Adventures as a Grown Up

Adventures All Over!

I wrote briefly about visiting Cairns, Port Douglas and the Daintree.. but I’ve done even more since then.

In the last few weeks I took my first LONG bus ride and in 11 hours made it from Cairns to Airlie Beach. Thank you Greyhound Australia. You and your big red buses are fantastic!

Upon arrival in Airlie Beach, I went straight to my sailing company’s shop to complete my booking (reservation) for a sailing trip the following few days. Myself, my backpack, and about 15 other backpackers all walked up the street along the beach/cove at dusk to get checked in.

I ended up on a smaller boat called Siska. The crew was fantastic! Sobi, Nelson, and Jordan are the best people to take you sailing. Jordan has heaps of energy and Sobi and Nelson are so calm and yet fun too! I won’t soon forget Jordan’s white zinc nose dancing around the deck like a looney tune! Or saying we saw turtles each day thanks to Nelson’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirt.

After two days and one night of sailing, snorkeling, rain, hiking, stinger suits, and millions of fish and beaches we returned to shore and has a small after party at Beaches.

While in Airlie Beach I made some new friends whom I am now traveling with. Manuela and Jessica, an Italian and a German, met in Magnetic Island and I joined up in Airlie Beach. Together we took a 13 hours overnight bus ride in another fantastically uncomfortable big red bus from Airlie Beach to Hervey Bay.

Hervey Bay was not as fantastic as Airlie Beach! While Airlie Beach could easily become my new home, I don’t think I need to see Hervey Bay or Fraser Island again. Don’t get me wrong. It’s beautiful out there, but I just didn’t strike me the same way. Plus the Nomad’s hostel we were staying in was terrible and full of drunk 18 and 19 year olds. Yes, I did do the whale watching and saw some Humpback Whales in the bay. And yes, I did tour Fraser Island. But it was cloudy and dark; no sunshine so the blues were not as blue and the sand wasn’t as warm!

I think if we had done an overnight camping trip on the island and actually gotten to hike and see things, maybe it would have been better. We didn’t even see a dingo! We were so let down by the experience that when we ran into a young man from my sailing trip staying at Nomads too, we didn’t even have much to say. After two days at Hervey Bay, Nomads, and sharing a two toilet/two shower bathroom with dirty, annoying boys we left and heading for the city; Brisbane!

All I can say right now is it’s been a completely different experience in Brisbane than any of the other cities/towns I have been in yet. I love it. Things keep changing.

Cheers!