East Coast - Day 6

What an incredible week so far! The Australian experience has really picked up a notch, Queensland-style. On Thursday we arrived at Hervey Bay at the Palace Backpackers Hostel (which was the best so far, with our own kitchen, common room, and a dorm pretty much to ourselves). We had the afternoon free, so we grabbed some lunch at the nearby Woolworths grocery and then headed out to the beach for some fishing and frisbee. Didn't catch anything unfortunately since the tide was low, but had a great time anyhow, and talked about our travels to a few of the friendly locals.

The next day kicked off a trip to the best destination so far: Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world, and a world heritage site made of 95% sand with rainforests and heavy vegetation growing on it. We made it to the island by ferry and began our Cooldingo tour on a 4WD bus. The ride was a thrill in itself; with steep hills and rugged sandy trails, the rocking and jumps we felt could be easily compared to a roller coaster ride! We headed through the bush to a clearing called Makenzie Lake, one of the largest perched sand dune lakes in the world. The cloudy weather slightly cleared enough for us to enjoy the bright white silica sand and go for a dip in the clear blue water. It was spectacular, but there was so much more to come.

In the afternoon we went on a bushwalk through a temperate rainforest, taking in the lush and diverse vegetation and blue lakes. We then settled into our cozy lodge dorms, ate at a buffet and hung out with the other travelers at the bar playing pool and cards. The next day was cloudy and rainy, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the exhilarating ride along the 75 Mile Beach. We waded through a crystal-clear creek and marveled at the coloured sands. My favourite places on the island were the Champagne Pools and Indianhead with nice rock formations and a beautiful view of the ocean, whales and sea turtles from a 60m high cliff. The day ended perfectly with a stunning surprise sunset from an outlook.

Yesterday we arrived in Agnes Water and the Town of 1770 (named after the date Capt. Cook landed in Oz). Our driver insisted we try out Scooter-Roos, which looks pretty much like a small Harley chopper. We figured, why not? In the end, I'd have to say it had to be one of my all-time favourite experiences. We rode on these mini bikes at up to 80kph through forested areas, the towns, and along the beach at sunset. What a blast it was!

I'm now on the bus headed for the Kroombit Cattle Station with country tracks and hilarious Aussie folk and drinking songs playing. The driver tells us crazy stories about his drunken friends and unfortunate mishaps with kangaroos. No sign of civilization anywhere. It's awesome :)

Cheers,

Sean

East Coast - Day 3

We're finally on our way through the East Coast. I'm travelling with two others; Joseph (from McGill) and Aftab, a friend from class. The tropical humidity hits you like a wave as soon as you walk off the plane on to the tarmac in Brisbane. The fiight took about two hours, which seemed really short compared to the last flight I had taken!

Once out of the airport, we took a short taxi ride to downtown CBD and our first hostel, Base Brisbane. The hostel is on top of a bnnch of busy bars/pubs. Most rooms have about 6 bunk beds, which means that guests sleep amongst other travellers and backpackers. Everyone shares the bathrooms and common kitchen. I'll admit that sharing a room with random people takes some getting used to, but you meet plenty of people along the way, especially from Europe.

Yesterday consisted mostly of travel on the Oz Experience bus, which is a flexible hop on / hop off transport with a hilarious and ever-helpful driver and tour guide. It's a shame our itinerary is a little rushed... We would have loved to stay in Brisbane to explore some more. We stopped at the Glasshouse Mountains, a nice lookout of huge mountains. We also stopped at Noosa, a wealthy tropical town with a gorgeous beach and palm trees everywhere. We stayed over night at Dingo's hostel at Rainbow Beach, where we enjoyed a delicious chicken parmiagiana dinner, a moonlit stroll on the beach, and relaxing at the bar with pool, ping pong, and Wii.

We're now at the Palace Hostel in Hervey Bay, ready for our major stop: Fraser Island, the world's largest sand island, with 99.9% white silica. Should be awesome!

Internet is hard to come by, I'm now writing this on my Palm. I'll try to post every few days if I can!

Cheers,

Sean

Finally a vacation... It’s Spring Break!

I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve last posted on my blog. This past month has been incredibly hectic for me, and a reminder that I’m not just here in Australia for fun and games. School kicked into high gear, with many mid-semester assignments, projects, and essays that took up most of my time. My major group design project in particular was massive. As a group we had to design a gearbox for a wind turbine, and you wouldn’t believe how complicated such a design could be! The final report ended up being over 70 pages long, and we spent a few nights working together at the university late until past midnight!

I also wrote a 1500-word essay about what I think of as a fascinating topic: the legend of Anzac. During the Great War Australia fought on the front lines at Gallipoli in Turkey, pretty much because of their imperialist ties with Britain. The Battle of Gallipoli was a complete military failure, with huge losses of life on the Aussie side. Strangely enough, Anzac Day is highly celebrated in Australia, since it apparently symbolises nationalistic values of mateship, strength and courage. I thought that such a celebration was no longer significant and discussed the reasons why in my essay. I haven’t written a university-level essay before (being an engineer), and it was quite tough, but I’ve learned a lot in the process. (Kudos to Kelly!)

I’ve still been having a great time here, even though the partying and exploring has calmed a bit. The Cat Empire concert was incredible and one of my favourite nights so far. This invigorating and unique group has become one of my new favourite bands! My first attempt at Paintball was exhilarating, and not as painful as many people claim it to be (although I still have a slight bruise from a nasty shot to my leg!) Nothing feels more satisfying than sniping someone in the face from over 20m away :P
I have made so many amazing friends while I’m here, and I’m trying hard not to think about what it would be like to part with them months from now. We’ve done so much together; movies, dinners, deep conversations about life, bar-hopping, music practice, sight-seeing... And of course dancing! I’ve never been much of a dancer, but living here in Melbourne has certainly helped me break of out of my shell, and I’ve had a great time on many a night.

Now I can finally relax a little, because it just so happens to be SPRING BREAK! Even better, the break will be two weeks long, and I’m actually headed to the east coast tomorrow. My itinerary basically includes a trip from Brisbane to Cairns, with stops along the way such as Rainbow Beach, Fraser Island, a cattle station at Kroombit, Arlie Beach and sailing in the Whitsundays, Magnetic Island, and of course the Great Barrier Reef. I’m very excited for this latest adventure, and I’m sure I’ll have many stories to tell and pictures to post! I just hope the weather will improve, as of now it looks like we can expect warm weather but rain all week... We’ll see what happens!

I’ll try to keep up to date with what’s happening as we travel, stay tuned!!!

Cheers,

Sean