Caloundra, Kings Beach, Moffat Beach, Dicky Beach, Noosa (Dec 11th)

Our first stop was Caloundra. Its main beach – Kings Beach – was very crowded because of the school holidays. The waves were awesome – there were lots of them and they were big. The conditions were perfect for bodyboarding, unfortunately we didn’t have any room for surfcrafts in the car. For a second or two I thought about stealing a bodyboard from some kid… I could probably take one or two of them (of course not at the same time – let’s be realistic!). I didn’t resort to such means. This time! We ended up jumping into the waves which was heaps of fun until suddenly all the joy was cut short by Rachel’s deafening screams of pain and agony.

As I looked at her with terror in my eyes, my knees became weak and wobbly. It was difficult to breathe and as I gasped for more air I saw the cause of her misery. Her back and stomack were flaming red with dark red goosebumps – she was stung by a marine stinger. The screams… the screams… I still have nightmares of her screams.

I don’t remember exactly how things unfolded but here’s how I recall it. I single-handedly carried her out of the water and rushed her to the lifeguards. They hosed her with some fresh water and sprayed something on the irritated skin. She didn’t need any more medical attention because Canadians are made tough – mothers leave their babies in the woods right after giving birth. This, they say, is natural selection at its best, it builds character and also helps bread a nation of survivors. Only the toughest ones will make it.

Other than that, Rachel was just fine. It was a bluebottle sting, nothing serious. I’ve never been stung so I don’t know how painful it was but from the look on her face it wasn’t too bad. She didn’t really scream but all the rest of the story is true… more or less 😀 After Rachel’s encounter with Australia’s wild and ferocious wildlife we enjoyed a bit of sunbathing and continued our journey towards the next beaches in Caloundra.

Moffat Beach was crap. It had a plateau with nasty stuff growing on it – I don’t know, algae or something. Right next to Moffat Beach was Dicky Beach. Hahahah Dicky …. hahahahaha no further comments necessary. 😀

There was an old shipwreck at Dicky Beach. I think it was Captain James Cook’s vessel. No doubt in that. It was very rusty and full of razor sharp edges. Both Agni and Rachel cut their knees and even I was bleeding from a toe after exploring the ship and looking for survivors – sadly there were none.

We continued towards Noosa despite our severe injuries and potential tetanus and cholera infections. Our visit to the Noosa National Park was wonderful. I’ve been there a couple of times and I love it. My favorite part is when I’m on the way back towards the carpark (from trail #2 switch to #4) and suddenly everything becomes so quiet. You can only hear the sounds of the trees, birds, lizards and drop-bears. Noosa was crowded, it was full of surfers enjoying their school holidays. We didn’t see any koalas, snakes or dolphins.

Our final destination for the day was a camping site at a place called Noosa North Shore. Benn, Emily and Sean (their friend) were already on the island waiting for us. We had to cross a bit of water, it took 2 minutes on a little ferry and only cost $6 for a car and all its passengers. It took us about 30 minutes to find the Aussies. Once there, we set up camp, had some beers and kumba-ya!

As I watched the drunken lot I learned a new pickup line. One guy, let’s call him Shredder, said to a girl that her hair was soooooo asymmetric and that it was brilliant! 😀 It seemed to me that his line actually worked. The girl melted like butter.

The night became darker and darker and darker. Benn shared a story. He was camping with one of his friends. They were minding their own business, bushwalking tra-la-laa-di-daa, and then suddenly out of nowhere a drop-bear attacked his friend. It ripped out the victims eye and made him watch with the other eye how the beast devoured the eyeball. Nom-nom-nom-nom-nom. After that the drop-bear slashed the victim in a savage rampage. Benn barely escaped the same fate.

Rainbow Beach, Bundaberg, Seventeen Seventy (Dec 12th)

I woke up aroud 5:40 and went for a jog on the beach. There were hills in the distance and I noticed a strip of sand on a hill. I decided that I’m going to jog over there and check out the view from the top of that hill. It took me about an hour to get there but I did it. The view was good but I didn’t like the wind which was blowing sand into my eyes. Then I jogged/walked back to the camping site.

We packed our tents and left the site around 11 o’clock. Yep, nobody was rushing.

It took 2 hours to reach Rainbow Beach. During the drive I remember seeing a big roo next to the road. I called it out to others but they didn’t see it. So I counted down the seconds until the car reached the roo.  As my countdown reached zero the roo turned out to be a small crow just hopping on the grass. My, oh my, I was seeing things. Of course everybody in the car had a big laugh 😀

Rainbow Beach was a beautiful beach with massive sand dunes. We climbed the dunes and tried to sled down on a piece of cardboard. That didn’t really work out but we had fun trying. Later we needed to go for a swim to wash away all the sand.

Today’s best part was the drive to Bundaberg. That was Agni’s drop-off point. We were all very happy once our ways parted at her hostel. It was a magical moment full of joy and happiness. Everybody had a huge smile on their face. Finally, more room in the car! We weren’t a good match with her either.

Our initial plan was to reach the Lake Monduran caravan park but its reception closed at 17:30 so there was no point in going there. We decided to drive towards Seventeen Seventy and just camp somewhere along the road.

About 25 km from Seventeen Seventy I took a left turn onto a dirt road, drove to the end of it and decided that this was our camping site for the night. We set up camp. One guy drove down to us and tried to scare us away. I used my highly developed communication/negotiation skills to change his mind. He allowed us to stay and warned us about starting fires because the area was very dry.

That night was very scary because of all the forest sounds. The roos were jumping but that sounded exactly as if someone was walking past our tent. When the wind blew the grass against the tent I almost shat myself. It sounded like somebody was trying to get into the tent but didn’t find its door. Luckily I was sleeping in the middle of Pete and Rachel. Therefore in case of a drop-bear or a serial killer, Pete and Rachel would die before me. That thought gave me peace and helped me fall asleep.

Seventeen Seventy, Agnes Water, Capricorn Caves, Mackay (Dec 13th)

We survived the night, packed our stuff and drove to Seventeen Seventy. I have been there twice before but this time it was a big disappointment. The water was much higher and thus most of the beach was gone. We visited Cook’s Monument Cairn and went for a walk in a national park.

Agnes Water was only 5-10 km away. None of us was very enthusiastic about going swimming because of the stingers. Eventually Pete and I gathered up our courage and had a go. Rachel and I did a little Gangnam dance because that’s the way we roll… 😀

Next we visited Olsen’s Capricorn Caves. Entrance and a guided tour cost $27 each. We saw stalactites and stalagmites and caves and stuff. We were told that in the caves we were walking on dried bat guano (crap). Good to know, considering I was barefoot.

The highlight was the Cathedral – a cave with great acustics. They even had wedding ceremonies in that cave. We listened to a song in the cave… halleluyah, it was beautiful.

After the caves we went to Mackay. Benn’s mother (Annette) agreed to host us for a night. It was good to see her since the last time I saw her was several months ago. She made dinner for all of us. It was delicious. I ate as much as I could because I knew this was the last decent meal during the next 2 weeks. Everybody was done eating but I was still munching food and adding more stuff onto my plate. Nom-nom-nom-nom!

We spent most of the evening planning our trip. Annette and Jon were a great help with their suggestions. I was super tired that day. Who knew that traveling was so exhausting?

Finch Hatton Gorge, Araluen Falls (Dec 14th)

We loved it at Annette’s place and didn’t really want to  leave. It took Rachel ages to pack her stuff and we left around 11 o’clock. Our destination was Finch Hatton Gorge and Araluen Falls in the Eungella National Park.

We jumped into the water from the cliffs at Araluen Falls. It was entertaining. Some other kids jumped about 2-3 times higher than we did. I would’ve joined them but I didn’t because of all my prior injuries from the shipwreck. It had nothing to do with being scared.

After the fun in the water we drove to Airlie Beach to book a day trip to the Whitsunday Islands. We could only choose between two options because everything else was fully booked. Since we all wanted to snorkel and scuba dive we chose the Illusions cruise.

We spent the night in a caravan park.

Last time I wrote that I was planning to host a couchsurfer. And that’s exactly what I did. I never brake a promise (except when I do, sorry). Allen, from Taiwan, spent 2 days at my place. We had a BBQ on the last day which was a lot of fun (probaby because of all the alcohol… don’t tell mom about it!).

Since I’ve been a good old vegetarian, yes you heard that right, vegetarian – I made some veggie burgers for the BBQ. Everybody loved them because I’m such an awesome master chef! For the carnivores I made some real burgers with greasy juicy pieces of meat between them. Those burgers are a sure fire recipe for all sorts of future health problems because they immediately clog 80% of your heart’s blood vessels after consumption. Oh well.. bon apetit! PS: Eating meat is very bad and you shouldn’t do it.

Once we were all fattened up with the burgers we just relaxed in the hammock, played some guitar, had a beer on top of a dozen other beers and just relaxed. It was a hot day. Somehow I managed to burn all the hair on my arms… damn that awesome grill and it’s devious ways.

The day after Allen left us we (me and Pete) went to Bribie Island. It’s really close to Brisbane… in fact it should be part of Brisbane if I’m correct. We went for a swim, checked out the beach, tried surfing and had a little workout in a park. Sometimes the parks in Australia have excercise equipment. Anywho… I remember I was working out and eating potato chips at the same time to keep things balanced. You know the Ying and the Yang. Eight-pack here I come!

In the evening we saw some crabs at the beach crawling on the rocks. They were nasty as hell, we were too chicken to catch them. Gross.

We also went to Gold Coast a couple of times to practice surfing. Pete was able to stand on the board for a second or two but I’ve yet to reach his level of mastery.

Alrighty… a couple days ago I noticed a post in the Estonians in Australia Facebook group. There was a girl who was looking for a place to stay in Brisbane. Just for the weekend. Since I’m so generous and generally such a good person I decided that I will offer her a room in my villa. Luckily for her she was based in Gold Coast and I was planning to go surfing, I ended up picking her up and driving her to my place. Her name’s Agni. I know what you’re thinking… “the only reason you offered to host her is because she looked blond and pretty on her profile pic”. Yeah yeah, there was a little bit of that, but my actions were mostly motivated by all the goodness inside of me and the desire to help others in need.

On Sunday all the people living under the same roof as me, went to watch a cricket game at the Gabba stadium. The game was very exciting. Sadly it was such a short game. It only lasted 3 hours. None of the Estonians knew a thing about the game and so we just tried to figure it out ourselves. One hour into the game my roomie Benn and his girl Emily joined us. They gave us a quick introduction to cricket and explained its awesomeness to us. Apparently it’s awesome because it’s so boring and to prevent from dying of boredom people start doing waves, they shout, cheer and dance – it’s a real show.

Ok then. We survived the game. Now I’m a proud Aussie culture consumer. After the game we went for a night out in a pub with Benn’s friends. We talked about politics… we’re such snobs.

On the same day of the cricket game, Agni was looking for a rideshare up north to find a job on a farm and meet with her brother in Bundaberg. She got a couple offers. Pete bought his flight tickets back to Estonia.

Let me tell you guys, buying tickets internationally isn’t easy. First Pete had to find the travel company’s IBAN on Google because they never shared it with him. The company was also very bitchy about payments. They said that the money has to be transfered into their account the next businessday by 5PM. If the money isn’t received by then, the booking will be cancelled. Pete was a bit worried because international money transfers might take a couple of days but luckily he got an email from the travel company which said that they received the money.

Next day the company emailed Pete again and asked for an additional €15 because they didn’t receive the full amount with Pete’s first money transfer. Again they threatened to cancel the booking if the money wasn’t transferred by 5PM the next business day. Bastards! In one email they said, they got the money and the next day they ask for more and threaten to cancel the tickets because of €15. Welcome to Estonia my friends! Pete transfered the huge sum of €15 and got confirmation of receipt. He’s leaving Australia on the 24th Dec.

So here’s the situation. Agni wants to go north, Pete is leaving Australia in 2 weeks and my job situation is pretty bad (usually I get short term gigs through a job agency but last month I only worked 3 days) which leaves me with lots of free time on my hands. We decided that we’re all going on a roadtrip to Cairns and back to Brisbane. Agni will travel up to Bundaberg. I also noticed Rachel (the Canadian I did a rideshare with earlier) posting on Facebook about going on a roadtrip too.. so I contacted her and talked her into giving the finger to her other rideshare option and joining us instead. My negotiation skills are the sh*t!

Next time about my trip,

The Cricket enthusiast

After my interview at Aristocrat I had to get back home. As I wrote earlier I found two girls to travel with me and share the fuel costs. My passengers were Rachel from Canada and Anni from Germany.

Similar to my journey to Sydney, everybody got to know each other. We talked about our plans in Australia, our interests and home countries. At that time Anni had been in Australia for 2 weeks, Rachel only for 3 days. None of them knew how to drive on the left side of the road.

About 3 hours after my start in Sydney the traffic on the highway decreased and I decided it was time for one of the girls to learn to drive on the left. Neither of them were very enthusiastic about it but finally Anni agreed to do it.

Anni turned out to be a fabulous student although she sometimes drove faster than the speed limit. She only needed a little bit of coaching in urban areas. Other than that she was perfect behind the wheel.

The initial plan was to drive for 2 days and spend one night somewhere in a rest area in tents. Luckily Anni saved the day… or more accurately saved the night. When she was in Sydney she met a woman at some market. They just talked for a bit and the woman said that if she ever needed a place to crash near Coffs Harbour then she should give her a call. Coffs Harbour is about 500 km north from Sydney and it was on our way to Brisbane. Anyways Anni contacted the woman and her husband Richard to find us accommodation. Richard agreed to host us, gave us his address and we were on our way to his farm.

Richard lived in a place called Upper Orara, about 20 km west from Coffs Harbour. The road to our host’s place was very curvy. At one point the tarmac road ended and we were driving on a gravel road. We found the road Richard was living on but finding his house turned out to be a bit of a challenge.

At one point the gravel road ended. A stream of water went across it. I thought that maybe there was a detour or bridge nearby but didn’t find it. I checked the water depth and thought that my awesome Ford Festiva will have no trouble driving through 20-30 cm of water. I backed up to get some speed and went through the water barrier. About 100 meters later everybody was very happy when we saw Richard’s house number on the mailbox.

Past the private property sign we saw one house. Three cars were in front of it. Somebody was definitely at home although no lights were on in the building. Two little dogs were barking at us as we approached the house to meet Richard.

I had a flashlight with me because it was pitch-dark there. We looked through the windows but didn’t see anyone inside. We were knocking on the windows and doors trying to get some attention from the inhabitants. We did this for a couple of minutes without success. The girls decided to go get their phones from the car and try calling Richard. I stayed at the house to continue knocking.

Suddenly the light went on in the back room and a woman opened the door. I asked whether Richard lived there. She was quiet for a moment then suddenly realized “aaaaaahh… Richard… over there” and pointed me somewhere into the darkness. I apologized for waking her up and went back into my car to find the second house.

About 300 meters down the road we saw another large house. We saw a very similar picture: several cars were parked in front of the house, shoes were in front of the slide doors but no lights were on. Again we used the same technique – knocking and making some noise. We felt like burglars in the night. Nobody came to answer the door and we couldn’t call Richard because none of us had any reception.

We discussed our options. Maybe we should just put up our tents on the lawn in front of the house?

No! It was cold outside and that woman also said that Richard lives there. We travelled too far to give up like that.

Again the girls knocked on the doors and this time they managed to wake somebody up. A rather sleepy man opened the door and said that Richard lives next door. Basically where were two houses next to each other but they were connected with a roofed patio or terrace.

We knocked on the doors again but since that didn’t work and the door was open the girls just walked in. I felt very uncomfortable with that. The last time I did that I was lucky to not get arrested. Anyways Anni and Rachel turned the lights on in the house and looked around. About 30 seconds later we heard somebody’s footsteps from the back of the building and Richard appeared.

Everybody was glad to see him. He was a very interesting person. Somewhat of an artist. I think he was an artist/painter. He made us tea and some sandwiches, we had a small chat and listened to Simon & Garfunkel. There was a lot of room in his house. The girls slept in one room and I had a separate room to sleep in. It was good to sleep in a bed.

Richard left rather early in the morning and left us alone in his house. He said that if we wanted we could stay longer at his place. Richard was really cool about everything.

Sadly we had different plans and had to leave. We packed our stuff and headed to Byron Bay, NSW. Anni did most of the driving.

We weren’t as chatty in the car as on the day before. I was also sick of listening to my 100 greatest driving songs CDs. Once we got to Byron Bay, we went to the beach.

Rachel was like a little kid in a candy store. There was the sea, the beach, beautiful surroundings, rocks and nature. Anni and I laughed as Rachel went into the water and battled the waves. It was funny.

I had a quick swim too. Later we went to see Australia’s most easterly point and took some pictures along the way. Anni decided to stay at the beach instead.

When we came back Anni said that she got a text from her friend who will arrive in Byron Bay the next day. She decided to stay there. I dropped her off at a hostel and we said our final goodbyes. Goodbye Anni, I will miss you and your German bread very much.

I took Rachel to Gold Coast to see the beach and after that drove back home. It was a bit late so we decided that Rachel will crash at my place and will continue her journey in the morning.

Before saying goodbye to Rachel we took some pictures in my home garden. Thanks for joining me Rachel. This trip was a lot of fun. I’m glad I had such wonderful people with me.

Although a bit unrelated to this post I also took a pic with my roomie and his girlfriend. Now you know who I’m living with.

Burglar Apprentice,

Ivar

PS: Aristocrat called me and said that I didn’t get the job.

7 AM Sunday morning was the start of my journey from Brisbane CBD. I picked up Robin (she’s from China) and was on my way towards Sydney. The second girl cancelled the night before and I had no time to find anybody else.

As always in such situations we talked about who we were, where we’re from, our interests, Australia etc. Driving conditions were a bit bad because of rain and some thunder but all that stopped after the first 300 km. I think it was at the New Italy rest area where I decided to let Robin drive.

Her driving was a bit messy at first. I should’ve expected that since she’s never driven my car and had little experience driving a stick. The clutch was a bit problematic, I don’t recall her ever using the 3^rd gear, once she got a bit confused about which gear she was in (that would explain why she tried to go into reverse after 5^th gear). She was also a bit late on the brakes and almost crashed my car into a trailer. Yes she had a few minor hick-ups but that’s just the nature of the beast. Most of the time we were on the highway and she was an absolute delight driving outside of cities. She did about 300 km and I got my rest and was able to reach Sydney.

Robin was funny and very informative. I learned a lot about China. It was good to have her as a passenger. After I dropped her off I went to Bondi Beach because that’s where Caroline (a friend from the Bundaberg farm) lived.

I was very excited once I reached Bondi. The view on the ocean was crazy beautiful and I found out that Caroline lives only 200-300 meters from the beach. Fantastic location. I’m glad I could crash at her place before the interview.

Caroline was living in a flat with her roommate Andrea. If I understood correctly both of them work in the fashion industry, one works for Prada and one for Chanel.

The last time I saw Caroline was in late June, about 5 months ago. A lot has happened since but sadly we didn’t have enough time to properly catch up because I arrived in the evening and had an early start in the morning. It was good to see her. Thanks Caroline for hosting me! I hope I wasn’t too much trouble.