Missing out the city of Brisbane, I left Noosa for Byron Bay and the start of hippyville and surfing. Byron was a cute town contrasting the need for expensive tourist restaurants and shops with the need to retain it's hippy days. Rainbows and tie-dye competed with fish restaurants and upmarket dining. It did have a certain charm. I stayed at a hostel which had direct access to the beach, with the main theme being surfing. And indeed surfing was my first adventur...

Australia so far has not made a massive impression on me. I loved Cape Tribulation and the Whitsundays, but the main enjoyment of this country has been the people I have met. Noosa changed this slightly. Beautiful Everglades meet stunning beaches and lovely architecture. Even though it is a tourist trap, the town felt clean and bright and a joy to be in. One of the main attractions of Noosa is that it is close to the Australian Zoo and so I made this my first ...

It was very sad to finally leave Airlie, especially the people. However, I was glad to be back on the road and travelling again. A 14 hour bus journey took me down to Rainbow Beach, the base for Fraser Island. On arrival my first task was to paint a boomerang. Again my physical co-ordination skills challenged my artistic talent (also sadly lacking). Left with little guidance and only paints, I set about trying to create a lovely sunset scene. To my own credit ...

After a brief escape to travel, I returned to Airlie Beach and the shock of working! My job was a decky for a company called Prosail. There were 3 boats I would work on; Condor, Hammer and Broomstick. Condor and Broomstick run a 2 day 2 night trip whilst Hammer is a 2 day 1 night trip. Condor is 85ft in length and has won every major ocean race in the world twice. She is the only yacht to have achieved this distinction. These races include the Sydney to Hobart, ...

Finally, leaving Airlie Beach behind, I headed to the place where Australia began. The Town of 1770 (/Agnes Water) is the place where Captain Cook first landed in, funnily enough, 1770. There is not a lot to see except a beautiful coastline. The main thing to do here is ScooterRoo-ing and, boy was it worth it! Basically, you hire a Chopper (mini Harley Davison) and spend several hours driving around the Australian countryside looking for kanagroos. And what a si...