If a blonde keeps going in one direction- will she eventually find her way back home???

Women of the Waves

vixietrixie — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:26:00 GMT

Got to Noosa via a Glasshouse Mountains lookout that required 700 metres of steep steeeeeep uphill climbing (5 minutes my arse) and heard all about the Aboriginal Dreamtime stories behind the 3 mountains- felt very cultural. Hung around waiting for our bus to Gagaju Bush Camp getting increasingly concerned (why oh why do I watch Wolf Creek before every Australian road trip i take?) but when we got picked up and taken to the lookout to see our home for the next three nights excitement set in- Noosa is truly beautiful.

The Bush Camp is actually very civilised, with a kitchen, tv room and dorms with hammock bunk beds- the three men who run the place managed to sufficiently scare us with stories of snakes so that i didn't walk around barefoot once during my time there. There were 11 of us in our canoe group and we all got to know each other that night.

The next day we set off in our big 3 man canadian canoes- reassured by the knowledge that 'the last croc seen in these parts was killed over 100 years ago' but still determined not to capsize and tempt the many baby sharks that might have decided to water upstream. I got the fun job of sitting in the back and being responsible for steering- so obviously we crashed straight into a river bank. 7km of arm aching canoeing later we got to a lake and had lunch, then went back via a beautiful creek that had been so stained by tea tree oil that it was like floating on a black mirror- eiree and incredibly cool all at the same time. Got back to camp incredibly dirty (but thankfully dry) and hung out in the hammocks resting my very sore muscles.

Our second day of canoeing was a lot shorter- 3km downstream to another lake 'be careful getting out of the boats- don't stand on a stingray!' before walking 2 miles to a beautiful and deserted beach to have lunch, swim and play frisbee. Had some minor entertainment watching a group of tourists get their flashy 4x4 stuck in the sand- then felt guilty and went to help. They were so grateful that they took pictures of us as we pushed the car along - grrrrrr. Got back to camp for a proper shower and charades around the campfire.

Twin moments of the day- 1. Fran catching the frisbee and falling over Del Boy style

2. watching Adam (4 year old who seemed to live permentantly at the camp) play charades. No one was sure what film he was acting out- but the general consensus was that it was X-rated

Enjoyed getting back to normality in the Yuppie central part of Noosa- and was very excited about my comfy bed untill i realised it had bedbugs!!!!!!!!!!

Julian Who????

vixietrixie — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:11:00 GMT

Got to Brisvegas and spent the first hour marvelling at both the crazy reception man and the Hammer Horror style ancient lift at my Base hostel. Then went for a walk on the Southbank and in the Farmers market- possibly the best food related freebies I have ever seen! That night went to the Down Under Bar for their Big Backpacker Beach Party to watch limbo games, hoop throwing, Macho Men and wet t-shirt contests.

Moment of the Day- the bewigged host lifting Beki up and carrying her to the limbo contest.

The next day went to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary (camera of course died just as I got to the entrance) and cuddled up to Wiley- a beast of a koala who was far more interested in his Euchaliptus leaves than in posing correctly for the camera. then had a stroll around the various koala enclosures such as 'retirment home' and 'kindergarten' before going to see the other animals- wombats are actually very cute and funny. Highlight of the day though was the Lorikeet feeding show- surrounded by hundreds of multicoloured birds (dam you camera) who all flew away at exactly the same time- soooo beautiful. That night just went to the Pig and Whistle with Beki and treated myself to Malibu and Pinapple- my liver was grateful for the night off from goon.

My last day in Brissy just dossed around in the Botanical Gardens with the girls- then went to see the new Sex and the City movie- absolutely hillarous and so much better than the first. Particularly liked the Danish Architect character- A silver fox indeed!

Quote of the Day- 'Laurence of my Labia' Samantha Jones you will always be quality.

Surfers Paradise- a very good reason to wear brown pants

vixietrixie — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:56:00 GMT

Got to Surfers, discovered hostel had a hot tub/ Jacuzzi. Many hours later went down to the beach to partake in the wonderful Surfers tradition of sun chasing, i.e. as the sun disappears behind the many high rise buildings- everyone on the beach grabs their belongings and race to the next sunny spot. Crap for getting a tan but bloody good fun otherwise. Went out for a drink with Beki, Fran and Claire that night to sample the famous nightlife, it was pretty nonexistent but we did get to see a good band.

The next day went with Lou, Nicole and Sarah to Dreamworld and Whitewater World. Got dragged on The Giant Drop- free falling ride from 120 metres above ground level, but then found Wiggles World (far more my cup of tea)- the quality of the rides was awesome though. My heart got a chance to slow down as we watched the amazing Bengal Tiger show (no camera battery left) then was dragged by Lou (crazed adrenaline junkie posing as nice quiet backpacker) to Whitewater World and happily spent the afternoon getting soaked on the various water slides and screaming myself hoarse- EVERY member of staff at that place knew when it was me coming down the rides!

Got home with both my brain and stomach yelling 'What did you do today??' and curled up in bed at 7pm like the heardcore person I am.

Apparently love is the only thing these hippies are giving away for free...

vixietrixie — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:30:00 GMT

Went exploring the shops in Byron Bay with Rosie - nowt much else to do as it was pissing down, but then, hey presto! the backbacker gods smiled on us and a lovely sunny afternoon appeared out of nowhere. We thanked the BP Gods by having an incredibly thrifty picnic lunch on the beach- and i did my best to introduce vegemite cheesybite to another unsuspecting victim. As the weather was so good we decided to trek up to the old lighthouse (Australia's most easternly point if you feel like being technical about it) to see what all the fuss was about. Several incredibly sweaty hours later we were looking out at the most heavenly scenery- and for the first time I understood why so many backpackers have difficulty leaving this wonderfully chilled out place.

It took a while to get back down to the town, mainly because I had only just discovered (after 18 months of travel) that my camera can take panoramic shots- 'NEW TOY!!!' so just did a bit more shopping, mainly of the window variety as Byron is bloody expensive. But did find some lovely glow poi for only 30 dollars so went back to the Arts Factory for a night of twirling and gossiping in the hot tub with some holidaying Aussies.

Quote of the Day 'If i wanted to look at 3D blue people, i'd take acid and watch the smurfs' (Aussie boy on Avatar)

Up early the next day for my Nimbin tour. Got on a multicoloured bus and headed out through some lovely countryside, ending up the wiedest little town in the world. Colours and hippies galore- my very favourite thing was the Nimbin Museum- kind of Tim Burton crossed with Enid Blyton. Apparently I must look more innocent than I thought, as the only person to offer me any illegal substances was a little shopkeeper who looked like my mum...

After purchasing some awesome Nimbin souveneirs (shoelaces with a hash plant pattern) we headed off to a BBQ lunch and a lovely waterfall where the brave- or unbelievably stupid- could choose to jump into the freezing water below.

Moment of the Day- our NIMBIN tour guide lecturing us about the sheer dangers and stupidity of the place. I agreed and all but do think he needs to rethink careers...

too little sleep and too many kilos in my rucksack

vixietrixie — Sat, 29 May 2010 11:42:00 GMT

Finally did the unthinkable and actually left Coogee, but the beach made me feel so guilty that i agreed to come straight back again after this trip (you wily old fox Coogee). After dragging my 4 ridiculously heavy pieces of luggage through the pouring rain and thousands of state of the nation fans got to the city centre and immediately reassured myself that the extra weight was not to do with any stray kindergartens hiding out in there- with my job that would be a distinct possibility!

Set of at stupid o'clock the next morning on the OZ Experience bus (ironically called Matilda which makes me wonder if the brakes will cut out on any left turns) with our driver Coaster. Played 'Window Bingo' '1 minute of honesty' and stopped off at the 'Big Banana'- stupidly happy that i could run through it! Got to Spot X surf camp and played drinking games around the campfire and got into a rather heated drunken debate about whether Kelly Slater is a woman (i am still determined i'm right here).

Got up ridiculously early again for Surf lesson, am deeply concerned about how much i look like a seal in a wesuit- don't care about appearances, just don't want to make myslef any more tempting to any stray great whites in the area. As expected I was shit- but the day was greatly improved by the utter hotness of my surf instructor- who kept on getting onto the board to show me what i was meant to be doing- didn't pay that much attention- kept getting distracted by the sight of him in his wetsuit, as another girl from the trip said 'his ass came fresh from the bakery!'

Lots of fun and some amazingly good food later, got back on 'tut bus and headed up to Byron Bay. Staying at the Arts Factory lodge which is awesome and hippyish- really really makes me miss Berri :(((( Headed down with the rest of the bus to the infamous 'Cheeky Monkeys' bar for cheap food and table top dancing. Stupidly entered a competition that involed eating dry weetbix (i don't recommend it- it's rank) and made the most of my skills taking off my bra under my tshirt to help out with the scavenger hunt. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.