A 3 Day Tour!

Day 12: Sunday, June 28th, 2015

Steps taken: 4,698

The next morning I ate the rest of my cruffin, packed up, and headed down to the bar for some eggs and bacon before we left for Rainbow Bay and Fraser Island.  When we got to Rainbow Bay, we dropped off our main luggage in a storage locker and had a little bit of time to get lunch and snacks.  Since I had such a big breakfast, all that I had for lunch was a piece of banana walnut cake, and a black currant apple juice. 

When we returned to the meet up point, we filled out some forms and then Cory took us in the 4WD jeep to the ferry that would take us to Fraser Island.  Along the way, several people were fishing and surfing.  I wish I was fishing and surfing too.  We drove onto the Manta Ray Ferry, which took less than ten minutes to ferry us across.  

The sands of Fraser Island are the deepest gold color I've ever seen.  It's supposed to be some of the purest sand in the world.  We drove to Euronga for a pit stop, and then we went to Lake McKenzie for some swimming.  It started to rain after twenty minutes so we left early.  On our way to camp, we passed the major shipwreck of the S.S. Maheno, which we would visit the next day.

At the camp, we were staying in four person tent houses.  I was by the door flaps so I was more prone to be eaten by a rogue dingo.  I got settled in, and then we had a nice steak dinner.  After dinner I read for a bit, and then went to bed dreaming of champagne pools, but not necessarily caviar dreams.

Koalaty Time...(I half apologize for this title.)

Day 11: Saturday, June 27th, 2015
Steps taken: 6,940

I felt well rested in the morning even though (Can you guess what the weather was like?) it was still pouring.  I showered, cleaned up, and packed up the majority of my things.  We were supposed to do yoga that morning.  I wanted to get a few things done before we met up, but that was a mistake.  I got to the lobby just in time to see Georgia pull away.  I was looking forward to doing yoga as well as breaking the monotony of the previous day.  The laziness continued with some more gaming.  I had a banana dairy smoothie for breakfast.  Once everyone got back I gathered my things and said farewell to the wild turkeys, and eastern dragon that were running around the hostel grounds.  One thing I was not going to miss was the endless rain.  I'm only happy when it rains...every once in a while.

We also said goodbye to Georgia who was being driven back to Sydney for the next tour group.  Our new temporary bus was roomier though.  We headed towards Brisbane, but not before stopping for an outdoor BBQ lunch on the New South Wales/Queensland border.  There was bacon sandwiches, pancakes, and salads.  The area was breathtaking with excellent beaches and views of parts of the Gold Coast.  Before we left we celebrated the few people who were leaving the next day: Jeff, Honor, and Tina.  It was also Lena's birthday.

It was a short trip to Brisbane from there.  Unfortunately we didn't have much time in Brisbane, but the time we did have was up to us.  After getting settled in I went with some others to the Lone Pines Koala Sanctuary.  This was the largest koala sanctuary in the world.  It was a bit smaller than most zoos, but still really cool.  We wandered around, heard a talk on Tasmanian Devils, fed the kangaroos, and got a picture with a koala.  Many people asked me to bring them home one, and while that's not a good idea, the koala was pretty cuddly and tame.

http://www.koala.net/en-au/

When we returned to the Base Camp I got in touch with Dave who I met on the Antarctica trip because he lives in the area.  (Dave is also a proud member of the 7 Continent Club.)  Him and his wife Liz picked me up, and we went to the Eat Street Northshore outdoor food market.  It was a kickass place to get food although it was unfortunate that I missed sushi with the group.  There was pretty much anything you could have wished for and more at the market.  It was also really crowded, but that's to be expected on a Saturday night.  After walking around the grounds and weighing our options, we got Thai food.  I was torn between that and okonomiyaki.  I got a Thai iced tea, a chicken satay stick, and prawn fried rice.  There was other notable stands such as some selling food that I saw in Sydney such as a tornado potato and Turkish gozleme vendors.  For dessert, we went to the cruffin stand.  I know it's a horrible name, but they're awesome since they're croissant muffins.  They also sold cronuts.  Even though I was full I got a Snickers cruffin, and a TimTams cronut.  I had a bite or two of eat, and then wrapped them up for later along with a syringe of nutella I purchased.  Nutella should always come in syringe form! Then we headed back.  It was great to catch up with Dave, and to meet Liz.  Hopefully our paths will cross again soon.  Maybe even travel on another G Adventure or trip in the future.

When I got back I went to the room, and then found out everyone was downstairs at the bar.  I joined them for a drink, and then went back to the room when everyone else went clubbing.  I listened to some punk music, mainly Bad Religion, because I've been subjected to pretty awful pop music so far this trip.  While on FB I saw that the U.S. had legalized gay marriage.  This was cool news, and while I don't care too much for the concept of marriage in general (THANKS, LYDIA! Nah.  It's not really her fault.) I was beyond happy for my homosexual friends.  I never understood why this was an issue, but America is really good at restricting particular groups of people despite its founding principles.  Also, those against gay marriage are usually hypocrites or bigots that believe in repressive religious ideas that are often misinterpreted.  Before this becomes a social rant rather than a travel journal, the last thing I'll say about this is good job, America! I have at least one nice thing to remind me of home amidst the current racial tensions, and all the political BS that is already building up to next November's presidential election. (6/30/17 update on this: WHAT THE FUCK, AMERICA!) Another good day, and more ahead.  Next stop: Fraser Island.

Rain, Reign, Rain.

Day 10: Friday, June 26th, 2015
Steps taken: 4,521

The rain over the course of the night started off light, and became torrential by morning.  It was the kind of rain that made you want to sleep all day.  Despite that I woke up relatively early.  I got some breakfast, and everyone was curious about their day; mine with kayaking, and the others about the skydive.  I decided to see if the rain would let up, and if it did I would go into town for kayaking.  Spoiler alert: That did not happen! It rained, rained, and then rained some more.  Then it would stop for a few minutes giving hope for the day, and then those hopes were drowned shortly and repeatedly after.  I spent the morning on the internet waiting for it to clear up.

By 1pm, it had not so I went to the brewery for lunch.  I got a pepperoni pizza, and had some water.  My throat had been messed up since surfing, but this was about the peak of soreness.  As a bunch of were finishing lunch, the sun was coming out.  Guess how long that lasted? No more than ten minutes.  I really wanted to go kayaking, but I felt bad for those who were washed out from skydiving although there were a few more opportunities later in the trip for those things.

The rest of the day was comprised of internet gaming, reading, practicing the ocarina, and napping.  I had a light dinner of an apple, rice crackers, and coconut creme TimTams.  Dinner of champions who have been waterlogged the whole day.  I opted out of the group excursion for dinner and clubbing.  I don't care for clubbing to begin with, but to venture out in a mini-monsoon is not my idea of a fun evening.  Oh well.  Our free day was more of a lost day.

Surfin' in the rain, just surfin' in the rain.

Day 9: Thursday, June 25th, 2015

Steps taken: 5,526

The next morning we were going surfing.  I had a light breakfast, and then we were on our way.  We saw the very famous Shawn the Prawn on the way.  The surf company that was teaching us was called Mojo Surf.  We put on our wetsuits, got a training board, and did some preliminary stretches and played some outlandish games such as a wheelbarrow race before hitting the water.  I think Caitlin and I came in 3rd or 4th out of 10 teams.  Not bad.

Once we learned how to get up on the board, paddle, and stand up, we were ready to hit the surf.  Weezer's "Surf Wax America" playing in my head.  Just as long as my surfing didn't end the same way as the song.  However, early on I was carrying my board the wrong way and as a wave collided with it, the board was thrust into my adam's apple.  That hurt.  I was stunned for ten seconds, and then recomposed myself.  Surfing itself was amazing though.  I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love the being in the water (even if it takes my glasses).  At first I was able to get up on my board almost with each.  After a few times it was getting more arduous rather than easier.  I was getting a little more tired each time.  It was getting to a point where I was just riding the waves without trying to stand up.  That was still thrilling though.  Then the instructor came to help me get more comfortable.  She was cool.  She was from New Zealand, and I somehow managed to guess her hometown by her just saying that she was from an east coast town on the North Island (Napier).  I will be visiting Napier for a day during my first week in NZ.  Anyway, by the end of it I was getting back on top of the board for a few seconds again.  I was having so much fun that I barely noticed that I was one of the last of us to leave the water.

After leaving the water, we brought our boards back to the portable surf shop bus, and gave back the boards.  Then we all went into a fresh water-and I use that term loosely because the water was the color of coca-cola-to rinse off the salt water.  The next thing we did was remove our wetsuits, and change.  I took a quick shower as well.  Then we were on the bus heading to Byron Bay.

https://mojosurf.com/
(Mojo Surf is an awesome company.  If you want to get surf lessons while in Australia, New Zealand, and Bali I would recommend them.  If I get to Bali, one of the activities I will do is another surf lesson with them.)

Our first stop in Byron Bay was the lighthouse there for lunch.  I was famished, however I went to take pictures of the lighthouse and coast first while everyone else started eating.  Then I joined them eating my chicken and cheese sandwich that I purchased earlier at a rest stop in a small town.  While we were there, there was a great whale spotting.  A few whales were splashing their fins in the distance.  Splash on, Whales, splash on.

When we left the lighthouse, we drove around Byron Bay for a bit.  As we were descending the lighthouse cliffs, we saw people paragliding.  A fair amount of people on this tour were set to go skydiving and/or bungee jumping.  I will do anything for adventure, but I won't do that! I would consider going paragliding though.  I was however very interested in going kayaking in Byron Bay, which was a cool place overall.  Very hippie-ish.  Tons of outdoor activities, and good peaceful vibes.  It reminded me of my beloved New Paltz if it was set in a physical environment like Florida.  Lost of arts and creativity abound.

The Arts Hostel that we stayed at was like a creative person's wet dream.  There was murals, sculptures, and art everywhere! Nothing was plain or ordinary here.  We stayed in bungalows around a lake.  We settled in, and then I checked in with home before the group was to meet again to watch a video of our surfing.  Thankfully they didn't have any footage of me getting smashed in the throat or wiping out. (That or they keep a personal blooper reel.)

Once that was over we got dinner at the brewery on the premises.  I had a dark lager, and the kangaroo burger special.  Still felt guilty, but it was a good meal.  After dinner I went back to the bungalow to read.  I had finished reading The Necromancer by Michael Scott by this point, and was reading Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere.  Shortly after the group went to an Irish pub where there was a two piece folk band playing.  The main guy's name was Mick McHugh I believe.  He was very much influenced by Bob Dylan (but who isn't).  Nothing wrong with that.  Apparently this was the place to be that night.  I left early for some peace, quiet, and rest.  That's when the rain began.

I SHALL NOT PASS...as a smart and coordinated individual...

Day 8: Wednesday, June 24th
Steps taken: 5,872

I can't remember my dreams that night, but let's say they were full of shenanigans that I wasn't having consciously.  I woke up, packed up, and went down to breakfast finding out about some of the shenanigans from the night before.  As long as they're not like the prank war that happened on the Contiki Egypt trip then I'm fine with what happens.

Shortly after leaving the Imperial Hotel in Bingara, we stopped at a house that had several wallabies.  Caitlin said that it might be a shelter for them.  The next stop was Boundary Creek Waterfall before lunch.  We did make a pit stop to get food for a picnic for lunch.  Then we arrived at the waterfall.  It was a great spot.  I never get sick of seeing waterfalls.  It was a little tricky crossing the stream to get to the falls, but it was even trickier to get back.  I wasn't confident in my footing although I should have been so I slipped a bit.  Thankfully my boots were waterproof.  I was not very graceful as I stumbled back across, but I grabbed a massive branch and raised it up trying to look cool and not like I had two left feet.  Supposedly I looked like Gandalf the Grey/White doing that so mission accomplished?

From there we went to Raspberry Lookout for lunch.  I had a roast beef, turkey & cheese on rye & pumpkin bread.  I hope I can find that bread at home.  It was tasty.  I also had some bacon and cheddar cheeseballs, and a cream soda Fanta.  The view from there of the surrounding mountains was spectacular.  When we were done eating and admiring the view, we were off to Yamba.

Yamba is a nice little beach town.  After settling in to our lodgings a bunch of us went down to the beach to swim.  The water wasn't too rough, but I thought I would be okay with my glasses on mostly because I was more comfortable in the water with them on.  That was a mistake.  A good wave knocked them off and they were gone.  For someone with a Master's degree I can be a master dumbass sometimes.  Thankfully I brought a spare pair just in case anything happened to my main pair.  At least the ocean has better vision now.

After that set back I took a shower, and walked into town with a few of the guys.  We stopped in a few stores, and then went to a place called Yamba Chick-Inn for some grub.  The alternative was McDonald's  This was a much better choice.  I had a six piece chicken nugget.  They were very crispy, and you could tell that the quality of the chicken was much better than whackdonald's.  When we were done eating, we headed back towards the hotel.

We all lounged around for a while, and then had dinner around 8pm.  I had the crispy skin salmon with rice and a bacon wrapped pear.  It was excellent.  Almost reminiscent of the kind of dish they might have served in Antarctica.  After dinner I went upstairs to relax since fairly early the next day would be surfing.  For someone who loves the water I haven't done nearly as many water activities as I would have liked.  The next day would scratch surfing off the list.

Gold Digging Ponies

Day 7: Tuesday, June 23rd
Steps taken: 3,850

I woke up the next morning after getting a decent night's sleep.  The shearer's quarters we stayed in was a bit cold, but thankfully I chose the bed that was right next to the heater.  I had breakfast, and then we all went to look at some of the animals on the property.  There was a camel, an alpaca, a pig named Peppa that had the same coloring as a cow, some roosters, and a wallaby named Sally.  A bunch of us including myself (and Sally from our tour) were able to feed Sally before she hopped away.

On our way to our next major destination we stopped at the Giant Golden Guitar, and then to get some snacks and supplies for lunch.  Then we resumed our trek to the gold panning region.  When we arrived we were met by Paul and brought to the panning station to first pan for sapphires.  We all scooped up some dirt to put into the pans, and were shown how to separate the gem stones from everything else.  I was able to do this 3 times before lunch.  In my first pan I found some minor gemstones, a crystal or two, a little ruby, and a small sapphire.  In my second pan I found a nice sapphire.  In my third I found a few more crystals and regular gemstones.

After that portion of panning, we had a really great BBQ that Caitlin cooked up for us.  There was burgers, hot dogs, salad, and even kangaroo meatballs.  The kangaroo meatball I had was decent although I felt a bit guilty after petting and feeding Sally the Wallaby.  If I have to describe the taste it would be a cross between beef and venison. (Did you think I was going to say it tasted like chicken?)

With a full stomach I trudged over to the panning station to pan for gold.  It was a bit more extensive of a process than panning for gems.  I was able to go through the process twice.  The first pan yielded nothing.  However I found two pieces in my second pan.  That pretty much paid for my entire trip!...not really.  That's okay.  This was fun, and I can understand why people got 'Gold Fever' during the Gold Rush of the 1840's and 50's in America.  When it was over, Paul and his wife let us choose lucky stones.  Those who found gold had to pick blindly.  I picked a nice piece of red and white jasper.  Once everyone picked a stone, we were allowed to exchange for a different. one.  Only one person did making them 'unlucky'.

After gold panning, our next destination was horseback riding, which I had never done before.  I've gone camel and donkeyback riding, but never ridden a horse before (At least not since I was five).  I'm not a fan of particular heights and while I was nervous I was looking forward to the ride.  The stablemaster John, his wife Natasha, and their children were very nice.  John sort of zeroed in on me and called me Red.  How'd he know one of my common nicknames...oh right.  The hair.  John helped me get comfortable with my horse whose saddle said was named Bloodnuts (Rest assured I made a few jokes), but I found out after the ride was actually named Marion.  Sorry, Marion!  Our ride went through some pastures, residential areas, along side the woods, through two streams, along a lake, and back around.  Bloodnuts/Marion was very spirited, and liked to keep up with those ahead of the pack, which gave me a crash course in riding.  Thankfully I did not crash.  She also liked to take unscheduled snack breaks (I can relate).  She was patient with me as an amateur rider, so she deserved the same.  Overall, this was a better experience than camel riding in Egypt.  I walked away from Marion with only a blister on my right hand.  Definitely a victory in my battle against acrophobia.

After horseback riding, we went to the Imperial Hotel, and dropped off our stuff waiting for dinner.  I showered up, and headed down to the bar for a hard cider.  Dinner was chicken schnitzel, mashed potatoes, corn, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower.  It was hearty and hit the spot after a long day although I left some food on the plate unfortunately.  Hate wasting food especially good food.

Once dinner was over we all went back to the bar to relax, drink, and listen to music.  Some of us played billiards.  Ben from Shetfield, England and I were the undisputed doubles champs for the night; part of that luck, part skill, and part teamwork.  Around 10 when the bar was closing up, the rest of us went upstairs.  I decided to sleep while some of the others continued drinking and having shenanigans.  To each their own as long as the next day is enjoyable.