BRISBANE ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a brilliant spot!

I had decided to make an 8 hr stop over in Brisbane, just in case.
I knew I'd miss 8hrs in Byron Bay and I wondered if I'd regret it.

NO WAY!!!!!!

I have to admit that at first I was actually bored by the city.
I am obsessed with Sydney. It spoiled me.
I thought something like "Just another little village"
But that misconception only lasted until I got on that sight seeing bus.

Brisbane is like a smaller, much cheaper version of Sydney.
Minus the beaches (a beautiful huge riverside pool instead).
Plus a great outdoor restaurants atmosphere.
And within few minutes or hours of so many cool East Coast locations.

Afterwards someone told me it was the most laid back City in Ozz.
This absolutely matches my impression.
How I love that life style.

I think Brisbane is brilliant.. The second best city of those I have seen in Australia.
I wasn't too impressed by Adelaide and Canberra, I need the buzz.

I left the city at 2pm knowing that I just found my second best option.
Brisbane is a place to be.

Sometimes you know things go wrong at the moment you start them.
I took the overnight bus from Airlie Beach to Hervey Bay. It was sheduled 12hrs , was supposed to arrive in Hervey Bay at 6.40am and I had booked a Fraser Island Tour , the guys were supposed to pick me up at the bus station at 7.20am.
I guess it's too easy to guess what happened.
I actually had a pretty good sleep - given that I had to fit my whole body on those 2 tiny seats
(lucky enough I had no one sitting next to me).
I slept some 7hrs without interruption and woke up at 5am. I enjoyed a beautiful sunrise and checked the landscape. And the roadsigns. And I compared them to the bus shedule. And figured we were running late. The driver confirmed that we were 1hr behind the shedule and we would't be able to make it up..Cause he HAD to take his break by law blabla. Some silly accident.
I kind of paniced, for missing that trip would not only waste a whole lot of money but more importantly, a whole priceless day ,too.
Thank god the place where we took that break had a payphone (my mobile was useless cause no reception in the middle of nowhere and not charged for ages)
. So I rang and rang and rang and finally someone answered the phone, too obvious I woke that guy up. Poor him. But lucky me, he said Ihe'd let the pick up people know.
So I only had to pray that we'd keep the pace.

Well, we did.
Despite that decent nap and all the nerve wrecking stuff in the morning I hardly managed keeping my eyes open. I guess this trip is starting to burn me out.
I wonder if it is physical or psychological exhaustion, certainly an ominous mix.

I got on that ferry to the Island and checked the company. Not too promising on the first glance.
Neither was that huge bus, some 35 people entered the 4WD and I felt like a pensioner on a Kaffeefahrt (that is a silly German thing, compare it to Tupper Parties if you want).

Anyway, I was on the largest sand-only island of the world and I wanted to explore it.
Share it! Fraser Island
I wish I had a driver's license, it would have been so much better with a self drive 4WD tour, take your time and go to the highlights when the crowds are storming the lunch bufet.
It's such a beautiful place to be but I felt like a bloody tourist.
I saw dunes, a 75mile beach, rainforest, an amazing ship wreck....
The absolute highlight of the tour was the Basin Lake we visited right at the end.
Cant wait to see the pictures (and share them with you!)

I was dropped off at the bus station at 6.30pm....my bus to Brisbane went 1.20am...
Long long time and I wanted nothing more than a bed.
I wondered if I could sleep on the bench, putting my stuff into the locker...
But I am a girl and I am supposed to be careful at nights and all.
I sat there for ages and saw all the other backpackers leave before me - into the opposite direction.
Thank God, an American couple arrived and waited for the bus too. We ended up playing cards (I introduced them to the ever so exciting Mau Mau) but after everyone had won once I put myself into my sleeping bag and slept. 2 odd hrs and then on in the bus. Brisbane ahead.
Second night in the bus...and no shower, only the lake at Frasers.