Keeping up with Beth

Coach journeys are strange.

I’m not big on long car journeys or coach or bus journeys unless I’m in the drivers seat- a trait I get from my dad I believe. But in Australia its the option that makes the most sense when travelling the coast on a budget. The only other potential option is car hire- but at $70 a day, a $300 coach ticket all the way up the coast is a popular backpacker choice.

I had booked my tour entirely through a company who had just booked my transport, accommodation and a few activities so I didn’t get too much choice, but realistically it would have been what I booked anyway. I went with a bus company called Premier who are a 2nd choice up the coast really. The normal backpacker choice is Greyhound, as they have multiple services a day with chargers and wifi on board. But since I didn’t choose I went with premier. To be honest I feel it was the best choice. For so many overnight journeys, I would rather have 2 seats to spread out, and use my portable charger rather than struggle to sleep in one seat and have the charger. I didn’t use my phone too much as I slept across the long journeys anyway.

Anyway, The disadvantage is they take a long time to get to the destination. The trip from Byron to Noosa was one of my shorter journeys as I had 3 hours (although I lost an hour with the time zone change) up to Brisbane and another 2 the other side.

I was very lucky with stopping in Brisbane. I had a friend who was living there. I was stopped there for 3 hours, and hadn’t been able to catch her almost 3 weeks into my trip to Australia! So I had told her the day before when I was arriving and when I had to be back. It was a very good stop, as it was not far from her hostel, so I chucked my main luggage under the bus, and dropped my backpack into her hostel storage, and we had a couple of hours to catch up and she have me a pitstop tour of the city. It was so lovely to catch up, and it gave me a quick taster of what I was getting myself into for once my tour was over and I headed back down to Brisbane until my flight to PNG.

After that stop, it was a quick goodbye and I was back on the road again.

I arrived in Noosa and made it to my hostel at around 4pm. It had a similar vibe to the one in Byron but felt like a more popular choice- which made sense as it was a Nomads. I found myself in my first big mixed dorm. 10 people! When I got in the room no one was there, so I decided to settle myself in, sort myself out, and take a visit to the kitchen to get my bearings of the hostel and cook myself some food!

I only had 1 full day in Noosa, so I gave myself that afternoon to chill, check out the area, see what there was around then the next day I would step it up and go all out. Eventually some other people in the room came in, and we have a conversation. that was when I realised how many Germans took gap years before starting their studies again in September. That evening, I went out, sat on the benches they had as their outside communal space, and chatted and called some people back home as I hadn’t had loads of chances to do that in the last couple of days. One of the guys from my room came outside and spotted me as well so he came and sat with me once I was off the phone and we had a good chat. It’s so interesting meeting people so different to what you’re used to.

The next day, I got up and ready and didn’t have too much of a plan, just head down to the beach and maybe take a walk around the national park when I got a chance. The German guy I had been talking to the night before was heading down on a hike down the national park with a couple of his mates and told me they were walking down past the beach, so I could join them if I wanted to. I thought, might as well join for a bit.

That was when I found out how crazy this guy was. He had no fear in death it seemed. Not that what he was doing was death worthy, but this guy didn’t care. If he felt like walking across the rocks rather than taking the set out route he did- and we followed. If he felt like jumping the fence and taking a peak right over the edge he did, and we did not follow, if he felt like climbing these massive rocks that literally were like small hills, to reach this beautiful hidden beach, he would. Some of them followed. I did not. It was so awesome to meet someone who almost isn’t care. He wanted to experience it all so he did! It reminded me that life is about more than following rules and doing what you’re told, and setting plans and following this rigid lifestyle! Life is for living and for stepping out of the boundaries, away from the norm and doing something just because you want to, just for the thrill (within reason of course). It was refreshing to see someone with such a different perspective. Id met people who were out here for adventure, but not in that sense. Not adventure in the little things. Not those small moments of craziness. I loved it! This guy was living for himself and his freedom.

So we went on this walk, I ended up going most of the way with them, before they split off, and I headed back to the hostel for a chill and swim. I had had an awesome day filled with adventure and liveliness in ways I wouldn’t have experienced solo, it was awesome!

That night I did end up joining in with the party they had down in the hostel. Ladies night with a couple of free drinks couldn’t say no! Initially I went over with someone from the room who had just arrived that day, he spotted someone who he met on the coach and we hung out with them for a bit. A whole later, I noticed a couple of British guys from the room were also in the bar, so we chatted with them, laughing at the difference in Australian bar music compared to perhaps even the worst clubs in England. After that the German guy I went on the walk with also came down and we hung out too. It was a laugh, meeting new faces, having a few drinks. I have bumped into a few of them up the coast since, so those night out were definitely worth i- especially $5 jäger bombs, wasn’t going to pass that down! But it was so good, with lots of memories and experiences you really really don’t get in England!

Before I knew it, it was time to head off the next morning, on my bus to Rainbow beach.

Rainbow beach I must admit had many dull moments… but I did meet some really awesome people there. My first night was fairly dull, I arrived at 7pm, into a room full of mostly girls all heading out the next morning having loud conversations across the room about what they wanted to pack for their Fraser Island trip. I had mine the next day but not as early as the others. I needed to catch up on sleep that night, as I was beginning to get exhausted from constantly having something on, and I needed to be prepared for the next day so I decided to take an early night.

The next day: Fraser Island- or K’Gari Island as I prefer.