Friday 5th SeptemberWith the weather still bad in Hervey Bay we decided to do our washing, however, it cleared up in the afternoon so we walked along the beach and went back to the hostel for a beer and a Thai curry that Dan made. We were visited by a rat in the kitchen hostel but it didn't bother us so we left it alone for the next guests to get freaked out by!Saturday 6th September We were up early as we had to catch the bus to the ferry port. We took the barge over to Fraser Island, looking closely for whales, dolphins and sharks but we didn't see any! Fraser Island is the world's largest sand island and is World Heritage Listed; it has to be one of the most beautiful places we have visited on this trip so far. We hopped onto our 4x4 and made our way down the rather bumpy roads made of - yes you guessed it - sand. As you can imagine this drive was not one of the smoothest we have ventured on so far, it felt like being on a rollercoaster and for those of you that know me will understand that I probably didn't enjoy the driving bit! We stopped off at a rainforest composed of mangroves, tall tress and fresh water creeks. We descended through the rainforest looking for wildlife along the way but we didn't see more than an eel. We then went to the hotel where we would be staying the night (there are only two on the island) and stocked up on the buffet lunch. The driver then headed directly onto the beach to drive the bus along the eastern stretch of the island to the most northerly point of Fraser. This was a fun journey as well (not) at one point the bus hit a crater in the sand, the bus jumped up and water pushed up through the flaps at the bottom and top of the bus forcing water all around the bus, it was quite cooling though! We made our way to Indian Head at the tip of the island to look at the beautiful azure ocean. We spotted a dolphin and turtle but usually people see a lot more including whales and sharks. The waves forced their way towards the rocks, mimicking the sound of thunder and the wash from them shone a rainbow of colours as the sun reflected on them. It was awesome! We then stopped at the coloured sands (even though they kind of looked the same colour) and then onto Eli Creek, a fresh water creek that you can walk through and drink if your desperate! We headed back to the hotel for more food and stopped off at the bar and had a nightcap with our German friends - hi guys!Sunday 7th SeptemberDan and I went down to the beach at 5 a.m. to watch the sun rise; taking a blanket and cameras with us. As we reached the beach a baby dingo and its mother hurtled towards us, not having a guide near us we tried to ignore them so that they didn't eat us. They soon grew bored and moved on to bother other early risers! It certainly was worth waking up early to watch the sun move into the cloud free skies. As the rays hit the waves (ohh that rhymes!) they created the most majestic of colours. After sunrise we had hearty breakfast and then made our way back to the bus. We were heading to Lake Wabby known as a window lake and a barrage lake as it forms when the ground level falls below the water table but also forms when a sand blow blocks the waters of a natural spring. It is deep green on one side and bordered by a giant sand dune. To reach the lake, however, you have to walk through a rainforest and then over a giant sand dune. In summer months the sand absorbs so much of the suns heat that tourists are forbidden to walk across it; it's just too hot! Dan and others from the trip thought it would be fun to hurtle themselves down the sand dune into the knee deep water; although a little painful it was quite amusing. We then headed towards Lake McKenzie, the most beautiful place on the island. It is completely fed by rain water, does not meet streams and does not connect with the ocean, so again nothing lives in it! The sand is fine, delicate, and white and feels great on your skin; apparently where the PH levels of the water are high, the sand and water together are great exfoliants, making your skin soft, hair silky and jewellery shiny. This has to be the best place ever to swim and the colours of the water were truly hypnotising. After our fantastic two day trip we headed back to Hervey Bay on the barge and had an early night. Monday 8th SeptemberUp at 5 a.m. to catch the bus to our next destination, Maroochydore. We were keen to stop off again at Noosa but we soon realised that after we had the most amazing time a few years ago with the lovely Humphrey family (hi guys!) we didn't want to spoil our cherished memories with ones that would never of been able to match up to them this time around, so we headed to Maroochydore, a town about 40 minutes away instead. We stopped here for the day visiting a beach called Mooloolaba and went to an English pub in the evening - it was pants though! Tuesday 9th September We made our own way on the local bus to a town called Caloundra, stopping in a brilliant hostel called City Backpackers; it was clean, friendly and we had our own bathroom - bliss! We bought our food provisions for the next few days and chilled out watching our own TV; purely for 'Neighbours' catch-up! Wednesday 10th SeptemberDan went to the local garage to pick up a rental car and we hit the road to view the Glass House Mountains, a group of 13 volcanic plugs on the Sunshine Coast hinterland. They are the remnants of tertiary volcanic intrusions which solidified below the surface and have been exposed by subsequent erosion of the overlying material. These dome-shaped hills and sharp conical mountains are of striking appearance, rising abruptly above the surrounding flat coastal plain (or so Google tells me). All I know is that they were striking rock formations that dominated the landscape everywhere you went. We visited each rock and made our way to each viewpoint walk, through the rocky terrain, tiring but beautiful it was worth the trip. We then headed to a little town called Melanie to take in the view of the gorge, hills and then the panorama view of the Coast from the national park where we had a bite to eat. After our wildlife adventure we decided to do something a tad sillier and visited the 'Giant Pineapple'. Dan was insistent on going and it truly was the tackiest tourist attraction we have visited so far. In fact, we were so impressed with how tacky it was we are making it our mission to visit as many tacky places in the world as possible. We headed back to the hostel for a glass of wine and a pasta bake (it's the first hostel we have stayed in with an oven so we made the most of it!). Thursday 11th SeptemberIt was like Christmas morning for Dan today as we were headed to Australia Zoo for the second time in 3 years, which he was totally excited about, I was too but don't tell him that! The zoo has grown in size a lot since the last time we were there. It houses a larger amount of animals and has plans to expand even more in the next five years with a safari sections, which will house its own hotel and everything. It certainly was strange visiting the zoo knowing that Steve Irwin isn't around anymore and it is reflected. There is a monument at the front of the zoo to remember him and an endless line of condolences written on safari shirts underneath the 'crocosium'. Australia has even named a highway after him. Even though Steve isn't there anymore the fantastic work continues in the zoo and it certainly is a place we could visit over and over, which isn't bad considering I don't really like animals! After a fantastic day at the zoo we headed back and booked the bus for the next day.Friday 12th SeptemberWe left Caloundra, which truly was the most friendly town we have been to in Australia; on the local bus endless amounts of people wanted to know all about our travels, offer directions and even the bus driver only charged us peanuts for a 40 minute journey. We had a great time staying here and would certainly recommend it to others! We headed back up to Maroochdore to catch the bus down to Byron Bay. We arrived late in the afternoon so by the time we grabbed something to eat and a beer it was time for bed.