drive through some pretty rough paths only getting stuck once (by a tree on the road that she thought we could easily drive over, which resulted in some sore backs and a bogged 4x4)

After leaving Fraser Island we made our way down to Noosa which was just gorgeous in a VIP Miami sort of way! I fell ill whilst here so Sara spent two days kayaking by herself on the river and sunbathing in the (apparently) beautiful beach!

This is it for now, otherwise the post will be far too long and the next 2 weeks of Australia deserve to be well written about! We are currently in Melbourne so our next post will be from Singapore! Weeeee

Miss you all and keep in touch! XX

Tom and Sara