East Coast

Hi,

The first stop on my Oz Experience was Surf Camp. The place was very surfer dude! There were hammocks and a fire pit and we all went down to the beach and sat under the stars-amazing. In the morning we had a surf lesson. I really really enjoyed it. My surf instructor was really impressed with me. I caught a few waves, it felt so cool to be a surfer chick. There may be some photos on line at mojosurfaustralia.com.

Then it was on to Byron Bay. The hostel is amazing! We had our own apartment with our own kitchen, much nicer than Sydney. On the first evening we all went out to a club called Cheeky Monkeys. There was dancing on tables and I won a $450 scuba lesson for winning the scavenger challenge, don't ask how because I only ended up doing it buy mistake! So I'm glad to say I'm now a certified scuba diver. I spent 2 days in the class room and the pool learning how to dive and then 2 days out at sea actually doing some real diving. I swam with tropical fish, leopard sharks and massive rays that glide over your head. My final dive looked like it wouldn't go ahead as there was a Tsunami warning. But it didn't come to anything so I managed to get my qualification so now I can dive anywhere in the world.

I then headed to Surfer's Paradise but because of the Tsunami the weather was hardly paradise! Had a few good nights out though, even if I didn't get to see the beach. I'm not sure I was missing that much because there are so many skyscrapers there that the beach is in the shade in the afternoon.

From there it was onto Brisbane for one night. It's a pretty cool place with museums and bars. It was a very whistle stop tour though! I wish the weather was better as I couldn't go to the beach in the middle of the city.

Racing up, the next stop was Noosa. I staying in an amazing little hotel and was glad to have a double bed rather than a single bunk like in all the hostels. From here I went to Australia Zoo where I fed kangaroos and elephants and even held a koala. They are so cute and fluffy but a little bit smelly! I watched the croc feeding and the croc display. They are pretty big and scary, I wouldn't want to run into one in the wild! I've seen a few kangaroos just hopping on the side of the road though which is pretty cool.

The next main stop was Fraser Island, the worlds largest sand island. Despite the rubbish weather, we managed to have 3 days of sunshine! I was in a 4x4 of 8 people (though we were in a convoy of 4 cars, so it was a big party) and you drive round the island in the sand tracks and the beach. I didn't think I wanted to drive, but I'm glad I did as it was so cool just to cruise along the beach in the sunshine! We drove to Lake Mckenzie which is a beautiful blue lagoon surrounded by white sand (see FB picture!) , Elly Creak which is like one of those lazy river creaks you get at water parks, only real and Lake Wabby which is another beautiful lake surrounded by sand dunes. There were loads of dingos lurking around or camp sites (yes I went camping!) which are wild dogs and someone from my group did get bitten but fortunately they didn't like the look of me.

From there we stopped at a cattle station where I learnt to crack a whip (yes I didn't know how to do it before!!) and lasso a goat and I stayed on the bucking bronco for an impressive 28 bucks! I spent the night sleeping in a stable. I ate loads of steak which makes a change from pasta and sauce and even tried a little bit of kangaroo testicle!! It tastes like kidney if your wondering, steak and kangaroo testicle anyone?

From there is was Airlie Beach for the sail to the Whitsundays. I was on a boat called wings and it was a catamaran, which was good as the sea was choppy as a cyclone was on it's way! We sailed round the islands and I did 2 more scuba dives of the barrier reef. I didn't see nemo but I saw plenty of colourful fish and coral. You just have to look up to see thousands of fish swimming above your head. One little fish even tried to take a bite out of me. I swam through caves in the coral and saw giant bat fish and beautiful angel fish. We stopped off at Whitehaven Beach with it's amazing white sands and blue water, the best beach I've seen by miles! We maneged to see it in the sun, because as soon as we left the heavens opened! We spent the evenings on the boat having yummy BBQ's and drinking under the stars, which were so clear as there were no lights in the middle of the sea. I slept in a little cabin, but didn't get sea sick gladly! I'm very lucky I got to sail at all though because the cyclone did hit and a lot of people had their boats cancelled.

Just been to Magnetic Island which was really chilled out and the hostel I stayed in was more like a holiday resort, but sadly someone stole all my food so it definitely was a hostel!!. On a walk round the island I saw a wild Koala! I was the one who found it, because I recognised the smell that I smelt of all day after I'd held a koala!

I'm at the final stop on the East Coast now, Cairns which is a bit of a party town. I've had a few good nights out, including a night on a party bus round the bars here. I did another scuba dive off the Great Barrier Reef. I found Nemo! The coral off the reef was beautiful, so colourful. The boat took us to two tiny sand islands in the middle of the reef. They were just two tiny mounds of sand surrounded by clear blue sea. Lying on them felt like paradise, miles away from everything. I then snorkeled back from the islands where I saw more Nemos, giant clams which are ticklish, and a shark just chilling out under a rock with a massive ray! The visibility was amazing in the crystal clear water, it really was paradise. I also went on a day trip to Cape Tribulation. I went on a river cruise where I saw crocs (don't worry, they were only small!) I also did a walk through the rain forest and looked out over the breathtaking Cape Tribulation. I've got photos, but it doesn't do it justice.

I'm off to the Centre on Saturday. I'm looking forward to watching the sun rise over Uluru.

Lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx