Happy Australia Day!!! It was my 18th day in this special land. I was awoken around 6:00 in the morning form the call of the laughing kookaburra, although I fell back asleep for a few more hours. Kookaburras and rainbow lorikeets are very plentiful out here. OK, so I woke up at 8 AM and Pearl and Emily were already up. I said “good morning” to Pearl and she let me eat Weet-Bix and have a cup of tea for breakfast. She’s really been very nice to me and she even washed my socks, although I didn’t ask her to. After brekkie, I checked my email and all that. Mitra wrote me back. I’d love for her to go to Australia or New Zealand someday. She’s been to Japan, and I really want to climb Mt. Fuji. If I went to Japan, I probably wouldn’t spend more than 10 days, because it’s very expensive, I don’t like the food, I can’t speak the language, and there’s not much else I want to see there. Anyways I was thinking of going to Noosa today. At about 10:30, I took some pictures with Pearl and Emily. I packed up all my stuff and Pearl, Emily, and I all walked to the bus stop behind her house. We waited for a few minutes, only to find out the buses weren’t running today since it’s a public holiday. So, we walked back to their house and she called a few people to see if they could give me a lift into town. Pearl doesn’t have a car. It was 11:00, and I felt my only option was to walk to Ipswich. So, I said goodbye to Emily, and Pearl and I walked up to the main road. She walked with my only to the store because it was bloody hot out. I stopped for a ginger beer and then gave her a big hug goodbye. I’ll sure miss her! She’s one of the sweetest ladies I know! I continued to walk and it was so hot and humid out. The area I was walking through has absolutely no other backpackers. The walk took over a half hour and I was all sweaty. I grabbed lunch at McDonald’s and then bought a train ticket to Roma Street. On the train, I was talking to this amateur rugby player who had just come from Mt. Isa. He lost his ticket and the ticket patrol was on the train, so they fined him. The train ride was 45 minutes long and I got off at Roma Street. I went upstairs and I was in luck that they had bus tickets to go to Noosa at 2 PM. I picked one up straight away and then went downstairs and got a Red Bull. I walked as fast as I could to Cloud 9 to see Louise. I got her email just in case I wasn’t back there. I ran back to the bus station and checked in for the bus. I got on and it wasn’t too full. I tried to relax, but there was this movie blasting in my ear. I was just enjoying the scenery while talking to this young guy from Scotland. The bus ride was 2½ hours long and I got dropped off in Noosa at 4:30, and I had finally been to the place that Nancy told me about. I walked over to the information center, and found out that all of the budget accommodation had been booked up. I felt like I had made a bad choice because I had absolutely no trouble finding accommodation in Brisbane or Cairns. Literally, I felt like I was going to be sleeping on the beach or wherever. But, this South Korean student named Jon was in the same position as me. He’s studying Brisbane. The lady found a cabin for $80 and Jon and I agreed to split the cost. I put the charge on my credit card and he gave me $40. So, I also have some extra spending money. I wanted to just run to the beach, but we had to be at the cabin by 6:30 to pick up our keys. So, I thought we’d go straight away. We took the bus to Tewantin because it’s too far of a walk. It’s about a 20 minute bus ride. I got the key and bought a ginger beer. The manager walked us to our cabin, and I have to admit the cabin was really nice. It had a kitchen, a queen-size bed, bunk beds, chairs, and all that. It was a damn good value! Anyways, we just threw our bags on our beds and walked back to the bus stop, and listened to the rainbow lorikeets as we were waiting. The sun was going down by the time we were on the bus. It took even longer this time, but we got to Noosa Heads at about 6:00. I really wanted to jump in the water, so Jon and I found a place to put our stuff, and I just dove into the ocean. Most of the people were leaving and it was starting to get dark. I’ve always wanted to try swimming at night in the ocean. I swam away letting the waves hit my back and then I saw some stars and the moon shining. I climbed up onto the rocks for some photos and then jumped back in the water. After swimming for awhile longer, I heard fireworks. This is a very special day for Australians and non-Australians alike. Jon and I went up on the rocks and saw some fireworks. They didn’t go on very long. We walked up to the main road and we were both starving. We stopped at the store first because Jon wanted some beer. I just got Diet Coke and a ginger beer. We had a hard time finding a place to eat. Subway had just closed, and then we stopped at this place that sells hot dogs, but they ran out. Then I found fish & chips for $9.50, so that sounded sweet. The girl at the restaurant was very cute, and we got our food and then sat on the bench outside the Noosa police station. The streets were packed with people; many of them waving Australian flags. Australians are very happy-go-lucky! Jon paid for the food and I agreed to pay for the taxi back to our cabin. It’s much too far to walk. The taxi came straight away and it took like 20 minuets to get back to Tewantin. I wish I could have emailed everyone for Australia Day, but there were no open internet cafes around. We got dropped off and the taxi was $20! We walked back to the cabin, and at like 1:30 I called it a worthy Australia Night in Noosa. I promised Nancy I’d come here and now I’m here on a special night. My trip is winding down and I only have three days left. I’m going to sleep now. See you tomorrow.
