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Just got into Agnes Waters after a 4 hour bus ride. We've spent the weekend on Fraser Island - the biggest sand island in the world. We were part of a 20 person group, made up mostly of 18 year old over-excitable German girls, so it kinda felt like a school trip. The island is really beautiful though, and we were really happy to catch some good weather. I loved the never-ending beach, 75 km to be exact. And you can't swim in it because the tide is so strong, so it's pretty much deserted. There is a lot of wildlife on the island - we saw dingoes (which are basically wild dogs), giant jelly fish, whales, sharks, manta rays - it was amazing. Because it's winter here there was barely anyone around so we had the island to ourselves. Our guide was really awesome, and he really made a difference. He's lived on the island fot 3 years so knows all there is to know about it. He also knows where all the best places are, but didn't share them with us as each tout company has its permit, which limits visiting sites.
We've met a lot of people, in hostels mainly, and a surprising amount of people have been living in australia for just under a year. They come here to work for a few months and then travel with the money they've saved. You can get pretty good salaries if you work in big cities. It's pretty tempting actually.
Again, I'm finding myself a little bit disappointed by this sort of package deal, where you just follow all the other backpackers, and do what hundreds of other people are doing, and just brush the surface. As we were travelling up on the bus, passing beautiful sugar cane fields in the afternoon sun, I just wanted to stop and find my way into some farm and just stay there for a while. We've just met a girl who's hitch-hiking around Australia, and says it's incredibly easy to pick up a lift here. I'm not surprised, people are genuinely nice here. For me, this kind of thing hold a lot more merit than just hopping ona bus with other backpackers, and it makes me a bit upset to look at some of them - can't even be bothered to look out the window or be interested in their surroundings, just kind of going around Australia for the sake of it? I don't know. Anyhow, even though the yoga centre was a bit of a nightmare, it was definitely an experience. We're looking forward to working at the winery, and enjoying the Australian countryside without rushing around, checking in and out of hostels.
But don't worry, we're enjoying ourselves and also can't wait to see the islands and tour on a boat for 3 days!
More to come soon.