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.