Up the East Coast

G'day Mate! (Pronounced G'dii Miite) So it's been a while since I've posted last but there is a good reason for that. I was always doing something else, and I could just never find the time or make the time to sit down at a computer for even an hour. Either I was on a tour, seeing the sights, on the beach, on the greyhound, or it may have been too beautiful outside to even consider locking myself indoors. 30 degree tropical beach or a computer? You see what I mean.

But now I made myself some time and I'll tell you what I've been up to. I've since left Sydney and bussed up all the way to Townsville and Magnetic Island, where I am now, about 40 hours away by bus. I'll start in Sydney where I left off last time. On our last day we went to the zoo which was very nice. We saw all the typical Australian animals, such as kangaroos (that could come right up to you!), wombats, koalas, and the platapus. The best thing about the zoo was the spectacular view of downtown Sydney across the harbour. It was great looking at the giraffes with a backdrop of the opera house.

We departed Sydney and left for Newcastle, which was a nice little city. We weren't there for long unfortunatly. But our hostel was amazing. It had a huge recreation room/lounge with leather couchs and chairs, and they even organized a free barbeque at a local bar for the backpackers. That was so much fun. Tons to eat, cheap drinks, live band, and met lots of people.

After that we hopped on the greyhound and ended up in Coffs Harbour. Very nice beaches. I spent most of my time in the water and on the sand, and I got burnt pretty bad in the spots I missed with the sunscreen. I can safely say that I will never miss those spots again. We met some cool people there and went out at night to a lawn bowling club for cheap drinks. Good times were had.

Later Stephanie and I went to Byron Bay, which had (surprise surprise) spectacular beaches. That was really more of a party town. It had great shops and cafes up and down the beachfront and even better bars. If there's something the Aussies did right it's their bars and beer. Even at 11am the outdoor patios are packed and people are drinking. The people here really know how to be lazy, get drunk, and have a good time no matter what they're doing. And I haven't met one Australian who wasn't funny. It must be in their genes. Even the greyhound drivers like to act as local tour guides and crack jokes into the mikerophone as we drive up the coast.

After a few days there we arived in Surfers Paradise. We had to go there just for the name itself, and I was also told by many people in and out of Australia to go there. It's a place where there are endless miles of beaches, countless numbers of surfers, vibrant nightlife and daylife, the people do not wear shoes and everyone has an attitude summed up with the words "no worries." It's a fun place to be but I dont think I could stay too long there. I might turn into a surfer hippie.

When we were done there we booked ourself on a 26 hour bus up to Townsville. We wanted to stop at a few places inbetween but there we no accomodations anywhere. None at all, not even at the lowest dirthole or the highest class hotels. So the made us sad, but now we are happy becasue we are at Magnetic Island, practically a tropical paradise. A short ferry from Townville, this island just by the Great Barrier Reef is a national park with amazing blue and green ocean and littered with beaches. We dont have the time here but they tell us if we follow some of the trails for 4 or 5 kilometres we could have an entire beach all to ourselves. The small island is practically a mountain with tropical trees and wildlife. Our hostel (or should I say resort) is on a 7 acre peace of paradise with a big outdoor pool with hammocks, small cabins that we sleep in, outdoor bar and resturaunt, tenting areas, and even a koala sanctuary. Today we did their tour, saw the local koalas, (Stephanie held one!) and we both saw both held a blue-tounged lizzard, a baby foot-long crocadile, and had a 6-foot python wrap itself around us. I have video. I look like I'm doing the robot becasue I was so nervous. (At least it's not pyrahnas Paulina!)

Thats pretty much our trip so far in a few short words. Tomorrow we bus to Cairns where he have four nights and we are super excited. This is where the fun is. Ie. Snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef, rainforest tours, and skydiving. What? Skydiving? We'll see.