Noosa Loosa

Being that we had camped and were ready for a nice, warm bed (k, not really -- more like a slightly-better-than-camping bed), we decided to head up to Noosa and check out what all the fuss is about. People rave about this place.

Honestly. They're allowed to.

It's a really beautiful place, lots of pretty people and people with a lot of money. This is where the Australians go. I see no problems with that. If I had money. I'd be in Noosa. Le sigh.

We found ourselves a backpacker place in the Lonely Planet (surprise, surprise) and decided to call up the YHA -- which is known for it's Southern US charm. Huh? I dunno. That's what it said. Apparently the large white column porch is where it's at. Sounds spectacular. But they were booked -- or had a twin room for $75.

Nope. We were gonna be sneaky. Really sneaky. Ross was going to go into reception and ask for 1 bed. ONE bed. Then. Sneak me in and get the price of 2 for 1. Holla. It worked like a charm. Not too shabby. Can't complain when you don't mind sleeping next to someone. Someone rather thin and lanky. I can deal with that.

We arrive fairly early, so we had some time to poke around Noosa. We got ourselves a "supposed-to-be" cheap beer at the Surf Club. It overlooked the ocean, so we couldn't complain too much. Then we made our plan. Well, sort of. We decided we'd head up to Hervey Bay, spend the night in one of the National Parks and then book ourselves a self-guided tour to Fraser Island. The place to be if you're ever in Queensland. EVERYONE talks about it. Everyone.

We did some exploring (one of them being to find a Mickey D's for some free internet -- which didn't work) and found ourselves a the movie theatre. Ross loves movies. Loves them. So I indulged in a movie for him. Not for me. Nothing was playing that I was interested in.

What'd we see?

Duplicity.

It was all right. But nothing to write home about. And nothing worth paying $13 for. Oh well. It was something to do.

We then went to a bar called Irish Murphy's and had ourselves some drinks. Then we were off to the grocery store to picked up some fish for din-din. Ross apparently makes a very good red wine fish. Um. Ew? That sounded bizarre, but I had faith in him and that was good enough.

We made our dinner in the filthy, packed kitchen and then drank a ton of Goon. A lot of goon. Then we went to the hostel bar for some drinks and fun, but ended up gettin into a serious conversation (again, my fault) and the night turned a bit sour.

All would've been fine if the guy above us was snoring like a bear in hibernation.

This guy won the award for most variety. Whether he was on his back, side, front, downward dog position, he had a snore for it. It was horrific. Even with earplugs neither of us got sleep, which didn't help our moods for the next day.

Oh boy did that not help.

I ended up driving down to Noosa Beach so we could get a beer and discuss our plans a little bit further. It was my fault. I had 3 people tell me to go to Fraser Island via Rainbow Beach. Not Hervey Bay. And Ross was solely depending on his....Lonely Planet book about Hervey Bay. I wanted to throw that damn book out the window and say FORGET IT!

So. As we were looking for parking spots (I'm sorry, I was driving...as I was looking for a parking spot...), we got into the ever popular, "Let me drive! Damnit!" argument. I got in a pissy mood, he got into a quiet mood and the rest was history. He sat himself down at a table overlooking the ocean with a nice cool beer in his hand, while I got a glass of crap water reluctantly sitting next to him.

Luckily, this guy likes to talk through his feelings, but damn. That wasn't easy. And wasn't something I wanted to do again.

We finally agreed we'd go to Rainbow Beach, in which I called up the hostel I had read about -- Fraser on Rainbow Beach. They had vacancy and we booked ourselves two bed.

Why two?

If we're going to do the tour -- which is per person -- we have to be...two different people. So off we were to Rainbow Beach. The place that would bring everything back into perspective....or so we thought...

The Gold Coast

My first two days on the Gold Coast were fairly uneventful. But that's okay.

I arrived at the Coolangatta Airport, around 8:30pm. I immediately booked my shuttle bus to the hostel, grabbed my big-ass bag and hopped on board. I actually turned my computer on just to see if I had internet, and I did. It was kind of cool.

As we drove down the Gold Coast Highway, I got a real feel for Miami. There were tall buildings everywhere, tons of lights and loads to do. The bus didn't drop me off right in front of my hostel, so I had to hobble my way to the hostel with 35 bags in tow. It was awesome. I felt pretty cool.

I checked into the hostel and my first impression wasn't the greatest. Although it was a Tuesday night, not much was going on. I went to my room and there were two girls from the UK watching tv. How fun.

I went into my room and there was an Asian girl sitting on the bunkbed just blankly staring into her laptop. Oh. Did I mention there was no air conditioning?

Awesome.

I pretty much put up my stuff then hobbled my way over to Bundall -- where I was going to meet a potential roommate. I was going to hop in a cab, but there just aren't any cabs just floating around. You pretty much have to call and book them. I figured, what the heck, the place isn't that far....

With a hurt ankle -- yes, it was that far. I walked across two bridges, through a residential area and then a shopping center just to get to this guy's place. He was nice, his place was nice -- very secure -- but it seemed hella far.

I took a cab back to the hostel. Cost me $10.

When I came back the girls were still watching TV, so I stopped and talked for a little bit. They were nice enough. Young. But nice. Then I went to bed. I had made plans to meet up with a girl in Helensvale around 9:30am.

That night, sleeping with no air conditioning, with crazy people screaming in the streets, I did not sleep. Not. At. All.

Got up in the morning dreading to take a shower -- this was definitely not the cleanest of bathrooms. Plus it was pretty gloomy out -- had rained off and on at night. But I hopped a bus to Helensvale and found myself pretty far out there. The cool thing was all the shops -- tons of potential jobs, etc. Only thing was once she picked me up, we drove for about 10 minutes to get to her place, which was not convenient at all.

Plus her place wasn't that great anyway.

I came back to the hostel where the cleaning ladies came in and literally changed the linens. The End.

No wonder the bathroom was so gross! They didn't do SHIT!

So I decided to walk around Surfers, get a feel for the place...found a boutique that was selling perfume for $5. I decided that I must go back there.

Afterwards, I met up with a guy I met from online. Yes. I do that when I know no one. He was very nice, drove an amazing Mercedes. I felt really special. He took me down to Broadbeach because it was a little less crazy than Surfers. And boy, was he right. We walked up and down the street until we found a good seafood place to try. It was pretty good -- I had steamed prawns (shrimp) with salad. Healthy, yes?

I left him for a hot minute because I was meeting up with a potential roommate. I went over to the guy's place in Broadbeach to see if I wanted to move in. The answer was YES. He literally lives in a prime location -- a block away from TONS of restaurants, etc -- you already know this from a previous post.

Anyway. I told him I was able to move in immediately and he said he wanted to sleep on it.

Then Eddie, the guy I met from the 'net, took me to The Spit. And WHOA. He delivered on that one. It was amazing. It's basically just a jetty that stretches out and the waves were just crashing like crazy! It was such a spectacular sight with the moon lighting the ocean, the waves crashing into the rocks and the sand blowing everywhere. Incredible.

Eddie dropped me off and I met two UK girls who were so friendly and nice. We both told each other of our romantic lives and said we couldn't wait to hear of the outcome -- like our stories were a romance novel. It was cute.

Anyway. I called up Paul -- the guy who lives way the H out there -- and told him I'd move in. I was getting nervous that the other guy, Todd, wanted to sleep on it. I was scared!

So I checked out of my hostel and moved over to Paul's place. But since I knew there was potential that Todd would say yes, I put my bag in a storage locker at the hostel -- so I wasn't moving it more than once.

And wouldn't you know, as I'm making the walk across Chevron Island to Bundall -- Todd calls me to tell me I can move in.

COM'ON PPL!

So. I make up my mind that I'll hang at Paul's for a little bit and see if I like it.

I did like it. But I didn't have internet there.

NEXT!

So I left my groceries at Paul's and dipped out to Broadbeach to see if I had internet there. Todd wasn't home -- he was at work -- so I just sat on the stairs and BAM. I had internet.

Decision made. Thank you very much.

So I hung out at the hostel for pretty much the whole day (bought myself a $5 bottle of delicious Christian Dior perfume) and met a girl from the States. She sucked.

Then, I took my bag and made my way over to Todd's to move in. He was very nice, super friendly.

But, I was off to go meet another guy I met from online. He invited me out to Bond University to hang at a pub on campus. I met him from couchsurfing.com -- a very cool website. Very handy.

So, I unpacked three things, put sheets on my bed (which is a mattress on the floor), took a shower and off I went to Bond!

But this post is long enough...so my adventures will have to wait for another time. Which I promise will be soon. I'm unemployed, remember? I ain't got nuffin to do!

I'm Coming Home....

Well. Not technically. And not yet.

I found me a place to live in Surfers Paradise.

Well. Across an island to Surfers. But it's on the Gold Coast.

Here's what a realtor said about the place:

Location, Location, Location!!!

This stylish apartment is located perfectly to suit a busy lifestyle with the heart of Surfers and Southport minutes away. Also, the Cafe scene of Chevron Island is only a short stroll and there's a world class gymnasium and corporate centre as your neighbour. City Chic!!

* 2 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms
* Stylish and spacious inner city apartment
* Pool, Spa, Sauna and BBQ area
* Full Security Complex with Intercom
* Every convenience just minutes away

And that's about the truth.

Honestly. The best part -- world class gymnasium.

THANK GOD. I've gained so much weight here in OZ, I'm ready for some healthy fitness.

Here's a few lovely pictures of the complex -- not the apartment I'm moving into..TOMORROW. Did I mention I'll have my own bedroom and my own bathroom? WHAAATT!

And the roommate. He's a DJ. A Dance DJ. And, I'm really looking forward to that. Maybe he'll take me along to a gig in Brisbane? Purtty Pleazzzee! OR! Maybe he'll hire me to do a few flyers or even a LOGO ;-) Prolly not. but a girl can dream.

Final Dayz in Melbourne...

After the Great Ocean Road, I came back to the hostel ready to rest my ankle. And that, I did.

The next morning, Beth and I went and had brekky at the hostel and I called around to a few doctors to see if I could get an appointment. Luckily, they had availability and I made one for the afternoon.

When I fell, which was in the Rainforest, I definitely heard a pop. And that never means a good thing. So I figured I'd calm my nerves and get it checked out. That's why I have travel insurance, right?

Right.

So. Beth went off to the pharmacy to get some aloe -- she burned herself crazy-like style on Thursday while at the beach. And I hobbled around the hostel trying to get situated for my move on to Adelaide (i.e. laundry).

I got a text message from the tour guide offering to drive me around Melbourne since he felt so bad about me hurting my ankle. Of course I said YES.

Then I questioned how much it would cost...

Luckily he was nice enough to just do it out of the kindness of his heart.

He picked me up and asked me if there was any place in particular I wanted to see before I left Melbourne and I really didn't have anything in mind. So, he made the decision for us and took me to his family's winery. It's about an hour outside of the city -- whether it's south, west, east or north, that I don't know. I lost my sense of direction when I hurt my ankle.

We arrived at Mount William Winery where we were greeted by some cute dogs.
Later on I played fetch with them and they were so enthusiastic. One dog even made an effort to BRING me the ball each time, none of this drop off a mile away thing.

The winery was a bit...dry.
And apparently, the bushfires started approximately 5km from the farm. Luck was in their favor since the winds were blowing a different direction...

But. I question how much truth is to his story since afterall he is a tour guide. If I was a tour guide, which I'm sincerely contemplating doing when I get back, I would made all that shit up. All the time. Each day I'd be a new character. Not lying.

Anyway. We sat around the pool and had some light (I'm used to a more full-bodied) Pinot Noir that was made right on the homeland. I felt pretty special.

Then we hopped on a 4-wheeler and drove the farm area.

As we were driving, I spotted a kangaroo hopping around the woods. It was SOOO awesome. Then we drove a bit more where we spotted probably about 30 of them hopping super fast and far in a heavily wooded area. I couldn't get any pictures, but it was one of the coolest sights EVER!

Sadly, things turned a bit because Mr. Tour Guide wasn't a friend anymore...he wanted to be a lover. I felt bad (man, how did the tables turn) for him being so kind I couldn't say no -- so a few kisses were shared, but I was just being polite. I guess.

Anyway. He got me back to the city within time to have my ankle checked out, which I hurt in the Rainforest (damn you flip-flops)!

The sports doctor said that I didn't sprain it too terribly bad. She wrapped my ankle, told me to ice it 20 minutes a day and gave me a few exercises to try making it more flexible.

Here's the thing. Srsly. Try this. Put your toe against the wall and bend your knee towards the wall. No problem, right? Now. I can get my knee about 5 inches from the wall. That's how bad it is. I'm supposed to keep working it until my knee can completely reach the wall.

Also. Calf raises. I can't even do one. Hurts too much.

Man. I got a long way to go!

Afterwards, I hobbled my way back to the hostel where I made myself the crappiest dinner EVER. Then Minelle called to tell me about a going away BBQ for some chick. Of course I said yes! Beth and I hopped a tram and met them at the Southern Cross Train station. Then we had to walk another 3km to get to the damn place. But it was worth the hobble.

The flat is located on the 8th floor, right on the river. It was spectacular. Great view of Melbourne. We drank some Goon and played drinking games. No. I didn't get drunk, thankyouverymuch. I knew I had an early morning and I wasn't about to do my hobble, heavy luggage shuffle with a hangover.

It was sad to leave Melbourne -- I really enjoyed the place! But I know I'll be back.

I just know it.

Melbourne in 12 minutes..

I'm guessing that's how long it'll take you to read this...guessing.

Quick update -- I never heard from the school teacher after I sent him a text declining his invitation to see his band play. Whoops. What can I say? I just didn't feel comfortable staying the night IN THE COUNTRY with some boy I didn't even know.

Back to the post. Ah. Yes. My last post ended with where I was off to next...

I was off to Lygon St. My friend Mick -- the one who picked me up from the airport -- picked me up to take me to Lygon Street. That place was something else. Let me tell ya...no, srsly, I'll tell you.

It's a Tuesday night -- not the busiest for Lygon Street a.k.a Melbourne's Little Italy. So, as we walked up and down the street deciding on where to have dinner, we were heckled. It was a bit much.

"Hey! Com'on in! We'll give you a round of drinks on us!"

*screeching halt* Por Que?

Of course, as we walked up the street we were offered the following -- in order --
1. 1 free round of drinks
2. 2 free rounds of drinks & free bruchetta
3. 2 free rounds of drinks & garlic bread -- and her mom was the chef
4. a bottle of wine

I liked the attitude of Door Number 2 -- so we ate there. Turns out this was the mob. The Italian Mob. The waiter even hinted that this was his -- 2nd job. Yeah. I'm convinced that's the truth.

Anyway. We both had two glasses of wine, bruchetta, italian salad and three different types of pasta for a grand total of $60. Thank you hecklers! Now that's how I like to do business. Thanks.

Afterwards, Mick took me to see St. Kilda at night.

It was boring. The end.

The next day, I ran into my hostel roommate Beth. She's 19 from South Wales and looks pretty much exactly like Elizabeth Hurley. Lucky girl. Oh. And she's super sweet. Couldn't hurt a fly.

Well, we decided to do a little sightseeing together and venture to St. Kilda Beach.

It was a lot better during the day, but still...nothing special. We took picture at the famous Luna Park.

We walked around Ackland St which is known for its cool shops. Then we walked through the Botanical Gardens...

which were...a bit...dry.

There was a cool chess game -- lifesize. The end.

Then, after looking at the map, we decided to go check out the awesome Peanut Farm Reserve. Sweet -- right?

Nope. It was literally a park. Made of grass. Dead grass. And dead dogs.

Okay. Not really, but easily could've been. It was dry. Really dry.

At that point we were ready to blow that popsicle stand and as we were walking to the tram we stumbled upon a Veggie Community.
Which was...hmm, how do I put this, a junkyard.

A shitty junkyard.

That was supposed to be all hippy and coooool, but it wasn't. It was just junk. In a yard.

But hey -- they had chickens!

Loved the artwork of this poster -- so did someone else that it made them paint on it.

Moving on. We hopped a long-ass tram to check out Brunswick St, also known for its shopping. We hopped off at the Melbourne Exhibition Hall -- beautiful.

And it was right next door to the Melbourne Museum.

We decided, eh, why the hell not, so we got our tickets (okay, I used my crappy FCCJ student ID which was ALMOST denied and poor Beth had to pay $8).

We walked around, the first exhibit being about bugs.

We. were. freaked. the. hell. out. There are some big ass bugs in OZ and I'm not looking forward to meeting them beyond the glass case. Ok?

OH. HELL. NO.

The bones of a Blue Whale. Day-um.

Looking pretty happy...

Real Lizard in the Museum

However. The worst exhibit was the human body. The brain info was cool, blah blah blah, but when they got into puberty. Oh HELLLLLL no. You walk around the corner and see pictures of kids -- KIDS -- naked. I felt like I was violating someone's - scratch that - some KID'S privacy.

Here are some pictures of the statues in the human exhibit...

And to top it off, they had a video of some lady shoving a kid out of her hoo-ha. AND, some dad was letting his 4 year old son WATCH it. Not. Cool.

*shudders* Moving on..

Anyway. There was some other pretty cool stuff, nothing worth mentioning really, but educational, for sure. At the end, Beth and I decided to check out the awesome gift shop (okay -- it wasn't that awesome) and a guy comes over asking for help.

Three things.

He was about 16-17 years old.

And he was definitely missing an arm.

And he was asking Beth to help him tie his shoe.

Of course she said yes, although there was hesitation on both our sides, and as she bent down to help this poor guy out, she looked up at the window of the gift shop to see a sh!tload of high school kids laughing their asses off. The guy who asked for help said never mind and took off running as I shouted to him, "That's just wrong!"

For those who are lost. This KID definitely had TWO arms and didn't need help. It was all a rouse. Ass.

Anyway. We walked out of there shaking our heads and then we couldn't stop laughing at how funny and stupid we must've looked. Those damn kids. That got us good. You can just say Beth and I kept bringing that joke into rotation everytime we hung out.

After the museum, Beth and I walked up to Brunswick St and checked out all the awesome shops. It was a pretty trendy place -- trendy like hippie trendy -- then I, yes I, decided I was hungry (what? *gasps* you? hungry? fatty). We ate at this place called the Vegie Bar. Guess what? They specialized in Veggies. No beef. Fancy that!

And of course, being the crazy kid that I am, I decided to order a veggie drink.

Spinach, beetroot, cucumber and carrot.

What the hell was I thinking? No. Srsly. It was GOD-awful. But since I paid the $5.50, I downed it. Blech.

Anyway. Beth and I got back to the hostel and I was off to Bikram yoga with Minelle. I did SOO much better this time around and actually really enjoyed it.
Plus the teacher came over and fixed my posture a few times, which made me feel special. Real special. (Like, do I get a gold star special?)

Afterwards, Minelle and I went our separate ways and I took a shower and ate dinner -- cereal. The kitchen was absolute chaos, too many people in the hostel trying to eat free pasta -- one of the perks of staying at Urban Central. "Perks"

Then Beth and I hopped back on the tram to check out Brunswick St at night. This place is usually pretty crazy, but um, not tonight. We stopped at a bar called Night Cat which was pretty cool. Wine's only $5/glass and they had a DJ spinning random music. I felt bad for Beth because she got to hear my life story. MY. LIFE. STORY. And she's a great listener. Not much of a talker. Or maybe she is, but I'm too talky-talk to let her jump in. Whoops.

Afterwards we walked up the street til we heard live music spilling out of a bar. We went inside, got ourselves some more $5/glass wine and sat and chatted some more. I tipped way more than I normally would ($2) because all the tips were being donated to the bushfire victims in Victoria. I figured I should contribute at least SOMETHING. Every little bit helps, right?

We wanted to try something different, so we started to walk up the street to find a place called Polly's. But. um. It was really dodgy. Like, crazy dodgy. They were definitely open until 1am, but there was no one around. And their door -- was a sliding door -- but you couldn't see in, so you might just walk in on a ...oooo I don't know, massive Australian orgy? That's what came to mind first...

Needless to say, we did not venture in.

We decided to call it a night, but on our way home on the tram I saw a bar that looked fairly busy. So I made Beth hop off with me and go inside. It was lame-o, but the wine was by far the cheapest yet -- $3/glass. WOO! Plus, I met a guy named Joe from Sydney. I told him I'll call him in April when I go back. And. I will.

The next day involved the Great Ocean Road, but I can't write that in this one. That just wouldn't be fair. It deserves its own post.

Three words.

A. Maz. Ing.