Rainbow Beach, Agnes Water, & Airlie Beach

Rainbow Beach is mostly used a stopping point for going to Fraser Island, but I didn't go there. So I walked along the beach, climbed some dunes, and tried to surf. I'm too bad for the type of board I have. :)

from the top of a dune. It rained the whole time I was in Rainbow Beach

Agnes Water is a tiny little town with the only reason I went there being a motorcycle tour. I was also planning on surfing, but I drank some of their tap water and then didn't feel well so I skipped that.

This shot was down a river I crossed on the walk to the ocean. Was really cool in an abandoned kind of way

The motorcycles just had little 50cc engines so the fastest I ever went was 35mph. We saw about a gazillion kangaroos during the ride. Here's some pics from that. (I want a motorcycle SO BAD.)

bad pictures :( but I looked awesome in leather :)

Airlie Beach is also small, but is entirely touristy. It exists mainly as a launching point for boats to the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef. They have another of those fake beaches which was pretty great, though by night, its too warm to be refreshing. I went on a scuba dive/snorkeling trip on my second day there. Unfortunately the visibility was pretty low, but I still managed to see a lot of cool coral and a turtle. The water is warm, but we still all had to wear wetsuits to protect us from stingers (tiny jellyfish that can kill you). I ignored advice that diving while having sinus problems was a bad idea and I think I might have ruptured an eardrum. >.<

That same trip also went to Whitehaven beach which is an amazing place.

I got a haircut while in Airlie and a woman on the dive said I reminded her of Princess Diana :D

There was a working 'pirate' ship. If you look closely you can even see the Jolly Roger waving

I managed to sell my surfboard to some Ozzies so I'm not carting that around anymore :) Next up is Magnetic Island (chilling) and then Cairns. Then on over to New Zealand!

Continuing on - Surfers Paradise, Brisbane, Noosa

Surfers Paradise has a very Myrtle Beach feel to it. It's big and there are sky scraper hotels everywhere. My hostel there was far from the beach which just means I used public transport: yay trams!

The trams have surfboard holders in them. Which I was told by a Transit Officer because they are everywhere! I never saw a single one in 5 months in Sydney. There was one almost every ride in Surfers

I made friends with some of my roommates and we spent the day on the beach. I'm not really sure why it's called Surfers Paradise because its not very surfable. It's more just rough seas without any good break points - or it was like that while I was there anyway. We went out that night which was awesome since it is still Schoolies. So many people! But also good deals like $20 entry for limitless drinks all night :)

I was originally planning on spending 3 nights there but the lack of surf made me change it to 2 and move on up to Brisbane.

My Brisbane hostel, Base Uptown, is really nice. It's very clean and has a bar/restaurant attached. Brisbane has a city biking program so I paid $2 to have access to them all day which was great.

 They have a bikepath that goes all the way around the Brisbane River that runs though the city. Unfortunately, the Botanical Gardens have been closed due to storm damage/restoration but I still managed to see some cool stuff.

It got tired, so it grey some extra support

This guy was ~2.5 feet long. 

This one was a little smaller. And near the library, not the Garden.

I climbed a tree to read for a bit because they're just so great, I had to.

#selfie  that's the river in the back

I took another bike across the river to the South Bank. They have created a fake beach in the middle of the city. It's free to access and right beside a garden, Nepalese temple, and Rainforest walk. I really like Brisbane.

I'm pretty sure I just had a look of awe on my face the entire time I explored this area. So freaking cool.  

It's up to 5 feet deep. They've got lifeguards and everything.

The garden by the beach

Then I went on a free tour with Brisbane Greeters.

Street art!

huge trees! apparently they hold water like camels

There was a performance center that had cool paintings like this one.

This was street art but also marked the height of a flood in the '70s. The Brisbane River is right behind me, but this doesn't mean much since you can't see it.

at the performance center. 

I'm in Noosa now but am leaving today for Rainbow Beach. Here's some pics from Noosa National Park.

Northbound!

So I'm headed north. I've spent the past 2.5 days in Byron Bay surfing. I'm in my way to Gold Coast/Surfers Paradise now. I'll spend 3 night there, surfing. 

I'm staying in hostels for this whole trip and traveling via Greyhound. 

After Gold Coast is Brisbane, then: Noosa, Rainbow Beach, Agnes Water/1770, Airlie beach, Magnetic beach, and then finally Cairns. I'm surfing until the surf runs out and then I'm going on a dive trip at Airlie Beach at the Great Barrier Reef. At Cairns I'll be doing a rainforest tour through the Atherton Tables. I'm considering paragliding at Rainbow Beach and a motorcycle tour at 1770. Plus most of these places are on or near national parks that I can hike on a bit. 

Do you think paragliding or hang-gliding would be more fun?

Here's the roof of my hostel in Byron Bay 

Last Week in Sydney!

It's my last week in Sydney so I'm squeezing in everything I or my friends didn't get to.
Here's a pic from Halloween first though:

Harbour Bridge!

In front of the Harbour Bridge (meet Brieanna, Tai, and Charlie)

I also finally did the Bondi-Coogee walk which was a lot of fun and very pretty. If you remember, I started this walk but didn't finish it the first week I was here. Kinda fitting that I'd finish on the last week. Here's a tidbit:

Tai and I went snorkeling in this 'pool' though we only saw one fish.  (lots of seagrass). There was also a cemetery on the cliffs:

not a small cemetery, There's a lot behind me in this pic too

No one else had been to the Blue Mountains, So Brie, Manny, Tai, and I went on Tuesday.

We hiked from "here' down to Wentworth Falls. Not a long hike but definitely worth the 2 hour train ride out here

#selfie

this is a small falls below the main, 100m tall one 

it's a shame he was in the shade, cause he was soo pretty

Made some crocodile and kangaroo for dinner one night. Crocodile = very similar to chicken. Kangaroo is so good.

Manly Beach was my group's last excursion. The weather was super weird when we got there at like 2pm. It cleared up though and we had fun body surfing. Now that it's hot, there are lots of Surf Rescue and LifeGuards around, both here and back at Bondi and Coogee.

Manly Beach

So I bought a cheap fiberglass surfboard to bring with me on my travels. Its 6' and pretty, if a little beat up :)


I'll post an itinerary for my 3 weeks of travel that starts on Wednesday but the main idea is that I'm taking Greyhounds up the coast and staying in hostels.  I miss everyone. Happy Thanksgiving!

p.s. So my emails have been reading from "Ali" because that's how I need to spell it for Siri to say it right. But that was annoying so I changed it back. Someone emailed me with that name, which kinda makes whoever it was the best for trying to go with whatever name I prefer, but it's still "Ally".

The Outback

I'm going to inundate you with photo and I'm not even a little bit sorry.Here's a link to all the panoramas I took with Microsoft PhotoSythn.
 I've had the most wonderful time in the desert. I arrived on Monday and was immediately impressed by the heat and the flatness.

weather while I was there

 I spent that day exploring Ayers Rock Resort. It's the only thing there, near Uluru. Everyone who works there, lives there and one company owns everything which means they make back 60% of paid wages in rent, groceries, ect.

#selfie while wondering the resort

View of Uluru from the resort

Day 2

I went to a boomerang throwing lesson which was fantastic. Also, I'm pretty ok at throwing spears. :) the thin practice boomerangs they had were much easier to throw than my heavier, painted one. Met my tour at 1 and headed to Uluru.
Listening to country music while driving across the desert? Check.

We went first to the Cultural Center where I learned some of the significance of Uluru to the Aboriginal people. Then base walk. And Mala walk. (BTW, if you get the chance, don't climb Uluru. It's a sacred site.) Uluru is as tall as the Eiffel Tower, to give a little perspective which is hard to see from the photos.

Start of the Base walk

So flat! 

So these caves are formed by lightning striking the iron in the rock (Which is why it's red), forming cracks, water getting in the cracks, freezing, and then eventually causing pieces to fall

The vertical lines in the rock are a result of the striations formed when the rock was made (sandstone formed by compression by an ocean). It is vertical because a tectonic plate movement a long time ago flipped the entire Rock. It actually extends 6km below the surface.

#selfie with a fly net

really cool texture of the rock

This is where, if you're a disrespectful jerk, you can climb the rock. 

View from the Mala car park

Idk, I just liked this tree

A cave that looks like a wave. (Also, the head of a Norwegian..)

The black is where a waterfall is when it rains. Dead algae make it black

Some perspective on how big that waterfall is

From afar

Then we went to a lookout to watch the sunset and get dinner (the guide cooked deliciousness). 

 

There was a rainbow

Slept under the stars where we had some unfortunate ant problems. 

Day 3

Up early to get to see sunrise at Uluru.

I made a gif of the sunrise. If you want, I can slow that down or give pics..

 Then drive to Kata Tjuta (The Olgas).

The Olgas are similar to Uluru, but there are a bunch of outcroppings. Also, they didn't get twisted, so the lines are horizontal.

Meet Casey!

This is what you expect a desert to look like, no? Or Mars.

Bummed I didn't get a good picture of this. It looked like a Mario land on top of this one.  

Lizard! (scale: he was about 3 inches longs, not counting the tail)

From afar

Look, Courtney, it's like you're here!

Then we drove some more. 

Fake Uluru! Another outcropping called Connor's Rock (or something like that) that a lot of tourists think is Uluru.

When given the choice, always be dramatic. That's a dry salt lake behind me. We only stopped here for a second or I would have liked to walk on it. Also, this was like a proper sand dune. Not very solid

Another night under the stars, this time without bugs. :)  Every place I stayed had swimming pools, btw. Very necessary with how hot it gets. We had a campfire that night and another wonderful meal, including bread made in dutch ovens in the firepit.

Day 4
Up before sunrise to go hike the rim of King's Canyon. We weren't going early for the sunrise in particular this time, more just to avoid the heat.
But have a sunrise pic anyway:

View from the top of the climb to the Rim. The white dots out there are the car park.

Again, with the drama.

The lack of scale right now is frustrating me. These dome-things were not small. 

dude. 

This was in the Garden of Eden in the middle of the Canyon. It was amazing. Please go look at the Photosynth pictures

I was sitting on the ground trying to get the sky and the water both in the frame. This wall was so huge and I don't think you can tell. 

Those stairs lead down to the Garden. It looked like the Canyon Rim went on forever

Same place as the above pic, just facing the other way. Sorry about the glare.

This was my favorite place on the whole trip.

It just keeps going. 

These sheer walls form when the weaker type of stone underneath erodes away underneath and then the heavier stuff breaks off and falls. 

Then we moved on. AND I RODE A CAMEL!

Looks at their fuzzy faces!

Going down!

The camel place also has some kangaroos

Finally, we arrived in

Hopefully, I'll post the group picture we got on this sign soon

Stayed in a nice hostel there for the night and then went back to Ayer's Rock for 1 more night and my flight out.

#selfie with my stolen hat :)

A car on the side of the road! I could feel the heat from inside the bus! It was so PRETTY!

Bye!