Greetings from Australia 4

Written on 9th August 2006

Hi mates :-),

as I wrote in the last email, we headed to Hervey Bay last Wednesday. We decided to try hitch hiking because I wanted to try it and also save 57 dolars for a bus. It did not go so good. We stopped five cars (I could talk to drivers all the time but in the end I was a bit tired of talking – does not happen so often :-)) and after that we got only to the half way between Brisbane and Hervey Bay and stayed near a petrol station in the middle of nowhere next to motorway. Because we could not stop another car for more than one hour, I decided to ask at petrol station about a bus going around. We were lucky, the woman called to some company and we got on a bus going accidentally around. We got to Hervey Bay after 10 hours and saved 4 dolars :-).

The next day we set off for a three-days trip to Fraser Island which was the best trip I have done here. The island is creaded from sand with nice crystal clear lakes and beautiful beaches. We had got a car, were driving on beaches and in sand (quite difficult, we got stucked in sand a few times) and slept in a hotel!! It was such a kind of trip where we got a car full of fuel, a map of the island, we got three days with accomodation provided and an itinerary with recommendation what is good to see. I and my friend got two girls from Switzerland to our group so we were four of us and we had lots of fun :-). I swam in every lake we have visited (as the only one, water was quite cold :-)) and in the sea. We were told not to drive through salt water, on beaches during high tide and not to drive in deep sand. Because we stayed a bit late on a place called Champagne Pools (where a man can go to water full of bubbles from waves crashing to rocks and where I built my magnificent sand castle :-)) on Saturday, we drove back on a beach during high tide through salt water and in deep sand :-). Good adventure! My friend was still afraid of destroying the car (because it was his credit card we gave to the company and we had not paid for an insurance :-), girls were screaming and I was driving :-). It took us three hours to drive 60km because we got stucked in sand several times and our clutch got smelly a few times :-). Girls were driving sometimes as well, like devils through holes, the most important thing for them was to drive fast :-). My friend Kukin did not drive but he advised us all the time. I will never forget his "shouting" to grils "a bit to the right side, please" and "slowly, please" :-D. I drove when things got more difficult. We also got to sand blows (it is told that there is more sand than in Sahara desert on Fraser Island) and I rolled down from them. Very funny :-).

Last Sunday we went for a whale watching trip on sailing boat. I was great, we saw a lot of whales and our boat got very close to them. Once a whale was just a few meters from the boat. I also enjoyed sailing but wind was very strong and I caught cold there. It is first time I caught cold here in Australia so I took today for relaxing and getting better. I also met lots of people on the boat and talked all way.

We lived in a new hostel in Hervey Bay which had been opened three days before we arrived there. We got a dormatory room for 12 people just for us and it looked like in a hotel there. Everything new. We have signed ourselves on the fourth line in a visitor book. The hostel is owned by a family, very nice people.

On Monday we moved to Noosa where we wanted to stay just one day. Now it looks like we could leave on Friday :-). It is cool city, beaches, sea, high waves good for surfing. The rest of Monday we spent on the beach and in a pub with another girl from Sweden I met on the sailing boat the day before. Yesterday we went to National park next to the city. We saw lots of birds and also a Koala sleeping on a tree. After that we went for a three-hours lunch to a restaurant, where we got vouchers in our hostel for. The lunch and a glass of wine just for $7!!!

Going to try surfing tomorrow with my friend because we have paid for a two-hours course with an instructor and we should get a kayak in the afternoon for free and can try kayaking on the sea. It is almost ten days we arrived to Brisbane and we have not got back yet. And it is a long way to Melbourne. I guess we will not be able to see everything we wanter, but it does not matter. We are on holiday and enjoying it!!

Please feel free to forward this to anyone who I forgot to send it to.

Pavel (Inža)