Free Again!

Heading up to Noosa from the zoo, Rich felt it necessary to check out all of the beaches on the way and took the coastal road. He had more time than I did, so I can understand why he may want to do that. He knew tho, that I only had six weeks and wanted to cover lots of ground in that time. It's his car and I can't make him go at my pace, but I just thought it was a bit of a waste of time trying to see EVERYTHING. I was armed with a guide book, so I had a pretty good idea of where the interesting places to see were. What's the point in going by beaches if they are just like every other one and you weren't going to swim in it?? I had seen many many beaches in my life, and many many just on my trip in OZ so far. Surely he has too. Anyhow, then he goes on to say that he isn't comfortable taking his 4WD onto the much raved Fraser Island. What's the point in having a 4WD if you're not going to use it for what it was meant to do?!? Anyhow, at this point, I was ready to travel on my own again. I'd miss out some small stops between point A and point B without a car, but it was a price I was willing to pay. I was also willing to dish out a few extra dollars each night for some better company in hostels. I've realized today that I can get a long with most everyone - but only for a short period of time. I think there are many more people out there that would drive me crazy if I had to spend an extended amont of time with them. If anyone else says that they can get along with anybody, I call bullshit. Try travellng with them. Rich is not a bad guy by all means and I'm not here to slash him. He was quite nice at first and we compromised well in many ways. I think he had started sensing my dissatisfaction in some of the situations, though, and began to pursue his objectives without regard for my needs or wants. Anyhow, once in Noosa, I declared my intentions and was dropped off at the Koala Beach Resort. I thought he was cool at first with it, but then he kind of left without a word - no byes, no good luck, no enjoy your trip. Hmmm.... Anyhow, I was glad to be on my own again, to be able to do what I want with my kind of crowd.

Gold Coast to Brisbane

After passing Tweeds Head which is the state line between Queensland and New South Wales, we drove through Surfur's Paradise and up to Brisbane. Neither Rich nor I were really into exploring the city, but I had wanted to stay in or near it so that we could actually do something with the time we had left that night. I wanted to check e-mail, make phone calls, do ANYTHING - but sit in a fucking tent the whole night in the middle of fucking nowhere. Rich is a bit older and has not been in the backpacking scene, and didn't seem too keen on staying at any hostels. At least in a hostel, there'd be a lounge or a bar where we could meet and talk to other people. In the last four days, the only other contact I've had with other people were Rich's friends. I was starting to feel a bit lonely. We camped again in the middle of nowhere, which would not be so bad if it was time to go to bed already, but we pulled into camp at like 1700! I passed the time doing some washing and paying a ridiculous price for e-mail in the camp site.

Boxing Day

The Australians, like the British, enjoy another day off on the 26th. Someone told me once loooong time ago what this holiday was for, but unlike some people, my brain doesn't seem to be able to hold useless information. These days tho, my brain doesn't hold much at all I think. I do exercise my brain occasionally though through reading lots of books (currently on Stupid White Men by Micheal Moore) and playing Scrabble (I've won all games so far except when I played with a French guy). Btw, apologies for any misspelled word on my website. I can't be bothered to spell check anything when I already have to spend lots of time just putting this site together. Feel free to send me corrections or suggestions for changes.

Anyhow, today I met Richard. He's the guy I found on Lonely Planet's Thorntree looking for a travel partner around OZ. He's from around Sydney, just quit his job, and was looking to travel a bit around his country. He was going to buy a 4WD and since we had the similar plans in mind, we thought we'd give it a go. So today, we met up for the first time. He picked me up in Manly and drove me to a place where we luckily caught the start of the yacht race. Then off to Bondi beach for lunch, and a drive around to a view point and then back to Manly. I think we'll get along fine.