Adventuring: Brisbane

DATES: May 21- May 25
HOSTEL: Stayed with a friend
TOURS: Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Stradboke Island

It was so exciting to go to Brisbane and spend time with my friend from home. She goes to school at Griffith and we hadn't seen each other in a year. When I saw her at the bus station it was like having a piece of home there with me. It was honestly the best feeling ever!

I was able to stay with her while I explored Brisbane. It is quite a little city, everything is very compacted and close. I was able to squeeze in so much during my visit. I went to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, finally held a koala and was able to pet another wombat! I did the free river cruise both during the daytime and night. It's pretty slow but a good way to view the scenery. I was also able to see Stradbroke Island which was gorgeous. I'm starting to think all of Australia is beautiful and I never want to leave!

Adventuring: Noosa

DATES: May 17- May 21
HOSTEL: Dolphins Beach House
TOURS: Australia Zoo

It was an interesting arrival to Noosa! Everywhere else that I had been had loads of empty space and it was quite easy to secure a bed for an extra night or two. We decided to risk not booking ahead and it backfired on us as the hostel we wanted was full. It was a bit of a panic learning that most places were full but in the end we found space at Dolphin's Beach House.  It was a decent place to stay with most things were clean although little cockroaches were in our beds SUPER GROSS. They sprayed our room again for us but we shook our sheets out before sleeping each night. The hammocks were a huge plus and I took full advantage of them!

The beaches and town of Noosa are incredibly gorgeous. I spent two days soaking up the sun on the beach and hammocks and was able to explore the town as well. Both beaches were awesome for surfing and it was cool to watch the surfers. I spent one day checking out Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo. It was truly amazing to spend the day walking around the zoo. I grew up watching his tv show and to be in his zoo was a feeling you just can't describe. I missed seeing the wombats in order to check out the animal hospital which was full of Koalas.

Adventuring: Rainbow Beach

DATES: May 13- May 17
HOSTEL: Pippies Beach House
TOURS: Fraser Explorer

I took the night bus here to Rainbow which was the craziest thing. I met a few friends and had a horrible time trying to sleep. Mental note: take pillow, blankets, real clothes IT'S COLD and uncomfortable. I did manage to make some friends on the bus and ended up rooming with them when I got to Rainbow Beach.

I stayed at Pippies Beach House, I wasn't too such about it as I had heard good and bad things but I enjoyed my time there. It was rainy and they had the best hard drive of movies and tv shows. I became hooked on the Inbetweeners. The beach was nice and there were some great sand dunes to go watch the sunset.

I was able to spend a few days on Fraser Island with Fraser Explorer Tours. It was a very surprising tour, I was with a group of young and older people. We all got along great, it was so nice to hear stories from the older people about Australia or their trips overseas to visit Canada. I was actually sad to leave them all when our tour ended. Fraser Island was beautiful and I got my first sighting of a wild dingo. It was so hard being an animal lover not to go up and hug them. The sand dunes and lakes were amazing. I was even able to go up in a small airplane to see the entire island!