Hello from Rainbow Beach!

It hasn't been too long since I was in Brisbane, but I have just come back from my Fraser Island trip and so it feels like quite a lot has happened.

On my last day in Brisbane, I got a message from 2 girls, Kate and Philippa who I first met in Sydney who were still in Noosa so I went there next to meet up with them. I didn't expect to see either one of them again but their plans changed and we now plan to finish the rest of our Australia travels together which is cool as we all started off by ourselves.

When I got to Noosa the girls had already saved me a bed and I was really excited to see them. We had all paid for a 2 day Fraser Island trip and they planned to go later that week and luckily I managed to get in the same group as them as it was getting fully booked.

So we had an entire week to spend in Noosa which was a bit of a mistake and I think I would much rather have stayed in Bisbane. There was very little to do, and because most people only stay there for one night there were not many people around. We managed one night out, but because you had to get a taxi into the town it all seemed like a lot of hassle. After that the weather turned pretty awful and it rained most days. Although we managed a couple of days on the beach it wasn't very warm and we soon gave up. Apart from one afternoon where we went for a walk through the national park, Noosa was pretty dull. The only highlight was that Kate who is a hairdresser gave me a haircut, and otherwise there was little excitment.

By the time Saturday came around we were excited about leaving and took the bus up to Rainbow beach which is where you depart from for the Fraser island trip. Unfortunatly it was absolutly pouring of rain and we had our fingers crossed that it was stop because the prospect of camping in the rain wasn't going to be fun! We tried to get to bed early as we had to be up at 6am, but thanks to an inconsiderate guy on the bed below me who got 'lucky', a guy who not only talked in his sleep but shouted and a snorer I must have had only 2 hours sleep.

I therefore did not start the trip in the best of moods, but after watching safety videos about how to drive a 4x4 on sand we met the rest of our group and got our car! We packed all of our equipment and had another briefing about the itinery and how to actually work the car and then we were left to it! It was a scary prospect, because apart from one Canadian guy none of us had driven such a big car before, especially not over sand! All but one in our group were over 21 and therefore allowed to drive which was good because although I wanted a go I certainly didn't want to be driving the entire time.

We got a ferry over to the island and set off on our first day across the largest sand island in the world. It was so much fun to have the stereo blasting and literally bounding across massive bumps of sand. On the first day we went to Lake McKensie which was the last day it was going to be open before renovation and it was absolutly beautiful. The sun was shining and the water was crystal clear so we spent nearly the entire afternoon there before setting off for our camp site. When we finally made it to the camp site it was starting to get dark so we quickly put the tents up and cooked our burgers!!

The first night camping was hilarious, as there was the 8 of us and another car of 8 that we were camping with. Because it was dark by 6 the drinking soon started and we sat around for most the night. I had a lot of fun even if I was the biggest mess I have been in the whole time since I've been travelling. From sitting around outside drinking the night beasically ended with a lot of mosquito bites, a broken cool box (from me sitting on it!), a lot of crying over god knows what and waking up at 2 in the morning to Kate being sick in our tent and therefore spending the rest of the night trying to sleep in the car! Was certainly memorable!

The next morning we woke feeling awful but it was my go to drive so we set off down one of the bumpiest roads ever which I think made a few people feel even worse! We went to see another lake which wasn't even remotely as cool as the first one and then spent the rest of the day driving up the beach (and getting a bt stuck at one point) before going for a wander down the creek which was nice. We couldn't decide where to camp and had a bit of a dilema when the tide started to come in and we had to drive through it to get to the bit of beach we wanted to be on. We lost the other group which was a shame, so jsut the 8 of us set up our tents on what seemed to be the windiest bit of beach we could find!

I offered to cook a chicken stir-fry that night, which on 2 gas rings was pretty impossible as the wind kept putting the flame out and because virtually everything was covered in sand! That night we had a few to drink and spent our time mucking around on the beach even though we weren't allowed to go in the sea because of the sharks. I had a really good time and it was a shame that the night was ruined by a arguement which put a bit of a downer on the end of the trip.

On our last day we went past an old ship wreck and spent the rest of the day driving back to get to the ferry on time. After I got a massive reaction to some mosquito bites I took tablets which virtually knocked me out, and so after 3 nights of practially no sleep I managed to sleep for most of the way back even though we were going over some of the bumpiest roads ever!

We got back to the hostel last night feeling the dirtiest and sandiest I am sure I will ever be. The trip was certainly memorable though I don't think I am in any hurry to go without showers and toilets again! Luckily for us we had absolutly beautiful weather and got to see Lake Mckensie which is now closed. Even if we didn't see any of the wild dingos which are supposidly everywhere, I got to see one of the most amazing islands in the world!

I'm in Rainbow beach at the moment trying to sleep off this weeks events before heading off to the town of 1770.

Lots of love as always xx