I've really been putting off this update because i don't have a great amount to talk about but here goes!
We arrived in Noosa on Friday after a short couple of hours drive from Rainbow Beach and it was lovely and sunny. Unfortunately the hostel i was staying in was a bit out of the way in Noosaville so we had to wait for a shuttle bus to take us there, but it turned out to be one of the better hostels i've stayed in. I was in a 4 bed dorm, ensuite and there was a nice pool and kitchen area (some kitchens i've seen on the way down are a health hazard!). After topping up food supplies, i just chilled out at the pool for a bit that afternoon as the early mornings and late nights had begun to take their toll on me! I also booked to go to Australia Zoo the next day with my Irish friends, Becky & David, so we had an early alcohol-free night so we could get up bright and early the next day. There's alot of hype around the area about the Australia Zoo, all to do with it being Steve Irwin's so i just hoped it lived up to the expectations and the 50 dollars i paid to get in. Turns out it was a little bit of a disappointment..the park started off as a reptile sanctuary and you can tell as that's the main type of species they have along with all the Australian animals. The koalas and kangaroos were really cute and it was great that you could pat and feed them. However the crocodile show in the morning was just a little disappointing, it was probably quite entertaining when Steve was there but the staff just didn't have anything on him and it was a bit dull. I know it sounds silly when i say i was disappointed that it was all just Australian animals, except from Tigers and Elephants, but when i go to a zoo i expect to see lots of different animals from round the world. I think i was just spoiled by Singapore Zoo which will never be beaten in my opinion! We had pretty much walked round the whole place in around 2 hours and weren't getting picked up til 4pm so ended up watching a tiger show which was pretty good as the guy had them playing with toys and swimming etc. I also managed to catch them feeding the largest crocodile in the zoo which is around 14 feet long, i wouldn't have wanted to be over the fence doing that anyway! They have so many crocodiles and alligators which have all been rescued by Steve and his crew, most of the time they just lie in the water or on the grass but i've managed to capture one alligator on video which gave me a bit of a fright when it snapped at me haha! I've uploaded to my Flickr page here so you can check it out.
We arrived back at the hostel and 3 of the guys from my Fraser Island trip who were driving down had arrived so we had a chilled out night and made some tasty food. When i say tasty, i mean basic..i think it was the first proper backpacker meal i've eaten except from noodles because the supermarket was closed at 5pm and all we had was rice, onions, one chicken breast and about quarter of a red pepper, oh and 4 eggs between 6 of us. It ended up being not bad actually, i've eaten alot worse! All of my buddies left the next morning which was a bit sad but i'll see them again in Byron Bay hopefully.. So i ended up spending most of Sunday in a cafe in Noosa, my original plans to go to the beach were scrapped since it was actually bucketing with rain ALL day. Luckily i found some free wifi so nursed a mocha for about 4 hours whilst i updated my blog and uploaded some photographs, as i was a bit behind after being cut off for a week or so. Noosa is a really nice place, you can tell it's where all of the rich Australians must go on holiday as it's full of designer shops and fancy restaurants, very swanky! I spent the rest of the day catching up on my laundry and packing for Brisbane as it was another early start the next morning. I arrived in Brisbane around lunchtime and had a horrific walk to get to my accomodation (no free shuttle buses here!). I was staying at a hostel in Fortitude Valley, which isn't right in the city but quite a trendy area so they say so i got a train and had to walk 15 mins which doesn't sound like far but when it's uphill and you have about 20 kilos on your back it's not so easy (and took me about 30 mins!). Anyway the hostel was quite cosy, it was run by an English couple and more like a house than a hostel as it was in a kind of residential area..not touristy at all! It was cheap and cheerful, and full of mainly long term backpackers who were working in Brisbane - all nice people, and complete stoners as i found out haha! I decided to go exploring in the city that afternoon and it turned out it wasn't too far a walk from the hostel if you left from the back door there were amazing views over the city and Story Bridge as we were on a high up area. I took a nice walk on the riverside and eventually reached the Botanic Gardens. I've realised when your in a city, with little money, one of the best things to do it go to the Botanic Gardens as it's free and kills a few hours! There's actually no major landmarks in Brisbane, but i quite liked that i didn't have to rush around taking photographs and just enjoyed being back in a city again as i haven't been in one since Singapore. The city actually reminded me very much of Glasgow, it's mainly gridded roads, has a river running through it, some bridges and a big main shopping street called Queen Street which reminded me of Buchanan Street. Everyone was rushing around doing Christmas shopping and some carol singers just about got me into the spirit..for about 5 minutes! I managed not to buy any clothes and got a lychee milk tea from a wee Asian stall..i miss them! That was pretty much me for the day and i decided to treat myself to a frozen pizza for dinner, since miracle of miracles..the hostel had an oven!
Day 2 in Brisbane was a little bit of the same, i walked into the city again to save on my transport costs and it was a nice day again anyway. This time i made my way across to the South Bank which i had been told i had to visit. I crossed over the bridge and arrived right at the Art Gallery, which was free, so i had a float around there for a while which was cool and then had my leftover pizza picnic outside on the riverbank. I wandered along and came to the fake beach that they have next to the river, it was really nice actually and i was gutted i didn't have my swimming gear with me. To be fair it's the last thing i expected to see in a city, a big swimming pool! so that was that, i pretty much spent the day floating from bench to bench as i headed back home through the Botanic Gardens again. It was quite nice to be on my own for a bit of thinking time after being with a group for the last 2 weeks or so.
This morning i'm on my way to Byron Bay, which i'm really excited about cos the weather is good and i hope it lasts for the next few days til i get to Sydney :)
