Here I am in Noosa!

It's a relatively quiet town a few hours north of Brisbane. I was on the Oz Ex bus with Jennika, a friend Jordan that I'd met on the first bus and caught back up with in Brisbane and a new friend Mia I made on the bus. On the way to Noosa we took a little detour to see the Glass House Mountains which are volcanic plugs, they were once the molten inside a volcano but over thousands of years the volcano itself has eroded away leaving just the volcanic plug. The Oz Ex bus is different to the Greyhound buses (which are like National Expresses) because the drivers are tour guides and the buses are only 20 seaters so people get to know each other more.

The hostel we're staying in is really laid back, there's a pool, lots of benches everywhere, a bar, it has a hippy feel to it with people not wearing shoes and randomly playing the guitar, birds are always running around the place. People have been coming and going in the dorm, some stay for a night, others for longer. The first night there was a free bbq and a load of us played cards and had a few beers.

The next day Mia, Jordan and I went to Australia Zoo, which is owned by the Irwin family. It was amazing!! Best zoo I've ever been to. Obviously the Africa part was a bit of a letdown as I have just done a real Africa safari (seems so long ago now!) but the rest of it was amazing. We fed elephants and kangaroos, stroked koalas, had photos with the kangaroos. There is a big emphasise on conservation at the zoo and lots of tributes to Steve Irwin and his legacy. There was an incredible crocidile show, when you see them lying in the sun not doing a lot it's hard to imagine their power but when you see them do a death roll and hear the sound of their powerful jaw slamming shut it is very scary. There was a great tiger show too, these tigers can jump, climb trees and when they stood on their back legs they stretched to about 7ft tall!! It was such great weather as well, it didn't rain once. There was also an animal hospital that Steve Irwin built in memory of his mother, we saw tiny make shift pouches for the little orphan animals and little incubators for the hairless animals they have. We saw a koala on a tiny operating table with a little gas mask on, it was sad but they were being cared for really well.

That night we got free pizza at the hostel and had a big night out in the hostel bar and in the local irish bar so the next day I didn't see the outside world until the afternoon. Another friend Sarah (we'd met in Byron) had checked into our room so a few of us went to the beach to watch the sunset and then treated ourselves to a burger and chips in a pub, a welcome treat from what I've been eating so far.

Jennika left this morning :( I bought her a little present from the zoo and wrote her a letter. We've been travelling together for three weeks now and have become so close, we've had so many funny times and it's nice to have someone there all the time. But I am looking forward to meeting new people, I came here on my own and love the freedom of travelling alone so think I will also enjoy doing whatever I want again and not having to think of another person and what they might want to do.

So we had a little farewell this morning but I will see her in a few days when I get to Rainbow and she finishes her Fraser Island trip. Then I went to the beach with Jordan, Sarah and Jordan's room mate Russ. The weathers beautiful and my zinc stick is working a treat (no more red nose for me), my tan is coming along nicely too although better on the front than the back. Playing in the sea was great as it's a windy day and the waves were huge, I love being in the sea. I had one of those moments when I really appreciated how lucky I am and how good I have it, I was just completely content and so happy.

This evening we're going to cook a nice meal with chicken and veg, a nice change to noodles or cheese and bread, then head to the hostel bar as there's a live band which we heard on sunday and they're really good.

I'm looking forward to getting to Rainbow beach and starting a bit of working and being settled for a few weeks.

Love to all back home xxxxxxxx